18. Mags
18
MAGS
“Where are we headin’ to, anyway? You never did tell me where your meetin’s were?”
Red tilts his head and frowns. “Didn’t I?”
“Nope.” I eye him curiously. He sure is acting strange today.
“Well–” Red’s phone lights up in its dashboard cradle with Wyatt’s name flashing on the screen.
Red grins and quickly moves to connect the call and put it on speaker.
“Hey, kid. Mags is here too.”
“Hey, Dad,” he says, loud static filling the inside of the truck. “Hey, Mags.”
“Hi Wy, good to hear your voice,” I reply.
“I just thought I’d call y’all before we leave port.”
Red’s brows furrow. “You leavin’ soon?”
“Yeah, in a few hours. We’re tryin’ to get ahead of a bad weather front that’s comin’ in. Thought I’d make sure you knew about it too.”
Red’s jaw tightens with worry. “Appreciate the heads up, kid. You sure the Captain thinks it’ll be safe for y’all out there?”
Wyatt sighs and knowing him as well as I do, I can tell he’s both exasperated and grateful at his Dad’s concern. “Yeah, Dad. I’m a big boy now, you know?”
“Never goin’ to stop worryin’, Wy. It’s my job.”
“I know. But I don’t want you to spend the rest of your trip worryin' about me. Cap's a good man, the crew is great too. They've talked me through everythin’ and showed me the ropes–well, as much as they can on land. Now I’m just itchin’ to get out there and get started. Cap told me to thank you for raisin' such a hard worker."
A proud smile tugs at Red’s mouth. “Tell him he's welcome as long as he brings you back in one piece. Deal?"
"Dad..." he says, and I can imagine him grinning and rolling his eyes.
"This mean you're livin' the dream then?" Red asks.
“You know it,” Wy replies. “What about you two? How’s the trip been so far? Get into any trouble yet?”
We both laugh at that. “Not our style, kid.” He shoots me a grin. “I did worry I was goin’ to start likin’ pink though.”
“What? You’re goin’ to have to explain that one,” Wy says.
“Long story. We’ll fill you in next time we see you, how about that?”
“Look forward to it. Hey, Dad, could I talk to Mags for a moment, you know, not on speakerphone." Red's brows pinch. "Sure thing, kid. Doin’ it now. Before I let you go, be safe out there for me, will ya? And check in whenever you can.”
“Will do, Dad. I love you. Take care of yourself and Mags, yeah?”
Red scoffs. “Who’s the father and who’s the son here?”
“Well, I am almost eighteen…” Just from the tone of his voice, I can tell he’s grinning.
“You’ll always be a kid to me no matter how old you are.”
“Yeah,” his son sighs. “I know.” Funnily enough, he sounds far from disappointed about that fact.
“Your dad’s right, Wy. Char is still my Charlie Bear and that will never change,” I add, reaching over to grab the phone just as Red does the same thing. This time I expect the tingle when Red’s hand brushes against mine. I don’t shy away from it this time, I watch Red’s face for any sign that he feels it too.
After starting to read Aster’s unnamed book with unnamed characters in it—thanks, friend —all I can think about is the damn Call and trying to work out whether I’m losing my mind in thinking it could be about me and Red.
If he is my One, does that mean I’m his two ? I mean… has anyone ever had two soulmates in their lifetime?
“Look after yourself, son. Talk to you soon. Love you, kid,” Red says gruffly.
“Love you too, Dad,” Wy replies warmly. “Mags, are you there?”
Red hands the phone to me and I shoot him a quizzical look, one which he answers with a shrug.
I take the call off speakerphone and lift the handset to my ear. "Hey. It’s just me now.”
“Good. I just wanted to ask how Dad’s doin’. Is he OK?”
I smile, meeting Red’s questioning eyes across the truck. “He’s good. Some might even say he’s relaxed.”
“ Really ? Are you sure we’re talkin’ about the same Red Grayson here? He’s actually havin’ some downtime for once?"
I can’t stop the snort that escapes me. “Yep.”
“And how about you two? Anythin’ happened?” he asks. The question is so unexpected that I start choking and spluttering.
“ What ?”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. Have there been any moments ? Believe me, I don’t want details, but at least tell me that my instincts aren’t wrong?”
My mouth opens and shuts like a gaping fish. “Um…”
“I get it. You can’t talk cause he’s right there, but seriously. Give me the gossip. I want to head out to sea knowin’ that you two have finally pulled your heads out of your butts.”
“Wyatt!” I splutter, this time doing it with shocked laughter. “It’s not?—”
“Don’t tell me it’s not like that because I’m young, but I’m not dumb, and definitely not blind. I’m not the only one who sees it either. We’ve all been wonderin’ when the Call would hit you both. It’s not a case of if it’ll happen, but when , and I was kinda hopin’ this road trip would be when the mountain spirit would shoot her arrow or whatever she does.”.
My heart gallops against my ribs, my chest getting tighter with every strained breath I try to take. “OK,” I squeak, closing my eyes and willing my body to calm down. “You’re sayin’ you’d be OK with that if it did?”
“Um, duh ,” is all he says.
