“Roger that. Thanks, Jewell.”
“You got it, D. Take care of her and have a great time.”
“Affirmative. Let me know as soon as you figure out who was after her, and the threat is neutralized.”
“Will do, buckaroo.” Jewell sang.
Drake disconnected the call and looked over. “She’s very married.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out of the window. “I didn’t know that.”
“You didn’t ask that.”
“You were flirting with her.”
“No, she was flirting with me, but she doesn't get that is what she's doing. It is the way she talks to everyone.” Drake pulled over on the side of the road, killed the engine, took off his seatbelt and turned to face her. “Something we need to get out in the open right away. I want to get to know you. Only you. If this isn’t an exclusive thing for you, too, then we need to reevaluate and head straight for South Dakota.”
“What? Wait, you were the one who was flirting, and now you’re asking me if I’m the one who is serious?” Jillian closed her eyes and shook her head. “Did I get a smidge jealous? Yes. Do I consider this between us exclusive? Yes, yes I do, but I had no idea you did! Communication works both ways. I am brilliant, but I can’t read your flipping mind, Drake. I’m not Dixon.”
Drake blinked back his surprise and scrubbed his face for a moment. “Fair enough. Communication. We should probably work on that as we work on getting to know each other.”
“You think?” Jillian nodded toward the vehicle’s dash. "Is the other one, the one who sent you the message, married?”
“Jade? Committed, engaged and totally in love. She is sneaking me updates on Dixon. Against procedure but much appreciated.”
“You have some good friends.” She glanced at the highway and nodded her head that direction. “Do you need me to drive?”
Drake chortled and strapped back into his seat. “Another thing you need to know about me. I’m not a good copilot. I always sit on the left.”
“Oh, a control freak? I’m intrigued.” Jillian batted her eyes at him.
“I am. Tell me why you wouldn’t look at day two of this trip.” He checked to make sure he could merge safely and pulled back onto the interstate.
“Honest communication?” Her voice was very low when she asked.
He checked her quickly and noted that she was very interested in her fingers again. “Between us, always. Full disclosure and honesty. We both deserve that.” He accelerated to pass a semi in the right-hand lane.
“I didn’t want to talk about it because I was afraid to jinx what is going on between us.” She peeked at him and then dropped her eyes again.
“Jinx? You’re shitting me, right? You hold a doctorate in mechanical engineering, and you believe in jinxes.” He openly gaped at her.
“I do! Stop looking at me like that. Jinxes happen.” She snorted and then giggled after he barked a laugh.
“No, they don’t. Circumstances happen. Events happen. There is no harbinger of bad news or misfortune that will appear out of thin air. Giving in to those superstitions robs you of the happiness you could have at that specific moment.” He reached over and threaded his fingers between hers and squeezed her hand. “Jinxes aren’t real. Don’t allow anything to stop you from finding joy.”
He could see her nod with his peripheral vision as he drove. She gave his hand a small tug, and he glanced at her.
“It’s hard. For a long time growing up, everything good got ripped away. My parents, my grandpa, Matt. You learn to be afraid of being happy because being happy meant something could be taken away from you to make you miserable again.”
He glanced from the road to her. He’d suffered loss and abuse as a child, but not loss after loss after loss. Placing himself in her shoes, he could understand her hesitancy in admitting she was happy. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “I can’t promise you bad things will never happen, but I can promise you it won’t be because you jinxed yourself by allowing yourself to be happy.”
“Logically, I get that.” She gave him a sad smile. “And I promise to try.”
Drake threw her a wink. “That’s a start.”
Chapter 14
Road Trip, Day One - Reno, Nevada
"I like this one." Jillian pointed to the tent that was on display.
"I don't think we will need that much room." Drake nodded toward the small tent at the other end of the mock campsite. "Something like this, maybe."
Jillian pursed her lips. "You wouldn't fit." She made a show of pacing off the length of the tent. "Lie down."
"Why?"
Well wasn't it obvious? "Because I'm going to see if you'll fit."
