Page 45 of Jag

“Thank you,” I said, kissed her, then turned to the others. “Ready to go?”

“Coast will follow you and your dad. Sami and I will wait on River, and she can follow us to the compound,” Speed said.

“Thanks, brother. Didn’t even think of that.”

“You got other things on your mind. Now get going, you have a daughter to get ready to meet,” Speed said, slapped me on the back and followed River and Sami into the house.

I walked to my dad’s truck as Coast started up my bike. My dad pulled out once I was in the truck and Coast pulled out behind us.

In a few hours, I would be on my way to meet my daughter. It seemed surreal.

Chapter Fourteen

River

Dom and his dad wereready and waiting as I pulled up to Dom’s house. I was glad Speed and Sami stayed while I put together a bag because I would have missed the turn off otherwise.

The drive to the airport was a somber one with benign conversation to pass the time. As I drove, it gave me a chance to observe the relationship between Dom and Flyboy. What I witnessed was a father and son with similar personalities. As they spoke, there was also no doubt of their love or support for each other. It didn’t escape me that my dad and I shared the same. The only difference Flyboy raised Dom while my dad had to parent at a distance.

I called my dad to let him know I would be out of town. If he was shocked about me going, it didn’t show. He just gave his support as usual, told me he was there if I needed him, and to tell Dom the same. I’d forgotten about filing the restraining order until he mentioned it. And I promised it would be the first thing I took care of when I returned. I also left a message with the principal of the school, saying I had to go out of town for an emergency but would be back in plenty of time before school started.

When we reached the airport and checked in, our wait to board wasn’t long. Flyboy had gotten us on a straight flight that left no time for any delay in getting to the airport. Which worked, but only first-class seats were left on the flight. I sat with Dom, and his dad sat in the seat across the aisle.

The flight was long, but the time passed as we discussed the plan for once we were on the ground. Flyboy had reserved a rental car when he made the flight arrangements. I used on flight internet to secure two rooms in a hotel down the street from the hospital. Depending on what was going on with Poppy when we got there, we would need a place for our bags and to catch some sleep.

Throughout the flight, Dom was subdued. Other than participating in the plan of action, he stayed in his own thoughts. I couldn’t blame him in his situation, it was a lot to take in, and he would need to be prepared for what laid ahead.

I was mentally exhausted, and I knew Dom had to be, too.

Once we landed, we walked past baggage claim and headed straight for airport transit and jumped on the bus that would drop us off at the rental car place. Flyboy took care of the paperwork, and with directions to where the rental was located, we headed out of the building.

As we drove to the hotel, no one spoke, the trip taking its toll on the three of us. And it was only the start.

Checked into the hotel, we rode the elevated to our floor. Finding the room numbers, which lucky for us were beside each other, I stepped in front of the door to my room. As I swiped my key card and pushed the door the open, Dom and his dad did the same to the door next to mine.

In my room, I set my bag on the end of one of the beds, then grabbed what I needed out of it to freshen up. A shower would have to wait, there was no time because Dom needed to get to the hospital.

---