Page 8 of Jacob Michaels is Dead

“Maybe.” I chuckled, trying to remind myself that we were safe. “I don’t know when the next direct flight to L.A. is.”

“Take anything.” His eyes darted over to me nervously, though he tried to keep his focus on the darkness ahead of us. “I don’t care if there are layovers or stops or anything.”

“You’re nervous.” I reached over and laid my hand on his thigh, letting my fingers give him a reassuring squeeze. “I am, too.”

“I—Rob, I just want out of this state. Ever since we drove out of Point Worth, I’ve wanted to throw up. I know if we can put some miles between us and that town, I’ll feel better.”

“I know what you mean.” I nodded slowly, patting his leg. “Do you want to pull over and let me drive the rest of the way? So you can relax?”

“I’m not stopping this car unless it’s in a parking spot at Hopkins.” He chuckled, though he seemed less nervous.

“All right.”

We sat in silence, my hand laid on his thigh as Lucas drove us down highway 2, trying to put further distance between us and our hometown.

“Hey,” Lucas grumbled. “Talk to me. Give me something to think about besides…everything else.”

“You know,” I began, “we could live really close to the ocean. We could get a place in Malibu or something, where we could step right out of our backdoor and…boom…ocean.”

“That would be nice.” He sighed dreamily.

“We could sit on our deck or in our backyard, sipping wine, snuggled up, listening to the ocean. Smelling and tasting the salt in the air. Watch the sunrise and sunset every day. Maybe we will get a dog.”

Lucas was smiling widely out at the road before us, though I was worried his eyes were focused on something only he could see.

“Cook dinners together and read on the sofa with our new dog draped over our laps, and—”

“Big dog, eh?”

“You want a Pomeranian?”

“I like all dogs.”

“Well, you can decide which dog we will adopt.” I smiled at him. “And then we’ll go upstairs when it’s bedtime, lock the dog out of the bedroom, and do disrespectful things to each other. Every. Single. Night.”

Lucas’ smile was even brighter.

“After the disrespecting, we can let the dog in, though, right?” His eyes practically twinkled at the thought. “We don’t want him to have to sleep alone.”

“What do you have against girl dogs?” I teased.

“Him or her. Either or.”

“Yes. He or she could still sleep with us once the disrespectful behavior is over, babe.”

Lucas sighed happily.

“I love our life in L.A. already.”

“I do, too.” I squeezed his thigh. “Are you okay now?”

“Better.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“It’ll take time.” He replied. “But, yeah. I just…I mean…Point Worth is my home, Rob. Grandpa will—I’m going to miss some people. That’s all.”

“You can always call him when we get to L.A. He can come visit us.”