11. Summer
Summer
My eyes were heavy, but I’d never been able to sleep much in a car. I leaned my head back against the seat and watched the dark landscape pass, wondering when Reese was going to stop for the night.
He seemed unaffected by the long hours on the road. Whenever I glanced at him, his eyes were open, his posture alert but relaxed. I’d offered to drive several times, but he’d assured me he was fine.
Nate had passed out in the back hours ago. I envied his ability to sleep just about anywhere.
The train seemed to have successfully thwarted Axel’s attempt to follow us. We hadn’t seen any sign of him since. Hopefully that meant he had no idea we’d left town, and we’d be long gone by the time he realized he’d lost us.
Was there any chance he wouldn’t follow eventually? I doubted it, but it was a nice idea to hold on to.
Reese’s deep voice broke the silence. “There’s a motel not far ahead.”
“Good.” I shifted in my seat, but comfort was long gone. “I could use a few hours of sleep.”
“We’re making good time. Even with the bathroom stops.”
I glanced back at Nate. “He’s almost the size of an adult, but he still has the bladder of a little kid.”
Reese cracked a smile. “He’s fine. If you gotta go, you gotta go.”
“I’m just glad he’s sleeping. Otherwise he’d be a grumpasaurus tomorrow.”
“And it’s going to be a long day.”
“Do you think we’ll get all the way to Tilikum?”
“If we get on the road early.”
We lapsed into silence again, and I leaned closer to the window to gaze at the stars. Away from civilization, the sky was thick with twinkling spots of light.
“Is Tilikum where you grew up?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Do you still have family there?”
He nodded slowly. “Pretty much all of them.”
“What are they like?”
Readjusting his grip on the steering wheel, he paused before answering. “I come from a big family. Blended. My parents already had three boys each when they got married. Then they had my sister together.”
My mouth dropped open. “There are seven kids in your family?”
He nodded again.
“I can’t even imagine. I don’t have any siblings. Or if I do, I don’t know about them.”
“It was loud.”
“I bet. Did you get along?”
“More or less. We fought sometimes, but I think when there’s a lot of kids in the house, you have to learn to get over yourself and get along.”
“So your parents already had kids when they got married,” I said. “Which side did you come from?”
“My mom. I’m her oldest.”
“And then you have two younger brothers from your mom, plus three stepbrothers?”
“Yeah, but my dad adopted us. Regardless of biology, we’re all Havens.”
“I love that. He must be a great guy.”
His jaw hitched and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Yeah.”
“So then your sister is the youngest. Sorry if I’m asking too many questions. I just want to make sure I have it all straight.”
“It’s fine. Annika is the youngest.”
“Are any of them married?”
“Most of them are. My brother Theo is the last one, but his wedding is this summer.”
“Does that mean you have nieces and nephews?”
Another nod. “Bunch of them.”
“Am I going to get to meet everyone?”
“I’m sure my mom will insist on it.”
I turned to the window again. Tilikum was sounding increasingly idyllic. A small town in the mountains, 1,500 miles from Mayhem, with a big family waiting for us.
“Do they know we’re coming?”
Reese hesitated before answering. “No. I haven’t decided what to do about that.”
“Yeah, they’re probably going to wonder why you’re bringing a random single mom and her son with barely a weekend’s worth of clothes.”
“It’s not so much that. I just haven’t seen everybody in a while. And by a while, I mean almost twenty years.”
My pleasant small-town fantasy cracked like a broken mirror. “Why?”
He didn’t reply right away. Just stared straight ahead, his jaw tight.
“It’s a long story,” he said finally. “But you don’t need to worry about it. They’ll still help you and Nate.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble for you.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Honey, you have a trio of bikers after you, including an ex who will probably kidnap your son if given the chance. How are you not trouble?”
I smiled. “You’re the one who insisted on helping me. You only have yourself to blame.”
“Isn’t that the truth.”
Lights shone up ahead. In the vast expanse of desert and empty highway, there was a cluster of buildings. As we got closer, I could make out a gas station, what were probably a couple of restaurants—or maybe a restaurant and a tavern—and a motel.
Reese pulled into the motel and parked outside the office. It was one story with outside entrances to the rooms. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but not many. And no bikes of any kind.
That was a relief. There was no way Axel could have gotten there ahead of us, even if he knew what direction we’d gone. But I still couldn’t shake the worry that he was going to show up somewhere along the way.
Reese went in to get us a room while I waited with a still-sleeping Nate. A few minutes later, he came out and moved the SUV in front of room number six.
He grabbed our bags while I tried to wake Nate, but he was out cold. I unfastened his seat belt and shook him a few times, but he just muttered something incoherent without opening his eyes. Finally, Reese told me he’d carry him inside.
My big-for-his-age son looked like a baby in Reese’s arms. He took him into the room, and I pulled the covers back on one of the beds. Reese lay him down, and I tucked him in. He hardly made a sound.
