Long Road Home

by Kate Stacy

  I grab my Kindle, getting comfortable in bed. I only read a couple of chapters before my phone rings. I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face at the sight of his face on my screen.

  “Hey, honey. How was your day?”

  “It’s so good to hear your voice, darlin’. It’s been a long fuckin’ day. I really wish you were here, Hailee.”

  “Me too. I’ve really been missing you.”

  I hear him sigh. “I know, baby. My job isn’t easy on you. You try to hide it, but I can tell.”

  I take a big drink of wine before responding. “I won’t lie and say that it’s easy, but I can handle it. I’m still adjusting. Give me time, please.”

  The words rush out. I feel anxious worrying that he’ll tire of always having to reassure me. I really hate my insecurities.

  “Hey, hey. Calm down, sweetness. You can have all the time in the world. I’m not going to give up on you.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. I know he means that, I just need my stupid head to get with the program.

  “Good. I figure I’ll get used to you coming and going eventually. I just worry about you being on the road.”

  “Yeah, well I worry about you and Elijah at home, so we’re even.” He chuckles, lessening my anxiety even more.

  I turn over to get comfortable, knowing that we’ll be talking for a little while. He must hear me moving because he asks, “You in bed, baby?”

  “Yep. I was reading before you called. Nice subject change, by the way.”

  “I wasn’t trying to change the subject, but maybe we should.”

  “No, we can’t avoid talking about your job. I want you to be able to talk to me and unload at the end of the day.”

  “I know you’re right, and I love that you care enough to want to listen.”

  “Of course I do, honey. Tell me why today was such a long day.”

  He sighs, hesitating a bit.

  What doesn’t he want to tell me?

  “The company that dispatches my loads lost a driver in an accident today. I happened to be in the area, so I stopped to help with whatever they needed.”

  “Oh my god. What happened?”

  “They’re not completely sure what happened yet, but it was really rough seeing the aftermath. It wasn’t pretty, baby.”

  “That’s horrible. I really hope he didn’t suffer. Does he have a family?”

  “No, he didn’t leave anyone behind. He was one of the older drivers, and his wife passed away last year.”

  “I don’t know if I’m sad that he didn’t have anyone, or happy that there aren’t children wondering why their daddy isn’t coming home.” I sniffle, tears filling my eyes.

  “Christ, baby. You have such a good heart.”

  I don’t acknowledge his words, choosing instead to remind him, “Things like this are exactly why I worry about you out there.”

  “I know, darlin’. I’m always as safe as I can be. I can only control my truck, not the other drivers on the road.”

  “I know. I just don’t like that your job is so dangerous.”

  “We can’t dwell on that. I could get hurt doing almost anything.”

  “I know, I know. Mads showed me this list of the deadliest jobs, and truck drivers were like number eight on the list. It’s scary to think about.”

  He mutters something under his breath that I can’t hear, but tells me, “Madalyn shouldn’t be showing you that shit, Hails. All it does it make you stress and worry when you don’t need to. It’s natural to worry, but we don’t need to pull out a bunch of statistics that only make it worse for you.” He sighs before continuing, “All you need to focus on is the fact that I love you, and I will always do everything in my power to come home to you. Got it?”

  “Yeah, honey. I got it.”

  “Good. Now tell me about your day.”

  I tell him about my long, boring day and fill him in on the cute little things that Elijah has said and done. We talk more about missing each other and try to make some plans for the next time he’s home. It gets late and I can’t stop yawning, so he tells me to sleep. I don’t argue, knowing that I have to be up early in the morning for work.

  DRAKE

  I really hated having that conversation with Hailee, but it was necessary. I don’t like making her worry, but I won’t pretend that my job isn’t dangerous. Driving an eighty-thousand-pound vehicle on roads where the smaller vehicles drive like assholes isn’t easy.

  I know that truck drivers have a bad reputation. I hear that people say we think we own the road, but sadly, that’s not the case. I know there are exceptions, but most truckers are safe and follow the law. ‘Four wheelers’—what we call regular vehicles—are another story.

  I know I told Hailee that we don’t need statistics, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen them. Eighty percent of accidents involving big rigs are caused by the other vehicle. So yeah, my job is dangerous, and other drivers make it that much worse. I can’t live worrying about the what ifs, and she shouldn’t, either. She deals with enough day to day without adding that stress.

  I’m glad she initiated the entire conversation. It made it easy for me to let her know that I’m aware of how she struggles with my job. I hate that she worried I would leave her because of it.

  Hailee is strong as hell. I know she’ll adjust and learn to deal with me leaving, but what she doesn’t realize is that I hate walking out that door and leaving them. I’ve always loved my job but being with her and having the two of them waiting for me at home is making me rethink everything.

  We haven’t been together long, but I already know that she’s it for me. I love her and that little boy so much it hurts. I want a future with her. I want it all, and that means that I need to consider my job and the impact it will have on our lives. I already told her that I’ve been thinking about coming off the road. It’s sounding more and more like a good idea. I don’t want to miss out on all the special moments in our lives.

  Looks like I need to have a serious conversation with my friend about his plans to start his company. I want to do more than run it. I wonder if he wants a partner.

