You had two options in life—go through it and see everything negatively or find a new opportunity.
I tried to find the opportunity as much as possible. Unfortunately, it was pretty damn hard to find one in our current situation.
Deep in my soul, I believed people were inherently good.
But lately, I’d been surrounded by a bunch of assholes.
Maybe most of the assholes in America hung out in Florida. I had a lot of questions swirling through my thoughts as I sat in the comfortable passenger chair of the semi and we rambled down the road.
Being lost in my thoughts didn’t make me very talkative, but I did my best.
“And that’s why her and my grandson now live in Georgia,” Bird said with a slight smile on his lips as he spoke of his family.
“Your daughter sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders.”
His smile grew. “She does. I only find her taste in men lacking. It seems to be a problem for smart women,” he said, not hiding the way he glanced at the man currently sitting between our two seats.
I bit my bottom lip, not sure what to say. Cyrus’s frown deepened.
Hey, I said I wasn’t feeling talkative, but I didn’t stay silent the entire drive. If Bird wanted to tell me about his family, I always had a good listening ear. It was the right thing to do.
Besides, driving around in his big truck all the time had to be lonely. He was probably excited to have someone to talk with. As long as he was the one telling stories and not asking many questions about why we were smelly and hitchhiking through Florida, I’d handle the conversation.
From the lack of words coming from Cyrus, he didn’t necessarily feel the same way.
“Sometimes it takes the ladies a bit to find the good ones,” I said, sending Cyrus a wink. He scowled more. “You need to tell your wife that she deserves that vacation, but you should go with her. Make it a family excursion and visit the grandbaby.”
Bird’s wife wanted him to take time off and visit their daughter in Georgia, but he didn’t think it was the right season to do it. Men were often wrong. You had to make time for fun and family.
After surviving my kidnapping but not yet quite being out of the woods, I started valuing time with family while you had them. I’d never again have too many vacation days saved.
The older man rubbed his chin. “Maybe I could consider it an adventure. Life always needs a few more of those.”
Ugh. My life definitely did not need any more adventures. In fact, I hoped to never have another adventure ever again. After Cyrus and I returned to safety, I planned to settle down and never leave my house.
Bird used his turn signal and left the freeway at the next exit as we made a large curve, which wrapped around and deposited us at the end of the street. A huge rest stop sprawled out ahead. Except it wasn’t only a rest stop. It was a huge truck stop like he’d said. A row of big rigs parked two deep sat to the left of the parking lot, and on the right sprawled a large building with more neon signs than Vegas.
The most exciting one had a faucet dripping drops of water and the word showers blinking on and off. Man, I wanted a shower.
I needed a shower.
It took being stolen from my hospital parking garage and peed on a ship, not sure if I’d live or die, to make me appreciate things like hot water.
Showers.
Cold water.
Ice cubes.
Man, I missed ice cubes.
I couldn’t take my eye off the flashing sign as we said thank you to Bird. Cyrus asked for his information so he could send him something as a thank you when he made it back to Maine. I imagined it was a big fat check, like he promised everyone else.
Bird refused, but eventually Cyrus got him to hand over a small business card. We gave him one last goodbye, and I leaned in for a quick hug, promising that we didn’t need any more rides.
When we left this truck stop, it would be for the safety of Maine. I hadn’t planned to go with Cyrus that far north, but frankly, this entire thing was way over my head. Cyrus explained the situation to me, but I still didn’t understand how a rogue employee of a Chicago mobster had a cargo ship outside North Carolina. Who were these people?
I was not a good person to have as a heroine in an action flick because the plot lines were too twisted and thick for me to follow. After this experience, I was going to have more sympathy for female main characters. If I lived in an action movie, I’d run around screaming all the time.
