Page 25 of Wicked Love

“Okay.”

“I could offer to get shit-faced, but we’re both aware it didn’t end well for us in the past.”

“No drinking. I’m not in the mood anyway.” She pulled her sleeves over her hands.

“You cold?”

“A little. Do you maybe wanna stop for the night? I could use a hot shower and a bed.”

I stared at Grace, not sure if she was serious because the last time we went to a hotel together…well… My body overheated at the memory.

“I’m sure we can share a room without jumping each other’s bones,” she added as if she was reading my thoughts. “We’re siblings now, so it’s different.” She watched me, waiting for me to agree. Or not.

“All right. It’s a plan.” I took the next exit as ads for lodging and restaurants polluted the side of the road.

Lying on the mattress I called dibs on, I waited for Grace to finish showering in the adjacent small bathroom. The room we’d booked was kinda small. Two double beds, a wooden dresser, a small, under-the-counter refrigerator, and an en-suite bathroom. Pale-green wallpaper covered the walls, matching the comforters on the beds. We were in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, I had no idea in which state or town we were in right now, but I didn’t really care. All I cared about was getting Grace as far away from her mother as possible. For her own sanity.

I tried to focus my attention on the movie playing on the TV set on the dresser in front of me. Knowing Grace was naked on the other side of the door turned out to be a huge distraction. One I didn’t need.

She stepped into the room, wearing only a loose T-shirt that I recognized as the one I lent her the night we spent together over a month ago.

An adorable blush covered her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I packed random stuff, and this is the only decent thing I have to sleep in.”

I blinked. After wearing my jacket, she was now wearing my T-shirt. The thought she kept it pleased me more than it should.

That night meant something to her too.

I jumped to my feet, needing to put some much-required distance between us. “All fine. I’ll shower now. We’ll have to go shopping tomorrow because we left in a hurry, and I brought nothing along with me.”

“Sure.”

Thirty minutes later, after I turned the nightlamp off, wearing only my boxer briefs, I slid under the covers.

“You asleep?” I asked my bed neighbor.

“Nah. My brain won’t shut up.”

We remained silent for a while.

“Joe, if I came to sleep next to you, would it be all right or just weird? I’m kinda sad in my heart, and I could really use a hug.”

I debated the idea in my mind. I knew what playing with fire looked like, and still, I couldn’t find in me the strength to deny her. I flipped the covers over. “Come here. I’ll provide the arms.”

The whiff of her shampoo hit my nostrils first, followed by the sweet scent of her. I kept my hand firmly attached to her shoulder, locking all my filthy thoughts in a place where I couldn’t easily access them.

The feel of Grace in my arms eased every cell in me. My heart rate decreased. My muscles relaxed. My mind went blank.

Nestled against each other, listening to Grace’s breaths, I fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

“What’s that?” Grace asked from beside me. She perused the area around us with big, wondrous eyes. We took an exit toward Mistletoe Creek, Tennessee when the fuel gauge indicated we were almost out of gas. Mistletoe Creek was on the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains. A six-hour drive toward our destination.

This morning we weighed our options and decided to head toward Feather Lake, North Carolina, where my cousin Mason and his wife Melinda lived. I had called him earlier, and after I explained the situation to him, he had offered us the apartment over the garage he owned until Grace and I could figure out our next move.

Looking for a gas station, we passed a group of people dressed like elves and a Santa with a bell standing by the front door of a little shop and asking for donations for the people in need.

Pine wreaths hung from the street light poles, and giant candy canes lined the sidewalks. Wood deer made of logs and branches stood on each corner of the intersection. Handcrafted snowmen had been propped in front of each business.