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“Are you sure?”
“I can’t pass an opportunity to give you another reason to stay.”
An unreadable silence lingers. “We can be ready whenever you are.”
“After breakfast works for me.” There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. We can head out for a few hours, and I’ll still have time to visit Mom before work tonight. My schedule’s grown tighter but nowhere near over extended since the duo arrived. The adjustment is worth the reward.
An hour later,after Caiti wrangled Ophelia into a pair of jeans and long sleeves and I cleaned our breakfast mess, we headed down to the street. Caiti’s car is parked at the curb on the opposite side and half a block from my truck.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just ride with me?” I offer. Ophelia swings her hand in mine while we stand on the sidewalk.
“I’m sure. I feel myself getting less afraid. This is the farthest location yet. I’m just not quite ready to go alone.”
The effort she’s applying into her rebound from the panic attacks inspires me. She might feel weak, but her choices exude her strength. “You can call me if you need to, but I know you’re going to do just fine.”
“Can Ophelia ride with you?”
The lack of trust she holds for herself punches me in the gut. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.” I flood my voice with assurance.
“Just on the way there? She can ride with me on the way home after proving to myself that I can do it.”
A part of me wants to say no. To force her into the position she’s trying to avoid. The thought of causing her discomfort when I can bring her peace is a pill I can’t swallow. “Okay.”
“Let me grab her car seat.”
“Daddy dwive me?”
“You want to ride in my big truck?”
“It go broom broom broom?” She scrunches her entire face and mimics a rumbling engine. One single person hasn’t made me smile so much in my nearly forty-years of life.
“I think I can make it do that.”
Caiti latches the seat in the back and demonstrates how to make sure Ophelia is properly buckled. The slam of the back door echoes around us. The urge to tug her forehead to my lips forces my hands into my jeans pockets instead.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Just because I fought one impulse doesn’t mean I don’t stay rooted and watch her sexy hips sway as she walks away. With a shake of my head to erase my grin, I round the hood and climb into my truck.
“Ready?”
Ophelia punches both hands out in front of her. “Weddy!”
I rev the engine with three long growls to give Caiti a head start, much to Ophelia’s squealing delight, and gently pull out onto the empty street. I may have driven with Ophelia to the hospital that first day, but the emergency set my pace. This feels like the first time traveling with precious cargo, and my attention is laser focused. I tap the gas to catch up to the red car slowly becoming a speck on the horizon.
The lone stoplight leading out of the town center allows me to nearly kiss her bumper. Unfortunately, a driver in a beefed-up pickup has the right to turn before me and takes my place behind her. Not even ten seconds after I accelerate, my phone rings through my dash, and Caiti’s name flashes on the touch screen.
“Doing all right, Mama?”
“I think so. I just wanted to make sure you’re still there. I can’t see you behind this clown.”
My fingers twist the leather steering wheel. “I’m right here.”
“Ugh!” An exasperated grunt infiltrates the cab. I twist the volume down a notch. “What’s this guy doing?”
“I don’t know,” I growl. Helplessness lashes me. I can only watch the truck ahead of me ride her ass. His brake lights tap on repeatedly, forcing me to slow down. He swerves to the left as if he might try to pass before crossing back over to the right and on the shoulder.
“There’s a gas station up ahead on your right. Pull in there, and I’ll follow you,” I order her. Safety for us all hinges on her compliance.
Her exhale shakes through the speakers. “Okay.”
“You’re doing great.”
“Thanks, Dane. It’s pissing me off more than anything.” The return of a little fire is encouraging.
“Just up ahead now.”
“I see it.”
Just as she flicks on her blinker, the asshat behind her cuts his wheel to the right and moves fully onto the shoulder. The maneuver blocks her turn, bringing her dangerously close to a full-out crash. “Look out!”
“Shit!” Caiti pumps her breaks, allowing him to pass by. His cloud of dust engulfs us as he accelerates off the shoulder and into the gas station parking lot.
“Shit,” a little voice barks behind me.
“Oh shit!” I say automatically in response to her cussing.
“Shit!” Ophelia squawks again.
“Princesses don’t say that word.” My sentence is choked by the fury engulfing me. Caiti pulls her car into the only available spot directly beside the truck before I can recommend we no longer stop. The opportunity she presents me with is too sweet to give up. I whip in behind his rusty box, blocking him from escaping when he returns from inside the store.
“Come on. You’re going to wait with Mommy.” The click of the harness releases Ophelia straight into my waiting arms.
Caiti swings her door open on my approach. “What’s going on?”
