Me: Me either. I love you, Tony. I’m sorry I got upset yesterday.
Bubba Stud: No worries, baby. I fucked up but I’ll make it up to you. I hope you have a good rest of your evening.
Me: I’ll try. Don’t have too much fun with the boys.
Bubba Stud: No worries there. I’ll text in the morning. Call if you need me.
Me: I will.
“Is everything okay?” Mellie asked as she watched me refold everything and pack it into the bag.
“Yeah, why?” I headed into the bathroom to grab my travel bag of toiletries, making sure I had my toothbrush, paste, and deodorant. Anything else I could do without, and I didn’t want to have to stop off somewhere to go shopping.
“I don’t know, just vibes I’m getting. You don’t play poker do you?” she asked with a grin.
“No, I don’t. I’m not big on cards. Why?”
“Because you couldn’t bluff to save your life, honey. Your face shows everything you’re thinking,” she said smugly.
Well, fuck. I forgot she was here while I was texting with Tony and didn’t mask my expressions. “I’m actually pretty good at it, but with everything going on I didn’t think about locking down.”
“Ahh, I didn’t mean to upset you. I do a lot of people watching and I’m excellent at reading emotions, even better determining liars. It’s sort of my special power.”
I stop packing and take a moment to look at her, not just a cursory glance but really look. Mellie is a beautiful woman. Even without her striking strawberry-blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes, she’s gorgeous.
She’s shorter than me by a couple of inches, and curvier. From spending the last couple of hours with her, I can tell she’s whip-smart, too. I could do with a worse traveling companion, that’s for sure. Hopefully, the two of us will be enough to rescue those children.
“I’m sure that’s helpful with your writing…” I finally answer as I go back to packing.
“Yes, although sometimes I wonder if I spend too much time observing and not enough time living.”
“Well, you could change that any time, you know? If you’re missing excitement, I think we’re about to step into a deep pile of it.” In theory, we should be able to pull this off, but after helping rescue the other women, I know there will be plenty we’re not considering.
“Oh yeah, a deep pile of something for sure. Are you worried?” She quirked an eyebrow as she walked over to the bed.
“I think we’d be crazy not to be. We don’t really know what we’ll find or who. Even armed they could take us too.”
“Yeah, I thought of that. It’s partly why I came to you for help. Former SEALs are a much better option for a rescue, it’s in the DNA.”
“That’s for damn sure. Wait till you meet them. Speaking of which, we need to get moving or we’re going to miss our flight.” I zip up my bag and follow her into the kitchen. After giving it a quick glance, I grab my purse and keys, and we head out to the garage where I show her my baby.
“This is yours?” she asks in awe.
“Yeah, isn’t she pretty? My pride and joy. I treat her like the child I’ll never have,” I say with a huge grin. It’s true, too. I babyher as much as Tony babies his Jeep Commander. I’m sure our friends think we're bonkers, but who cares?
“She sure is. I’m a wee bit jealous too. I’m embarrassed to show you my van. But it works for me for all the book signings.”
“Then that’s all that matters, right? Do you want to follow me to the airport? Then you can return your car while I park and we can meet up at the gate.”
“That works. I have GPS in the rental in case I lose you along the way. Although, I don’t see how I could with that bright red beacon in front of me.” Mellie chuckles and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Maybe someday you’ll take me for a ride.”
“I bet that could be arranged,” I call out as she climbs into her car and backs out of the driveway.
The drive to the airport is uneventful. After waving Mellie toward the rental returns, I head over to long-term parking. I don’t like it and second-guess myself for driving her here. I probably should have let Mellie drive and grabbed an Uber when I got back.
A half-hour later, we’re boarding the plane. Gotta love small airports. Norfolk is the closest one to the naval base, and you’ll always find plenty of navy personnel. I like it because it’s close to home, but damn if there aren’t tons of delays usually. Not this time, though. Right on time, we’re taxiing down the runway. Next stop is Jackson, Mississippi. It’ll be about another hour to get to Woolridge and Mellie’s parent’s house.
As I turn my phone off for the flight, I pray things work out for Tony and his team and Mellie and me. It seems like we’re all in for a rocky few days.
