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Safely checked out, she tucked the condoms into her purse and shoved the little box to the bottom of her bag, out of sight, but certainly not out of mind. What is wrong with me? I couldn’t possibly act any more guilty right now. Ugh. She waited for Jake at the entrance so they could return to the truck together and get this road trip well underway.
It was still snowing incredibly hard, and Coralee couldn’t recall a time she’d seen this much snow, at least not in Texas, and she’d definitely never driven in anything like it. Jake found her, and with a small bag of his own led them back to his truck, still parked at the pumps.
“All set? Got everything you need? Provisions,precautions, etcetera?”
Coralee squinted at him. “Precautions?”
“Yeah, you know. Having enough snacks and waters? That’s aprecaution, so we don’t starve to death on I10.”
“Uh huh. Yeah, I got all the necessary stuff,” she replied with sarcasm as he smirked at her.
She knew he knew, and there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell, or Texas for that matter, she’d admit it now. No way. Not ever.
ChapterFive
Jake
Jake’s truck was a Ford F-250 King Ranch, Texas Edition—of course. It was absolutely terrible on gas, but turned out to be exactly what they needed for the shittiest conditions he’d ever driven in. The tension in his neck from concentrating on the road was causing some pain, and they’d only been on the road for a couple of hours. It was still a bit awkward between them, the elephant in the cab of the truck, and although Jake wanted to clear the air with Coralee, he didn’t really know what to say. He'd almost started a conversation to rehash their past a few times, and he could tell Coralee noticed him start, then stop, but she didn’t dig or prod him to continue his thought.
“I need to stop and stretch for a minute,” he finally said.
“Oh, okay. No problem. I saw a sign that said picnic area ahead. There are no restrooms, but we could at least stretch our legs for a minute, and I can grab us some snacks if you’d like?” she asked.
“Sure, that would be fine,” he replied, twisting his neck from side to side. He pulled into the small rest area which had a few eighteen wheelers pulled over as well. The snow hadn’t let up at all, and when they had a radio signal, they’d listened to the local news briefly, and it wasn’t good. It looked like the storm had broadened, and the snow was reaching all the way out to Sonora, which was a little more than halfway home. On I10, he normally could’ve driven at least eighty miles per hour, and they’d not gotten above fifty in the last hour. In fact, they’d been going pretty slow since the onset of their trip.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m just getting a little stiff from being tense while driving.” He reached behind him to grab the bag he’d purchased at their first stop. Inside was two hats and a scarf. He yanked the tags off the first hat, a wool beanie and tugged it down over his head. “What do you think?” he asked her, grinning like a child ready for his school portrait, all toothy and ridiculous.
Coralee giggled, a sound which brought back some fun memories briefly. “Fantastic. Looking very rugged and weather appropriate, almost as if you belong in the snow.”
“Well, I got you one too.” He reached in the bag and grabbed the other hat out and yanked the tag off. He leaned over the console and placed it on her head. Tucking a piece of her long hair behind her ear, he pulled the hat down a little to cover her ears, and his hand lingered along her jaw before he pulled away.
He hadn’t been that close to her in so many years; it felt too natural. Too familiar. But it also felt too raw. There were sentiments unspoken between them, and they needed to either stay buried, or be totally hashed out, and until one of those happened, anything in between wasn’t a good idea.
“I . . . Uh, how do I look?” she asked.
Jake grabbed the matching scarf from the bag and wrapped it around her neck, giving it a small tug before letting go. His hand on the door handle, he replied, “You look beautiful,” before he quickly stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind him, leaving Coralee in the cab.
The contrast of the freezing cold wind to the cab of the truck invigorated Jake a bit, albeit uncomfortably, and he hopped up and down a bit to get the circulation going in his legs. While the cold wasn’t helping the stiffness or tension, it was providing some relief in his energy level. The drive was long to begin with, but when he was worried about crashing with his precious cargo, it was that much more strenuous, and their destination felt even further away.
Coralee got out of the truck and walked to the front where Jake was standing and assessing the scene around them. It was almost a white out, and he chuckled to himself briefly as he watched her eyes widen from the shock of the cold the way he had as well.
“We’re just gonna stop here for a minute, then we’ll get moving again. I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay in one place too long right now.”
“Do you think it’s going to let up?” she asked.
“At this point, I’m really not sure,” he replied. He stretched his neck a little and pulled his jacket tighter. “Are you warm enough?” he asked.
“Uh, not really. But it’s not like we’re going skiing.” She smiled at him softly.
Memories of them going on a ski trip with their friends in high school assaulted him. They grew up in the desert, but just a few hours away from their home in New Mexico, they could ski in Ruidoso, where there were numerous small resorts and a couple of mountains just large enough for skiing. Neither of them had gone often, but they had friends who were avid seasonal skiers, and it was always a fun time, especially sitting by the fire with his girl . . . well, when she was his girl at the time.
Jake’s reminiscing was interrupted by a huge gust of wind that nearly knocked Coralee over. She’d been standing next to him in front of the truck, bobbing around to keep warm and looking around at the other vehicles stopped. As she started to tip over, he reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her close to him. Coralee let out a small gasp as she clutched onto him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I got you,” he said as he held onto her longer than he needed. Once she was stable, he could’ve released her, but having her in his arms, even if only for a moment, felt good. She rested her head against his chest and took in a deep breath.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
