I gasped, bolting up in the seat. The car was veering right, my hands slack on the wheel.
“Miranda!” Collin yelled, shaking me awake.
“I’m awake!” I cried. “I’m awake! I’m sorry!”
The car was sliding off the shoulder into a rocky, unforgiving ditch. I yelped, jerking the wheel, praying that I wouldn’t overcorrect and end up in the opposite lane or flip the freaking car. I sucked in a huge lungful of air, willing the oxygen to recirculate through my brain and wake me the hell up.
“Are you all right?” he asked, brushing my hair away from my face.
I nodded, reaching into the cooler compartment to drag out a Coke and slug back most of it in one gulp. “I’m just a little tired.”
And my nose was burning, because some of the Coke bubbles went the wrong way.
“Tired, hell, Miranda. You’re exhausted. I can feel it rolling off you in waves. You’re making me sleepy, and it’s practically mid-morning by my internal clock.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, yawning widely. “We have a couple of hours to go yet before we reach our goal for the night. If we stop now, we won’t be able to make the Hollow on time tomorrow night. We’re too close, Collin. I can’t hold us up just because I’m a little sleepy.”
Also, I didn’t know how the hell we would pay for a hotel, I silently added, and sleeping at a truck stop didn’t really appeal to me.
“Pull over,” he said, opening his atlas and checking our route.
“What? Why?”
“I’m going to drive.”
“You don’t have a license,” I protested.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to drive. I just didn’t want to be documented by the human government.”
“Were you afraid you would take a bad photo?” I asked, yawning again.
“Impossible. Look at my profile.”
“And modest, too.” I chuckled weakly. “Well, I would be happy to let you drive, but I’ve got enough to explain to Iris.”
“Meaning?”
“You ripped off my gas-tank door!” I exclaimed.
He huffed. “I’ve been secluded for decades. The last car I drove was wound by crank. There have been some changes in technology, but the principles are the same. Besides, the gas tank is nearly full. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I doubt that,” I said. “I appreciate it, Collin, really, but I can’t—”
“You can, and you will,” he insisted. “And imagine how much faster we will get to the Hollow tomorrow if we spend this evening driving instead of resting at a motel.”
“So … skip the motel and drive on through?” I asked.
This was the perfect solution to my having to tell Collin about our money problem. And we’d arrive in the Hollow early, which would impress Iris. If Collin didn’t veer into oncoming traffic and kill us both, which would be a down side.
“And if we arrive in town early and complete my business with Ophelia, perhaps we can spend some time together.”
“We’re spending time together now,” I reminded him, keeping my voice even, despite the excited fluttering in my belly.
“Yes, time restricted by deadlines, work policies, and your reluctance to get involved with a client. I would like to see if we enjoy each other’s company without those constraints.”
“You’re worried that you only like me because you have a chauffeur fetish?” I asked, tilting my head.
He frowned at me. “Miranda.”