Page 59 of Lone Star Longing
“Wow. I guess I didn't appreciate all that we did when I was growing up. We traveled a lot, lived in different places. It’s only been the past twelve years that I’ve been kind of locked into one place, therefore I act like an idiot when I get to the city.”
“You don't act like an idiot. It’s charming.”
“Right.” She shoved a French fry into her mouth. “But I tell you, if we could find a way to have that lazy river thing back in Broken Wheel, I’d never work again.”
“I know. I could barely get you out of it to go eat dinner.”
“It was the most relaxing thing ever.”
“Maybe we can make a trip over to Balmorhea State Park in a few weeks. I haven’t been there since I was a kid.”
“They closed the swimming hole for a while, but I’ve never been. I’ve heard people talking about it a lot, though.”
“I remember going as a kid, and I was pretty rambunctious, so I couldn't tell you if it’s relaxing or not, but it might be fun.”
“Fort Clark Springs might be easier to get to. And it’s really pretty, as I recall.”
She still didn't have a maternity bathing suit, and she still didn't have an answer to her question of if Beck had a girlfriend, or wanted one.
Which was a ridiculous thing to wonder when she had essentially just broken up with the father of her child.
She had no business having romantic thoughts about Beck Conover.
As she got closer to home, she grew more tense. She’d texted her dad that she would be home sooner than expected, but she had only told him she’d explain when she got home. She’d ignored the phone calls he’d made to her, really not wanting to rehash it all again in front of Beck, who had heard way more than she wanted him to.
But now she had to work out what she would say to her dad, to explain to him she was going to need him more than she’d expected. She didn't think he’d mind, but he’d be pissed at Jesse.
Lightning illuminated the night sky in the distance once they turned off the interstate. Lacey shifted in her seat. She’d been uncomfortable with storms ever since that morning on the bus, but she’d thought the fear had passed.
Of course, she hadn’t driven through one for a while. She usually just hunkered down in her house as the storms passed over.
“How far away do you think that is?” she asked, hating the shakiness in her voice.
“Do you have a weather app on your phone? You could check.”
She didn’t, and service was too spotty out here for her to download one.
“We’ll probably be going through it, unless it moves on before we get there,” he said, then glanced over at her. “Don't worry. This is a good truck, has good tires, and I’m a good driver. Just relax. We’re not going to have any problems.”
At least he understood her fear. He placed his hand on the console, and she put hers there too, so he could cover it soothingly.
She was amazed by how reassured she actually was by the warm strength of his hand. But she couldn't let herself relax against the back of the seat. She kept her attention on the road ahead, watching for flashes of lightning, then counting as she strained her ears listening for the thunder. She couldn't hear it yet, so the storm was some distance away, but they were definitely driving into it.
She craned her head to look out the window to try to see stars. They should have a pretty good view, without the light pollution of the city, but she didn't see any, or the moon.
“You want to put on some music, see if we can pick up a radio station?” Beck suggested.
She pulled her hand free of his—better for him to have both hands on the wheel, anyway, if they were driving into a storm. She fiddled with the controls on the radio, really not wanting to listen to music, more wanting to hear the weather forecast, but she couldn't find a local news channel, so settled onto a classic rock station.
“I didn't peg you as a classic rock person.”
“What did you peg me as?” she asked, sitting back.
“Country, probably. New country, Carrie Underwood, Kasey Musgraves, that kind.”
“Oh, I like that fine. And red dirt, too. But I figured who doesn’t like classic rock. What do you usually listen to?”
“To be honest? I rarely listen to the radio, and when I do, it’s the old country. Conway Twitty, Ray Price, all the ones I listened to growing up.”