“OK then,” I reply, shaking my head. “On that note, now that you’ve tried to give me a heart attack, is there anythin’ else you want to talk to me about? Or did you want me to give you a talk about stayin’ safe, watchin’ your surroundin’s and comin’ back in one piece?”
“Oh, I’m definitely comin’ back in one piece. I’m not missin’ out on your promise of all the Corned Beef Hash I can eat.”
I gasp. “Did I say that?”
“You did. You must be gettin’ forgetful in your old age. That’s OK, I’ll remember it for the both of us,” he replies with a cheeky laugh.
“OK, you’ve got me there. Love you, Wy. Talk soon.”
“Just promise me one thing, Mags.”
“Anythin’, Wy. You know that.”
“Make him smile. He’s finally got a chance to stop worryin’ about me and just live, and I want him to do that, hopefully with you. Mom wouldn’t want you two to be unhappy. I know that. You two just need to believe it too.”
“Wy…”
“Gotta go, Mags. Byeeeeee .” Then he ends the call and I’m left there staring straight through the windshield.
“Do I even want to know what he was sayin’?” Red chuckles. “You look speechless, and I figured it would be one of those Wy-Mags talks that his Dad doesn’t need to know about.”
“Hmmm,” I say, still trying to process Wyatt giving us– me –his blessing when there's nothing to need his blessing. .. yet...
I hand him the phone, surprisingly disappointed when our fingers don't touch again. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I've always trusted you to give him good advice when he needs it and that hasn’t changed.”
A lump grows in my throat, a happy one this time. To distract myself from all the whirling thoughts in my head, I grab my phone to look up the weather.
“Well,” I say after a moment of silence. “Wy’s right about that storm. It looks like we might have some weather to contend with soon.”
His expression turns thoughtful. “Might have to adjust our plans for the next few days then. How long until it hits us?”
“Wednesday night by the looks of it,” I reply.
“OK. We can work with that.”
I tilt my head to him. “So, these plans. You were goin’ to tell me before Wy called. Care to fill me in on where you’re takin’ me?”
Red rubs his chin. "The storm might change things. But how 'bout this? We'll do my meetin's today before stoppin’ in Anchorage for the night. Then we’ll head straight for the Rainbow Springs cabin tomorrow. Wednesday, we'll do the surprise I've organized for us before the storm hits, then bunker down at the cabin until it passes. On Friday–as long as the way is clear–we'll drive to Palmer bright and early as planned. Rhett and Austin are goin’ to meet us there to pick up a couple of bulls from Rod.”
Out of all of that, only one thing grabs my attention. “A surprise?”
“Yep. It’s a surprise though. Which means I’m not tellin’ you about it. But I know you’ll like it, because I’m pretty sure you’ve never done it before.”
“Are you really not goin’ to tell me?” I ask with my best puppy-dog eyes.
“Nope. But that’s half the fun, right? Experiencin’ new things together?” I nod. “Do you approve of this plan then?” he asks.
I wave my hand in the air. “Of course. Whatever you’ve gotta do, Red.”
He side-glares at me. “Nope. None of that. This is your trip too. I want you to have fun and make new memories. Didn’t we say at the start of this trip that we were goin’ to start puttin’ ourselves first?”
“Yeah….”
“Mmm hmm,” he replies, sounding unconvinced. “How ‘bout this then. You decide what we do in Anchorage tonight.”
I arch a brow. “You sure you trust me to do that? It’s the big smoke compared to Spring Haven. We could go real crazy.”
“Like what?”
Rubbing my chin, I try to think of something truly out there just to get a reaction out of him. “Hmm. We could go get matchin’ tattoos or somethin’? It would be an awesome way to commemorate our trip.”
Red's eyes jump wide, and he tilts his head. I have to bite back a giggle as he tries to decide if I'm being serious or not. His gaze narrows. "You'd get a tattoo?"
My shoulder bounces. “I have one already. What’s one more?”
That earns a whole-body jerk and eyes as big as saucers shooting my way. "You do ?”
“You really didn’t know?”
He shakes his head in disbelief. "You, Margaret Lucille Gallagher, have just officially shocked me. I had no idea.” There’s no stopping the big beaming smile that appears on my face. “But I’m not sure I want a tattoo. What middle-aged dad of a newly-minted adult just goes out and does that on a whim?”
"One who let his best friend choose the activities for the night? But don't worry, Red. We'll nix the tattoo idea. I'll come up with somethin' though. It can be my surprise to you."
“Deal. Want to shake on it?” he says, holding his hand out in the air between us.
“Nah, eyes on the road, Grayson. And while you do that, I’ll find us a place to stay tonight.”
“As long as it’s not pink,” he grumbles.
I scoff and shake my head. “You’re a dork, Redmond.”
“Lucky I’m your dork.” His breath catches as soon as the words are out of his mouth and I quickly school my own shock.
“I—ah… I’m goin’ to get back to my book,” I rush out, grabbing my e-book reader and waving it in the air. “I’m, um… up to a really good bit. Yeah.”
“Good… that’s good… better make these calls and move the meetin’s forward,” he says, stumbling over his words just like I did.
Awkwardness, this is great .
I just hope Aster's book gives me some tips because right now, I feel like I'm blindfolded.