“Buy a new one.” Trish took in a deep breath and let it out. Earlier this week, the old Trish would have been sobbing into her laptop in despair. But this newly emerging Trish was able to let go more easily. To look forward to new possibilities. “Are there any stores in town that sell laptops?” She’d never owned a brand-new one before. The very thought made her giddy.
“I know a place close by.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s get you a new computer. Maybe one a little lighter than your former . . .”
“Cement block?”
“I can’t believe that thing didn’t crush your legs on the drive down.”
Trish had to admit she had trouble with the idea of letting The Dinosaur go. It’d been such a consistent part of her life. Reliable despite its faults. “If I’m buying a new computer, I’m going all out. I’ll need something I can count on for a long time. I have a lot of books to write.” Strangely, her heart soared at the very possibility.
“You’ll be sending me a copy of this one you’re writing now, right? Signed to the cowboy who inspired it?” Wade wore a goofy grin that made her laugh, but underneath that laugh was reality. A reality that said she couldn’t even hand him a copy in person. She’d have to stick one in the mail to a town that’d soon be a distant memory, captured only in the pages of her book.
Chapter 14
Wade
“Are you happy with it?”Wade asked Trish as he slowed the truck for a fast food place. Trish had closed the store down, meticulous about getting the perfect laptop for a writer. “One with the right programs, lightweight, and of course, the perfect color.” She’d ticked these off on her fingers as they walked the store’s aisles. He almost felt bad that they didn’t have asparklyoption. She’d have been over the moon, but the time it took did limit their dinner options.
“Yes!” She hugged the box to her chest. “I can’t wait to get back and transfer all my files and start writing on mynewlaptop. Wade, I’ve never had a new one before! I even bought The Dinosaur used because it was all I could afford at the time.”
“I know you’ll get good use out of it.” Her giddiness was contagious, putting Wade in a good mood as they ordered through the drive-thru and maneuvered back onto the road. “Can’t eat in the truck. Grams was nice enough to let us borrow it, but she’d kill us if she thought we ate in here.”
“I’m sorry I took so long to decide—”
“Don’t be. It just means we get a tailgate meal with a view of the stars.” Wade regretted the words as soon as they were out. They were much too romantic for his friends-only policy. The last thing he wanted to do was send mixed signals. She’d been through enough today without him adding complications.
“You’re too good to me, Wade. I feel positively spoiled. And you’re even giving me inspiration for another scene to write!”
Her eyes sparkled, making Wade wish he could do something—anything—to keep that sparkle alive forever. That Hank fellow had done a pretty good number on dulling it. Wade hoped to never meet him, because if he did, he’d have a hard time not punching the guy.
Wade turned onto a narrow road, away from the main drag they’d taken into town. He followed it until it turned to gravel and snaked around to the left.
“This is the part where you murder me, isn’t it?”
Wade grinned at her then, raising his eyebrows until she laughed. “You’ve been living in the city too long.” He pulled into an empty lot with a partial view of town. The nearest home was at least half a mile away, allowing the stars to light their way. He only knew about it because Allen had bragged about bringing a date here once.
“We can eat on the tailgate,” he said. “Grab that blanket on the back seat.”
Trish met him at the back of the truck and waited until he lowered the tailgate to spread the blanket. “It’s so pretty out here. Even with the glow of the town, there are ten times as many stars out as there are from my little apartment balcony.”
“Dinner is served,” Wade said, setting the two bags of food next to Trish and effectively creating a barrier between them. “Better get some before it turns to ice. Won’t take long out here.”
Once their meals were divided up, Trish tilted her head back toward the sky. “I can see why you never left Starlight. If I’d grown up out here, I would have stayed, too.”
Wade battled both reluctance to kill her lightheaded mood and curiosity about all things that made Trish Meadows the woman she was today. Curiosity won out. “You said you moved around a lot as a kid,” he asked cautiously. “Why was that?”
After a deep sigh and a few fries, Trish answered. “I was dropped off as a baby at the back door of a fire station. My parents, whoever they are, didn’t even bother to leave a note. I know nothing about who they are or why they gave me up. Only that I was three weeks old when they left me forever.” Trish grabbed a few more fries, but before she took a bite added, “I’m only guessing that it was both of them because the security footage caught a blurry image of a man and a woman. But it was never enough to identify anyone.”
Wade’s heart felt as if it had cracked open at her admission. He only knew his parents until he was five, but he’d never once wondered if they loved him. “Trish, I’m . . . That’s awful.”
Trish shrugged. “I can’t change it.” But her easy words now wobbled. A tear glistened. “I’ve always wanted a family. One who took me in as their own. Instead, I was bounced around from foster home to foster home. Never figured out what I did to make none of them want to keep me.”
He shoved the food and drinks back behind them and scooted next to Trish, drawing her into his arms as she broke down. She tucked her head beneath his chin and her tears soaked through his shirt. He couldn’t imagine it, either. She had a big heart, and even bigger dreams. What parents wouldn’t want to adopt her as their own? “My parents would have loved you.”
The thought ripped inside him, because he knew it was true. In another lifetime—one where they were still alive—they would have adored Trish Meadows. He might’ve brought her for dinner at the ranch to meet them.
