Page 19 of Embracing Trust

Mark lifts his head, eyes dazed. “Merilee’s takin’ me.”

“I am?” Merilee’s mouth falls open.

“Naw, come on, Mark. You can ride with Brad.” Ryan grimaces.

Mark squints and grins, his eyes flutter. He shakes his head. “Merilee.”

Ryan and Brad each take Mark by a limb, carefully righting him as they escort him outside with Merilee and me close behind.

Ryan’s face is pinched as he curses under his breath. “Can you get him home?”

I’m actually a little annoyed because this is going to delay when I get home.

“Yeah, that’s fine, but Jules rode with me,” Merilee says as she snakes her arm around Mark’s waist.

I force a smile. “We can drop him off and then you can take—”

“No, that’s out of the way.” Ryan shakes his head. “If you’re sure you can get Mark home, I can drop off Julia.”

“We’ll be fine.” Merilee grins at Mark and leans her head onto his shoulder.

We situate Mark into Merilee’s front seat, fasten his seatbelt, and shut the door.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Merilee says to me through her open car window.

“Be safe.”

As she pulls onto the main road, I grip onto my clutch purse. My hands immediately dampen as the humid evening air clenches my breath.

Which is worse? Getting home late after dropping off Mark or riding home with Ryan?

Ryan smiles. “Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

“Looks like it.”

He nods to the other side of the parking lot, and we walk toward a group of parked cars. I yawn as the headlights blaze into the steamy fog, almost like a lighthouse beckoning an ocean mariner.

I gasp. “What the…”

Ryan, with his chin held high and a gleam in his eye studies my expression. “I’m sure you remember my friend…” He whispers, “Bella Black.”

My steps freeze. “Bella Black?”

Ryan lets out a loud chuckle.

I shake my head. “TheBella Black?”

“The one and only.” Ryan’s chest puffs out.

Bella Black is a 1967 Pontiac GTO. Black, two-door hardtop with black leather interior, four-on-the-floor, and so many sweet memories of our youth. Ryan and his father purchased Bella Black with money Ryan had saved from a paper route and several part-time jobs he held during high school. They spent time on the weekends restoring the car.

I raise my brows as we approach the car. “You kept her?”

Ryan nods. “She’s mostly been in storage at my parents’ house, but I’ve been sending Mark money and he finished her this spring.”

Ryan holds open the passenger door for me and I easily slide into the front seat and run my hands down the familiar leather interior. I take a huge whiff and can’t stop my grin as I feel myself stepping back in time.

Ryan slips into the driver’s seat. “I’ve been looking at pickups and I’ll be getting one soon, but when I left for basic training, I couldn’t stand the thought of selling Bella.”

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