Chapter 27
Addison
We’re going to advertise Dakota Flight Outfitters alongside the hundreds of other outfitters all across the country.
Hopefully, we’ll get some hunts booked, meet people, and gain new clients.
I’m sure by the end of the week I’ll be so done with hearing and talking about hunting, but the good news is that I don’t have to stay at our booth.
I can walk around or stay at the hotel. The perks of not being a guide, right?
“Can you sit in the back to start?” Jesse asks me.
“No, definitely not,” I argue, crossing my arms.
“Someone can ride with me and Dad,” Mom hollers on her way to the truck with a suitcase.
Dad’s voice cuts through. “Maureen, did you grab that black tote?” He comes out from the enclosed trailer. “Why are you carrying that?” he asks her.
“It’s not heavy,” she explains, but he takes it from her anyway.
They’re hauling an eighteen-foot trailer behind his truck and Cody’s driving his truck out with another trailer.
I plan on staying in Cody’s truck with him and Jesse.
Nothing against Mom or Dad, but I still live with them…
I need a break. Dad drives faster than Mom likes, and then she gets upset with him, which turns into a minor fight, and then I’m stuck in the middle. No thanks.
“I am not third wheeling that bus,” Jesse says, tossing his bag in the back of the truck.
“Neither am I. That’s why I’m driving my truck.” Cody slips into the driver’s seat and cranks it over. The engine sputters a second before it roars, and the smell of diesel swirls in the air around me.
“You’re not driving the whole time, Cody,” Jesse tells him, but Cody doesn’t seem to want to hear that.
“Most of it,” he retorts.
“Perfect. So, then, you’ll get the front when you drive,” I tell Jesse, stealing the passenger seat.
He sighs but it’s playful; I know he doesn’t really care.
“I’m gonna go say bye to Ella and then I’m good to go,” he says.
“Wait…” Cody jumps out of the truck to hand him something. “Here. Keys to my place, in case she needs anything.”
“Good idea.” Jesse tucks them in his palm.
Cody gets back in the truck, and I buckle my seat belt. Dad comes up and stands at Cody’s window until he rolls it down.
“How close you wanna follow?” Dad asks.
“Whatever you want. I’ll have it on the GPS and we can stop whenever you guys stop.” He shrugs.
“Well, I’m just thinking, you’re gonna be able to cruise a little faster than us.”
“That’s fine, I’m good,” Cody assures him.
Dad looks to me. “You good, Addie? Got your water and snacks?”
“Ha, yeah. I took a Dramamine already.”
“Good,” he says before walking back to his truck. Jesse slides in the backseat, the cold air whirling around me again from the open door.
“Alright, we’re good,” he says.
“Sure she doesn’t wanna go?” Cody looks to Jesse in the rearview mirror.
“Nah. You kidding? Cora doesn’t even like the twenty-five-minute drive into Bellamy.” He laughs. He’s right…a two-day road trip with her would be a nightmare.
Cody puts his truck in drive and starts down the lane, following Dad.
“I think we should make a bet.” I look to Cody.
“Who? Me and you?”
I nod. “Yeah. How many days until Jesse gets grumpy and starts going through Ella-and-Cora withdrawals.”
“Oh. Not even days…hours,” Cody teases. I look behind me to see Jesse shaking his head.
“Laugh all you want; you guys will understand one day.”
“I’m kidding,” I assure him.
He hums but is a good sport about it.
When we get to the end of the lane, my heart sputters a second. Wesley is waiting in his truck. We said goodbye last night and I wasn’t expecting to see him again until I got back.
“Stop a minute,” I tell Cody. He barely gets it in park before I’m hopping out the door. He and Jesse exchange some smart comment, but I don’t give it the time of day.
Wesley steps out of his truck, shooting me a grin. I walk around the front of his truck and his hands immediately encircle my waist as he pulls me against him, so we’re hidden from the view of my waiting family.
“Hello there,” I say flirtatiously.
“More like goodbye,” he jokes. “I’m gonna miss you.”
I tilt my head. “Me too.” I rise on my tiptoes to give him one last big kiss.
* * *
It took about two hours, but we got our vendor spot all set up.
We lucked out with a corner space, which gives us two high-traffic walkways to draw people in.
Our tables are arranged in an L-shape—Dad is stationed at one end, standing behind the high-top table, while Jesse holds down the other side at the straight table.
Cody’s bouncing back and forth, and he comes across a little intimidating to approach, which is why Jesse takes the lead when it comes to talking to people.
Thankfully, I don’t have to do a ton of talking and I can sit in front of our backdrop with Mom.
We have duck and goose mounts set around, along with some framed pictures and a photo album of hunts through the years.
As lunchtime approaches, I’m already feeling run down, and it’s only the first half of the first day. The two days of driving, then unloading and setup, really took it out of me, I guess.
I take a walk to stretch my legs and get something to eat, checking out everyone else’s displays on my way.
There are a lot of attractive men here too.
Obviously, I’m not trying to look—Wesley doesn’t deserve that—but it’s hard, I’ll admit.
Not to mention, there are a lot of wandering eyes on me as well.
There ain’t many women here, I’ll tell you that much.
When I get back to the table, there’s one guy talking to Dad. Jesse and Cody are just yapping on the other side of the booth. I don’t see Mom.
I set my food down at Jesse’s table and start eating. I got a hot dog, fries, and some pastry thing that looked good.
