Page 24 of All Roads Lead to You

Only Mom was in the kitchen, feeding Hannah some milk in her high chair. “Did you sleep okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, like a baby, as always.”

“Are you excited?”

I stirred my coffee after pouring some cream and adding sugar to it. I leaned against the counter, blowing on it before taking a tentative sip.

“Sure, I guess. Yeah, I’m kind of excited about the trip Logan has planned out.” I smirked and took another sip. “But… the trip’s with Logan.”

Mom smiled and shook her head. “You boys… what am I going to do with you two? Nick, please get along with him. Try to fix things between you. Wyatt and I are tired of you two fighting all the time.”

“I’m going to do my best, Mom.”

“That’s all I ask.”

I was also tired of it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to fix things if he didn’t put in some effort, too. He was the bigger asshole around here.

Logan suddenly stormed in and eyed me before grabbing a glass of water and chugging it down. He wore a dark gray Pink Floyd T-shirt with cut-off jeans, exposing long and muscular lightly tanned legs with a dusting of golden-brown hair. He’d always been pretty built, more so than me, but I held my own. His light brown hair was damp, making it wavy, as he ran a hand through it, exposing his strong forehead.

“Ready?” he asked. “We need to hit the road if we want to reach Nashville by late afternoon. I’d like to get the tent set up while it’s still light out.”

“Yessir, bossypants.”

He narrowed his hazel eyes at me before storming off into the garage, and Mom just sighed. “Do you really need to poke the bear so early in the morning?”

Fine, I wasn’t going to make it that easy on him.

“What better time than when he’s especially growly?” I ignored her sigh as I swallowed back the rest of my coffee, opting to skip breakfast. We had granola bars, among other things, to snack on.

“I made you boys some ham and cheese sandwiches and put them in the cooler if you get hungry.”

“Reading my mind!”

“Not reading your mind. You and Logan are always hungry.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

When I stepped outside and headed to the driveway, the sun was almost up, and the morning had already become humid.

Wyatt hugged Logan and said something only they could hear.

Mom also pulled me into a hug while Hannah yanked on my hair, trying to eat it. “Off, little gremlin. I work hard to look this good,” I teased and kissed her head before I kissed Mom on the cheek. “Love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too. Call us every day to tell me you’re alive. I mean it. Do you have the credit card?”

Logan waved his hand. “It’s in my wallet.”

It was Logan’s turn to get hugged by Mom. His body went stiff, but he gave her a tentative hug back. At least he could be nice to her. If he weren’t, I’d have to give him a serious beat-down.

“You boys be careful and drive safely. Seat belts. I mean it. You wear them at all times you’re in that car. And… please be careful with my baby,” Wyatt said.

After more goodbyes, as if our parents couldn’t let us go, we climbed into the car, and Logan started the engine. I had to admit, this was a sweet ride. Wyatt took really good care of it. The interior was also red and shiny after being recently oiled.

“Got everything?” Logan asked.

“Yep.”

“You sure?”

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