AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want to not crash.”
“Well, you don’t always get what you want.” Dad flashed his blinker to turn out of the parking lot and laughed. “I win.”
I put my feet down and stared at my reflection in the sideview mirror. Despite washing my face in questionable locations for the last two weeks, my skin was glowing. Pregnancy was agreeing with me, it seemed. I knotted my bun tighter and rested my chin on my arm. The wind whipped past my face as Dad sped up and I sighed happily.
The freedom of being on the road with Dad, without a thing to do but live, had eased some of the tension in my heart. It’d also helped me accept that I could get through anything, as long as I had Dad on my side. We’d made it through plenty of awkward situations at campgrounds and had even managed to avoid getting eaten when a bear decided to rob our campsite. We were a solid team, just like always.
Hiking and enjoying nature made me feel strong again. Being able to hike a three mile trail up a mountain while nearly three months pregnant reminded me of what Dad had tried to remind me. I was a badass. I could do whatever I wanted to. My plans were going to look different when we got back to Dallas, but I wasn’t panicking. I was taking my time to recalibrate and decide what I wanted to do.
Each morning when I opened my eyes, I still thought of Zander, Knight, and Kyrin first thing. They were the last thing I thought about at night, too. When the bear had come out of nowhere to steal my Pop Tarts, I’d had the craziest moment. I’d been half asleep and in the panic of waking up to a bear so suddenly, I’d reached out to protect the guys. At least I’d been able to play off my sad tears as tears of relief that we hadn’t been mauled.
I found myself thinking of them throughout the day, wondering if they’d read my letter, what they thought, what they were doing. At the top of that three-mile trail, I’d looked out at the most beautiful view of the valley below and considered what co-parenting would be like. When Dad got drunk and danced around our fire at night, I laughed and imagined the guys there with us, enjoying our trip.
“You’re sighing a lot.” Dad called out over the rush of the wind blowing through the truck. Stevie Knicks was playing on the radio and Dad didn’t bother turning her down to talk.
I rolled my eyes at him. “You can’t hear me sighing over all this noise, old man.”
“I’m your father. I can tell when you’re sighing. Thinking about the guys?”
I stuck my head farther out the window. “Nope!”
He laughed. “Get your head back in here and pick out a place to stop for dinner. Liar.”
Fighting with an old-fashioned map against the wind, I found where we were and then moved my finger up the road we were traveling on. The next town was pretty close, so I moved past it. “What about Evansdale?”
“Does it have a good diner?”
“This is a map, Dad. It doesn’t have a local listing of places to eat.” I folded the map as best as I could while Dad rambled at me.
“You know what would’ve had a list of local eateries? Google. But, no, our cellphones would’ve ruined the experience.” He reached over and patted my hand. “It has been nice to have you all to myself, though. So maybe I don’t need Google.”
“Told you so.” I pointed at the radio and grinned. “I’m turning this up now. It’s time that I forced you to listen to me sing.”
The moment we pulled into the Little Red Diner in Evansdale later that day, Dad was so over my singing that he dramatically climbed out of the truck and made a big show of pretending to not be able to hear. People were staring at us, but he didn’t care. He just ruffled my hair and tucked me into his side.
“Let’s eat, kid. I’m starving.” He opened the door to the old-fashioned diner and ushered me in. “Remind me to get an extra slice of pie. I woke up in my tent last night and I would’ve murdered you for a slice.”
“Good to know, Dad.” I smiled at the waitress who approached us. “Just two, please.”
She stared at me for a few seconds in silence before nodding quickly and rushing through the diner to seat us at a booth in the back. “I’ll be back!”
Dad raised his eyebrows at her retreating back as he slid into the seat across from me. The old vinyl squeaked as he slid across it. “Are we giving off weird vibes? Ginger cleansed my chakras before we left, but I’m sure yours are all over the place.”
I gave him a hard stare. “You need to get your chakras cleansed again to fix this rotten attitude.”
He grinned. “Oh, here we go. She’s coming back. Remind me, Ag. Pie.”
The waitress bounced excitedly at our table, her eyes wide. “A drink?”
I leaned back slightly and nodded. “Sure, thanks. Um, I’ll have a-”
“You’re Aggie, aren’t you?” She sat next to me and her ponytail bounced around as she excitedly motioned with her hands. “You look just like the pictures. Oh, my gosh. You’re the luckiest woman in the world.”
47
***Aggie***
IlookedatDadin a panic. “Um, I’m sorry? How do you know my name?”
