Red Lily

thing. I know I’ve got to be sensible, too. I can’t be hauling Lily around in an unreliable car. I’ll be lucky if that salesman who took it off for appraisal doesn’t come back and say I owe him just for dumping it on him.”
    “Just let me handle it.”
    “I will not.” She stopped by a hatchback, kicked its tires. “You know what I hate? I hate that a lot of car salesmen and mechanics and that whole breed treat women who come in like brainless bimbos just because they don’t have a penis. Like all the automotive data and know-it-all is stored in their dicks.”

    “Jesus, Hayley.” He had to laugh, even as he winced.
    “It’s true. So, I’ve done my research. I know what I want and how much I should have to pay. He doesn’t want to deal with me, then I’ll just take my business elsewhere.”
    She stopped by a sedan, braced one hand on the fender and waved the other in front of her face. “God almighty, it’s hot. Feel like every fluid in my body’s boiled away.”
    “You look a little pale. Why don’t we go inside, sit down for a minute?”
    “I’m okay. Just not resting well. Even when I sleep, I feel like I’m on alert, like the first few weeks after Lily was born. Makes me draggy and irritable. So if I end up snapping at you, try to bear with me.”
    He rubbed the small of her back. “Don’t worry about it.”
    “I appreciate you coming with me today, I really do. But don’t feel like you’ve got to step in.”
    “Ever bought a car?”
    She sent him a sidelong, annoyed look as she continued to push Lily’s stroller. “Just because I haven’t, doesn’t mean I’m some rube down from the hills. I’ve bought lots of other things, and I can guarantee I know more about negotiating prices than you. Rich boy.”
    He grinned. “I’m just a working gardener.”
    “You may work for a living, but you’ve got a few silver spoons tucked away for rainy days. Now here’s what I’m after.”
    She stopped to study a sturdy-looking five-door Chevy. “It’s got plenty of room, but it’s not big and bulky, and it’s clean. It’s bound to get better mileage than my old car and it’s not flashy.”
    She frowned over the listed price. “I’ll just get him to come down a bit, and it’ll be in my range. Sort of.”
    “Don’t tell him you—”
    “Harper.”

    “Backing off.” He shook his head, stuck his hands in his pockets.
    And had to saw his tongue in half when the salesman came out, big smiles, and announced the meager offer on the trade-in.
    “Oh, is that all?” Hayley widened her baby blues and fluttered her lashes. “I guess sentiment doesn’t count, does it? But maybe, maybe you could just ease that up, a little bit, depending on what I buy. This one’s pretty. I like the color.”
    Playing him, Harper realized, noting how she’d bumped up her accent. He went along for the ride as the salesman steered her toward a couple of pricier options, watched her chew her lip, flash her smile, and steer him right back to what she wanted.
    Guy’s toast, he decided as she finagled the price down, took Lily out of the stroller to sit with her behind the wheel. Harper concluded nobody could resist the pair of them.
    Two hours later, they were driving off the lot with Lily dozing in her carseat and Hayley beaming behind the wheel.
    “ ‘Oh, Mr. Tanner, I just don’t know a thing about cars. You’re so sweet to help me out this way.’ ” Harper shook his head. “When we were sitting in there doing the paperwork I wanted to warn him to lift up his feet. It was sure getting deep.”
    “He made a nice sale, got his commission, and I got what I went in for. That’s what counts.” But she let out a hoot of laughter. “I liked when he tried to bring you into it, showed you under the hood and you just scratched your head like you were looking at a cruise missile or something. I think we made him feel good, like he was giving me what I needed for the price I could pay. And that counts, too. Next time I have to buy, I’d go right back to Mr. Tanner.”

    “Didn’t hurt for you to tear up a couple times.”
    “That was real. I was sad to sell that old heap—and don’t think these car payments aren’t going to sting some.” More, she thought, it had put an ache in her throat when Mr. Tanner had assumed they were a family.
    “If you need some help—”
    “Don’t go there, Harper.” But she reached over to pat his hand, to show she appreciated the offer. “We’ll be