CHAPTER 13
When Daisy sat up, the sun was already streaming through the windows. Across from the bed, in the oversized chair, Callan dozed, his long legs stretched out in front of him, as if he’d been there the entire night, watching over her and keeping her safe.
His eyes popped open, and he made that particular Scottish sound in the back of his throat, sat up, and rested his elbows on his knees. Guess she wasn’t as stealthy as she thought.
“What’s wrong, lass?”
Daisy took a deep breath, voice barely above a whisper. “When are you leaving?”
Taken aback by her question, Callan frowned. “Leaving? Do ye wish me to go?”
She sighed, her gaze fixed on a tree branch outside, the light streaming through the leaves. “For Holden Beach.”
He held out a hand. “Let us walk and hunt our breakfast from that McDonald place. Ye like those crunchy potatoes.”
Still rubbing sleep from her eyes, she let him pull her to her feet, glad she’d fallen asleep in her clothes since he didn’t even give her a minute to brush her teeth. Outside, they stopped in front of the car as Frankie went to a bush and did his business. Daisy rested a hand on the roof, needing the metal to ground her.
After a moment, Callan touched her shoulder.
“I hoped ye might wish to come with me. We will have an adventure.”
A lazy grin played across his face.
“Ye said you wished to take a road trip. I would like to take the road to North Carolina with you and Frankie.”
The street was quiet this early in the morning, save for the occasional rustling of leaves in the nearby trees and a few cars driving past on the next street.
“You do need my car.” She teased, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes met his. The excitement in his voice was contagious. As she stood there, she could feel the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile.
She was about to say yes, to take a leap of faith that he wasn’t crazy and embark on this journey with him, when someone called out to them.
An older couple wearing matching khaki shorts and blue golf shirts, carefully climbed out of a vintage Volkswagen Westfalia bus slash camper van, waving to them.
“Can I help you?” Daisy figured they had to be lost or looking for someone who lived nearby. She would have recognized the cute mint green and white van with the pop up top.
The man, his hair graying at the temples, strode over to them. “I hope you can. We couldn’t help but notice your car. It’s a lovely Kia.” He turned to his wife. “She used to have one, before we thought we’d spend our twilight years traveling the country in the van like all the young kids are doing.”
His wife snorted. “We’re tired of so much driving. Honestly, we really want to get a little place down in Georgia on the coast so we’ll be close to the grandkids.”
The man put his arm around his wife, a hopeful look on his face. “Would you be interested in selling it, by any chance?”
Daisy blinked, taken aback by the unexpected offer. She glanced at Callan, who looked equally surprised.
“I... I’m not sure. I hadn’t really thought about selling it.”
The woman, who looked like the kind of grandmother who always had cookies in the oven, a big yard to play in, and a warm shoulder to cry on, chimed in.
“We’d be willing to pay a fair price.” She turned and gestured to the mint green and white van.
“Or maybe you’d be interested in an even trade? You could be one of those influencers posting on social media and traveling the country.”
Daisy couldn’t believe the timing. But the idea of selling her car suddenly presented all kinds of interesting possibilities. She turned to Callan, her voice low.
“What do you think? We could trade the car for the van. It would save us a lot of money on our road trip to Holden Beach since we could camp and bring our own food.”
Callan smiled, his hand squeezing hers. “I think the fates are smiling upon us.”
She turned back to the couple, a grin spreading across her face.
