Misadventures with a Country Boy

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “A friend.”

  Rolling her eyes at his failure to elaborate, she decided to sink back in her seat. Not talking was actually the better option anyway.

  “So where am I dropping you?” Cole asked after they’d traveled in silence for a while.

  Brooke thought for a moment. “I’ll let you know when we get there.”

  Cole darted his attention to her for a moment before looking back at the road. “But how can I get there if I don’t know where ‘there’ is?”

  “There can be anywhere. Or the middle of nowhere.”

  Cole’s face pinched together as if he were thinking. “What does that mean? It sounds like some kind of weird Alice in Wonderland riddle. Maybe I should’ve called you Alice.”

  Brooke scoffed. “Do I look like I fell down a rabbit hole?” From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole’s mouth open to reply. She held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. And you shouldn’t call me that, or Princess for that matter, if you expect me to answer.”

  Silence descended again, but it was short-lived. “So where did you live before you chased the white rabbit?” Cole asked.

  “You’re really beating this metaphor to death.”

  Cole shrugged. “I think it’s still got some fight left in it. So?”

  Brooke looked over at him. “So what?”

  Cole huffed out a laugh. “Where are you from?”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “No difference, I guess. But since we’re riding together to only-you-know-where, I figured we could get to know each other a little.”

  Brooke inhaled sharply, hoping the air would fortify her backbone, before turning in her seat to face him. “Listen, no offense. You seem like a nice enough guy, but I’m really not interested in playing Twenty Questions. I know I made a big deal at the gas station about you being a stranger, but beyond knowing you’re not going to wear my skin as a coat, I think we’re good.” Brooke felt bad for being so harsh to a man who’d been nothing but kind to her, but getting chummy with him couldn’t happen. She was trying to disappear, not make friends.

  Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Cole tilted his head from side to side a few times as if he were trying to puzzle something out.

  Brooke sighed again. “What?”

  “Nothin’. I’m just trying to figure out if I’d look silly since your skin would be small on me.”

  “Jesus Christ,” she muttered as she stifled a laugh. No way was she letting Cole know she thought he was funny. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage conversation. She sank down in her seat a bit. “I didn’t know I bummed a ride from a comedian.”

  Cole smiled that full, megawatt smile again. “Now there’s an idea. Do you think I could make some cash at a few comedy clubs along the way? I’ve been told my Southern accent makes me funnier.”

  “It doesn’t, and I wouldn’t bank on it.”

  “Was that a pun?”

  She squinted her eyes. “Was what a pun?”

  “You know. I said I needed to earn money, and you said the bank thing. I thought it was clever until you made it clear it was an accident.”

  Brooke opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to think of a response. This country boy was really something else. When it felt like too much time had passed for her to reply, she did the only thing she could think to do—she ignored his comment completely and took out her phone.

  She waited silently as it powered on again, and once she could see she had a voicemail from her sister, she put the phone up to her ear to listen. Since she’d left Philadelphia, she’d only texted Natasha once to send her the picture of Cole’s ID.

  I’m safe. If anything happens to me, I’m with this guy.

  Leaning against the door and away from Cole, she turned the volume down on the phone so Cole wouldn’t hear her sister’s message.

  “Brooke, where are you?”

  She could already tell Natasha’s voice was hushed and worried, and that worry seemed to transfer immediately to Brooke as well. If her sister was nervous, then Brooke should have been too.

  “Please tell me you’re not in Kansas. Your agent said there’s been a sighting of you there and that he was sending someone to check it out.”

  Brooke’s heart sped up even more rapidly.

  Shit. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she listened to the remainder of her sister’s message, which told her to call as soon as she could.

  Brooke shot back a quick text saying she’d call as soon as she was able and then abruptly shut off the phone. She shoved it back into her bag and zipped the pocket hastily, as if the distance between her and the call would somehow make her feel better. It didn’t.

