Only when we’re two miles further on the interstate does she pipe up. “Apparently, there is a storm that’s passing through around dinner time, we should probably find our stopping point and plan to stop around four for the night.”
“That’s a good idea. We’ll have driven eight hours today, our halfway mark is in good ol’ Nebraska,” I agree.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive a bit?”
“Nah, it’s okay. Just enter your highlighted destination address in the navigation.” Her face remains blank, and she seems slightly unimpressed. “Oh fine, use the map since we are going retro.” I smirk as I give in, and that causes the corners of her mouth to curve up.
“There is the world’s largest ball of stamps if you feel like venturing off track. Oh my God.” Now she’s flapping her hands like a penguin.
“Yes?” I glance at her, concerned yet bemused.
“Tomorrow, we so need to stop at the Big Foot museum in Hastings. Totally.”
My brows rise. “As in the fictional ape thingy?”
She swats my arm to tease me. “I don’t think he is an ape, I’m not sure. Maybe he isn’t fiction at all. There was a footprint, after all.”
“Was there?” I doubt her for fun but lose at keeping a straight face.
“We shall find out.” She gets comfortable again and rests her feet on the dashboard. “By the way, have you practiced your best man speech?”
I scoff a sound. “Absolutely not.”
She side-eyes me. “You’re going to wing it too?”
“You’re the groom’s sister, I’m confident you can’t wing it. It needs to be heartfelt.”
She waves me off. “I’ll wing it.” She sounds defiant and smirks to herself.
I attempt to keep my laugh under my breath when Hailey turns serious and pulls out a compass divider for her paper map, and after measuring the distance, informs me that we have an hour and a half more of driving before we settle for the night. Clouds have covered the sun, but there is no indication of rain. That changes when we’re about forty-five minutes from our destination; the gray clouds turn dark and the lightning strikes fiercely in the distance. Cars driving the opposite direction were clearly caught in the rain.
“I’m kind of thinking that we should stop earlier,” Hailey comments.
“You’re probably right.”
Her phone begins to vibrate, and I notice her brother’s name flash across the screen. To be honest, we’ve both ignored our phones today. Not on purpose, just we had no need to. Each other’s company has been a distraction, a positive one.
“Hey, Liam,” Hailey answers on speaker phone.
“How is the drive? You guys on schedule?” he asks her calmly. If she says anything that might freak him out, then he might go bananas. Wedding jitters and all.
Hailey looks to me then back to her phone. “All good. We’re about to stop for the night. It’s been a long day and the weather is about to turn.”
“Good. Storms can change quick there.”
“I’m sure we’re fine. Nothing looks unusual other than your car. Sorry about spilling a chocolate shake all over your cream interior.”
“What?” he barks out.
She chuckles to herself. “Take a joke, will ya? All is fine. Oliver is treating your car like a precious newborn baby.”
“As he should. Oliver, is she annoying the hell out of you yet? Try not to throttle her. We need her in the wedding party photos.”
“True. Sisters are sisters forever,” she comments. “Girlfriends of groomsmen you might need to erase out of photos in a few years.”
I bark a laugh. She has a point. We’ll both be in the photo but not as a couple. It’s safe. We get to share photographic space without any repercussions in the future. Just Hailey and Oliver. Groom’s sister and the best man. Nothing more.
Fuck me, I hope this hotel has a good cold beer.
