A Little Thing Called Love by Kennedy Cole

Author:Kennedy Cole [Cole, Kennedy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

CLAY

I’ve been dreading this day since I bought my plane ticket four months ago.

“Thanks for the ride, man. I really appreciate it,” I tell TJ.

“Happy to help, brother.” TJ pulls my backpack off my shoulder and hauls it to the other side of his car, tossing it in the backseat, while I haul my duffel bag to the trunk. He and I climb in the cab at the same time, me in the passenger seat and him behind the wheel. “Got everything? Phone? Plane ticket? Wallet?”

I do a quick pat down of all my pockets, ensuring all the essentials are in place. Wallet? Back pocket. Phone? Shirt pocket. Plane ticket? On my phone—all check.

“Yeah. Good to go.”

The only flights out of our small local airport were either a million hours long with a hundred layovers, or were stupid expensive. Figured out that paying for the gas to Raleigh, plus a flight from their massive airport, was a better deal than anything I could get out of Pineridge. Quicker, too.

So…here we are. TJ being the great friend he is and driving me to Raleigh.

“You still flying back on Friday?” he asks.

“Yeah.” Turning to look out the window, I prop my elbow on the door’s armrest and prop my chin up in my hand, watching the pine trees go by us at super speed.

Normally I’m not so unenthusiastic about this particular trip, but that conversation with Robert Bishop is still pretty fresh on my mind and voluntarily going to his side of the country has not been sitting well with me. The wounds inflicted by him, as well as the way I embarrassed myself in front of Claire that same night…yeah, California is not where I want to be right now.

But, this is my trip. The same trip I make every year to see my mom. While it was harder to make while I was still in the military, I usually found at least one weekend or holiday I could fly out to see her. Now it’s my business that gets in the way. Easier to plan around since I’m the boss, but still a pain to arrange.

I can’t miss this trip. I’m scared my mom might not have another year for me to make up with.

“What’s on your mind?” TJ asks, startling me from my thoughts.

“What makes you think something’s on my mind?” I ask, no heat behind my words.

“You’re about to tap a hole in your jeans and you haven’t said a word since we left.”

I immediately stop the tapping I didn’t realize I was doing and sit up straighter in my seat, turning my head to face forward, only now realizing how far we’ve already driven.

“Just thinkin’.” Really wish I wasn’t so transparent sometimes. Especially when I want to be left alone inside my own head.

“Claire have fun on Friday?”

And here we go…

TJ knows something is wrong so there is no way he’s going to allow me to be alone in my head. “Yeah. She did. She really liked the food and the per…per…”

“Pergola?”

“Yeah.

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