The amusement in Rev’s face was replaced with such a look of admiration and tenderness that it caused an ache in my chest. “She’s my hero. Everything good and decent that I am is because of my mother.”
His endearing words, along with the conviction with which he spoke, momentarily left me speechless. I couldn’t help wondering just for a moment what it might be like to have such a woman as my mother. “She sounds like an amazing person.”
“She is.” The corners of his lips turned up in a smile. “She’s probably one of the reasons I’m still single. She’s spoiled me too much.”
“So there’s no girlfriend or wife back home?”
“No. There isn’t.”
Although I couldn’t explain why, his answer gave me a sense of relief. Hitting him with his question from earlier, I asked, “How is it a man as handsome as you is still single?”
He grinned. “Stop it. You’ll make me blush.”
I couldn’t help laughing at his teasing remark. He was such a paradox--a tender, gentle soul wrapped up in a handsome, yet hard and gruff exterior. “Seriously though. I might’ve only known you for a few days, but I can tell what a good, decent, and caring man you are. Not to mention the easy on the eyes bit.”
Rev ducked his head shyly. “I don’t know the why other than I got my heart broken a couple of years ago.”
My fists clenched at my sides, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to scratch the eyes out of a girl I’d never met—the girlwho had dared to break Rev’s heart. “That’s a shame because you deserve someone who makes you happy, not one who hurts you.”
Rev’s head shot up at my comment. His intense stare made me regret what I said. He opened his mouth to say something, but the hospital room door burst open and silenced him. Bishop blew in laden down with food bags.
“Finally. What took you so long?” Rev asked, as he rose from his chair. He started to reach for some of the bags, but Bishop jerked them away.
“Oh hell no! Don’t you even begin riding my ass about how long it took. Do you know how fucking far we had to go to find a car?” He paused dramatically. “An hour.”
“I’m sorry—” Rev began, but Bishop shook his shaggy blond head wildly back and forth.
“Did I mention how during that hour I had to ride bitch with Ghost so that I could drive the car back?”
The corners of Rev’s lips twitched like he was fighting not to smile. “That sucks, man. I’m sorry. I really am.”
“You better fucking be,” Bishop muttered. He then sidestepped Rev to come over to the bed. He plopped a McDonald’s bag down in front of me. “The only good thing about driving an hour away was there was fucking civilization.” His blue eyes narrowed on mine. “I hope you like McDonald’s.”
I could tell he was just waiting for me to complain. “I love McDonald’s, and I haven’t gotten to have it in forever. Thank you, Bishop,” I said sweetly, as I reached for the bag.
His brows shot up in surprise. “Yeah, well, you’re welcome.”
As I unwrapped a cheeseburger, my stomach growled noisily. The moment I bit into it, I moaned in delight. “This tastes amazing.”
Bishop grinned. “Glad you like it.”
Rev came over to the bed. “You got anything for me?”
“There’s at least five cheeseburgers in there,” Bishop replied, before he went over and plopped down in the chair Rev had been sitting in.
With a wink, Rev asked, “Mind if I have a cheeseburger, or do you think you’ll devour them all?”
I laughed. “You can have three. I think two will be my limit.” I glanced over at Bishop. “Unless you want one.”
He shook his head as he rubbed his stomach. “I ate on the drive back.”
With Bishop taking the only chair, Rev’s brows furrowed as he surveyed the room to figure out where to sit. “You can sit on the bed if you want,” I suggested.
He contemplated my words for a moment before he finally eased down on the edge. A few minutes went by with just the sound of rustling wrappers and chewing.
“So what happens when we get to El Paso?” I asked through a mouthful of cheeseburger. It struck me in that moment that my manners would have appalled my mother.
“You get on a plane home to Virginia, and we get our asses back to Georgia,” Bishop replied.
