A concussion, Reggie decided. It had to be the explanation for why at this very moment she sat beside this handsome stranger in his beat-up truck going to his sister’s house for Thanksgiving. How had he talked her into this? She didn’t do bizarre spur-of-the-moment things like this.
Definitely, a concussion. Maybe she should ask Dylan to take her to the hospital for an MRI before going to his sister’s. She sneaked a peak at him.
With both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes moved from the rearview mirror to the side mirror, then to the road in front.
She peered down at the speedometer. Exactly fifty-five miles per hour. His following the driving rules so precisely made her want to scream. Her brain urged her to tell him to go sixty or fifty-nine, anything but fifty-five. So far, she’d managed to keep her mouth shut, but driving slow made her nuts.
They hadn’t talked much on the drive. Her mind kept flashing back to her trashed apartment. She couldn’t believe Trent had done such a thing. Sure, she’d broken up with him, but she’d been very nice about it, giving him the it’s not you, it’s me speech. Apparently, he hadn’t bought it. She forced her thoughts from Trent and turned to Dylan.
“Is something wrong? You seem agitated.”
“Just making sure we aren’t being followed. We don’t know for sure who ransacked your apartment, and the last thing I want is to put my sister and her family in danger.”
“You’re right, Dylan. I didn’t even think of that.” She reached over and touched his hand. Warm and rough. Her body, melted like ice cream on a hot day. In just a few hours, he’d managed to make her feel safe for the first time in her life. “I shouldn’t go. Just take me back home, please.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. No one’s going to be able to follow us without my knowing. As soon as we get to my neck of the woods, I’ll make sure of it. Nothing’s going to happen to you or to my sister.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind going home.”
“I’m sure.” He took his eyes off the road for a moment and looked at her. He wasn’t going to change his mind.
“So, what do you do?”
“Me? A little bit of this and that, but mostly I’m a farmer.”
“A farmer.” Not a cowboy, but close. She’d known his calloused hands didn’t carry a briefcase. Her first encounter with a real-life agriculturist. What could they possibly have in common? Tomorrow might be a very long day. “What kind of farming?” She asked, using a cheerful and interested tone.
“Dairy farming.”
“Cows.” Definitely out of her area of expertise. Glancing at Dylan, Reggie found him staring at her with a knowing smile on his face. Almost as if he could read her mind. “How nice.”
“So, Madame Lawyer, what kind of law do you practice?”
“A little of this and a little of that, but mostly I work with business contracts.” Reggie didn’t want to give Dylan a long drawn out explanation he probably wouldn’t care about, anyway.
“How nice.”
Catching his humor, she laughed. “I guess we live in different worlds, don’t we?”
He flipped on his turn signal and then exited the highway. Pointing at the blinkers, he looked at her with a mischievous grin. “That’s how you use a turn signal. Of course, it helps when it’s in working order.”
“Thanks for the driving lesson.” She grinned back.
“My pleasure. I’ll be glad to give you a few more if you want. After all safety is a very good thing.”
“I suppose so.”
Dylan held up a pack of gum, but she shook her head. He pulled out a stick for himself. “Where was your business meeting at?”
“Indianapolis. What a disaster.” Grabbing her throat, she pretended to choke. She went on to explain the minute mistake. When she finished, she looked over at him. “Can you believe it? An English teacher.”
“He sure seems nicer in his commercials.”
“Because he wants your money.” She giggled. “But he did smile at me as he told me.” She looked over at him a moment. “Can I ask you a question, Dylan?”
“Shoot. My life’s an open book.”
“Why did you really invite me to your sister’s?”
“Mmm. Good question.”
Staring out into the darkened countryside, she wondered if he would tell her the truth. It was obvious there was more to his invitation than her holiday plans.
“I was worried about you. Plain and simple. This Trent may not be quite as nice as you think.”
“He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Yeah, that’s what my sister thought, too.”
Her heart dropped a beat. “Your sister?”
“Yeah, my baby sister. Her name was Daniella.”
Was . Reggie heard the word and knew this story didn’t have a happy ending. “I’m sorry, Dylan. You don’t have to talk about it.”
