“It’s just that, um, typically…” He paused and nervously bit the side of his lip, seeming lost at what to say. Or maybe he was thinking of how he could walk back what he’d said, which only confused me more. I could admit that his stumbling amused me. This was the first time I’d really seen him outwardly rattled. “You know what, never mind.”
He turned his attention out the window, but I could see the way his hand twitched nervously in his lap.
Oh, I couldn’t let this go. One, I liked ruffling his feathers too much. And two, I still wasn’t sure what he was going on about.
“Is there something about Reed and his team that I should be aware of?” I asked, leaving the smug tone tucked away because I was honestly lost.
“Where are we going?” he asked. I wasn’t falling for it.
“Seriously?” I shot back, cutting him the side-eye.
“Look, it was wrong of me to assume,” he said, and the sincerity was clear in his voice. “I apologize. But… you have to admit that Reed tends to bring mostly LGBTQIA+ people on. Heavy emphasis on the G and B.”
I was a little stunned.
It took me way too long for it to hit me.
He was completely right.
Only I wasn’t…
I wasn’t…
“Oh, no! I’m definitely not,” I said, brow furrowed as I held my gaze steady ahead, the road almost hard to focus on with my mind spinning in circles.
I mean, he was completely right about this truck being very… well, all I could say was that with the grand array of stickers and blatant political stance, I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner was anti-LGBTQIA+. It felt very God-fearing and loud. All that shit that I knew too well and had spent the last ten years running from. Which was why I’d picked it when I saw it. A lot of my co-workers were part of the community, and I would always respect and support them. So, basically, lifting this ugly thing was more of a fuck you to those who liked to hold people back and look down on them for how they were born.
But now, with the comment the agent just made and knowing most— if not all, excluding me— of the people Reed pulled into his little family were out and proud in at least one of the magical letter ways, I couldn’t help but wonder if Reed saw things that other people didn’t see. Like within themselves.
That would be ridiculous. I hadn’t let myself be interested or even look at anyone in ten years, and before then, well, truth be told, I’d only ever dated one person. Had onegirlfriend, to be exact. I had loved Tessa when we were together. I think there were parts of me that would always love her.
It had to just be a coincidence, right?
“Forget I said anything,” he told me, and his voice seemed distant, almost like it was a whisper echoing around the cab in an attempt to crash through my thoughts. “Austin?”
I felt his hand on my arm. His grip was firm but not threatening.
“Yeah?” I said, blinking rapidly as I pulled the spiraling thoughts back and shoved them away. He told me to forget he said anything, so that was what I was going to do. “We’re headed to Nebraska. You can get some sleep if you want. We’re looking at a fifteen-hour drive plus stops.”
“What’s in Nebraska?” Why did it seem like there was hesitation when he asked the question?
“Just this practically abandoned property I know about,” I answered, a smirk on my face that I had to force from deep within.
He didn’t say anything else, but I could feel his curious eyes on me.
It made me twitchy. I felt him attempting to pry back my layers with his eyes and get to the meat of me.
“What’s in Nebraska?” he asked again, but there was something in his deep voice and his calm tone that had my spine snapping straight.
It was more than asking about the destination we were heading to. More than what my connection was to it.
No, it was like he was using his will alone to draw out all of my memories and feelings about the place we were headed.
“Off limits,” I nearly growled. I might have surprised myself. It was like I couldn’t lie to him. Something physically pinched inside me, almost warning me that I didn’t want to lie this time. Yet, I couldn’t tell him the truth, because it would have led to more questions, more things I didn’t want to think about.
Besides, he’d figure it out soon enough since it wasn’t like I had time to run through and scrub the place of anything connected to me.
His non-replay was almost as stressful as if he had pushed harder. I couldn’t explain it.
