Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Tate
“Uh, can you all tell me something normal about yourselves?” Sophia asks as she leans back in the passenger seat. I offered to drive the second shift after we stopped for lunch.
Jordan chuckles from the back seat. “I can assure you that there’s nothing normal about Penn.”
I hear a slap and I laugh. “Fuck off, Quinn. I’m hella normal,” Penn protests.
Sophia stifles a laugh as Rex chimes in. “Right. Like winning three triathlons is normal.”
Sophia’s head swivels to look behind us. “You’ve won three?” she exclaims.
“I mean, yeah,” Penn replies with a shrug as he reaches into the snack bag that Sophia said we absolutely needed to take with us.
“OK, but, like, what else do you do for fun?” she asks.
Penn is quiet for a long moment, and I have to press my lips together to keep from laughing. He totally doesn’t do anything but crazy athletic stuff.
“I surf,” he offers.
“Do you do anything that doesn’t involve physical activity?” Sophia questions.
Rex snorts and I hear another slap from the back seat. I glance over to find Sophia’s cheeks turning bright pink. Fuck, she’s adorable.
“I mean…not really,” Penn admits. “Wait, no, that’s not true. I did get really into photography last summer. I started using a GoPro on my surfboard and then I also got myself a Nikon with a telephoto lens and I’ve been taking some wildlife photos when I’m out hiking.”
“Well, I guess that sort of counts,” she says. “What about you two?”
“I’m a father of three. Kids are humbling as fuck. It doesn’t get any more normal than that. Those leeches couldn’t care less if I was in a major motion picture or scraping gum off baseball stadium seats. They just want me to pay for shit,” he grumbles.
Everyone bursts out laughing.
“OK, that’s super normal,” Sophia agrees. I can see her head turn and I know she’s looking at Jordan.
“My wife and I travel a lot,” Jordan says. “I think I’d keep traveling no matter what. And not like big resorts, but little rentals or boutique hotels. Those are my favorite. I want to immerse myself in a culture when I go somewhere.”
Rex groans. “Right, mate. You’re such a wanker. Do you even hear yourself? I like to immerse myself in the culture, ” Rex teases in his best Jordan impression.
Jordan leans in between our seats. “Don’t listen to these two. They are fuckers. But Tate here, he’s the most normal one of all of us.”
“What the fuck? Is this some kind of competition now?” Penn groans.
I smirk and glance over at Sophia who is eyeing me suspiciously. She turns toward Jordan and points at me.
“You’re telling me that Mr. Hotshot Movie Star here, is normal? This guy? The one who just decided to show up at my doorstep, is normal?” she asks.
Jordan cocks his head to one side. “You know what? You’re right. He’s the least normal of all of us. Hands down. Not even a competition.”
“I hate to lose, but I have to agree with Jordan. Taint is the weirdo of this foursome,” Penn says.
“We are not a foursome,” Rex grumbles.
Sophia snickers. “You guys are giving me so much pure romance fodder to work with, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Hey, can we stretch our legs?” Penn asks.
Half of me wants to tell Penn to shut the hell up. This guy is quickly becoming that person on this road trip. He’s requested like five bathroom stops and two food breaks already. But then I look up and see a sign for a state park up ahead. After warring with the other half of my brain that could use a leg stretch, I turn off onto the exit and ten minutes later we’re parked and walking on a trail.
“We’re only walking for a mile and then back to the car,” I huff as I watch Penn scamper up along some boulders. Always having to show off, that one.
“Penn, be careful,” Sophia urges.
“It’s fine. Come on up here,” Penn urges. “It’s a great view.”
Sophia starts to climb up the rocks. I watch as she reaches but her hand catches on some water trickling down between the stones about fifteen feet up on the wall of rocks. In slow motion, she starts falling backward. They say adrenaline gives people superhuman strength, and right now, I’m thankful for that because I run at top speed and grab her as she falls. Both of us careen backward, and I pivot so she lands on top of me instead of the ground. I hit the dirt with a thud, the air whooshing from my lungs.
Sophia’s dazed face looks down at me, her eyes searching mine.
“Oh my God! Tate, are you OK?” Sophia asks, her face inches from mine, the length of her body on mine, and my arms wrapped tightly around her. Fuck, I like her here. She’s soft and warm and smells of apples and sunshine.
I give a small nod.
“Tate, buddy, say something,” Rex asks as he runs up beside us and kneels.
I feel Sophia trying to move but I instinctively tighten my arms, not wanting her to move.
“I’m fine,” I croak.
“Fuck, dude! That was intense!” Penn calls out from above us.
Sophia glares in his direction and then her face softens as she looks back down at me. “Are you sure you’re OK?”
“Yes,” I manage, giving her body a small squeeze.
