Page 3 of Joy
Silas didn’t smile, but I got the distinct impression that the question amused him nonetheless. “Not much in Coos County.”
“What does that mean?”
He shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets. “’Bout nine hundred folks in Dalton.”
Was he joking?
He was joking.
Right…?
Silas didn’t say anything else.
“Fuck,” I said again. “Look, I’m going to pay for your repairs. It’s not like I can skip out on it, because look at my car. I just—do you know if any one of these nine hundred people are hiring?” I asked, hearing a bit of desperation in my tone.
“A bit far from home,” Silas said.
“What?”
He tilted his chin at my car.
I looked back to see he was referring to the California license plate.
California wasn’t home, though. It was just a place.
“Are there any hotels around?” I asked instead.
Silas eyed me a moment longer before he turned and walked back to his car. He paused at the door and motioned me to follow.
“B-but what about…?” I jutted a thumb back at my own.
“It’s not going anywhere.”
“Someone could steal it,” I tried.
Silas didn’t respond.
Okay, yeah, it wasn’t worth stealing.
I went and grabbed my duffle bag from the back, locked the doors, and left my car on the side of the road. “Can you drive yours?”
“It’ll make it back to Lancaster.”
“Where are we going?”
Silas didn’t respond as he got in and shut the door.
Jesus. Awkward guy, to say the least.
I walked around the other side and opened the passenger door. I hesitated for a beat, but really, what could I do? He didn’t strike me as the insane sort who’d try to kidnap and kill a healthy young guy. And I had my cell phone—if it got a signal out here.
“Where are we going?” I asked again.
Silas started the car and glanced sideways. “I’ll drive you to a place to stay.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
