Page 14 of The Roads We Follow

As soon as I’m upright and shielding my gaze from the sun, the blood rush to my head makes me feel a bit woozy. Yet the longer I stare into the melty brown eyes of our bus driver, the worse my symptoms become. This stranger doesn’t look at all like what I imagined, given his profession, and I can’t decide if the stereotype is a myth or if this man is simply an anomaly of epic proportions. I work to straighten my shirt as self-consciousness consumes my entire body.

“You doing okay now?” the man, whose eyes are the color of milk chocolate and whose hair appears more auburn than brown in the sunshine, asks.

“Yes. Thanks,” I say. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been certified in first-aid training.”

His face breaks into an amused grin. “Glad I could put it to good use on someone other than Bob the half-bodied mannequin. Honestly, he was a bit oblivious about the whole thing. Not very grateful, either.”

“Torsos can be so entitled sometimes.”

He’s smiling in earnest now, and I can’t help but join him. “Your accent isn’t as strong as some of the locals I’ve met since I flew in. You from Tennessee?”

“Born and raised.” I give my decade of voice lessons a mental high five at the compliment. Like my mother and my sisters, I can turn my Southern charm on and off at will. I swing my gaze to the bus. “I didn’t realize the driving company Adele approved was out of state. She’s usually not big on outsourcing.”

“Driving company?” He gives a shake of his head. “Luella was actually the one to hire me. I was supposed to come by yesterday afternoon to get everything in order and meet the family, but my flight was delayed so I opted for an airport hotel. Luella’s house manager...” He looks up and to the right as if trying to recall it. “Jane, maybe?”

“Jana,” I correct.

“Yes, that’s right. The two of them picked me up and took me on a mini tour of downtown before they dropped me off here in time to rescue a damsel in distress.”

“Poor timing for you.”

“That depends on how you look at it, I suppose.”

Something flutters low in my abdomen, and I glance around the driveway for the women. “Where are they now?”

“They said they were going to pick up the coffee orders before everyone arrived.” He extends his hand to me again as if this is our real first meeting. “I’m Micah, by the way. Any chance you’ll be joining the Farrow women on this epic road trip, as well?”

Joining the Farrow women?The question barely has a chance to register when Adele’s Lexus flies up the driveway and brakes to a stop beside us. She looks the two of us over from her driver’s seat. Her eyes round as she focuses on the state of my frizzy hair and makeup-less, flushed face. This homely look is certainly not Adele-approved.

“So which Farrow sister is this?” Micah mutters under his breath. “Wait, let me guess—Adele, right? She has the look of a firstborn.”

It’s then I realize Micah doesn’t think I’m one of them, the Farrow sisters. It’s also then I make a split-second decision to play along rather than correct him. It would be nice to make a first impression without muddying the waters with my last name. “Ding, ding, ding.”

Micah’s smile doesn’t wane as Adele pops open her trunk and steps out.

“Hello,” she directs at our driver. “You must be Micah.”

“I am, yes. It’s nice to finally—”

“Did my mother give you the last of the paperwork?”

Micah blinks. “Uh, yes. I have most of it filled out in the bus.”

“Great.” Adele nods. “I have one more nondisclosure agreement for you to sign before we leave. I’ll have it ready for you on the dining table inside.”

“Sure thing,” he says as Adele takes our measure.

“Micah was just helping me with the luggage,” I add for no reason other than to break the odd way Adele is studying him.

“I’d appreciate some assistance with mine, as well.” She nods toward her trunk. “The black bag can go in the luggage storage, and everything else can go inside. The ice cooler will need to be unpacked into the fridge. Please organize them per the color code of my nutrition protocol; it will make things easier on the—” Her words halt abruptly when her gaze zeroes in on my hand. “What on earth are you holding?”

All eyes drop to my right hand, which is still clutching a pair of animal-print panties. On instinct, I drop them to the ground, which seems to answer her first question while the awkward silence fills with a dozen more.

“Thosearen’tmine,” I all but squeal in defense, stopping myself from blurting out the identity of the true owner. There are levels to sisterhood loyalty I’d never cross.

Adele’s eyes drag from the sexy paraphernalia on the blacktop back to my face, which I am certain is now a brighter shade of crimson than Adele’s red leather purse. She closes her eyes and seems to take a cleansing breath as if she’s already had enough of this dayeven though it’s not even noon yet. “Let’s just get ready to leave, okay? I need to check on a few things inside. Have you seen Jana?”

“Sounds like she’s still out on a coffee run with Luella.”

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