Page 108 of Reckless

“Yes,” I groan.

“You sent her our picture,” he says rather than asks, looking prouder than anything.

“I sent mom a picture. I wasn’t thinking. Now I need to call her and tell her to keep her trap shut.”

“You told your mom about me?” Jude grins even bigger.

I don’t know why he is enjoying this. Shari can’t be trusted. While he sits there grinning like an idiot, I call my sister.

When she answers, it’s with a scream loud enough to scare the birds out of the trees.

Chapter 26

Over the next four days, it rains. Not just showers, or bursts on and off, it’s a full-on deluge, so loud it’s like Solene is playing the drums on the roof of the RV.

Luther suggests we get a hotel at each of our stops, but Krista looked at him like he’s lost his mind, telling him it’s all part of the adventure.

Coming from anyone else, Luther would have stared at them, letting them know with one look he thinks they’re an idiot, but he’s getting soft on Krista. It’s kind of funny to see.

She is getting a ton of writing done and I’m almost three quarters of the way through her first book. I keep asking her questions, but she won’t tell me what is going to happen. The intricate way she has weaved the plot and the constant guessing who the killer is, is driving me crazy.

A few times I’ve thought about reading the last chapter. But I remember the woman in the bookstore in Minneapolis telling me that not only is it a cardinal sin, it takes away the enjoyment of the rest of the book. So I don't do it.

Often, I’m laying back on the couch watching her write. When she goes into the zone, it's beautiful to watch. Sometimes her lips move, like she’s saying the words as she types, almost like she’s feeling them out to see if they work.

I love being trapped in here with her, even if some places we were supposed to visit are far too washed out. With anyone else, I’d be going stir crazy by now and taking Luther up on the offer to get a hotel.

For someone who is straightforward and knows what she wants out of life, she’s struggling with what is growing between us. I haven’t come out and said it myself, but I thought I made it clear the other night that I care about her, a lot.

She’s holding back, so I’ve held back too. I don’t want to scare her off, but I’m already planning on how we can keep seeing each other once she gets back from the road trip, after her convention in Chicago. I hate the thought of her driving all the way back alone. Maybe I should stay with her.

When there is a lull in the rain, and it’s not hammering down on the roof, I hear Krista’s stomach rumbling. I glance over, but Krista is too deep in her head. I enjoy taking care of her needs, so I get up and move to the kitchen.

I’ve learned how to cook a lot of different foods while I’ve been here with her. This whole thing has been a huge eye opener for me, I want to get back to doing things for myself, and heating healthy food has been an eye opener. I grab everything I need to make a quick chicken noodle stir-fry with mushrooms, red onion and broccoli.

I don’t realize I’m singing till I notice Krista has stopped writing and is smiling at me.

“What?”

“Nothing. Continue,” she goes back to her laptop. “I’m done, so I’ll set the table.”

We work together, then sit down to eat. It makes my heart almost fucking burst when she moans and says it’s so good.

It’s been a few days since I asked her about spending a week with me in Chicago. She still hasn’t answered.

Krista’s had a lot on her mind with a few issues arising with deliveries to the hotel for the convention. And her sister being a raging Reckless Soul fan, having to convince her to keep quiet. Not that she would run to the press, but she has a lot of friends and is in her final year at college. She wants to tell them, but that will snowball, so she's been, reluctantly, sworn to secrecy.

And I’m sitting here trying to figure out how to keep this woman in my life without scaring her off.

“Are you alright?” She wipes her mouth with a napkin, and picks up the glass of white wine I served with dinner.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“About?”

“Us. Well, us in Chicago.”

Her hand stilled when I first spoke, but she lowers the glass to the table and swallows the wine she had held in her mouth.