Page 201 of Heartbeats & Highways

Duke and Savage needed time together. They could say things to each other in private that they couldn’t say in front of us.

Savage grabbed his coat, kissed me goodbye and then the two of them headed out the door. Once it was shut, Willa asked, “What time do you think it will be when they call us for a ride?”

“I don’t even think the sun will be set yet,” I said with a chuckle. “Coffee refill?”

“No, I’m good.”

We sat in silence for a moment and then I asked, “How’s Sailor doing?”

“Getting through it. Waverly won’t leave her side.” She looked at the coffee table at my open sketchbook. “You’ve gotten good.”

“Not much else to do,” I said with a laugh. “You can look at them, if you want.”

Willa picked up the sketch book and perused it. “You ever thought of apprenticing as a tattoo artist? I’m sure Roman would be happy to teach you.”

“Maybe,” I murmured. “I’ve kind of got a lot on my plate at the moment.”

Cooper began to cry, and Willa turned her focus to her infant. “She’s hungry. You mind if I feed her?”

I shook my head.

She reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a nursing blanket and set it across her lap before getting Cooper out of her car carrier. Willa put the baby to her breast and covered her with the blanket.

“I don’t know how you did it, Evie,” she said, returning her attention to me.

“Did what? Convince him to go back to Waco?”

“Yeah.”

“If it were up to Savage, he would stay here. But I told him what I needed and that was to move home. Waco is home.”

“He’s not going to be happy for a while.”

“He hasn’t been happy here,” I said. “And as much as he doesn’t want to go back and face it all, he needs to. Besides, you and Duke are there. He needs to go home as much as I do. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

“I think you’re going to be mad at me,” Savage whispered.

“I’m not mad at you for drinking with your best friend and then calling for a ride. I expected it,” I said, helping him take off his boots.

He plopped down onto the bed. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” I asked with a raise of my brows.

Savage scratched his chest. “I think I bought us some land.”

“Youthinkyou bought us some land?” I repeated. “In Idaho? You promised me we were going back, you?—”

He shook his head. “InTexas. Waco.”

“You were only at the bar for a few hours, how the heck did you do that?”

“Shhh. You don’t want to wake up Cooper.”

Willa, Duke and the baby were staying in the second room of the cabin instead of driving back to Coeur d’Alene.

I lowered my voice. “You bought land in Waco? How?”

“I know I was supposed to talk to you before I did anything permanent about our lives, but I think you’ll be okay with what I did. I mean, I hope so.”

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