  HAILEE

  Another day at work.

  Halloween is coming quickly, so we’ve already started selling our spooky-themed treats, and they’ve been a huge hit. We’ve got a ton of custom orders for parties, not even counting the huge order that Jaxson and Holden placed for the bar.

  I’m caught up on everything in the kitchen, so I’ve been helping Madalyn up front for about an hour now. Today is the one day a week we close early. Thankfully, we’ve only got about thirty minutes left.

  I’m wiping down the front counter while Madalyn starts to condense the items left in the display cases. There are a few customers left at the tables and no one else has come in, but movement catches my attention from the front windows. I look up and can’t believe what I’m seeing.

  “Mads!” I whisper-yell to get her attention. I don’t want to disturb our customers.

  “What?” She asks without looking at me.

  “Look out the front, hurry.”

  As soon as she sees what I see—Angie, hands cupped to the glass peeking inside—she goes on high alert. Her spine straightens, and her hands go to her hips. Mads is ready for battle.

  Her reaction almost makes me laugh. Almost.

  “That little heifer better not come in here. I’ve got words for her. She has no business showing her face around here.”

  There goes any hope at controlling my laughter.

  “Damn, Mads. Tell us how you really feel.”

  “You know I can’t stand that bitch. She did Drake dirty, and the things she said to you? Hell, no. I have no problem putting her in her place if she steps foot in here.”

  We both glance back to the window, but Angie is no longer pressed against it. Now she’s standing there with a wicked little smirk on her face. As soon as she sees us staring at her, her smirk turns to a full smile that almost gives me chills. She’
s up to something, but I’m not sure what.

  I really hope she doesn’t come in here. She crossed so many lines when she came to the house, but I don’t want her causing trouble in our place of business.

  We wait.

  The two of us watching her while she watches us. She never moves to come inside. Our attention is temporarily diverted to a customer that’s getting ready to leave. We make small talk for a minute before bidding him a good day. As he walks out the door, Mads and I both look back to Angie.

  She smiles, winks, gives a little finger wave and walks away.

  What the hell?

  I have no idea why she stood outside of the bakery for nearly ten minutes and I’m not sure I want to know. I’m happy she didn’t come in and try to run her mouth again, but I’m also dreading whatever put that evil look on her face.

  I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her. I hope I’m wrong.

  DRAKE

  It’s almost midnight, and I just stopped for coffee.

  I try hard to drive during the day, but I don’t always have the luxury of being picky about loads if I want to keep moving, so I’m stuck with a load that requires me to drive at night. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

  I managed to get a nap in earlier, so I’m not feeling too tired yet. It’s bound to be a long and lonely night.

  I talked to Hailee a few hours ago. She told me about Angie’s visit to the bakery. I’m relieved that there was no drama, but from the sounds of it, Angie was definitely taunting the girls. I have no idea what she’s got up her sleeve, but something is going to go down. I just hope I’m home when it happens so that Hailee doesn’t have to deal with her crazy ass.

  Angie wasn’t like this when we first got together. She was cute, sweet, and seemed really down to earth. After a couple months she started to change. She went from relaxed to uptight and high-maintenance. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say she found out about my inheritance.

  She started wanting me to take her out to expensive restaurants and wanting her hair and nails done regularly. She bleached her already blonde hair, and started wearing clothes that I swear were a few sizes too small. Her attitude changed, too. Sweet turned to bratty and conceited.

  I don’t even know why I put up with it for as long as I did. We were only together for about four months, but I should have ended things when I first noticed the changes. I guess I thought she was just begging for attention since I was gone so much.

  The changes brought the lies and excuses. I got suspicious when she started accusing me of cheating. When I’m on the road, I sleep and drive. That’s it. The only real access I have to women out here are truck stop workers and the lot lizards. While I’m sure the women that work inside the truck stops are nice, I have no interest trying to start anything with someone in some random part of the country. And the lot lizards—no, fuck no. I wouldn’t touch one of them with someone else’s dick.

  I can’t say I wasn’t hurt when Angie cheated on me, but I almost want to thank her now. I could have been stuck dealing with her, but instead she freed me up allowing me to meet Hailee. I can’t complain about that.

  I haven’t been this happy since before my grandfather died. I wish he was still alive, so he could meet Hailee. I know he’d absolutely love her. It’s times like this that I miss him the most. I wish I could call him up and get some advice about how to deal with Angie, because she obviously didn’t take my words seriously.

  He would have known what to do.

  He always had this uncanny way of figuring shit out and giving good advice.

  I refuse to call her again, because I’m guessing that’s what she wants. She’ll do anything for attention. I’m not going to give her any.

  I guess I can’t do much other than wait.

  HAILEE

  Halloween is in a week.

  It’s Sunday, so The Sweet Spot is closed. Madalyn and I decided to go shopping today for Halloween costumes. Elijah loves all things Mickey Mouse, so naturally, when I asked him what he wants to be for Halloween he told me, “Mouse!”

  We’ve been to a couple different stores, but I don’t like the Mickey costumes that they have available, so we’re going the DIY route. Between me and Mads, we decided that we could put together an adorable Mickey costume for my little guy.

