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What was he going to do? He couldn't very well hitch-hike along the side of the highway. He could, of course, but he doesn't want to. He's had entirely too much of this footloose exploring of unknown and unknowable terrain to want to do any more of it any time soon, thank you very much. And it is only because the prospect of hitch-hiking is slightly less likable than riding in Rowena's car -- taking in the sites, pretending that he was fine with everything and not showing his rage, and failing utterly, which would cause her to treat him with even more condescension than she has been -- it is only the thought of being with no one at all that causes him to "jump in," as she put it.