We stare at each other for a long moment before I release her. Rex gets up and holds out his hand to help me up. I accept it and stand, brushing myself off while Rex and Sophia look me over. Rex locks eyes with me and I know he’s questioning why I stayed down on the ground as long as I did while holding Sophia. I look away because I don’t want to think about why I liked her in my arms. That’s not part of this plan. She’s a business colleague now, and that’s it.
“Damn, Tate. That was intense,” Jordan says from further down the trail. “You two OK?”
“We’ll survive to see another day,” Sophia answers as she brushes some leaves off her pants.
“I think we’re done hiking,” Jordan announces when he reaches us.
“Oh, come on,” Penn calls out still standing on top of the boulder. “Shake it off. You two can do this.”
I glare at Penn. “This isn’t a competition. Get your ass down here. We need to get to the hotel, and we still have a few hours to drive.”
I turn and start back down the trail with the rest of the crew in tow. My head is swimming with thoughts, like why did I not want to let go of Sophia? I internally curse myself. I need to stop thinking about her in that way. She clearly isn’t interested in me like that and now we’re all on this journey so I can win back Lacey. I need to keep myself focused on the end goal. I want a family with Lacey. I’ve wanted a family with Lacey.
“I’ll drive again,” Sophia offers as we reach the car.
“I got it. It’s still my shift,” I state as I climb into the SUV. Everyone piles inside and silence descends upon us as I pull back onto the interstate. The sun is getting lower in the sky and Sophia stares out the window next to me. I’m deep in thought when she reaches over and turns on her playlist.
It’s an older song, and as the soulful melody fills the car, Sophia’s voice accompanies it. Fuck, her voice is beautiful. No one says a word as we listen to her. She’s like the Pied Piper and we’re just a bunch of lemmings.
When she finishes, she reaches into a bag next to her and pulls out a box of dried fruit. “Anyone hungry?” she asks as she holds it out toward Jordan.
“Damn, M. You can sing,” Penn breaks the silence.
Sophia shrugs and grabs a dried apricot. “I guess so.”
“You guess so? Could have fooled me because the woman I just heard isn’t questioning her talent,” Jordan states. I look in the rearview mirror and watch him raise an eyebrow. I grin. I don’t know why I’m so proud of Sophia, but I am. She’s managed to win over all three of my friends within one day.
“Whatever. I got beef jerky in here, too,” she says as she holds out a bag.
I grab some and suddenly the awkwardness from earlier melts away as Rex yells for her to pass the meat, followed by Penn making a lewd comment, and Sophia chucking jerky at both of them while giggling. Fuck, she can’t help but mother us. But there’s so much more to her than I ever guessed possible. I should have known that I’d like the woman who wrote my now favorite book. She’s witty, kind, and funny, like really funny. Plus, she’s a great mom. I wish I had had a mother like her. I clear my throat as I try not to think back to the time I lived with my mom. Nope, don’t go there, Tate.
“Stop at the next exit. We need dinner,” Penn requests.
“It’s only one more hour to the city where we booked a hotel. Can’t we wait?” I ask as I glance at the time.
“I could sort of use some food,” Rex adds.
I look over at Sophia who shrugs. “Food isn’t a bad idea. I mean…it’s a road trip. We should have some fun,” she offers.
“Fuck it,” I mutter as I turn off at the next exit. I pull over at a diner and we all pile out.
“Uh, this place looks interesting,” Jordan says in a low voice. The parking lot is filled with semitrucks and everyone inside is either wearing flannel or denim. We all look at one another and burst out laughing.
“So much for being inconspicuous,” Sophia laughs as she looks at our outfits. We aren’t exactly dressed to the nines, but we certainly don’t look like the other clientele.
“Do you think anyone will recognize us?” I ask, lowering my ball cap.
Sophia holds out her hand and I take it in mine. She uses her other hand to ruffle Penn’s hair.
“We’re a family of traveling singers. Tate, you’re the lead singer. Penn, you’re the drummer. Jordan, you play guitar. And, Rex, you are the pianist. And we all have to pick new names,” Sophia says as she leans conspiratorially toward all of us.
Rex grins. “What about you?”
Sophia gives him a wink. “I’m the bassist, obviously.”
Jordan bursts out laughing. “I’m down. Does our group have a name?”
“The D List,” Sophia announces and all four of us chuckle.
“Come on, boys, let’s go get dinner,” she adds as she pulls my hand, leading me into the diner. I watch her joking with my friends and making small talk with the waitress who is easily twice her age. She offers the truckers at the next table our salt shaker, and in five minutes flat, she’s made new friends. It’s a silly little thing, playing pretend at a little diner off the highway, but it’s the most alive I’ve felt in months. She’s made me laugh more in two days than I have in two years.
Our eyes lock as she takes water from the waitress. Neither one of us says a word, but we stay that way, gazing at one another for a few seconds before Penn interrupts us with a funny story. When I glance back at her, she’s still watching me. And it takes way too much effort to look away. Sophia Walsh is the real deal.