  “Everything okay?” She could hear the concern in Cole’s voice, but she ignored it and kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her. At least they were moving. For now anyway.

  “Yeah. It’s fine,” Brooke replied, trying like hell to sound calm. She was certain she didn’t. She willed herself to elaborate—to come up with some sort of a believable excuse. But as the seconds passed in silence because, once again, she had yet to come up with anything, she accepted that her terse response would have to suffice.

  She stole a glance at Cole, who had one eyebrow cocked but, thankfully, didn’t press her. He just reached for the radio and cranked up the volume.

  Brooke wanted to feel relieved. A silent Cole was a better alternative to an inquisitive one. But the air in the truck felt tense, and by the way Cole’s fingers were drumming on the steering wheel, she was sure he felt it too. Except for the radio, they drove in silence for the next fifteen minutes or so, during which Brooke obsessed about her conversation with her sister. One thing was sure: she had to get the hell out of this state as quickly as possible. And despite how anxious it made her, Brooke had no choice but to rely on Cole to make that happen. “If I promise not to be a total jerk, will you promise not to dump me anywhere?”

  Cole’s head swung to her quickly before he looked back at the road. “I’d never just dump you somewhere. You have my word on that.” His tone sounded sincere, so she let herself believe him. For now at least.

  “Thanks,” she said softly.

  “No problem.”

  “I really do appreciate it. Who knows how long I would’ve been stuck at the gas station before another bus rolled through.”

  Cole nodded but didn’t say anything.

  Brooke forged on. “So I have a proposition for you.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Obviously I need a car, but without ID, I’m never going to be able to get one. So if you let me tag along with you, I’ll fund the trip until we get to…wherever we’re going.” She phrased it casually, but it was a point she would be firm about. She’d been beholden to people all her life. She refused to be completely reliant on someone when this entire trip was supposed to be her chance to finally experience what it felt like to be independent.

  “And what makes you think I’d take your money?” Cole asked.

  Brooke’s reply came out of her mouth without any consultation with her brain. “Well, your truck is kind of beat-up.” A quick glance at Cole showed his knuckles whitening on the steering wheel. So much for proving I’m not a total jerk.

  Cole didn’t respond, his focus never drifting from the windshield.

  Brooke wrung her hands in her lap. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that how it sounded. Well, I mean, I guess I meant it, but I didn’t mean to make it sound like a bad thing. Though, I don’t know that it can be a good thing either. At least you have a car. I just…” Brooke stopped talking for a second and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t being cryptic earlier. I don’t have a destination in mind. I’m hoping I’ll know it when I see it. But I figured…until I found it…that it’d be best to travel with you. Taking a bus across the rest of the country isn’t really my idea of a good time. Halfway was bad enough. But I don’t want to feel like I’m using you or dependent on you. I want to hold up my end of things, and
money is all I have to offer.”

  Cole didn’t move, nor did he speak for a minute. “There are other ways to get around. Like trains.”

  Brooke sighed and looked out her window. “True. There are trains.”

  Cole took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Though I guess there’s no reason you should take a train if I’m headin’ in the same direction.”

  Brooke looked over at him, hopeful. Being on the run with Cole, even if he wasn’t aware they were running, certainly felt safer than being on the run by herself.

  “We can stick together. But I want to get something straight. You are never to insult Mary Sue again.”

  Brooke looked at him in confusion. “Who’s Mary Sue?”

  Cole ran a hand over the dash. “You’re ridin’ in her.” His lips curved at the corners after he spoke.

  She was surprised by how happy she was to see him smile. So much so that she had to try to conceal her own grin from appearing. “You named your truck Mary Sue? Seriously? Could you be any more of a Southern stereotype?”

  “That’s not what I want to hear,” he taunted.

  Brooke sighed. “Okay, fine. No insulting Mary Sue.”

  Cole’s laugh was deep with a hint of a rasp behind it. It was a genuine sound that made him, and the world, seem a little less frightening.

