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“Once we get on I-79 we’ve got around two hours to go. That should land us there at—”
I jump in my seat when some dude raps on my window and makes a gesture for me to lower it down. And I don’t know why, but I do it on command. That’s the female gender’s downfall, I think. We’re too polite.
“Nice car,” the guy says, looking to Liam. “My brother collects ‘em.”
“Cool,” Liam answers back without any enthusiasm.
“Ever be looking to sell it?”
“Never,” he says, “but thanks. You have a good night.”
He rolls up my window from his side, shaking his head once the guy is a few feet away.
“Rules of the road…No talking to anyone you encounter at a truck stop after dark. Can we agree on that?”
I’m in full agreement on that one, so I nod my head. “I don’t know why I did that.”
“You trust people, I don’t.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly believe you talking about this car like it’s a sought-after classic, but your buddy there just proved me wrong.”
He laughs. “Andyou went and showed off the power window feature. Now he knows this is the high-end model.”
“Well, like you said, it’s not, and never will be for sale,” I lovingly caress the dashboard the same way he did yesterday, “so he can’t get his hands on this baby.”
“Unless he follows us into the night, shoots out the back tires, carves us to bits and effectively takes ownership the hard way.”
“Damn, you watch a little too much true crime television or something?”
“Never. I imagine that crap would give you nightmares, not to mention a tragically skewed view of the world.”
“Tragically skewed,” I pause and then settle back into the seat as I rest my bare feet on the dashboard, “you have an awesome vocabulary.”
“That turns you on?”
“Oh yeah, baby. Big time. Go on, slay me with your description of West Virginia.”
“No joke? Before the sun completely set I thought it was one of the most beautiful…No,” he pauses to laugh, “majesticsights I’ve ever seen. Who knew? They’re just mountains, right?”
“Same. It’s so vast, so beautiful. It’s like when you see a field of tulips or hear birds calling to one another in the morning. This kind of beauty affirms my belief in God.” I inwardly cringe for a moment, hoping I didn’t just come off like a weirdo or a sap. Clearing my throat, I ask him, “Hey, are we in the Blue Ridge Mountains or the Appalachians?”
“At the risk of ruining your high opinion of me, I have no idea which mountain range we’re in.”
I look to him, wide-eyed. “Liam Murphy doesn’t know something? I’m appalled. No wait, I now have a tragically skewed opinion of you.”
"You, are a wiseass.”
“Admit it, Murphy, you love it.”
“I certainly don’t hate it.”
And I’ll take that with a smile because he’s letting me in slowly, letting me discover him, piece by fascinating piece.
Chapter Twenty-Four
LIAM
“Look alive, Sarah.” I toot the horn as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. “Welcome to Pennsylvania.”
