Page 4 of The Road Ahead
“She’s awesome, isn’t she?” Rio agreed, an almost dreamy quality to their voice. “She might not be the fastest, and racers these days tend to think of drifting as nothing more than spinning their tires and creating smoke, but she’sfun.I love driving her, even if I did rack up more miles than I wanted to driving her here.”
“How many does she have on the clock?” I asked, moving to peer in the driver’s window.
“Jump in and check her out,” Rio suggested, moving around to the passenger side. Once I was seated behind the wheel, sinking down into the deep bucket seat, Rio continued. “The dash is metric, since that’s what they use in Japan. She’s done two hundred and eighty thousand kilometers, which is just over a hundred and seventy-five thousand miles, I think.”
“Oh, baby,” I said to the car, caressing her steering wheel. “You’re an old dame.”
“I have another engine for her I need to recondition, so she’s not hearing her death knell anytime soon. I also have a shell I got from a wrecker, which helps when I need spare parts.”
I grinned over at them. “I don’t know much about engines and shit, but please, please,pleaselet me help you. I can pass over wrenches and keep you company. Whatever you need me to do.”
Rio laughed, their entire face lighting up. “I’d be heartbroken if youdidn’twant to help.”
I leaned back in the seat, breathing in deeply. “Fuck, there’s something amazing about the smell of old cars. I don’t know what it is, but it’s so soothing.”
“I know what you mean,” Rio agreed.
Without thinking, I reached over and took their hand, grasping it tightly. “I amsoglad you’re here,” I said, meaning it more than I’d ever meant anything.
Rio’s gorgeous brown eyes met mine for a long moment before they said, “Me too.”
Chapter 3
Rio
Ihadn’t realized how tense I’d been until I saw my cousins and my muscles instantly relaxed. For so long, I had hidden myself and tried to be strong. I’d done a fucking awesome job at it, even if I do say so myself, but it was exhausting. To suddenly be around people who you know love you and accept you? It brought me the kind of peace I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Not since you were last in Cooper’s arms.
I told my traitorous brain to shut up as I followed Cooper down to the second bedroom to store my suitcase. It didn’t help that we’d be sharing a bed. I mean, I’dknownthat, but I hadn’t let myself actually dwell on it. Because it didn’tmeananything. We were cousins who were bunking together on vacation, that’s all. Unfortunately, no one told that to my childhood crush, which was making a resounding comeback.
“Which side of the bed did you want?” Cooper asked as we entered the small room. The double bed took up most of the space, with a narrow aisle on each side and an old-fashioneddresser with an oval mirror on the wall opposite. The bed had been neatly made, and Cooper’s duffel bag sat on the floor to one side of the dresser. There wasn’t anything out of place—the room was as neat as a pin.
“I don’t mind,” I said as I wheeled my suitcase over to sit beside the duffel. I eyed the bed critically before turning back to Cooper. “How the hell do you even fit in that thing? Your legs must hang over the bottom of the bed!”
Cooper laughed. “There are very few beds that I fit in,” he admitted. “I usually sleep curled up in a ball so the monsters under the bed don’t get me.”
I grinned. “Don’t worry, Coop. I’ll protect you from the big bad monsters.”
Cooper’s eyes dropped to my mouth, and I had the strangest feeling he wanted to kiss me. Of course, that was me totally projecting because he then said, “When did you chip a tooth?”
I automatically clamped my lips together to hide my damaged front tooth, but then realized I couldn’t reply without opening my mouth. I sighed. “A couple of years ago. I was sparring with one of the other instructors at work, and he kicked out at me. Since I’m a real-life hobbit, instead of getting me in the chest pad like he was expecting, he got me across the jaw.” I winced at the memory. “It wasn’t even his kick that chipped my tooth, but falling down onto my steel water bottle that did it.”
“Holy shit,” my cousin said with a grimace. “That had to hurt.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but not till later. I was in a bit of a daze for a while. I had to go to the hospital for a concussion check, and since we’d been sparring after work, my insurance wouldn’t cover it. By the time I’d started paying off that bill, I didn’t have the cash to pay to see a dentist to get a crown.”
“You should have reached out. We could have helped.” Cooper was so fucking earnest, it hit me right in the chest like Ty’s kick was supposed to have.
Shrugging, I said, “Honestly, most of the time I forget about it. I know it looks bad, and I should get it fixed, but . . .”
“What are you talking about?” Cooper demanded. “It’s cute as fuck.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Fuck off. It is not.”
He crossed the room to stand right in front of me, and I saw how his hand twitched, as if he wanted to reach out and cup my face. “Have I ever lied to you?” he asked instead.
“Not about anything major,” I admitted. “That I know of, anyway.”
