Chapter 6
Josie
A year later
"Turn Left toward St. Mary's Avenue. Turn right onto I-Ninety, Main Street."
My GPS was starting to talk in circles because I got off the route.
It was louder than necessary, and I reached out to turn it off using the knob for the stereo.
It was only doing its job, telling me how to stay on track.
But I had to make a stop. I needed to ignore it and turn into this parking lot.
"Okay, this is a nice store," I said to Luna. "It's clean and open, and you can go potty in here."
"I gotta go baaad," she said, kicking her little feet.
"I know. We're here. Hold it for one more second."
"I want to go home."
"One more hour and we get to stop driving for the whole day."
I expected to be in Missoula by now, so I was exhausted.
The trip should have taken us thirteen hours, but there was traffic and we had been on the road for fourteen hours already.
We still had over an hour to go. It was after eight o'clock in the evening, and the sun was setting.
I had been on the road since before dawn, and I was feeling it.
I walked inside the small grocery store holding Luna's hand. She was tired of being on the road, and she was dreading Montana in general, so she leaned into me. I could feel wisps of her curly hair touching the back of my hand as we walked.
There was a nice guy working, and he saw that we were in a hurry and told me where the restrooms were located.
Two of them were in the hallway, and they were each private and unisex.
I told Luna I would wait for her in the hallway.
She had just turned five, and we were still working on her restroom hygiene skills, so I stood close to the door listening for her cue so I could go in and help her when she finished.
It was a routine we did all the time. I stood with my back against the door, listening for her little voice.
"I thought that was you," I heard the statement being said by a male voice. It was a small town in the middle of nowhere, Montana, so I knew he wasn't talking to me, but I turned and glanced his direction, anyway.
He smiled.
I knew him.
I scanned his polished appearance, and my eyes fell onto his face, his mouth. I saw his smile—his teeth and his lips, and I knew exactly who he was. My stomach flipped.
"Oh, hey," I said, looking as surprised as I felt. It was Alex from California. I remembered meeting him like it was yesterday, but I instantly went into 'play it cool' mode.
"What are you doing in the middle of nowhere?" he asked, looking me over.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," I said.
"We're making the series!"
"Oh, that's great."
"Jojo?" Luna yelled my name through the door.
I leaned toward the door. "Are you ready?" I asked her.
"Noo!"
"Why are you calling me?" I asked.
"Cause, who were you talking to?" she asked.
"My friend, just finish, and yell when you're done, okay?"
"Okay," she said.
I glanced at Alex, who was devastatingly handsome. He looked different than he did last year. His hair was longer and lighter. He was a tall, tan Los Angeles boy, and I might not have recognized him if he hadn't spoken to me first. Oh, who was I kidding? I knew this guy at first glance.
"Lu and I, we're heading back to Missoula," I said.
"I went to the restaurant and asked about you. They said your sister was working."
"Yeah, she's been back for a while," I said.
"They said you moved back to Denver."
"Did you talk to my sister?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, it was that other girl."
"So, what happened with your series?" I asked. "You're making it?"
"Yes, that's why we're here," he said. "Henry's ranch is like fifteen miles from here. That's where we're filming most of it. This town is the closest form of civilization, and it's the best store they have here, so we come here all the time."
"So, wow, I guess you made a way for it to happen. Congratulations."
"Thank you. It all worked out even better. The Sutters built a new multipurpose building for us on their ranch. How long are you going to be in Missoula? Would you like to come out and see the set? I would love it if you did."
"Done!"
I heard my niece yell through the door. We both heard her. It was impossible not to. I smiled and made a face at Alex, figuring there was no use trying to be cool.
"I'm only staying for a few days, but thank you for the offer," I said. I had my hand on the doorknob and I smiled regretfully at him. "It was great seeing you," I continued.
"Yeah, I'll wait until you're finished," he said, nodding a little as he retreated toward the store, giving me space.
"Jojo, it's a big one!" Luna announced proudly right when I opened the door.
"Okay, good," I said quietly to her, cringing.
"Who was you talking to?"
"I saw my friend here."
"Your friend works at this store?"
"He was shopping," I said.
I helped her with her clothes, and we turned to wash our hands.
"What's your friend's name?" she asked.
"Alex."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Boy."
