Hitchhiker (6 page)

DOING A MUNDANE TASK
such as grocery shopping always bored me. One of those weekly chores I despised when I was home. Today didn’t seem so simple. For starters, this store was full of all organic, healthy choices that you wouldn’t find in a normal grocery superstore. Not that I didn’t eat healthy, it was more that I didn’t recognize many of the brands. So searching for food and trying to remember recipes off the top of my head wasn’t working out in my favor. I found myself mindlessly wandering up and down the aisles, pushing a cart that kept trying to veer off to the left. Not just the cart was pulling at me. There was a certain dark-haired man who was currently occupying my thoughts.

Where did Dawson even go? Why did I care? Hitchhikers get in and out of vehicles and go about the rest of their lives without giving the stranger who gave them a ride a second thought, right? So what was the big deal? I picked up a box of cereal without noticing what it even was and tossed it in my cart. Maybe I should have gotten his contact info so I could check on him. Like a text or something. No, that would be weird. We weren’t at that level. I was sure he was anxious to get away from me—the girl who grilled him relentlessly and wouldn’t stop talking. I knew I must’ve annoyed him. He probably didn’t even intend on staying in Big Sky; he was likely here overnight and he’d move on in the morning. I knew he had to have a destination in mind.

“Ma’am?” a voice asked in front of me.

Snapping out of my stupor, I realized that I’d somehow made my way to the front of the store and was at the checkout counter.

“Ma’am, are you ready?” the cashier inquired again.

Looking down at my basket, I had a few things that I vaguely remembered putting in there. Just the basics. I’d have to come back to town in the next day or two to get some other stuff. Smiling, I said, “Yes, sorry.”

She rang me up quickly and I handed her a wad of cash. When I got out to my Rover, I was putting the bags in the back when I looked up and saw him. Dawson was standing under an awning speaking to a man in a business suit. Grabbing my two bags, I put them in the backseat while I continued to watch. They were speaking too low for me to hear anything, but both appeared serious, their mouths firm and unforgiving. I hadn’t realized how long I’d stood there watching, but when a horn honked behind me, I jumped. The door I’d been leaning against, or hiding behind, was blocking them from pulling into the empty spot beside me. Several other pedestrians had stopped what they were doing, so I could only assume the man and Dawson had, too.

Redness was seeping into my cheeks. Reluctantly closing the door, I was no longer under the cover of my vehicle. The person who’d been waiting pulled in, but I was ignoring them. I didn’t know how, but I just instinctively knew that a certain set of eyes was on me. I let my hair fall forward to mask my face as much as possible as I attempted to glance up nonchalantly in the direction of the two men. Sure enough, he’d seen. The Suit was talking, but Dawson was staring right at me. Well, if you want to call it staring. More like burning a hole through my body with his intensity. He was giving nothing away with his face, again. A moment later, they shook hands, gave each other polite smiles, and parted. Dawson began striding toward me, a look of purpose etched on his features.

Oh, fuck.

I moved as quickly as I could. I hadn’t the slightest clue why I was trying to get away from him so fast, when only a few short minutes ago, I was pathetically pondering the idea of contacting him. I hopped into the Rover and started it but never got the chance to put it into reverse before my driver’s side door came open.

“Chandler.” The way he said my name this time caused every cell in my body to come alive. “Any reason you’re spying on me?”

My mouth was hanging open. Spying? Was that what he thought I was doing? Okay, maybe I was spying a little bit, but I certainly wasn’t going to confess it. I’d call it more curiosity. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lifted my chin in defiance. “I just came out of the store and saw you talking. Excuse me for noticing.”

His dark brown eyes dazzled in the sunlight. In fact, I wouldn’t even call them brown. They had a lighter yellow hue to them making them appear slightly hazel, but not quite. Stunning. “That was more than ‘noticing.’” He air quoted. “You were watching me. Why?”

I wanted to laugh in his face so bad. “Wait, so you get to ask me questions now, but before, I couldn’t ask you anything? I don’t think so, buddy.”

He curled his lip up. “Spying and being nosy aren’t the same as asking why you’re doing it.”

“Sure, it is.”

“No, it isn’t. Not even close,” he retorted.

“A question is a question,” I threw back.

The other side of his mouth lifted into a sarcastic sneer. “You’re some kind of genius, aren’t you?”

I jerked my head back. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? I give you a ride for the last two days, and you’re going to make fun of me? Well, screw you.” I reached forward and tried to close my door, but he wouldn’t let the damn thing budge.

Dawson, the same guy who barely gave me any expression over the last forty-eight hours, had now shown me five different faces I’d yet to see from him. He was clearly still in asshole mode as he poked his bottom lip out. “Aww, did I hit a nerve?”

Enough was enough. “No!” I shot back as I grunted, still trying to yank my door shut. “God, would you move?”

“Not till you answer my question.”

I gave up. At least for now, but the moment he moved even a little bit, I was closing it. I didn’t care if I hit him in the process. Crossing my arms in front of me, I saw his eyes land on my heaving chest. It made my heart pick up its pace, but I was still too pissed to care. “Okay, yeah I was watching you. I was wondering what you were talking to that man about. You told me a whole lot of nothing while you were with me except for your damn name. You got out of my car, and I had no idea where you were going, if you had a place to stay, or if you planned to get another ride out of town. So when I saw you talking to someone, I got curious. Sorry, but that’s just the kind of person I am. I like to know that people are okay.” His hand fell away from the door. As much as I wanted to lean forward and do what I’d originally planned, something about his stance changed, and he regarded me differently.

