Carry Me Home (The Home Series: Book Three)

by Megan Nugen Isbell

  The line was silent for a moment and I imagined his face as he tried to digest everything I’d just spewed at him.

  “What the hell have you been up to this summer?” he said with a light laugh and I couldn’t help but chuckle too.

  “You have no idea, Matt.”

  “Well first of all, let’s begin with the last thing you mentioned. You’re on I-35?”

  “Indeed I am.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve called my insurance company, but they said it could be couple of hours before a tow truck can get here.”

  “How far away from Carver are you?”

  “About forty-five minutes.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you being out there alone for that long waiting. You need to call someone.”

  “There’s no one to call. Everyone’s out of town,” I said and hesitated before continuing. “Well, everyone except for Jesse.”

  “Then call him,” Matt said sternly.

  “You obviously weren’t listening when I mentioned my latest drama with him.”

  “I was listening, but we’ll get to that later. Right now I’m more concerned that you’re sitting alone in the middle of nowhere. You need to call him. I don’t care what’s going on between the two of you right now. There’s no one better to call than him and you know it, so suck up your pride or whatever and call him.”

  “I am not calling him, Matt.”

  “Then I will.”

  “You don’t even have his number.”

  “That won’t stop me, so you can save us both some time and just gimme his number.”

  “No,” I said and I heard him sigh in agitation.

  “You are so damn stubborn. I’ll call you back,” he said abruptly and the line went dead. I dialed his number again, but it went to voicemail and I waited impatiently for the next ten minutes, trying to call him back, only to be greeted by his voicemail each time. I nearly jumped when my phone rang and I saw Jesse’s number flashing across the screen.

  “Hello?” I answered, knowing I couldn’t ignore the call.

  “Hey,” Jesse’s voice rang through the receiver. I didn’t say anything and waited for him to keep talking. “Matt called and told me you’ve got some flat tires. I’m on my way. I’ll bring a tow truck from my uncle’s shop. Where are you?”

  “I’m fine, Jesse. The insurance company is sending someone out for me.”

  “Yeah, God knows when,” he scoffed. “I’m coming to get you so tell me where you are.”

  I waited a moment before answering. I knew there was no stopping him. He’d find me somehow.

  “About thirty miles out on I-35 south,” I relented.

  “I’m on my way. Call your insurance and cancel the tow. Don’t move.”

  “I can’t exactly go anywhere,” I said sarcastically and I heard a light laugh on the other end.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The line was dead then and I wanted to ring Matt’s neck. I didn’t need Jesse coming to my rescue. I had things under control. I wasn’t ready to see Jesse right now. It’d only been a couple of days since he’d been in my living room, pouring his heart out to me and I’d sent him packing. Nothing good could come out of seeing him so soon, especially since I’d just ended things with Evan.

  The phone rang just then and I picked it up when I saw Matt’s number.

  “Why’d you call Jesse?” I demanded without a greeting.

  “Because you were being obstinate and you shouldn’t be out there alone.”

  “I had the situation under control.”

  “Well, now it’s under more control, so get over it,” he said and I felt my lips curl into a smile. Matt always had a way of setting me straight.

  “How’d you get Jesse’s number anyway?”

  “It wasn’t that hard. I called Mandy and she gave it to me.”

  “Stupid Mandy,” I mumbled.

  “Get over it, Riley,” he laughed. “Now, since you’ll be waiting at least a half an hour for Jesse to show up, you can fill me in on what happened with you two.” I swallowed hard as I replayed everything in my head and then I opened my mouth, spilling the whole sordid tale to Matt, without sparing any details and when I was done with the whole ugly story, I waited for the sage words Matt always seemed to possess at the times I needed them most.

  He was quiet for a few moments when I stopped talking, which didn’t seem like a good thing to me. If Matt was speechless then my life was even more effed up than I thought.

  “Aren’t you gonna say something?” I asked after a few seconds of silence.

  “I am. I’m just thinking about how to word this without you getting all pissed off.”

  “Just say it, Matt.”

  “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to realize you were still in love with Jesse once he showed up.”

  “I didn’t want this to happen,” I said defensively.

  “I didn’t say you did, but I knew it would.”

  “And since you know everything,” I began sarcastically. “What do you think about it?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, Riley. This is your life. You make your choices.”

  “Don’t give me that psychoanalytical bullcrap, Matt. I know it’s my life and my choices, but I’m in need of some serious guidance here.”

  “Believe it or not, Riley, I’m not always in therapist mode. All I want for you is to be happy. How do you feel now that you broke it off with Evan?”

  I took a moment to think about his question and knew exactly how I felt.

  “I’m actually kinda relieved,” I admitted quietly.

  “Then that means you did the right thing, regardless of what happens with Jesse.”

  “Nothing is happening with Jesse,” I interrupted

  “Don’t be so quick to make statements you can’t back up.”

  “I cannot be with him again…not after the way he left me. You saw me after he left. I was miserable,” I said quickly and when he didn’t answer right away, I could almost picture the way his eyebrows arched when he was thinking.