“I think I do. You’re not taking this apartment trashing seriously enough. Daniella was away at college and had a boyfriend there. When she broke up with him, he refused to believe it. The situation went from bad to worse. She finally called my dad and told him what was going on. We went down right away to bring her home.” He stopped talking and kept his eyes straight ahead on the road. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Silence filled the truck. He looked back at her. “But when we got there, he’d broken into her dorm room. Shot her and then himself.”
“Oh, Dylan. How horrible. Did she...did she...”
“Yes, she died. Everyone loved Daniella. Beautiful and funny and smart. She kicked around the idea of becoming a lawyer. And she would have been a good one. When we’d argue, she always won. Mom and Dad to her side.” He adjusted his rearview mirror. “I sure do miss her.”
“I am so sorry.”
“You’ve got to be careful, Reggie.”
She nodded. No wonder Dylan had been so protective.
For several minutes they drove in silence on dark country roads. Soon more and more houses sprinkled the landscape, and twinkling lights in the distance announced the next town.
“Fredericksburg?”
“Hardly, this is the big city of Wooster.”
“Woohoo for Wooster.” It was weird, but even with everything going on, she felt happy.
“Fredericksburg is a tad smaller. Have you ever heard of Wooster? It’s small but we actually make the news from time to time.”
“I’m not from this area. I moved to Ohio for my job, and haven’t had much time to explore the rest of the state.”
“Too bad. Ohio’s a great place to live, lots to do. “
“I suppose.” She didn’t tell him she didn’t care where she lived as long as she stayed on the fast track to partnership. A partnership meant security and money. She’d never known the luxury of security, but now she was determined to get it and keep it. It was the reason she’d chosen the law as her career.
As they drove out of Wooster, darkness returned. It overwhelmed her. Living in the city with all the lights, it never got completely dark. Not like this. She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face out here. “What is that?” She wrinkled her nose.
“Manure. Some farmer must have fertilized his field.” He chuckled.
Definitely country.
“I haven’t seen anything suspicious, but just in case someone’s trying to follow, we’re going to do a bit of creative driving.” He turned right without signaling. As soon as he’d turned, the car surged forward. Chunks of gravel pinged against the underside of the truck. He turned right once again and drove even faster.
She gripped the armrest. “And you thought I was a bad driver.”
“I know what I’m doing.” He made a left turn. “Not a car in sight.”
She looked behind.
He was right.
She turned back in her seat in time to see a shape emerge out of the darkness. “What’s that?” She squinted and yelped.
“Amish buggy, a lot of Amish live in the area,” he said, as he expertly pulled around the slow moving vehicle.
Turning in her seat, she stared. She’d never seen an Amish buggy up close.
“OK, here comes the big city of Fredericksburg. Don’t blink or you might miss it.”
“I’m sure you’re exaggerating.” She laughed.
But he wasn’t. Less than a minute later, they were on their way back out of town. They drove up a hill Dylan called South Hill and into a housing development, just like ones in any suburb of Cleveland.
Dylan clicked his turn signal and turned into the drive of a blue-trimmed, brick home with a one-car garage attached to it. Dylan parked and then hopped out of the truck. As Reggie opened her door, Dylan stood waiting. He held up his arms to her. She hesitated for a moment but then slid into them.
He swung her with ease from the truck and placed her gently on the ground. She liked the feel of his arms around her. She wouldn’t have minded him lingering for a moment longer.
“There you go.”
“Thanks.” She muttered, glad of the darkness so Dylan couldn’t see the the effects of warmth in her cheeks. “Sir Galahad.”
“At your service, my fair lady.” He turned to the bed of his truck and lifted out her suitcase.
Before they made it to the house, the door opened and a slightly plump woman bounced out to greet them. Dylan was instantly cocooned in her chubby arms. He gave her a big hug back.
“Hey, Sis. I want you to meet a friend of mine.”
She stood a little taller than Reggie. She wore a faded yellow apron covered in flour. It read, ‘happier than a pig in mud.’ Dylan’s sister turned towards Reggie with a smile that transformed her from a tired, overworked housewife into a beauty queen.
Her smile reminded Reggie of Dylan’s, just as sweet and as genuine.
She wiped her hands on her apron and reached out to shake Reggie’s hand. “Hi, I’m Joni. J-o-n-i. And yes, if you happen to be thinking Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. You’re on the right track. Our parents are old hippies who are still obsessed with the sixties.”
Reggie couldn’t help but like Joni.