  We decide to grab lunch at a nearby cafe, so we can look for ideas online and make a list of everything we need. I have an addiction to Pinterest, so it doesn’t take me long to find a costume I like. We make a list of what we need, and which stores we have to go to.

  Elijah is content with his French fries, so I’m able to actually enjoy my sandwich. I’ve got a mouthful when Madalyn suddenly starts bouncing in her seat.

  “I almost forgot to tell you!”

  I finish chewing and choke back a laugh. “Tell me what?”

  “The guys decided to make the Brewhouse Halloween party a costume party this year!”

  My eyes roll. “Mads, that means I have to find a costume for myself, too. Why didn’t you tell me earlier while we were at the costume stores?”

  “Sorry, I seriously didn’t even think about it. I have to get one, too.”

  “What are you going as?”

  She smiles. “A dark angel. The party theme is Angels and Demons.”

  “Ugh. So that basically gives me two costume options. Angel or Devil.”

  She swallows a huge gulp of her drink while shaking her head. “Nope. You can be an angel or any kind of dark creature. Vampire, devil, demon...think along those lines.”

  “Vampires are played out.”

  She points at me and laughs in agreeance. “You’re not wrong, that’s why I chose a dark angel. You should be the good to my bad. Go as an angel.”

  “Sure, why the hell not. We should look for ideas for our costumes while we’re here. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  We huddle together, scrolling through Pinterest for a few minutes before Mads points at a couple of pictures.

  “Those! You’d look sexy as hell in that little angel dress.”

  “Mads...I don’t know if I can pull off that short of a dress.”

  “Please, Hails...please, for once, just trust me.”

  I hesitate, but finally cave and she claps her hands together like Elijah does when he’s excited.

  “You’re going to look incredible! The only thing I would change is to add some thigh-high stockings so you’re not freezing your ass off. It’s usually pretty chilly on Halloween.”

  “Whatever you think is best.”

  She smirks. “You won’t be sorry when Drake is dying to rip that dress off of you all night.”

  A blush rises up on my face.

  “Too bad there’s a specific theme. I could have had a lot of fun with a lot lizard costume.”

  Mads looks at me like I’m crazy.

  “What the fuck is a lot lizard?”

  My eyes go wide, and I can’t control the laughter that bubbles out. “Oh god, I didn’t tell you?”

  She shakes her head rapidly. “Spill.”

  “So, lot lizards are basically hookers that troll truck stops.”

  “No way! How have I not heard about this?!”

  “I have no idea, girl. I was on the phone with Drake the other night when one knocked on his truck. It was hilarious listening to him try to get her to go away. She was pretty persistent about giving him a good time.”

  “Does that happen often?”

  I’m laughing so hard I’ve got tears in my eyes, but I manage to calm myself enough to answer her, “No. He said that was the first time he’s ever been propositioned. I could only hear part of what was going on at the time, so when he finally got her to leave, he had to explain everything to me. When he told me that they call them lot lizards, I completely lost my shit. So funny.”

  Madalyn fans her face, still laughing. “I think I would have died if I had to hear some nasty chick propositioning Jax.”

  “It didn’t even bother
me. I wasn’t worried, I just found the whole situation really amusing.”

  “I’m proud of you, ya know.”

  I look at her, confused. “Proud? Why?”

  She gives me a soft smile. “You’ve come a long way, dollface. A couple of months ago you would have worried about him accepting that proposition. The thought never crossed your mind.”

  “I hadn’t even thought of it like that, but you’re right. I don’t worry about anything like that with Drake. Even when Angie came to the house and claimed to be his girlfriend—I knew she was full of shit. The possibility of him cheating never even crossed my mind. I guess I really am starting to lose some of my insecurities.”

  “I knew he’d be good for you. You’re good for him too. I know Jaxson is thankful that he’s been coming around more. That’s all because of you.”

  “No, that’s all Drake’s decision.”

  “Yeah, but he makes that decision because of you. Before you, he only came home every few months instead of every few weeks.”

  I don’t get a chance to respond to her, because Elijah starts getting fussy and throws a French fry at Madalyn. She laughs and gets him out of the high chair.

  “Guess someone is ready to go.”

  “He’s probably ready for a nap. Let’s go see if my mom will keep an eye on him while we gather everything we need for our costumes.”

  “Great plan. He’s grumpy when he doesn’t nap.”

  She’s not wrong. I finish the last few bites of my food and clean up the table a bit before leaving a tip and gathering our things.

  Thankfully, my mom isn’t busy and agrees to keep Elijah, so he doesn’t miss his nap. Mads and I spend the rest of the afternoon running around to different stores to get everything we need. We both find what Madalyn says are the perfect dresses for our costumes. I’m hesitant about mine, but I’ll wear it if it’ll make her happy.

  DRAKE

  Hailee calls me Sunday night, excited about her day of shopping with Madalyn. I enjoy hearing her so happy and carefree.

  She tells me about running all over a couple different towns to get Halloween costumes. I’m not surprised to hear that Elijah wants to be Mickey Mouse. He loves him, and his excitement whenever Mickey comes on TV is adorable.