“Where’d you get that?” Cody asks.
“The white food stand next to the seafood one,” I tell him through a mouthful of fries.
Without another word, he’s off and headed that way.
“You talk to Ella?” I ask Jesse.
“Little bit. I can’t tell if she’s struggling or not.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s hard if you’re not there.”
“I know, I just wish someone could help in place of me.”
“Mason’s there,” I joke.
“Yeah, right. Although, she did say he stopped in yesterday before he went into work. Gave her a chance to shower and stuff, if she wanted to.”
“Aw, good! Maybe they’re bonding.”
“She said she asked him about his dating life.” He runs a hand down his face.
“So…short visit,” I joke.
Jesse laughs. “That was slick.” He holds out his fist for me to fist-bump.
“We should keep our eye out for him. I saw some blondes already,” I suggest.
“Not ones for Mason.”
“What’s that mean?”
“He doesn’t want a model.”
“They’re not models, Jesse. They were normal looking.”
“Well, not the ones who passed by here a few minutes ago.”
“You’re judgmental,” I mutter
“What? I am not.”
“You are.”
“I just don’t understand why women feel the need to be fake. The hair, the lashes, the boobs…just be who God made you.”
“Well…I don’t know. I’m not disagreeing, but you shouldn’t judge them for it.”
“I’m not judging, I just…don’t they have someone in their lives who could tell them they don’t need that crap. It’s sad really, when you think about it.”
“Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to compete with fake sometimes.”
“Who says you’re competing?” He pulls his head back, his eyebrows knit together.
“Oh, no one,” I assure him.
“You and Wesley are good, right? Because if I know him as well as I think, that kid would quite literally punch himself in the face if he knew you felt like you were competing with other girls.”
I practically snort. He’s not wrong.
Cody comes back with more food than he can reasonably eat. Doesn’t surprise me.
* * *
There’s this guy I’ve seen hanging around for a while now. He came over and talked to Dad for a minute or two, then the booth beside ours, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy who accidentally ran into me when I went to get another drink.
“This guy…” Cody huffs, pushing his stool back from the table and yanking his ID badge from around his neck. “This guy needs to get educated.”
I hadn’t thought Cody even noticed that the guy had been circling our area, staring at me. He’d sort of followed me towards the bathroom earlier, and he got a little closer each time. I’m not scared—there are way too many people around for him to try anything—but still, it’s unsettling.
“Cody,” I warn, my voice firm. But he doesn’t even glance my way.
I look over at Mom and Dad, but they’re deep in conversation with someone. Jesse’s on the phone—probably with Ella—not paying attention. So I follow Cody.
“You touch her, I’ll break your neck,” Cody growls, standing firm, feet planted in the floor, shoulders squared. The guy’s barely a foot away from his face. His threat quickens my heart rate.
I whip around, and thankfully, Jesse sees me. He ends his call and rushes over.
“Hey. What’s going on?” Jesse stands beside them.
Déjà vu hits, and I’m remembering a day in second grade at one of Cody’s football games.
He got into a fight on the sidelines during the game.
Jesse was a senior then, and over that fence in a blink, breaking it up before anyone else even reacted.
He’s always seen things coming before the rest of us. Like he knew how Cody’s brain worked.
“This guy’s been circling,” Cody says, eyes locked on the stranger. “Getting closer each time.”
The guy scoffs, letting out a dismissive laugh. “I haven’t. I’ve just been looking for the bathroom.”
Cody’s arm shoots up, finger pointing the opposite direction. “That way!” he shouts, loud enough to turn heads.
Jesse steps in, voice calm but steady. “Alright. Let’s not do this here,” he says, placing a hand on Cody’s chest. “Come on.”
Cody doesn’t relax, not entirely, but he turns back around. His glare lingers when he watches the guy scurry away and disappear through the crowd.
“You can’t do that,” Jesse tells him.
“You’re gonna get us kicked out,” I add.
“I wasn’t really going to hit him,” Cody says, his breath evening out and his body loosening up.
“Yes, you were,” Jesse and I say in unison.
Cody grins but his expression turns serious again. “He followed her.”
“I was aware. But I knew nothing would happen,” I say.
“You don’t know that,” Cody says and sits back down at the table.
* * *
Later that night, I go back to the hotel room early and get a shower. Wesley and I sit on FaceTime while I decompress from the day and savor the room service I ordered.
“Cody almost decked someone today on my behalf,” I say with a laugh.
Wesley raises a brow. “Oh?”
“This guy was sorta following me around, staring at me. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Sounds like Cody disagreed.”
“Well, Cody’s…Cody.”
I lean back against the headboard and change the subject. Wesley talks about how his week has been going so far, what he’s been busy doing. I’m trying to listen and seem interested, but my social battery is dead.
“Addie?”
“What?”
“What do you think?”
“About what?” I say, and he laughs. I rub my forehead and eyes. “Sorry, I’m tired.”
“I know. We don’t have to talk if you don’t want.”
“I want to, but I really should catch up on sleep.”
“You should. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
“Yeah. Okay, I love you.” I smirk.
“Love you, be careful. Don’t let anyone sweep you off your feet or anything.”
I cock my head. “You think I’d let that happen?”
“Course not.”
“Good. Because what we have, baby…unbeatable.” I smile playfully and watch him blush.