Page 28 of Follow Me
Chapter Eight
Mal waited until she’d had her talk with Doyle a little after lunch to tackle the next item on her list—driving.
While the men told her they didn’t expect her to undertake cross-country road trips anytime soon, they did tell her she needed to try to—safely—start working herself up to full independence.
Because that independence would go a long way toward helping Kel realize he’d have to focus on himself and his recovery.
One of the things they wanted her to do was attempt one “brave” thing every day, whether it was confronting something within herself, or attempting something she hadn’t done before. It didn’t have to be a big thing, but she knew getting behind the wheel again more than qualified for her daily bravery task.
Their neighborhood was quiet and had plenty of back streets she could safely cruise around without having to get on a busy highway. With a text to the men about what she was going to do, she grabbed her purse and keys and headed out.
When she had to adjust the seat and mirrors she nearly started crying. At six feet tall, Kel was only four inches taller than her, but he had long legs.
She sat and breathed through her doubt, her grief, her second-guessing. Nothing worth having ever came easily, and she knew this was no different.
Once she had everything adjusted and put her seatbelt on, she started the car and took a deep breath before shifting intoreverseand backing out of the driveway.
This had been the right time of day to undertake this challenge. It wasn’t garbage day, there were hardly any other cars out, the weather was good—it was a success.
Until she was on the far side of their neighborhood and she heard a soft chime sound, which made her look at the dash.
The low-gas light had come on.
Dammit.
That meant working her way back around to pass their house and go down to her favorite gas station. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy, so she didn’t have to feel nervous navigating her way up to one of the pumps.
Following a brief moment of panic where she realized she didn’t have any cash with her and she worried if she even had a valid ATM or credit card that hadn’t expired—she did—she got out and…
Pumped her own gas.
A small victory to some, sure, but she literally couldn’t remember the last time she’d pumped her own gas. Even before everything started, if they were together, Kel preferred to get out and pump the gas, or made sure if he took her car instead of his truck, he always brought it home full or nearly full so she wouldn’t have to get gas. Once she was pregnant, he’d refused to let her pump gas, and had made it an order that she wasn’t allowed to.
It was just one of his things, and a very considerate thing she loved about him.
Once she was home again, she texted the group thread to update them. Almost immediately, she’d received threeGood girlsin reply, which made her burst into tears.
I want my life back.
Unfortunately, she knew from hard experience that the only way to achieve that goal was to get down into the weeds and do this work now, work she’d put off for far too long.
* * * *
Kel fought the urge to bug Mal all afternoon, but he finally gave in and texted her before leaving the apartment.
Do you need me to stop and get you anything from the store?
He sat in his truck, waiting, until she replied a moment later.
No, I have everything we need for dinner, but thank you. Love you.See you soon!:)
He swallowed back the lump in his throat. When they’d first gotten together as a couple, he’d had trust issues thanks to a bad relationship he’d had before her. It’d taken him a while to sayI love youto Mal. When he’d collared her, he knew he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her.
He considered that their “official” wedding, even before they legally married.
He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He never imagined a day where she wouldn’t be his slave, wouldn’t be calling him Sir or Master, and how empty it left him feeling right now without that one little word in her reply.
