Page 65 of Country Road Romance

“I guess there’s just one thing to do, then,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to go get Jared.”

This time,Charlie opted not to take his private jet back to West Virginia. He wasn’t sure why he decided to drive, other than that he just needed the chance to clear his head. He wasn’t sure whether spending several days in a car was going to be just what the doctor ordered in that regard, but he figured that he might as well give it a try and see what happened.

Surprisingly enough, it worked. Something about being out on the open road allowed him to think more clearly than he had in years. With each passing mile, he became more and more convinced that he was, in fact, doing the right thing.With nothing but the road in front of him, he allowed himself to really see why going back for Jared was the best choice that he could make.

He just hoped that it wouldn’t be a waste of time.

Charlie had decided that he would go to Jared’s parents’ place first. He didn’t know this for sure, but something told himthat this would be where Jared would be. Call it artistic intuition, or just a lucky guess, but he had a feeling that when he got there he’d find Jared, probably holed up in his old bedroom, trying to work through some bit of writer’s block.

He tried not to let himself think too much about what might happen when he actually got there, but he wasn’t blind to the possibility that Jared might not want him now, or perhaps his parents would tell him to get off their property. There were a million different possibilities, but Charlie tried to focus on the positive ones, with somewhat limited results.

Perhaps the best thing about the whole road trip, though, was how easily he was able to avoid detection by other people. By choosing little out-of-the-way motels and truckstops, he was able to keep other people from seeing him as Charlie Garrett and instead as just another guy who was on the road.

When, at last, he got off of the exit that would take him to Jared’s parents’ house, he felt absolutely confident in his decision to come. Whether Jared rejected him or not, he would at least know one way or another, and he wouldn’t have to torment himself with endless “what ifs?”

Then he was pulling into Jared’s parents’ driveway, and he felt his confidence begin to flag. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to act like one of the heroes in his own movies? Now that he was in the real world and not just in the in-between world of the open road, it all seemed much more complicated.

You’ve come this far,he reminded himself.You’re not going to turn back now.

Jared’s parents met him out in the yard before he’d even made it halfway to the house. His heart sank as he thought about what they might say, the disappointment that would be in their voices when they told him that he should probably just leave, because Jared just didn’t want to see him.

To his pleasant surprise, however, they both met him with smiles on their faces. Even though he knew they’d had no way of knowing he was coming, the way that they were looking at him told him that they’d anticipated his coming and had actually been looking forward to it.

“We’re so glad you’re here,” Joyce said, taking his hands in her own and then giving him a big hug.

“Good to see you back here, young man,” Doug said, giving him a firm handshake and then pulling him in for a hug. “I was beginning to think that Jared might be the one who’d come to his senses first, and we both know that wasn’t likely to happen.”

They all shared a smile and a slight laugh at that, the shared amusement of a group of people who loved someone dearly but weren’t blind to their foibles.

“Is he here?” he asked at last.

They both nodded their heads.

“He’s in his bedroom,” Joyce said. “Do you want to come inside and talk to him?”

At first Charlie almost said yes. Then he had a better idea. There was one place that would serve as the perfect setting for the reunion that he’d imagined with Jared. He had no way of knowing whether Jared would approve or not but, since he’d come this far and taken this many risks, he figured it was worth seeing through to the end.

“Do you think…do you think it would be okay if I went up to the top of the hill? And do you think you might send him up there in about, say, fifteen minutes?” He gestured at the hill behind them.

Once again they both smiled, as if this was exactly what they’d hoped–or expected–to happen.

“Of course, dear,” Joyce said, reaching out and patting him on the cheek. “We’ll give you a few minutes to get settled andthen, if Jared hasn’t noticed that you’re there, we’ll send him up.”

Charlie was so overcome by their kind welcome that he had to swallow a few times to get his voice to come out clear.

“I really appreciate that,” he said at last. “This and…well, just everything.”

“That’s okay, son,” Doug said. “No thanks necessary. We’re the ones who should be thanking you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Jared, and I think even he’s come to accept that. Now, you head up on the hill. You don’t want to spoil your Hollywood ending, do you?”

Charlie smiled and gave them both another hug, and then he was traipsing up the hill.

As he reached the top of it, the view took his breath away. Part of that was because he was reminded of the time that he’d spent up here with Jared, but it was also because, as Jared himself had pointed out, this was like nowhere else in the world. Everything that they both loved about West Virginia–its beauty, its antiquity, its closeness to nature–was here, on this hilltop.

He turned to look back at the house, uncertain just how long he was going to have to wait up here. No sooner had he done so, however, than it opened, and Jared stood there.

Well,he thought,here goes nothing.

He waved and, to his everlasting delight and surprise, Jared waved back and, his face beaming with a smile that was visible even at this distance, he began to walk up the hill.

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