  Chapter Two

  “We’re staying here?” Brooke glanced tentatively around the motel parking lot. From what she could tell from the outside, the place didn’t get much business. There were only three cars in the lot, and since one was parked directly in front of the office, she assumed it belonged to an employee.

  “Yeah. Why?” Cole seemed genuinely confused about why Brooke had questioned his choice of accommodations.

  Brooke nearly blurted out that she wasn’t in the mood to have her stuff infested with bed bugs, but she caught herself. She needed to stop with the high-maintenance shit before she truly earned her nickname. “Uh, nothing. It’s fine. Just…rustic.”

  Cole pulled into the spot closest to the office and turned the ignition off. He gave her that same half grin she’d seen so many times on the drive so far—the left side of his lips turning upward just enough to hint at his amusement. “Rustic, huh? For a country boy like me, rustic is a compliment.”

  “I didn’t mean it to sound like it wasn’t.” She knew she sounded defensive, but dammit, she was trying so hard to not act like the spoiled brat the media always portrayed her as.

  “Okay, okay, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he said.

  “Did you just say ‘knickers’?”

  Cole smiled that goofy grin that was starting to make her insides feel warm whenever he directed it at her. “My mama always used to say it. Guess it stuck with me.”

  Brooke found herself wanting to know more. Wanting to know about his mother who “used” to say things and who raised a man who looked like a god and sounded like a cowboy. But she didn’t ask, because she didn’t want to have to answer any personal questions of her own. So instead she climbed out of his truck and walked around to his side, where he joined her.

  He pulled his Braves cap off his head just long enough to run a hand through his curls, which had dampened to a darker brown with sweat. He held the door open so Brooke could enter the small, dimly lit office, and when she stepped inside, she froze. There was something unnerving about being at a place like this around midnight, but Cole’s presence made her feel a little more at ease. He approached the tall counter and leaned against it so he was facing Brooke as he spoke to the man working. “We need a room for the night,” Cole said.

  “Actually two rooms,” Brooke spoke up.

  “We don’t need two rooms. That’s double the price. We can just get two beds.”

  “I don’t care about the money.”

  “Well, you should.”

  “Cole—”

  “Princess.” Cole tilted his head and crossed his arms, his long body relaxed against the counter.

  Brooke let out an annoyed huff. “Stop calling me that. I told you my real name.”

  “Princess is more fitting. Plus, how do I know Brooke’s even your real name?”

  “The same way you knew Rose wasn’t.” She kept her gaze fixed on his, hoping he would let her answer suffice.

  He kept giving her that look, so she dropped his stare. She dug around for a few moments until she found what she’d been looking for. “Here,” she said, thrusting her license up at him.

  Cole looked confused. “So, Brooke Alba, you do have ID,” he said, taking it from her fingers and studying it closely. “Twenty-four. Good to know.”

  Brooke’s instinct was to tell him not to say her name out loud. It was bad enough Cole knew her real name. She didn’t want anyone else hearing who could later verify she’d been at the motel, even if the chances of that happening were slim. She decided it wouldn’t do any good to correct him now. She hadn’t wanted to show her ID to the guy in the gas station, but now the damage, if there was any, had been done. “Happy?” she asked with an exaggerated eye roll.

  Cole’s amused smile broadened. “Very.” Then he turned back to the man behind the counter. “But we still don’t need two rooms.”

  “Cole, we just spent hours cooped up in a truck together. Maybe I want some space.”

  He sighed heavily but turned to the man behind the counter. “Do you have two rooms available?”

  The man handed them their keys and directed them to their rooms. Brooke resisted the urge to sprint to hers. The accommodations were exactly what she had pictured when they’d pulled into the parking lot: a flimsy-looking bed in the middle of the room and a few laminate wood end tables and a desk adorning the perimeter. She could see where the veneer had started to warp in spots from people’s sweating beer bottles or car keys tossed roughly onto the furniture.

