“Oh, yeah, I wouldn’t bring that to these parts. Y’all want it in one piece, I reckon?” He chuckles and adjusts the brim of his Dallas Cowboys ball cap. “It’s parked up yonder at the campsite. We’ll ride over in my truck once ya get yer things loaded up.”
“So we are riding with you to the campground?” My eye twitches.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And the camper is there? The Winnebago you sent my brother in an email?”
“Yep, it’s sitting up pretty for ya right now.”
“Okay,” I say, trying to motivate myself to get back into another vehicle again. “How far away is it?”
“As the crow flies, about ten minutes, give or take. Come on, now.” He turns and walks away, expecting us to follow.
“As the crow flies?” Tristen whispers to me and raises a brow. “This trip just keeps getting better and better.”
“Don’t give me grief. I didn’t plan this trip out. Talk to Des,” I whisper out the side of my mouth as we follow a few paces behind Gary.
“Oh, I plan to. He’s getting a piece of my mind about sending you out here on your own. Bet you’re glad I came with you now.”
“Eh. Not really.”
We stop at the rear of Gary’s fancy truck, the robin’s-egg blue paint glossy like it was recently washed.
“Of course not. What was I thinking?” He chucks my suitcase with a little extra force into the back of the truck. It clanks as it tumbles into the back.
“Watch it. If you break one of Lewis’s tools, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have stolen them to begin with.”
“Borrowed.I borrowed them.”
Gary clears his throat, eyeing me carefully.
“We’re just joking around,” I say with a fake laugh. I must pass inspection because he hops in his truck without another word. I elbow Tristen in the ribs as soon as Gary is out of sight.
He sucks in a breath. “What the heck was that for?”
“All the things. I have too many to pick from.”
“And here I thought you were going to thank me,” he growls, taking a step closer to me.
“Wow. You really are delusional.”
The truck window rolls down.
“Hey, y’all. I hate to rush this lover’s tiff goin’ on, but I’d like to head on back to the missus before my breakfast gets cold.”
Tristen grabs my shoulder, turning me so I face him.
“So, we’re really doing this?”
“I mean, we’ve come this far.”
“It’s your call.”
Blinking, I take a moment to realize he’s putting the decision in my hands. Since the beginning, this has been a wacky process, but if it’s what Des wants...
I nod. “We got this.”
