Page 46 of Lone Star Longing
LACEY WAS BOUNCINGon her toes Thursday morning. She and Beck had agreed to leave before dawn to make sure they got to the airport on time. She had made breakfast tacos for the road, and had sandwiches, chips and bottles of water for lunch, since the route didn't offer many places to stop.
“You sure this is what you want to do?” her dad asked from the kitchen table, where he sat drinking his coffee. He wasn't usually up so early but had gotten up to see her off.
“Why not?”
“You wouldn't rather wait until Jesse comes here?”
Could she admit to her dad that her fear was that he wouldn't come? That he would ignore her and spend his entire leave in San Antonio with “the boys?”
But her dad knew her pretty well. He probably figured out that was her fear. Maybe he had the same fear, too.
Headlights turned into the driveway.
“Beck’s here.” She crossed the room to kiss the top of her dad’s head, and he squeezed her hand a long moment before he released her. She picked up the cooler and her overnight bag and hurried into the dark morning to climb into Beck’s truck.
“Saw a pack of coyotes on the way into town,” he greeted her. “Running right down the side of the road.”
She shuddered as she swung the cooler into the back seat of the cab. “They give me the heebies when they travel in a pack.”
“That’s what they’re meant to do. They’re safer that way.”
“They’re meaner that way.” She buckled in, barely able to contain her excitement. And if she was honest with herself, the prospect of seeing Jesse was only part of what had her so excited. The idea of something new, something out of the ordinary, thrilled her almost as much
And knowing that after today, she’d have a better idea of where she stood with Jesse, and could better plan what was going to happen next in her life.
“I made breakfast tacos for the road. I didn't know what you liked, so I made potato and egg, and bean and cheese.”
“I’ll do a bean and cheese.”
She chuckled as he pulled out of the driveway and she reached into the bag. “You’d think I would have thought of a way to tell which is which without opening them all.”
Using the dashboard light, she held one taco up to it and unwrapped the foil. Potato and egg, naturally.
As was the next. She set both of those on her lap before she unwrapped the bean and cheese.
“You are really hyper for someone who can’t have coffee this early in the morning.”
“It’s an adventure. I guess you’re used to them, but I don't leave Broken Wheel too often.”
“You weren’t this excited about going to the doctor.”
“Yeah, well, I was nervous about that. Maybe I’ll get more nervous the closer we get to San Antonio, but right now I’m just happy.”
“Good. That’s good. I like it when you’re happy. I hope you don't mind but I brought a thermos of coffee, because I’m not really a morning person. I mean, I was, but I got out of the habit.”
They drove in silence a while, Beck kind of struggling to eat his taco as he drove. Lacey fished out the napkins she had packed and reached over to wipe a glob of beans from the corner of his mouth.
He looked at her sideways, as if she’d stung him.
“Sorry. Just thought I’d get that before it fell on your shirt. I should have asked.”
“No, it’s okay,” he said, resting the taco on its foil in his lap and turning onto the road leading to the highway. “Thanks. For the taco, too. It’s really good.”
“My secret recipe,” she said with a grin. “Open a can of beans, warm them up with some cooking oil and some spices, and add freshly grated cheese.”
“What time did you wake up?”
“I’ve been up since four. I should mention before we start that I will probably have to stop a lot to go to the restroom.”
