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He pulls back and brushes my hair away from my face. “You have my heart, eighty. I won’t be out for a while, so consider this my goodbye.” He leans down and kisses me again.
I never thought I’d see this side of Tobin. He’s still so gruff, but I see the sweetness beneath the rough exterior. And it’s too much. I don’t want to say goodbye. To any of them.
Tears slip down my cheeks, and I lift my hand to wipe them away. He stops me and brings his tongue to my cheek, licking a long line up my skin, cleaning the tears from my face.
“Let me keep those inside me. As a part of me.” His lips draw into a smirk. “You know I like it when you cry for me.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Jax
There’s no way Kane could meet her parents without making everyone extremely uncomfortable, so I was thrust into the driver’s seat as we neared her family’s home. It would sound as if she’d been kidnapped if he’d been the one to explain this situation. Kane is so bad at being around other humans.
I pick up the note Kane left on the dashboard and turn it over in my hands. The paper has been folded into a small square. I haven’t read it yet. I plan to wait until I’m around Aurora. Then I’ll say goodbye to her for the last time.
My heart aches when I glance at her. She’s wearing a clean shirt and a new pair of jeans. Kane took her to a store and bought her an outfit because she couldn’t go home in what she was wearing when we found her. I offered to stop to let her shower, but she said she made a promise to Tobin and couldn’t. I can only imagine.
“Do we have a story?” she asks as she fidgets in the passenger seat. Pup sleeps on her lap. It’s her usual spot now, and I’m worried the poor dog may take the loss just as hard as we will.
“You should probably start by telling your parents you dropped out of college.”
Her lips tighten. “I guess I have to.”
“It won’t hurt to dilute the truth a little, though. Just say you’ve been traveling across the country. We picked you up and brought you back home.” I smile at her. “Maybe omit the parts about being a sex worker.”
She hits my arm and we both laugh. Damn it, I’m going to miss her.
She gives me directions to her house when we’re nearly there. It’s the only house on the road, with a thruway running behind it. I can’t see it, but I know it’s there. I ease the truck up the long driveway, get out of the driver’s seat, and go around to open the door for Aurora. She clutches Pup to her chest, giving her a long stroke and a kiss on the top of her head.
“No more running off, Pup,” she whispers. “I won’t be there to save you next time.” She swipes the tears from her eyes, places Pup on the floor, and reaches for my hand.
I help her down. Before we even make it to the front steps, the door swings open, showcasing the confused expressions of her parents.
“Jesus Christ, Aurora! We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for so long!” Her mother’s confused anger turns to happiness as she pulls her daughter into her. “Where have you been?”
“Everywhere,” Aurora says. Her voice is flat, completely devoid of the life, snark, and lilt I’ve heard since she’s been with us.
Her short-and-stout father peers behind me, his gaze bolting to my truck after gripping Aurora’s shoulder. “What a beauty you got.”
“You drove trucks too, right?”
“I was regional before I became local. Then I hung up the keys to be with my wife,” he says, but there’s an intense longing in his eyes as he stares at my truck. Once a trucker, always a trucker. “But my truck never looked like that!”
I draw his attention back to me by clearing my throat. “Well, I’d best get going.”
“Nonsense!” her mother says. “Come in and have some dinner!”
Aurora and I look at each other. Yeah, if Kane was here, he’d keel over from the mention of dinner with Aurora’s parents. Lucky for him, I’m always down to socialize. I nod, and her parents welcome me inside.
Family pictures adorn every surface of the quaint home. A lot of the pictures are missing the father. Most show a mother alongside her daughter, looking like a piece of their life is missing. He must have been gone a lot. If I had a family, I’m not sure I’d pick this business. The money is good, sure, and If you don’t like your family and want to be away from them as much as possible, this job is great. But if you want to spend time with someone you like, it’s hard.
Unless you can bring them across state lines like we did with Aurora.
That creates its own problems, though, and I don’t just mean the risk Kane poses to her safety. Because three of us live in the same body, I’d never get enough time with her. I’d be away, like a trucker, no matter how close I am.
Her mother leads us into the kitchen, and the scent of home-cooked soup fills the room.
“You’re lucky your mother makes enough of her famous chicken noodle soup to feed the whole city,” her father says before sitting down at the table. Her mother exits the kitchen, and he turns to Aurora as she and I take a seat. “So you’ve been riding with this guy?”