  “But, I also never saw you happier than when you were with him,” he said gently and I froze, his words startling me.

  “That was the past though,” I eventually said. “You don’t even like Jesse so why would you even put those kinds of thoughts in my head.”

  “Because regardless of my thoughts on Jesse, who, for the record, I don’t dislike, I care about you and I just want you to be happy,” he said and the line grew quiet again for a few moments. “I hated what he did to you, but I really think he did what he thought was best for you.”

  “Whoa!” I said, stifling a big laugh. “Who are you and what have you done with Matt Campbell?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Ever since he left you’ve had some very harsh words for him.”

  “That was my protective friend kicking in. What I just said to you is my mature, responsible adult kicking in.” He laughed and I could picture him smiling.

  “I miss you, Matt,” I said softly.

  “I know you do. I’m pretty awesome,” he said and we both started laughing for a few seconds before it died down. “Seriously though, Riley, I miss you too.”

  I looked into the rearview mirror and saw a large, black tow truck approaching and there was no mistaking the silhouette of the driver. The truck pulled around me and then slowly started backing up, loud beeping echoing through the air.

  “Jesse’s here,” I told Matt.

  “Good. I can stop worrying now. Call me if you need anything.”

  “I will. Thanks for listening,” I said and pulled the phone away from my ear as my eyes remained locked on the mirror and the image of Jesse climbing out of the truck. I took in a deep breath before I got out of the car, wondering what we would say to each other and how it would be after our last conversation.

  “Are you okay?” he asked the moment I’d shut the door. His voice was full of w
orry so I just nodded.

  “I’m fine. I wish Matt hadn’t called you. I had the situation under control.”

  “I’m glad he did call me. You shouldn’t be out here by yourself with some creepy tow truck driver,” he said, brushing by me and walking around to the other side of the car to inspect the damage.

  “And I’m not with one now?” I said sarcastically and he just looked up, meeting my gaze before rolling his eyes and choosing to ignore my comment.

  “What the hell did you do?” he sighed while crouching down and looking at one of the tires.

  “I ran over pieces of a tire in the road. It looked like a semi had a blowout or something.”

  “And you didn’t see it coming?”

  “I looked away for a second and when I looked back, it was too late.”

  “Looked away?” he said, eyeing me doubtfully. “What were you messing with? The phone or the iPod?” He’d always given me a hard time about being a distracted driver, but I chose not to feed into his chastisement.

  “Does it matter? It can’t be changed now. The damage is done.”

  “And a good amount of damage you did,” he mumbled, moving up to the front tire and inspecting it. “This rim is damaged.”

  “Sounds expensive.”

  “It is,” he said, standing up and walking over to me. “That doesn’t matter though. What matters is that you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” I said as his eyes searched over my body for signs of any injuries. “I’m fine!” I insisted firmly. “You can stop looking at me like that now.”

  “I just want to be sure,” he said, turning on his heels and heading back to the tow truck. I didn’t say anything as he worked, but I couldn’t look away either. I couldn’t stop focusing on the way his jeans hung on his hips and how his sculpted muscles hugged his t-shirt in all the right places or the way the shadows from the brim of the Red Sox hat I’d given him highlighted his perfect cheekbones and strong jaw. His muscles rippled and flexed as he secured my car onto the bed of the tow truck and I had to shake my head to get the memory of those solid arms wrapped around me out of my mind.

  “We’re all set here,” he said a little while later, thankfully pulling me out of my daydream. I didn’t want to see where it would lead me next. Probably an image of his naked body and I blushed at the thought.

  “Thanks,” I said, hoping the tone of my voice didn’t betray where my thoughts had been only a moment before as I walked towards the truck. He held open the passenger side door for me and when he took my hand to help me inside, I didn’t acknowledge the electricity that seemed to shoot up my arm as our skin touched. Instead, I pulled my hand from his quickly and buckled my seatbelt while I waited for him to join me.

  He was inside a second later and started the truck with a loud rumble before easing it onto the highway. We drove in silence for the first few miles and I was overly aware of the lack of conversation. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but I didn’t know what I should say either. I didn’t really want to say anything at all. Our conversation was still raw from two days ago and being stuck alone in the cab of a tow truck for the next half-hour with my insanely hot ex-boyfriend was not going to help anything.

  “Why didn’t you call me, Riley?” Jesse finally said.

  “I think we both know the answer to that question,” I answered, forcing my voice to be cold. I couldn’t let him in. I may be single again, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t the one in control.

  He didn’t respond and the silence returned. He leaned over and flicked on the radio a few minutes later and I was grateful for the noise.

  “Those clouds don’t look good,” he said and I looked up at the horizon. The sky had been harmlessly cloudy all day without even a speck of rain, but what lay ahead of us looked dark and menacing.

  “No, they don’t,” I agreed.

  “I think we’re in for a good thunderstorm. Maybe even a tornado.”

  “Seriously?” I said, nerves prickling over my body. I’d lived in Kansas for five years now, and while I’d heard about tornadoes in surrounding counties, I’d never experienced one for myself and it was not something I wanted to. The tornado sirens had gone off a few times, but nothing had ever panned out, but every time I heard those loud wails, I was overcome with fear until the all clear was given.

