"Daredevil," he warns, worried I'm not going to listen to him, but he doesn't understand. I don't want to do thiswithouthim.
I promise I'll wait as I gather my clothes to take a quick shower. As I'm going through my room, I make a mental note of all the things I need to do before we leave because Scarborough, Florida, is a long drive from here.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Millie
It isn't until I'm in his truck and the address we're going to is plugged into the GPS that it finally dawns on me. I turn sharply in my seat. "Oh, my goodness. I never asked you if you had the time to do this! What about practice and your game?"
I start to internally panic.How could I be so selfish?
"It's okay," he says calmly.
"It's not okay. I was only thinking of myself. Turn the car around," I demand, but he just laughs.
"I will not."
I cross my arms, digging my metaphorical heels in. "Yes, you will. You aren't missing a game on my account. We won't be back in time for you to be there tomorrow night."
"I already cleared it with Coach. I'm all yours."
His reassurance makes me feel slightly better, but I still feel guilty. "That doesn't make it any better. I shouldn't have asked you to do this with me. I could have done it on my own."
His smile drops, and his expression turns serious. "I don't want you to have to do it by yourself." He reaches over and grabs my hand, pulling it into his lap. "Millie, do you hear me?I want to be here."
His words are like a soothing balm to my heart. "Are you sure?" I ask, nervous that he will say no and that he really does have to go back. I want him here, too. I don't want to do this without him.
"I'm positive." He squeezes my hand before bringing it up to his lips to plant a soft kiss on top. "We're going to figure this out, together."
I sag in relief. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that.
"Do you think we should try to call this girl? Give her a heads-up that we are coming?" he asks.
My free hand goes to my pulse point. After being up all night and learning everything that I did, my brain was too muddled to process much else. I didn't even think of that. "I don't know. What do you think?"
"I think it's going to be one hell of a surprise if we just show up."
"That's true." I pull out my phone. I had emailed myself all the important stuff, like her name and address, but I didn't list a phone number. "I don't have one here."
"You couldn't find one?"
I keep scrolling, but I don't see it. "No, I don't think I did. I was so focused on the address and the girl's story that I must have missed that part."
"Maybe try looking it up? We've got plenty of time to try."
I nod my head in agreement as I get to work trying to track down a number. It's hours later when we finally stop for a bite to eat, and I'm still empty-handed.
"She must have her number listed as private because I can't find anything." I start to panic a little. I have no idea how she is going to react, and I have no idea what I'm even going to say to her. "Maybe this is a bad idea."
Rowan stops right before he opens the door to the fast-food joint we stopped at. "We have to do this, Millie." He lets go of the door and turns to face me, cupping both my cheeks with his callused, yet soft, hands. "It's the only way you are going to have peace, baby."
"But what if it hurts her even more?" I give voice to my biggest fear with this whole journey. What if us coming does nothing but open up a barely healed wound?
"I don't think that it will. I think she needs this as much as you need this. It's going to help bring her closure."
"We don't know that for sure, Rowan. I just don't want to make things worse for her." A tear gathers in the corner of my eye. His eyes find mine, and as he reaches up with his thumb to swipe the tear, I lean my cheek onto his palm.
"If we get there and she doesn't want to talk to us, that's one thing, but I think you'll regret it if you don't at least go and try."