“I’m so glad Dylan brought you down for the holiday.” Joni pulled her up the porch steps and into the house. “Miracle of miracles. The kids are asleep. So, we’ll actually be able to talk for a few minutes, but we’ll have to do it in the kitchen. I’m doing a little baking for tomorrow.”
“I really appreciate—”
“Don’t think another thing about it. A friend of my brother is a friend of mine.”
The smell of baked apples drifted from the kitchen as they made their way through the living room. The kitchen was almost the size of Reggie’s whole apartment. It was painted bright yellow and sunflowers were everywhere. Sunflower border, sunflower plaques, sunflower canisters.
It looked like summer and felt like home.
Joni indicated the chairs at the kitchen table but she went back to the center island. A big hunk of dough sat amidst a circle of flour. Dylan plopped himself onto a stool and motioned for her to do the same.
“What are you making?” Reggie asked as she perched on the other stool.
“Pies. I got a little behind on my baking so I’m determined to finish them tonight before I go to bed. If I don’t, I won’t be able to relax enough to sleep. All I’ll be thinking about is, I should be making pies.”
“Really, you’re making pies from scratch. I’ve never seen anybody do that before.”
She looked up to find both Joni and Dylan staring at her as if she were from another planet.
“Didn’t your mom bake, Reggie?” Joni asked.
Reggie took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have any idea. My mom deserted me when I was four.”
A myriad of emotions played out on Joni’s face. Horror, then sadness, but then her face settled into compassion. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a sad subject. Come on over here and let me show you how you make a pie.”
“Don’t apologize. It was a long time ago.”
“Still, it couldn’t have been easy.” Joni said.
Faces flashed through Reggie’s mind. Faces of foster parents and siblings she’d learned to love, only to leave them all sooner or later. Home after home hadn’t worked out. She’d learned to rely on herself. Trusting others only made for more hurt and misery.
“I suppose. But you know the saying, ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.’ 'That’s my motto.” Thinking of her apartment, her gaze met Dylan’s. She saw respect and encouragement in his. Although, it pleased her, it frightened her, as well.
“Good attitude, Reggie. So, how did you meet my brother?”
“Let me tell you how we met, Sis. You aren’t going to believe this.” Dylan interrupted. He looked at Reggie with arched eyebrows as if asking for permission.
She nodded. She knew he would enjoy telling this story.
Dylan proceeded to tell of their inopportune meeting. His brother-in-law came in during the story and perched on a stool. After making introductions, Dylan continued making everyone laugh as he retold it from the beginning.
“Only my brother-in-law could manage to be in a car accident and end up with the second prettiest girl in Ohio. With my wife being the prettiest, of course.” Richard laughed.
“Liar.” Joni flicked floured fingers towards him.
“Am not. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the luckiest man in the world. God’s blessed me with you.” He came up behind her and nuzzled her neck.
“Don’t mind him, Reggie. He’s a hopeless romantic.” Joni giggled.
Reggie thought they might be the sweetest couple she’d ever seen.
Richard took his seat and looked over at Dylan. “Did you hear about the Stark farm?”
“No.”
“It went into foreclosure last week.”
“You’re kidding. I knew they were having a rough time after the spring drought, but I didn’t know it was that bad.” Dylan grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and bit into it.
“Guess it was.” Richard looked at the group. “I hate to break up the party but six AM comes mighty early. I’ve got to get some sleep if I’m going to take those boys of mine huntin’ tomorrow.”
“Reggie’s staying here tonight so we’re going to sleep in the spare room.” Joni said.
“No, no. I can sleep in the spare room. I don’t want to put you out.”
Joni looked up from filling the pie pan with an apple and walnut mixture. “No way. You get our room so you can have your own bathroom. Believe me when I say you don’t want to share the bathroom with the heathens. Oops...I mean our wonderful children.”
“That’s for sure. Nice to meet you, Reggie.” Richard gave a wave and left.
Reggie watched as Joni carefully laid the dough on top of the apples and used her fingers to crimp the edges of the dough. Joni’s face was radiant. Love for her family oozed from her pores. The simple act of Joni baking a pie for her family brought an overwhelming sense of loneliness to Reggie. She choked back tears.
This was the family from her dreams. Where they lived happily ever after. Only this wasn’t her family, it was Dylan’s. She didn’t belong here or anywhere.