  “Maybe,” he said, continuing to look out the windshield. The temperature’s right and the wind’s picking up.”

  I took out my phone, immediately pulling up the website from the TV station in Wichita my grandma had always watched to get her weather updates. I quickly read through the forecast and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Right now it’s just thunderstorm warnings,” I said, putting the phone away.

  “That’s good,” he said and then glanced over at me for a second before looking back at the road. “So, where were you coming from?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “What were you doing on the turnpike? That’s not a road you usually take.”

  “You don’t know the roads I normally take,” I spat back. I was finding the ruder I was to Jesse, the easier it was not watch the way his forearms flexed as he gripped the steering wheel.

  “You’re right. I don’t,” he said and I looked at him from the corner of my eye and I felt badly for snapping at him.

  “I was coming back from Kansas City,” I said, my tone even and neutral.

  “You drove all the way up there today?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “That was a quick trip.”

  “I know,” I mumbled softly and he didn’t press me for any more information.

  We didn’t say anything the rest of the way home and I was relieved when I saw the sign for Baylor Automotive. Jesse pulled the truck into the parking lot and when we got out, I hadn’t realized how windy it’d become. It seemed hotter too. I pulled the elastic from my wrist and tied my hair back into a sloppy ponytail to keep it from whipping around.

  “How long do you think it’ll take to fix it?” I asked as Jesse started the process of offloading my Jetta.

  “Not long. I’ll make sure Glenn puts it at the top of the list.”

  “Thanks,” I said and I couldn’t help the way my lips curled into a slight smile at his thoughtfulness.

  It didn’t take long for Jesse to finish up and once he was done, he walked over to where I was waiting for him.

  “Let’s get you home,” he said and I followed him over to his fancy pick-up.

  Again, he held the door open for me and I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting to the way it was when he’d insist on getting my door every time we drove together. At first, I thought it was silly. The boys back in Boston never wanted to get the door for me. But the more I was with Jesse, the more I realized it wasn’t silly. He was a gentleman and that was the way gentlemen treated ladies.

  Once inside the truck, he shut the door for me and I used the few seconds it took for him to walk around the front and climb in beside me to check out the new truck. I’d yet to ride in it and as I sat in it now, I missed his old Wagoneer. The way it smelled. The way my legs stuck to the leather in the oppressive summer heat. The bench seat that allowed me to sit right next to him as we drove, my head on his shoulder and his arm around me.

  “This is a lot different than the old Jeep,” I said, once he’d buckled his seatbelt and started the engine, which hummed quietly. Driving in the Wagoneer had been like riding in a tank.

  “Sure is,” he said, pulling the truck on the road and heading towards my house. “I miss that thing sometimes.”

  “Me too,” I said, not realizing the words had slipped out of my mouth until I saw Jesse glance at me briefly, a remembering smile on his face. I felt myself blush and I turned away, hoping he hadn’t seen. I stared out the window as I watched the trees bend and sway in the increasing wind. I saw a few flashes of lightning off in the distance. I got nervous again and took out my phone to see if there had been any weather update
s. There hadn’t been and I told myself I should relax.

  “It’s looking worse out there,” I commented as we neared my house.

  “Yeah. Looks like Armageddon’s about to take place,” he said with a grin and I saw his neck straining to see out of the top of the windshield.

  “Have you ever been in a tornado?” I asked.

  “Once. I think I was like seven or something.”

  “Was it scary?”

  “Yeah, it was,” he said and I thought maybe he’d tell me it was no big deal to make me feel better. He didn’t.

  “What’d you do?”

  “My dad and I just hung out in the basement till it cleared.”

  “Was there a lot of damage?”

  “No. There was an old barn a little ways from my house that got demolished, but that was it. It was still scary as hell though. I could tell my dad was scared, which freaked me out even more. I mean, my dad was never scared, so when I realized he was, I thought for sure we were gonna die,” he said and when I didn’t respond, he looked over to me again.

  “Are you okay, Ry?” he asked and I nodded wordlessly. “You’re all pale. You’re not scared, are you?” I didn’t say anything again and I watched as a reassuring smile spread over his face and then I felt his hand rest on my thigh comfortingly. I was startled by the touch, but I couldn’t deny it made me feel better. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Everything’s gonna be fine,” he said and the way he said it made me believe him.

  He removed his hand from my leg and pulled the truck into my driveway.

  “Thanks for helping me,” I said as I gathered my stuff. “And sorry for being rude when you got there. If you hadn’t come when you did, I might still be out there in this lovely weather.” I laughed, but Jesse just smiled.

  “You don’t need to thank me, but you’re welcome.”

  I opened the door and was greeted with a gust of wind so hard, it jerked the door from my hand so it flung open with a jolt. I grabbed it and pulling with all my might, I was able to close it and then turned to him.

  “You can’t be out driving in this weather,” I said, turning to him with worried eyes. “It’s not safe.”