Page 21 of Found By You

“Hey, I’m driving.” He grins. “Gotta keep my focus on the road, right?”

I yawn. “True.”

“You holding up over there?” he asks. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

“I got some.” I curl up on the seat, and cover my mouth to another yawn.

He eyes me, concern written all over his face. Same as earlier today. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone worry about me this much in my entire life the way he has in the last day.

“You’re welcome to sleep if you want,” he says. “I’ve got a few more things to take care of. I told Rhett to call me when he’s done at the motel.”

I smile weakly. “I thought I was your tag-along.” I admit, it’s been fun riding around with him. Probably the most fun I’ve had in months.

His dark eyes linger on mine. “Get some rest, Maci. I’ll be right here.”

My breath hitches. Why was that…exactly what I needed to hear? “Okay.”

The high-pitched ding of a door opening rouses me from a heavy sleep. Slowly peeling my eyes open, the fog clears to Duke getting into the driver’s seat, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Thanks, Rhett. I appreciate it,” he says quietly. “No…I don’t know, man. I don’t want to talk about it. Yeah, so who told you to try? I figured as much.” He sighs heavily. “I don’t need everyone tiptoeing around the subject. I was caught off guard last Sunday, that’s it, all right? I don’t know how many times I have to say that. No, I haven’t been ignoring anyone. Jesus Christ, man, you’re worse than Ma.”

He finally glances over at me, noticing I’m awake. A slow, handsome smile spreads across his face. “Listen, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you soon.” He hangs up as I sit up with a stretch. “Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

I roll my neck, feeling the unfortunate late afternoon nausea setting in. “You didn’t. How long was I out?” I ask, reaching for my phone on top of my purse.

“About an hour,” he grunts. “Did you want to get a bite to eat before I take you back to your room? Rhett said it was heating up quick, but I’d like to give it a bit longer to warm the place up.”

I rub my temple. “Um, yeah, nothing too heavy though. I’m a little nauseous.”

He nods, taking the truck out of park, and leaving the gas station he stopped at. “I’ll drive down main, and if you see anything that looks good, say the word.”

I smile, secretly loving how doting he’s being. But I already know what I want, and he’s not going to like what I have in mind…

“Maci,” Duke bites out, following me out of the grocery store with my single jar of peanut butter in hand. “You need to eat something. This isn’t a meal.”

“It is when you’re pregnant,” I sing-song, carrying my prize across the parking lot.

He scowls, helping me into the passenger seat. “You need a real meal. Not fuckin’ fruit, chips, and peanut butter. You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”

I roll my eyes. So dramatic. “No, Duke, I’m not a vegetarian. I eat meat. I just want some peanut butter. The baby wants peanut butter. And I’m not going to deny my baby what it wants.”

His eyes narrow. “You’re so full of shit. The baby doesn’t want peanut butter, you do.”

I giggle. “Okay, we both do. But still. I am craving it, so it counts.”

I can tell he’s trying hard to be annoyed at this, but the twitch at the corner of his lip screams otherwise. Closing my door, he jogs around to the driver’s side and jumps in. “All right, well, what else is the baby craving then?”

I scrunch my nose. “You’re not going to like the answer…” I trail off at the sound of his irritated huff. “You can’t be mad at me. I’ve been getting a little late afternoon morning sickness the last few days. It’s hard for me to eat anything when I’m nauseous,” I admit. “I’ll order something later for dinner.”

Duke lets out a long, aggravated sigh as we head to the motel. He’s eerily quiet on the way—quieter than he’s been all day. He can’t really be mad about the peanut butter, can he?

“Do you have any plans tonight?”

“You mean besides texting you a picture later as proof of me ordering myself dinner?” I say, trying to lighten the strange air between us that’s come out of nowhere.

He chuckles deeply. Mission accomplished. “After that.”

I shrug. He knows I don’t know anyone in this town—in all of Montana—and I’ve been riding around with him all day.

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