Drake laughed. "No, I'm not going to lie down." He folded his arms over his chest, making the seams of his t-shirt scream for relief. Jillian faced him and mimicked his stance down to the tilt of her head. He did nothing but smile at her.
The standoff lasted for about thirty minutes. Okay, more like thirty seconds before she pointed to the two-man tent. "There was no way that thing will hold both of us. We are going to spend every night in it, right?" Drake lifted an eyebrow and nodded.
"I don't know about you, but no matter how much we snuggle, someone is going to end up with a black eye from elbows and your feet are going to stick out of the door flap thingy." She stepped over and shook the tiny little flap to accentuate her point.
Drake looked at the tent again and then at the one she'd pointed out.
She moved next to him and whispered conspiratorially, "You have to admit my pick is a better option."
"No. I can't see it. We don't need a screened in patio and a fourteen by thirty main room. Tent, not palace, Jill." Drake drew a deep breath and pointed to a light tan tent with dark brown accents that sat in the middle of the two extremes. "Compromise?"
Jillian ambled over to the tent. It was tall enough for her to walk into. She glanced back at Drake. He'd have to stoop when he was in the tent. She unfastened the zippered door and stepped inside. Drake followed her. She drew a breath and tried to picture it. "I suppose if we opened up one of the sleeping bags and used the other as a cover we'd both fit. But that would be the extent of the available room."
"What else were you planning on having in here?" Drake dropped to a knee and looked up at her with a smirk.
"What about the other stuff we're buying?" She glanced out the little mesh window to the flatbed cart that had two coolers, a small rectangle grill, two sleeping bags, and a foam liner to go under them.
"We will arrange all of that in the SUV, so we can access them, but we won't have to pull it out every time we make camp." He laid down and stretched an arm behind his head. "See, I fit."
"Catty-corner. Where am I going to sleep?" She dropped down to her knees and looked at the available room beside him.
"Right here." He pulled her down and tucked her against his side. "See, perfect."
Jillian sighed. Camping was a foreign concept to her, but Drake made it sound fun. As Katy Perry roared over the speaker system, Jill realized that he was right, spending time alone together, learning about each other, was pretty close to perfect. A small boy with a mass of red hair opened the flap. His mouth dropped open, and he pointed at them. "Dad, this one’s gots peoples in it!" The flap dropped. They could hear the little boy running away and shouting for his father. "Daddy, come see, this one has peoples."
"Well, that's our cue to leave." Drake released his hold, and she sat up.
She leaned on her hip, propped up with her arm. A wave of her hand motioned around the interior of the tent. "Okay, this one will do. What else do we need?"
She pushed open the flap and crawled out of the door before she stood up.
"Backpacks, some waterproofing spray and then we'll stop by a grocery store on the way out of Reno." Drake followed her out of the tent.
"Where are we camping tonight?"
"A place called Battle Mountain. It is another f
our hours from here." He pushed the flatbed cart toward the back of the store. "What do you want for lunch?"
Jillian rolled her eyes at him and groaned. "Uh...the breakfast burritos, hash browns, and coffee we had a couple hours ago?" She was still full and wouldn't be able to eat anything. The burrito was easily the size of her head, and she'd almost finished it.
"That was four hours ago." Drake stopped the cart. "I'm a growing boy."
"You are a bottomless pit! Two burritos and two orders of hash browns. No wonder you're the size of a mountain." She stepped up on the flatbed and sat down on one of the coolers. "Forward, Jeeves."
Drake snorted out a laugh and pushed the cart. "Okay, we'll go grocery shopping, and then I'll hit a fast food place before we head out."
Road Trip: Day Two - East of Battle Mountain, Nevada
"So, do you think we could make a detour on the way to Yellowstone?" Jillian peeked over a road map she had unfolded when she asked.
"A detour? Why?" Drake darted a glance over her way.
"Because I want to see the EBR-1 Museum." She glanced at one of several tourist books that she'd picked up at a bookstore next to the grocery store where they'd stocked up yesterday. She held her hand over her mouth and yawned until her body shook. He may have been the reason she was tired today, but in his defense, she was irresistible. They'd field tested the foam matting underneath their sleeping bag last night. It passed. Twice.