Exhaustion hit me. Reese insisted I take the first turn in the bathroom, and it took the last of my energy to get ready for bed. Fighting to keep my eyes open, I came out and collapsed onto the bed with Nate. I heard the sound of the bathroom door closing behind Reese as I sank into sleep.
It was hard to tell what woke me, but when I blinked my eyes open, a thin ray of sunlight peeked through a gap in the heavy curtains, illuminating our motel room. It felt early. My body wanted more sleep, but we needed to get on the road. I wanted as much distance between us and Axel as possible.
And even though it sounded like there was tension between Reese and his family, the allure of Tilikum was strong.
Reese lay on his back and glanced at me, as if merely opening my eyes had been enough to get his attention. It didn’t surprise me that he was already awake. I had a feeling his vigilance made him a light sleeper.
I rubbed my eyes and checked the time. Not yet six.
“Do you mind if I take a quick shower?” I asked, keeping my voice low so I didn’t wake Nate.
“Go ahead.”
I slipped out of bed and grabbed my toiletries and a change of clothes. Reese didn’t move—just lay still with his eyes on the ceiling. He was so big, he took up most of the bed, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to share it with him. To curl up next to that thick, strong body.
Pushing that image out of my mind—I needed to stop thinking like that—I went into the bathroom.
One corner of the mirror was cracked and the fixtures looked old and worn. But it seemed clean, and that was the most important thing.
I undressed and took a shower. It felt good to wash off the previous day on the road. I wouldn’t bother putting on makeup or blow-drying my hair. Air-drying would mean some frizz, but that was what ponytails were for.
Besides, who did I have to impress?
As nice as it would have been to linger under the spray of hot water, I turned it off, grabbed a towel, and dried off.
Wrapping the towel around myself, I stepped out of the bathtub and ran a comb through my wet hair.
When I set the comb on the small counter next to the sink, I caught movement from the corner of my eye.
I turned to look, but I didn’t see anything. Maybe I’d imagined it.
But the thought of what it could be made my shoulders tighten.
Hesitating, I waited, my eyes on the floor. Still nothing.
Until a reddish-brown cockroach scurried out from behind the toilet. It startled me so much, I screamed.
Hardly a second later, Reese pushed the door open. He was probably about to ask me what was wrong, but the bathroom was so small, I had to back up toward the tub to get out of the way. Between the wet floor and trying to avoid the cockroach—which had disappeared—I completely lost my balance.
Right as I was about to fall backward into the tub, Reese caught me with an arm around my waist. He pulled me tight against him, but the towel slipped out of my grip, falling to the floor at my feet.
“Mom?”
My eyes widened, and Reese’s body stiffened. I was stark naked, pressed against Reese, with his arm around me.
“Are you—”
I couldn’t see past Reese, but by the way Nate’s words cut off, he was in the doorway.
“I’m fine,” I said. “A bug startled me.”
“I’ll get it,” Reese said without moving.
Thankfully, Reese’s size probably meant Nate couldn’t tell I’d dropped my towel. But still. The mortification was real.
“Will you be done soon?” Nate asked. “I need to go.”
Just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, Reese’s thumb moved across my bare back. The slight movement, so like a caress, sent a rush of heat through my veins that burst between my legs.
It’s one thing to feel a jolt of physical attraction when you’re alone with a man. Quite another when you’re inadvertently naked and your ten-year-old son is watching.
The pitch of my voice rose. “Just give us a second. Gotta get the bug.”
“Okay.”
I heard his footsteps as he walked away.
My cheeks blazed with heat as Reese dropped his arm and stepped back. I risked a quick look at his face as I bent to retrieve the towel. He’d closed his eyes.
He really was a gentleman.
Not that I’d expected him to gawk at me, especially with my son just feet away. But still.
I rewrapped the towel around myself and held it tight against my chest. “I’m good.”
Reese exhaled before opening his eyes. “A bug?”
“It was huge.” I looked around the floor but didn’t see it. “A cockroach. I don’t know where it went.”
“Probably through a crack in the wall.”
I shuddered. “So gross.”
“Get dressed and we’ll get out of here.” He paused, and I noticed he kept his eyes averted. “And um, sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. Sorry for screaming. I didn’t mean to.”
Without a nod, he turned and left, shutting the door behind him.
I wanted out of that bathroom as soon as possible, so I threw on my clothes and hurried out.
While Nate and Reese took their turns, I finished combing my wet hair and tied it back in a low ponytail. I stuffed the few things I’d taken out of my bag back in and made sure we weren’t leaving anything behind.
We loaded our things back into the SUV, and Reese returned the room key to the office. The sun was still low on the horizon when we set out again, heading north.
And I couldn’t help but notice that Reese was looking at anything other than me.