Page 29 of Stunts and Sparks

“That’s more like it.” She smiled, but she could tell she wasn’t selling it very well.

Cole confirmed her suspicions when he said, “You seriously don’t look so good, though.”

“I’ll be fine.” She waved his concerns away, but even she could hear that her voice sounded slightly slurred. “I’m just feeling a little…” She couldn’t finish her sentence because the room had begun to spin.

Cole squinted at her, examining her with skepticism and concern. “That does it,” he concluded. He went around the gas station shop, gathering a number of things Heather didn’t bother to notice. She was struggling just to stay on her feet at this point. He paid for whatever he had chosen and had a brief conversation with the man behind the counter. Then he carried a bag of goods over to Heather and quickly whisked her out of the shop.

Once outside, he guided her behind the station to an old, weathered picnic table that sat in the shade of a lone tree. “Sit down,” he commanded. “You’re overheated and dehydrated.”

“No, I’m not,” she said, sounding fully drunk now despite not having had a drop of liquor.

“You are. I need you to sip on this.” He handed her a blue sports drink after opening the cap for her. “Slowly,” he added.

“I don’t like blue flavor.” Heather tried to pout, but she was too exhausted to manage even that small rebellion.

Cole wasn’t hearing it. “Sip it,” he demanded.

Heather slumped and sipped her sports drink as she was told. “Good enough?” she said after taking two sips. “It’s going to make my tongue blue.”

“I want your tongue to match your hair by the time you’re done. Keep drinking it. We’re not leaving here until the drink is gone, you’ve eaten something, and you’ve held it down.”

“But the truck…”

All Cole had to do was glare at her, and Heather shut her mouth about it. He was probably right that she was dangerously dehydrated. It would certainly be a stupid decision to try to hike all the way back to the truck in this state. Anyway, the shade felt nice, and the blue drink wasn’t nearly as bad as she remembered. She must have been thirstier than she felt because after another couple sips, it actually started to taste good to her.

“Eat something, too,” Cole said, pushing a small package of trail mix at her.

“You know I’m just going to pick out the chocolate,” she warned him.

“That’s just fine with me, as long as you eat a little something.” He sat across the picnic table from her and lay back on the bench. For once in Heather’s life, there wasn’t anything to do but sit and wait. She had no phone to scroll through social media with, no messages to read, no missed calls to return. All she had was the sound of the wind blowing the leaves in the tree, the speckled sunlight painting a moving pattern on the picnic table, and the striking blue of the sky above.

As she slowly finished her sports drink and munched on her trail mix — she did actually eat a few nuts and raisins, despite her threat not to — she began to feel better, calmer. She mighteven call the sensation some kind of peace. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the desert around her. Even the hum of the occasional car that came to the station to fuel up was beautiful in its own way. Her headache began to ebb just as the sun sank low enough to touch the horizon.

Cole shot up after dozing off for a moment. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, and the panic he felt at realizing he had was apparent. As soon as he saw Heather, he relaxed. “Do you feel better?” he asked her.

She nodded.

“Feel well enough to walk back?” He pointed an accusatory finger at her. “No lying now.”

“I swear it,” she answered. “Thank you for making me drink this blue nonsense.” She grinned at him.

“Let me see your tongue,” he said with narrowed eyes.

“That’s a weird way to flirt.” She was laughing, but she stuck her tongue out at him anyway.

“Beautiful,” he said. “It matches your hair perfectly.” He stood and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go.”

They picked out whatever looked like some form of dinner at the gas station. Mostly, it was bagged snacks with a couple pre-made sandwiches. Heather grabbed four bottles of beer to have “for dessert,” and then the two of them headed out for the long hike back to the truck.

The whole way back, Cole kept checking in on Heather. She found it both sweet and irritating at times, but mostly sweet. She appreciated that he cared that much about her. He even offered to carry her a few times, though she declined. She already feltashamed she hadn’t been able to make it to the gas station without getting sick, so she wasn’t about to admit defeat on the way back. She did make sure to drink more fluids along the way, though.

The walk itself was gorgeous. The sun was setting the entire time, so the view across the desert kept drawing Heather’s attention. It was a quiet walk, too, which was nicer than she would have thought. Normally, she felt obligated to entertain her companions with casual conversation or humorous stories. But with Cole, it was fine to just walk with him. He didn’t force conversation, and it was a refreshing change of pace for her.

When they got back to the truck, Cole added the two cans of gasoline he had purchased and started up the engine. Then he drove them to a turnoff just outside of a tiny town and parked. At this hour, in such an out-of-the-way location, there was virtually no traffic. There were even fewer lights, and with the flat landscape and dark night, the number of stars she could see was impressive. The sky itself was stunning.

Cole went into the back of the truck and pulled out a couple sleeping bags he had bought back when they were in town. He really did think of everything. He laid them out in the bed of the pickup, and made a comfortable place for the two of them to sit and eat their dinner. Though the meal itself was disappointing, the atmosphere could not have been more romantic.

The only unpleasant thought that kept nagging at Heather was that she still hadn’t spoken to her mom. She knew her mom would want to hear her voice, to know without a shadow of a doubt that she was okay. Cole had advised her not to call, and she understood his reasoning to a certain degree. But at the same time, it was a minor risk she felt was worth taking. Afterall, he didn’t know her mom. The woman was not going to spill their location to anyone. Stephanie Bennett was good at secrets.

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