"What is the EBR-1 Museum?"
"Oh, it is so cool! I saw a special on it on television, it had to be a couple years ago. I think it was the History Channel or something like that, but it is the Experimental Breeder Reactor Museum. It is the first power plant to use atomic energy to produce electricity."
"A museum dedicated to an atomic reactor?" Drake let out a low whistle. That was some cool shit.
"Not any reactor, the first one built to produce electricity in the United States." Jillian pushed the map in her lap away and picked up the tourist booklet. She thumbed through it before she thumped it with her finger. "It says here that it is open all summer from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free. Can we go?"
He sure as fuck was heading that way. "Hell, yes. The original breeder reactor. Making nuclear fuel by introducing a neutron to a uranium-238 atom." It had been a while since he'd read any articles on the origins of nuclear energy production, but that shit stoked his science geek like almost nothing else.
Jillian almost danced in her seat. A small squeal erupted before a flurry of words headed his way. "I know. It is amazing what they were doing back in 1956. When that atom absorbed and changed into plutonium-239, which became another fissionable atom. Can you imagine having a chance to work on a project that was not only producing electricity but also making more plutonium-239 atoms? They had to have believed they were on the cusp of miraculous things."
Drake loved her excitement, because he shared it, too. "They were. Their work set the stage for the nuclear power plants that are in production today. Where is the Museum?"
"Idaho. If we take this road...ahh...Interstate 80 until we need to go north." She put the map on the dash and traced her finger. "Yellowstone is here, so I think it’s only a little bit out of the way if any."
Jillian's smile blazed across his heart. God, he'd give anything to keep it there. He reached over and squeezed her thigh. "I don't care how far out of the way it is. We have nothing but time."
Road Trip: Day Six - Beartooth Roadway, Montana
"Drake?" Jillian's soft voice from where she snuggled against his shoulder drew his attention away from the multitude of stars that blanketed the night sky.
"Hmmm..." A light breeze moved the hair on his forehead and cooled the evening, making the moment damn near perfect.
"Do you think the people who've never lived anywhere other than the city could believe this?"
"I don't know if they know what they're missing. In New York, you're lucky if you see a handful of stars." He gazed at the Milky Way and the abundance of beauty that filled the heavens. His mind drifted to Dixon. Was he able to see the stars? He lifted a lock of Jillian's hair and let it drop strand by strand.
"I've never seen them this clearly." She twisted and laid on her back. "Have you?"
Dixon nodded. "Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chile, and South Dakota all have places like this." He rolled his head to look at her. "Dixon and I have seen some wondrous sights."
Jillian ran her hand up his stomach and laid it over his heart. "I know you miss him." She turned and lifted up on her elbow looking down at him. "Wait, that's wrong. I don't think anyone can fully comprehend the dynamic between the two of you, but I am aware of how much you miss him. I understand that a piece of you is absent when you're not together. " She leaned down and placed a soft kiss, one of comfort and support, on his lips. "I'm here for you if you ever want to talk."
He enfolded her against him when she relaxed. There weren't many who understood the bond they shared. If anyone could, he'd bet Jillian would be the one. A shooting star flashed across the sky. Jillian's hand shot up pointing at it. "Make a wish!" She tensed up for a moment and then sighed.
"What did you wish for?" Drake adored her childlike exuberance. Her personality was a multifaceted swirl of brilliance, science geek, sensuality, and innocence. The resulting mixture enthralled him.
"Probably the same thing you did. That Dixon would come home safely."
Drake lifted, letting her head down gently onto the sleeping bag they'd been lying on. "Most would wish for money, fame or love." He ran his nose up the column of her neck and nipped her ear.
"I have money. I don't want fame and love? Well, I've learned that love comes when it comes. If my wish in any way manifests in you and Dixon reuniting, then it was a wish well spent." Her hands threaded under his t-shirt and fanned up his back, pulling him down on top of her.