His brow furrowed. “What do you mean; you like to know that people are okay? You don’t even know me.”

I gave him a sarcastic shrug. “Yeah, what does that have to do with anything? I just said I care, whether I know you or not. Doesn’t matter that you’ve been the world’s most grumpy human being to me, yelled at me for taking care of a food bill, or that you’ve barely acted grateful for the ride. I would have wondered how you were doing regardless.”

Tilting his head slightly to the side, he narrowed his eyes. He was attempting to figure me out, probably trying to decide if I was playing some game. Well, keep looking because I wasn’t. This was me—always was and always would be. My parents taught me to be kind to everyone. But there was only so much that they ingrained in me versus what was simply me. I lived by the theory that you never know what someone else has been through. Case in point—Dawson. He might be acting like the world’s biggest asshole, but that might be because of things he’d been through. For me, that just meant that I would have at least shown someone like him a kindness that maybe he was never offered. Not everyone in this world had to be hard around the edges.

His silence wore on for a couple of beats before he straightened and rested his forearm on my still open door. There went my chance to escape. “I don’t have a place to stay.” He tossed the statement out into the open air like it was weightless and not a big deal.

It was a big fucking deal! One could only assume he was telling me for a reason. He’d obviously answered one of my questions from a few minutes ago, but I wasn’t anticipating this. Did he want me to ask him to stay with me? I couldn’t possibly . . .”Okay, do you want me to look up the number for the hotel down the street?” I reached into my center console and pulled out my phone. “’Cause I don’t mind. Give me just a second . . .”

He placed a surprisingly warm hand on mine, interrupting what I was doing. His palm and fingers were so large that they engulfed mine. How on Earth was he so warm out here in this cold weather? Didn’t matter. This was the second time he’d touched me today, and it caused tingles to spread up my arm. I wanted to let my eyes roll back and tell him to touch me more.

“I said I had a phone. I could look up the info myself.” He spoke low.

It was my turn to tilt my head and assess him. A thousand thoughts were running through my head all at once, but one stood out in front of the others.
Do something brave and be willing to feel, no matter what.
Since I picked him up the first time yesterday, I’d felt more emotion than I’d felt in a long time. Could I really pass up the possibility that he could pull more out of me? Just being in close proximity to him was enough. Nothing had to happen. At least that was what I’d keep telling myself, but all bets were off if he touched me again. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

“Listen, I’m staying up the road. I have a cabin that’s pretty big. There’s more than enough space and bedrooms.” I couldn’t believe I was doing this. “I know we don’t know each other, and I’m not exactly the Motel 6 but having some company would be nice. Besides, I’m not the best at chopping wood or starting fires.” It was my lame attempt at a joke.

He let his hand fall to his side. “Are you asking me to come stay with you?”

I couldn’t hold his stare, so I looked down at my feet. “Yes, I suppose I am. But just for a little bit.”

He exhaled, then repeated, “For a little bit.” Dawson’s boot covered feet were in front of me, and then they were gone.

Tipping my head back up, I turned, seeing him round the Rover and open the passenger side. Boy, this felt familiar. I had an eerie feeling this wasn’t the best decision I’d made, but it was done and I was going to follow through.

As I drove to the cabin, I should have been excited to see the new house. Instead, I found myself anxious over Dawson being back in the car and what he would think of where we were going. With the little bit of information that had been shared, there was a plethora of other things that he wasn’t aware of concerning me. For example, I had yet to tell him that I was engaged and had no plans to head back home anytime soon. Not that it should matter, but it was a big reason why he was sitting here with me now. The more I sat here thinking about it, the more I’d decided it was best that I didn’t tell him anything. It wouldn’t matter to him either way. He wouldn’t be staying with me very long. I also didn’t want to tell him that the house was actually mine. It would lead to more questions that I didn’t want to answer.

Passing a carved sign that said “Big Sky Estates,” we crossed over a bridge and climbed the poorly plowed roads that wound through a new development that had cropped up since I’d last visited. The houses were huge, and I wondered if my house was as large as these were. I’d seen pictures, but that was several years ago and I couldn’t exactly recall what it looked like. I only knew where the property was that it sat on. We made our final turn on Black Diamond Road, a small cul-de-sac, and I could see it. My house was a ranch-style log home with circular driveway. Two grand wooden pillars supported the massive walk-up porch and barn-style front door. Boy, my parents clearly spared no expense when they redid the place. I could only image what it looked like on the inside.

I refused to look over at Dawson as I rounded into the driveway. Lord knows he probably already thought I was some spoiled princess. Which technically, I was, but that was beside the point. If I heard one word from him, I think I would make him sleep outside. Once stopped, we both got out and walked up steps, leaving our bags and groceries in the Rover. I had a key on my key ring and I slipped it in the lock. It made me remember when my parents had given me the papers as a gift. I put the key on my key ring as a reminder of that day, and the present. Stepping inside I expected the smell of mothballs and dust to overwhelm me, but I was pleasantly surprised. The house still had a semi-new scent to it. Like fresh cut wood or what you’d smell walking into a home improvement store.