Avery
Life looks different from the passenger seat.
I'd ridden this road so many times recently, but today it looked like some other place. The ocean stretched out beside us, the light catching the water in ways I'd never noticed. It really was a beautiful world. Funny how you started seeing the things you took for granted when life got in the way.
You never really knew how much of it you had left.
I looked at Cade's broad back. The cut, the width of his shoulders, the way he moved with the bike like they were the same thing. He was a special kind of guy. Not at all what first impressions suggested.
When I’d said ‘no man,’ I supposed my answer had been misleading. But I'd left it at that and he hadn't pushed. I didn't need anything else in my life right now. I didn't need anyone falling into step beside me on a road I was still learning to ride.
I turned my head back to the view and lost myself again. The towns slid past as I filled my lungs with salt air.
But as we got closer to Rocky Neck, the peace drained out of me. I could feel the anxiety building with every mile marker. What would the family think? How was I going to handle this… handle them? The questions. The faces trying not to look afraid.
We were closing in, and then we were there.
I tapped Cade on the shoulder and he pulled over.
"I'll walk from here," I said.
It was only a short walk to Mom's front door. And it was best he wasn't there for what came next.