  She put her bag on the maroon, upholstered desk chair and plopped herself onto the bed. Trying not to think about what organisms could be lurking in a place like this, she was suddenly thankful she didn’t have a black light. She made a mental note to herself to purchase a set of sheets the first chance she got. Clearly, traveling around with Cole would be without the conveniences—and cleanliness—she was used to. That thought made her feel spoiled, but she was too tired to mentally berate herself for it right then. Besides, any luxuries she was used to were ones she’d earned herself.

  She’d also need to purchase some clothes. When she’d left Philadelphia, her focus had been on just that: leaving. She hadn’t packed much, figuring that with the ten grand she’d taken from the bank, she’d be more than able to buy what she needed. But since she hadn’t been able to get a car and she hadn’t asked Cole to stop someplace, she suddenly found herself with nothing but a toothbrush and the clothes she’d been wearing for the past two days.

  Somehow she found enough energy to pull herself up to her feet so she could riffle through her backpack. When she found what she was looking for, she sat back down on the edge of the bed. Her fingers traveled over the buttons of her phone as she waited for it to turn on.

  When the small screen finally lit up, she hesitated, second-guessing her urge to call Natasha. But after hearing her voicemail earlier, she had to get more information. Tentatively, Brooke dialed her sister’s number and waited for her to pick up. She was getting ready to hang up when she heard Natasha’s hushed voice answer.

  “Brooke?”

  “Shh. Don’t say my name. Where are you?”

  “It’s fine. I’m outside. Where are you?”

  “Middle of nowhere, USA.”

  “Like Deliverance middle of nowhere or Texas Chainsaw Massacre middle of nowhere?” her sister asked.

  “That’s a helpful comparison. I can’t wait to go to sleep now.” Brooke rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “Did they get any new information?”

  “No. I heard Dad cursing earlier. You were seen on a bus but got off in Kansas, and no one has seen you since.”

  Brooke heaved a sigh of
relief. “Thank God.”

  “It’s getting kind of intense…seeing the lengths they’re going to to find you.” Her sister took in a deep breath. “Is all this… Are you sure it’s worth it? It was all well and good to talk about, but now that it’s happening, it feels really dangerous. I mean, you’re driving around with a total stranger. What if he tries to sell you into an underground trafficking ring?”

  Clearly, her morbid sense of humor was hereditary. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just… I had to get away. Coming back isn’t an option right now.”

  The line was quiet for a moment before Natasha spoke. “You’re okay, though, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. We stopped at a motel for the night. I’m gonna try to get some rest. I just wanted to let you know I’m okay.” Brooke paused for a moment and dropped her head. “Better than I’d be if I were home.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Natasha’s voice was quiet, soft. Brooke knew her sister probably wanted to ask more, but she knew better. “Call when you can, okay?”

  “I will. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” Natasha answered.

  Brooke waited until she heard her sister hang up before she pushed End and put the phone back in her bag. Despite its brevity, Brooke’s conversation with her sister had managed to stress her out even more. As she and Cole had traveled, the distance and his easy-going personality had given her a slight sense of security. But that was a dangerous feeling to have. The reality was, she could be recognized at any time. Enough people knew who she was, it would be stupid to let her guard down.

  Now she felt vulnerable, alone when she didn’t need to be. She glanced over to the wall that separated her from her traveling companion since the guy at the front desk had given them adjacent rooms, and she wondered what was happening on the other side. She briefly contemplated going over, but she didn’t want to wake him if he was asleep.

  Thoughts of a sleepy-eyed Cole invaded her mind—his dark-blond hair rumpled even more than it was from the cap he wore, a hint of a dimple as he dreamed. Though she felt guilty about possibly waking him, the thought of staying in her room by herself any longer was worse than admitting to herself that Cole made her feel…protected? Safe? Comfortable? And right now she needed to feel those things. Even though she knew it was too soon to trust Cole completely, there was something about him that couldn’t be explained through logic.