"Thank you for the wish." He acknowledged her gift without telling her the wish he'd cast into the universe; it was too early to acknowledge the feelings that had penetrated his consciousness.
Road Trip, Day Ten - Dunraven Pass, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
"You said six miles." Jillian pulled on his belt loop. The whine in her voice was atypical of her usual zeal for backpacking in the park.
"I did." He looked for a handhold and lifted himself up a three-foot drop, turning to help her scale the small obstacle.
"You didn't tell me the path was six miles straight up!" She took his hand and scrambled up the limestone and granite outcropping. Her hair was damp around her face, and her cheeks were crimson red. It had been an athletic climb, but she'd done well.
He reached back and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to her. "We're almost there."
She snorted into the bottle, which produced an inelegant grunt that Frank Marshall would have been proud to deliver. It told him exactly what she thought of his ‘almost there’ comment.
"Admit it. You love this." He motioned toward the expansive view. Jillian turned and gazed out. She leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Okay, so maybe it was worth it." She shielded her eyes as she looked out and sighed. "I wish I had my phone or a camera."
Drake took in the panoramic view. They were about a half mile from the top and about to emerge from the tree line. The deep green of the pine forest in the valley below was interspersed by the lighter green of summer grasses in meadows. A canyon in the distance slashed through the woods with jagged edges. Shadows plunged cliffs into ominous and foreboding darkness. Beyond the canyon was miles upon miles of forest and at the edge of his vision was a grassland that held a shimmering body of water. A lake or a river, from this distance, he couldn't tell which. The view was magnificent. He scanned the range and finished the water. He put the trash into his backpack. Having photos to remember the trip was a great idea. No cell phones for her until they'd ascertained who was after her, but a digital camera...
"If you want one, we can pick up a camera when we restock." He tugged
her ponytail. "That and a backpack for you so I don't have to carry all the water."
She swiveled toward him and beamed a smile. "Deal! This is so–" Her eyes focused past him, and her face fell. "Drake."
He glanced over his shoulder and immediately reached around and slowly guided her behind him as he turned. She grabbed his arm and peeked around. "It’s a bear."
He wanted to laugh at the obvious, but instead, he nodded. "Shh...stand perfectly still," he whispered to her as he took in the unexpected visitor. A small black bear was on the next slope over, about one hundred yards away. He knew males were larger, so the animal was a female or a very young male. If that was a female, he hoped they were not in between that momma bear and her cub. At least she'd had a couple months to forage and wasn't straight out of the den with her cubs.
He kept one eye on the animal who had yet to spot them and canvased the terrain, trying to determine if the bear was alone. They were downwind, which was an advantage he'd take. He had his forty-five and his 9-millimeter, but shooting a bear with a smaller caliber weapon would just piss the damn thing off. A flash of movement on the pine-dotted slope above the bear caught his eye. Two black balls of energy and fur tumbled down the hill. The mother bears bawl made it to them when one of the cubs tried to tackle her. She rolled onto her side and swatted at the rambunctious cubs who took turns harassing mom and each other. Drake carefully lowered, bringing Jillian down to the ground with him. When they were on their knees, he whispered, "Carefully and quietly back down the trail."
He held out his hand so she could use it as an anchor to lower over the three-foot drop they'd just scaled. He'd give her credit, she was quick, and she was quiet. Drake dropped over the shelf of rock and motioned down the trail. She grabbed his hand, and they worked their way back down the path, leaving the bears unaware of their presence.
"Now I know we need a camera! Was that a black bear? Of course, it was. She was too small to be a grizzly, and they are brown, right? She had twins? Is that common? Are they aggressive? What do black bears eat? How old do you think those cubs were? I need to find a book about bears. How long is the gestation period do you think?" Jillian skipped down the path shooting her comments over her shoulder. She spun around and raced up to him. Grabbing the back of his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. It was hard, fast, and brief, leaving him wanting more. She laughed. Her face was radiant. "I saw three bears, in the wild!"
Drake (The Kings of Guardian Book 11) Page 12