"The boy who told us this was the potty?"
"No. It's someone I met in a different city, at your mom's restaurant when I was working there."
We washed and dried our hands, and then I glanced in the mirror.
It was almost as bad as I suspected. At least I had on a baseball cap to hide my hair.
My face had its fair share of trouble, too.
The towel was clean. I had just used it to dry my hands.
Before I threw it away, I wiped my face with it.
I adjusted my hat and my hair, though it was sort of no use.
I had not touched makeup to my face in a few days.
I took a deep breath and headed back into the store, not knowing if Alex would still be in there or not.
He was there. The hallway with the restroom was near an aisle with soaps and detergents. It was a cute little local store, and this guy seemed even larger and more intimidating in a place like this. He turned when he saw us walk that way.
He knelt to speak to my niece. "Is your name Luna?" he asked, stooping down.
She glanced at me, and I nodded at her. She nodded, staring down shyly.
"My name's Alex," he said. He extended his hand, palm up, holding it in her direction.
I watched to see what would happen, and he patiently waited there while Luna reluctantly put her hand in his. Alex gave it a little shake, and I saw her smile when they finished, like she was proud of herself.
"So, you two are heading to Missoula?"
"Yes, Lu's been staying with me in Colorado, but her momma's doing good, so we're going back to live over there. Lu's got a whole bedroom decorated with a princess bed and everything. Audrey's excited about having her back."
My niece curled into my leg when I mentioned my sister. She didn't want to go back to Montana and live with her mom.
"And I'm staying in the spare bedroom, too," I added.
"We're not filming that far from Missoula," Alex said. "The ranch is actually in that direction when you leave here."
"Hey, Alex, how big is the oven in your trailer? Will it hold the regular cake pan size, or does it need this square one? I wanted to bake some brownies while we're going over footage of—oh, hi. Sorry. I didn't realize you were talking to someone."
The woman had walked up behind Alex and didn't see us until he moved.
She looked us over, but our presence didn't seem to faze her much, and she looked at Alex again for his answer.
She was a beautiful young woman, and my hopes seemed shattered.
I laughed at myself for feeling like that because five minutes ago, this guy was the farthest thing from my mind.
Okay, so maybe I had thought of him, and maybe it was as recently as today, but that was only because I had a long stretch of road in front of me and I was headed to the place where I had met him the first time. Anyway, it would be understandable that he had crossed my mind today.
He was there with a woman, so it didn't matter.
"That oven in your trailer…" she pressed. "Is it big enough for this?" She held up the cake pan, and he shook his head.
"I don't think so," he said. "But you can just use the big one in the kitchen."
"It's okay. I'll get the smaller one," she agreed, turning around.
I had already started to turn and walk off by the time they finished talking.
"Hey, Josie, wait, let me give you my number. I'd love to see you while you're here."
I couldn't. He had a woman on the next aisle talking about what type of pan she should use to make brownies. And to be honest, I had someone back in Denver who would be disappointed if I gave my number to someone else.
"I don't guess we should, with you making brownies and stuff. It was good seeing you, though!"
I knew it was an awkward thing for me to say, but it had already come out of my mouth. There was nothing I could do but smile and wave as I turned to walk away.
"Josie, hang on for a second," Alex said at my back. "Hang on, I'm not making brownies. That's my, Cameron's one of my best friends. We work together. I told you about her already." He had reached into his pocket, and I watched as he took a business card out of what looked to be a money clip.
"Look, my number's on here," he said, looking at me with a sincere expression. "Just call me, please. Bye, Luna," he added, waving at my niece. She waved.
"Bye, Alex," I said.
"Hey, Josie. I'll hear from you soon, okay, please?"
He smiled and said the phrase so sweetly and casually that I nodded and answered with, "Okay," before I really even thought about what I was saying.
I headed away from him, nervously mumbling something to Luna about how she didn't have to ride in the car too much longer.
I walked hand in hand with Luna out of the store and to my car. I had been thinking about buying something to drink while we were there, but I didn't. I saw the brownie-baking woman on my way out, but she wasn't looking at me when I glanced at her. I was ready to get out of there.
I made sure Luna was strapped in her seat, and we got back on the road. I still had more than enough gas to make it to my sister's, so I had no more stops to make.