Page 106 of The Roads We Follow

30

Raegan

I bolt upright in my bunk at the pounding on the bus door. I expect Micah to intercept before I can get there first, but his bunk curtain is open, his bed empty. My pulse kicks up speed as the insistent pounding continues. My sleepy morning brain is too foggy to glance through the window first, but even if I had, I would have been just as surprised to see Adele waiting on the other side of it. Given the state of things between us, I figured I was months out from being summoned by her directly.

I’ve barely unlatched the door when she pushes herself inside. “Where’s Hattie?”

“Asleep.” What other answer could there be at this hour? Hattie’s been in her bunk since I got in from the Ferris wheel with Micah last night. And to my knowledge, she hasn’t come out.

Adele wastes no time in striding back to Hattie’s bunk and rousing her, demanding she join us in the front lounge immediately. She stumbles toward us a moment later, tightening her robe around her waist and shielding her eyes.

“Mama and Micah are gone,” Adele announces.

It’s such a strange combination of words to be strung together that they don’t feel real. “Gone where?”

She shakes the paper in her fist. “According to the note she left, to Idaho.”

“What?” Hattie and I screech in unison.

“Apparently our mother was on the phone arranging all sorts of plans with Jana last night while I slept on the sofa in her trailer.” She thrusts the paper in our direction. “Here.”

I take it as Hattie and I push together to read.

To my darling daughters three:

In light of last night, I’ve expedited our final destination to today. While I imagined momentary tensions flaring up here and there, I see now how blind I’ve been to the much deeper issues among us. And for that, I surely share some blame.

As much as I’ve desired to leave a legacy to the world through my music, it is nothing compared to the legacy I’ve desired to leave to my daughters. It’s for this reason I’m asking you to meet me in a special place I pray will outlast my greatest hit.

Micah has graciously agreed to be my driver for the day, and I’ve arranged for Cheyenne to stay back and rehearse with the band in my place until I’m back for the 8:00 p.m. call time tonight. Her daddy will be arriving to the Gorge by lunchtime to see her in concert and to watch over her in our absence. You’ll find a blue Jeep waiting for the three of you girls in the VIP lot. Cheyenne has the keys for you. It will take you approximately three hours to arrive.

See you soon.

I love each of you dearly,

Mama

There’s an address penned at the bottom of her letter, but even after I read the whole thing through a second time, it makes little sense.

“She just ... left us here?” Hattie asks, sounding as bewildered as I feel.

“Obviously, she’s still reeling from Raegan’s forced confession last night,” Adele expresses with a notable lack of eye contact. “I’ve already tried to call their phones. No answer.”

I ignore her jab and immediately close myself into the bathroom to freshen up and do a quick change of clothes. When I emerge, both my sisters are still discussing what to do, as if the letter hadn’t been clear.

“I’m ready,” I say, swiping my sunglasses and purse off the counter and a fruit smoothie from the fridge. I haven’t had time to analyze much this morning, but I’m certainly not going to stay here and wallow in the bus all day while Mama and Micah are out somewhere waiting for us. “I’ll get the keys and meet you both at the rental.”

They both turn to look at me as if my suggestion is nothing short of outrageous, which is why I decide to make another one. “I can drive us unless one of you would rather—”

“I’ll drive,” Adele cuts in, just as I knew she would. “Hattie, meet us out there in ten. The sooner we get to the end of whatever this is, the sooner I can fly myself and my daughter back home to Tennessee.”

To no one’s surprise, there is zero conversation in the Jeep between us girls as Adele drives this unfamiliar stretch of highway into an equally unfamiliar state. Given the sibling pecking order, Hattie’s riding shotgun while I’m in the back seat, and since the only sound in the vehicle is a radio station that’s primarily static, my mind has plenty of time to replay the events of last night and plot them into a story—the whole of it.

Though I’m tempted to stop my mental outline at Adele’s fury and Hattie’s refusal to look at me after I revealed Peter’s latest scheme, I continue onward. I replay the scene in my mind, watching myselfload into a passenger car on a Ferris wheel with Micah and hearing the convicting words he spoke loop around my heart:

“You know exactly what todo with your family. You wrote it all in yourbook.”

“You’ve been a passive character in yourown story for far too long.”

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