Page 24 of Impulsive Saint
She glared at him defiantly, “I am not sleeping in that bed with you.”
“Never said you had to, princess.” Tyler slid out of his leather jacket, tossing it over a gold and maroon brocade chair in the corner next to a whining A/C unit before turning back to her, “Feel free to sleep on the floor.”
Her mouth fell open, “You’re joking.”
“Not really.” He shrugged as he pulled the comforter off the bed with a wave of his arm. “I’m tired and I’m not in the mood to argue with you so sleep wherever you want, but I’m sleeping in this perfectly fine bed.”
“I’ll get my own room.”
He snorted, “With what money?”
She gritted her teeth, “Look, I know you’re trying to make me uncomfortable but you could have at least gotten us separate beds.”
“Ashtyn.” He met her gaze, serious and exhausted blue eyes looking straight at her. “They didn’t have a room with two beds. I asked. It’s not that kind of motel.”
“Oh…” She swallowed hard at the implication, her eyes going back to the bed until he gave a long and haggard sounding sigh.
“I realize this isn’t the Ritz and I’m no prince charming but I’m not going to force myself on you or anything like that. I’m just tired and I want to get some sleep because we have a long day on the road again tomorrow no matter if you decide to keep going on this stupid road trip or if you come to your senses and realize you left a great life behind you in Nashville and want to go home. I’m going to sleep and I suggest you do the same.”
Ashtyn scowled at him as he sat on the edge of the bed and began to untie his boots. He really did look exhausted. She supposed if she was sore from riding all day then maybe he was too and while she’d been on the back of the bike, daydreaming the hours away, he’d had to focus on the road and traffic and keep them safe.
She didn’t have to like that this was the place he’d chosen for them to sleep. She didn’t have to believe that he wasn’t trying to make her life miserable. But she did have to give him some measure of peace or else she feared his protective streak might dry up and he’d drive off without her, leaving her abandoned in the middle of nowhere Arkansas with no phone, no money and no way home.
“Fine.” she sighed, finally stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. “But I’m not going to sleep dirty. I need a shower.”
“Have at it.” He motioned behind him towards what had to be the bathroom without even looking at her.
“And I need to call my friend and check in so she knows I’m safe.”
“Go for it.” He covered a big yawn with the back of his hand.
Ashtyn frowned, “I’ll need to borrow your cell phone.”
His head jerked to her, “What?”
“Cell phone? To make the call? I don’t have mine, remember?”
Dark brows knit together over his tired blue eyes and he scratched his head before seeming to think of something, “There’s a phone right there by the bed. Use it.”
She grimaced when she saw the big orange rotary telephone he was talking about. It was a landline which was rare, but the handset itself had to be twice as old as she was. She couldn’t even imagine the kind of people that had touched that phone and put their mouth next to it.
“Tyler… seriously?” She turned pleading eyes on him but he’d gone back to untying his other shoe already.
“You’re the one that decided on a cross country trip without a cell phone.” He shrugged, “Learn to use what’s available or not. Up to you, princess.”
Ashtyn clenched her jaw at the use of that horrible nickname again and glared at his back. He was serious. She couldn’t believe he was actually serious. He wasn’t going to let her use his cell phone. What a jerk! With no other recourse except to be defiant, she grabbed the heavy old telephone off the table and dragged it with her to the bathroom, pleased with herself when the cord had enough distance to let her close the door and give her a modicum of privacy.
She expected some sort of smart remark but Tyler didn’t say a word. Ashtyn took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes and trying to center herself. He hadn’t been this rude or grouchy all day. It was a new development. So maybe he wasn’t just trying to get under her skin, maybe he was just tired and in a bad mood because he realized he’d let a woman he didn’t even know coerce him into a cross-country road trip.
Sleep would be good for him. He could sleep and she would shower and find some food and when he woke up they’d be back on good terms. She had to believe that.
Once she felt a little calmer, she reached over and turned the water on in what must have once been a mint green bathtub. The water spit and gurgled from the showerhead but it was clear like it was supposed to be and for that she was grateful. She let the shower run, hoping the water would warm up to something reasonable, and then sat on the toilet to make her phone call.
Luckily, the one number she had memorized was that of her best friend. If she’d wanted to call anyone else she would have been hopelessly out of luck since the numbers were all saved in her cell phone back in that church in Tennessee. Thankfully Kelsey hadn’t changed her cell phone number since they were thirteen and Ashtyn still remembered it along with a lot of other useless middle school information.
She used the old phone to dial, cringing when she had to put the thing to her ear. If she got some sort of infection or disease from this, she was going to strangle Tyler. In that moment, she would have killed for a speaker-phone button on this old thing just so she wouldn’t have to put it so close to her face.
The water continued to run and Ashtyn bit her lip as the ringing went on and on. She silently prayed that Kelsey wouldn’t ignore the unknown number. It felt like she sat there for half an eternity, the dull ringing in her ear, before she finally heard the click and a breathless voice that made her heart swell from the other end of the line.
