Travis
T ravis turned into his shop and for the second time that day, he had a strange feeling that someone was following them. “Emily, I need you to trust me and stay in the truck.” He could see the fear in Em’s eyes as she searched in the same direction that he had been looking. “I think that we are being followed. There is a white truck that I’ve seen twice now since we left the farm.” Emily turned in her seat to get a better look and worried that she was going to give away their element of surprise. He undid her seatbelt and pulled her in for a kiss giving the impression to anyone watching that they were just two lovers stealing a minute together.
“Wow, having a stalker makes you frisky,” Em laughed, breathless from the kiss. “Is the truck still there?” tilted his head and peeked out the back window to find that the white truck was still sitting in the abandoned lot across the road from his shop.
“Yep, I’m going to call this into Jack’s Captain.” pulled out his cell and dialed the number that Jack had programmed into his phone days before he left.
“Yeah,” Jackson’s boss growled into the phone.
“This is Sharp, and I think that Emily Jude and I are in danger.” glanced out of his rearview mirror to see that the truck was still sitting across the street, but the driver had disappeared. “Fuck, he’s gone,” barked. Emily gasped and turned in her seat. There was no way that he was going to sit there and give whoever was watching them a shot at getting to Emily. He needed to get her out of there and find a safe place to hold up until he could figure out their next move. He was sure that if the person had been following them for a while they would also know where Em and he lived as well as where she worked.
“Sharp, you still there?” The voice on the other end of the line sounded panicking and worried that it was with good cause.
“Yeah, I’m here.” looked around the area and saw nothing out of place but that didn’t help with the gnawing feeling that they were still being watched.
“Listen Sharp, you and Miss Jude need to find a safe place for the next twenty-four hours. Can you do that?” agreed. “Great. Text me your location when you find a safe place and I’ll forward it to Saint. He’s on his way back to town.” wished that he hadn’t put the call on speaker. Emily’s gasp told him that she was just as shaken at the news of Jackson’s return as he was.
“What the fuck do you mean? Jackson’s coming back? Where the hell has he been?” A million questions ran through his mind, the one screaming the loudest was “Why”.
“I’m sure he’ll explain everything when he gets back, for now, I need for the two of you to drive as far as you can and find a little hotel to stay at for the night. Don’t stop unless you have to and don’t go back to your house, they’re likely waiting for you.” agreed and ended the call. He pulled out into traffic and took the only road that headed out of town, checking often to make sure they weren’t being followed. They rode in silence for what felt like an eternity. He didn’t want to push Emily to talk about Jackson if she wasn’t ready. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to talk about him either but sooner or later they were going to have to come to some understanding about what they both wanted, should Jack truly return to them.
After what felt like an eternity Emily cleared her throat, and he knew that his silent reprieve was over. “So, Jackson’s coming back?” Emily’s whisper nearly broke him. He tried to be strong for her but the thought of seeing Jack again made him hope for something that he had been afraid to hope for over the past two months. He wanted Jack to be a part of their lives again and he wondered if Emily wished for the same thing.
“I guess so. Where the hell has he been?” wasn’t asking Emily. She had no more idea of Jack’s whereabouts than he had.
Emily shrugged, “I don’t know,” she whispered. “Do you think he’ll want to see us?” thought that maybe he heard a bit of hope in her voice, and he smiled over at her.
“I don’t know baby but at least we’ll have a chance to fight for him now. Jack took that with him when he left us without a word.” wasn’t sure how either of them would survive Jackson’s rejection again, but they were strong enough to make it through the last time and they would make it through again, together.
They drove north for about five hours before ’s eyelids felt so heavy that he knew he had to find a place to stop for the night. Emily slept fitfully in the passenger seat, and he wished he could hold her and soothe away all her demons.
He found a hotel and woke her, “Em, we’re here, baby.”
She woke and stretched, “Were we followed, ?” She yawned and looked around as if searching for the white truck that had trailed them earlier.
“I don’t think so, honey,” he whispered. “I found us a hotel for the night, we’re about five hours north of home.”
Emily gasped, “How will Jackson find us if we are so far from home?” Her panic gave way to crying and he didn’t know which was worse.
“I’ll text his Captain where we are and I guess he’ll get word to Jack,” shrugged.
“Do you want for him to find us, ?” The way that she looked at him was almost accusatory.
“What kind of fucking question is that Em?” He waited her out, hoping to give himself time to calm down. They were both walking on eggshells, trying to navigate their way through the mess that Jackson had left for them to clean up. Sure, he was mad that Jack so easily left them but that didn’t mean that he didn’t miss him every fucking day. When Emily didn’t speak he gave up waiting, knowing that she was holding out for him to say more.
“Listen Em, I’m pissed that Jack left. But I want him with every fiber of my being. He’s a part of us and I’m hoping that if he comes back he will be in this for the long haul. Otherwise, I don’t see how we can move forward as the three of us.” Emily nodded as if carefully considering his words.
“I’m angry at Jack too, . What happens to you and me if he doesn’t want us back? Can we move forward if Jackson chooses to walk away again? I can’t lose you both,” she whispered. Her voice cracked with emotion, nearly tearing his heart in two.
“Oh baby, you will never lose me, don’t you know that? Every day since Jack left I have tried to show you how much I love you. I guess I’m doing a shitty job of it if you think I could so easily give you up. That will never happen. I want a future with you and if Jack wants to be a part of that future, I say we let him in. If not, you and I will try to find a way forward.” Emily nodded again and pulled her hand up to his mouth to gently kiss her knuckles.
“I need you Em, it’s just that simple. In just a few short months you have become my whole world. I won’t lose you, I can’t.” Emily leaned across the center console and kissed his mouth.
“Thank you for that, . I don’t know what I would have done these past couple of months without you. I love you so much, but I love Jackson too. I feel like you each hold half of my heart and I’m afraid that without him, my heart will never be whole again.” Emily wiped her tears from her face and smiled at him. “I can’t lose you, , it would break me.”
thumbed away the last of her tears, “Well, we will just have to make Jack listen to reason even if we have to tie him to the bed until he concedes.” Emily laughed at ’s suggestion of how to subdue Jackson. The idea of seeing Jack again made him feel giddy and that was dangerous. He didn’t want to get his or Em’s hopes up worried about what would happen if Jack chose to leave and this time, never return. If they were going to remind Jack just how good they were together they were going to have to come up with one damn good plan.