Page 37 of Rescue
Chapter 18
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Miles
We finally get on the road after some mind-blowing oral fun in the shower this morning. I can’t remember a girl ever getting me off so fast. It’s a blessing and a curse honestly. I was worried that if we stayed in bed and had sex again, like I wanted to, that we’d fall back asleep after we were done and never get on the road. What ended up happening was still pretty satisfying, even if we did end up rinsing off in freezing cold water. Using up every drop of hot water with Penelope’s mouth all over me was 100% worth it.
Once we’re dressed and ready to go, we’re standing in my entryway putting our shoes on. The sun should be on its way up right now, but it looks like the weather today is going to be rough. From what I can see through the window next to my front door, it’s windy and totally overcast. It’s a little early in the season for such nasty weather, but it’s definitely not unheard of. We’ve had snow earlier than this in my lifetime, so I know snow today isn’t totally out of the question.
Penny finishes tying her shoes and looks past my shoulder out the window. “It looks pretty nasty out there. Are you sure we should head out right now?” she asks, biting her bottom lip.
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be fine. I checked the weather and there wasn’t any rain on the radar. We’ve got a clear shot into LA. We can check the radar before we head home to be sure, but I think the weather is supposed to hold out for at least another day.”
My assurances must convince her, because she releases her lip and gets a determined look in her eyes. There’s my girl. She opens the door to walk out to her car and a gust of wind blows the door back at her. She backs up into my arms as the door slams shut in front of her. “Whoa!” she exclaims as I wrap my arms around her to stop her from falling.
“You ok?” I ask.
“Yeah. That just surprised me is all. It’s a lot colder out there than I thought it would be.” I feel her shiver a little, so I reach up and rub her arms.
“Did you bring a jacket and stuff? Might be better to bundle up right now, and then when we get closer to the city, where it’s warmer, we can shed our layers.”
“Shoot, no I didn’t. All I have with me is a light zip up, I didn’t even think to bring anything warmer. I guess we could run by the cafe, though.” She looks up at me as though she’s looking for advice. If we stop by the cafe, we’re going to be there forever. Mabel is known for how long she can keep you standing there talking about absolutely nothing. It’s got to be 10 times worse with her own granddaughter.
Wondering if there’s anything here that might work for her, my eyes focus on the coat rack I keep by the door. I know I have an old camo jacket she can wear that won’t be terribly big on her but I’m not sure where I saw it last. My eyes hit on my lucky red scarf that I keep hanging there on the coat rack as a little reminder of what I’ve been through. If not for that red scarf, they might not have found me as quick as they did after the avalanche. A nagging feeling in my gut has me winding it around her neck before I open the coat closet to locate something small enough that won’t dwarf the poor woman. I quickly find the jacket I’ve been looking for and turn back to her with it. Once she puts it on, I know rationally she doesn’t need all this gear. We’re heading into warmer weather and she’s just going to be in the car, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. She’s too important to me to not take every precaution I can with her.
Satisfied that she’s going to stay warm, I open the door for her this time, making sure to hold it tight so that it doesn’t blow around. She makes a mad dash for her car as I close and lock the door behind me. I run up to her door just after she gets her car turned on. I see her adjust the heat setting to high and then turn to me and roll her window down.
“Drive safe. Once the car’s warm, switch the heat to your feet. This wind is awful. Just take it slow and steady and you’ll be just fine. Let’s stop before we get on the interstate at the bottom of the mountain to get a cup of coffee and go to the bathroom before we head the rest of the way into the city.” I’m doing my best to convey a sense of calm I’m not quite feeling. No sense in both of us being anxious if we can help it.
“Sounds good. I’ll be careful. Promise.” She gives me a smile that could light up the darkest morning and I can’t help but lean in to steal yet another kiss. This woman is addictive. Remembering where we are and that we have somewhere to be, I pull back with a groan. “I just can’t help myself with you.”
“I think I kind of like it,” she says with a cheesy grin, scrunching her nose at me in that cute way she does.
“I think I kind of like you,” I say back.
“Just kind of?” she asks, teasing me.
“Well . . . maybe a little more than kind of,” I say. I’m backing up towards my truck, but I can’t look away from her. She just makes me so happy. I’m still walking backwards when I trip on a small rock and almost fall. I catch myself, but just barely, and I’m thankful it’s not light enough outside for her to see how embarrassed I am right now.
“You better watch where you’re going,” she says with a laugh. “I’ll see you at the bottom.” She gives a little wave and then rolls up her window, puts her car into drive, and heads out.
Feeling like my heart just drove away from me, I turn around and quickly jog over to my truck. I don’t want her to get too far ahead of me, just in case something happens and she needs me. Rationally I know the chances of that are slim, but I still have that uneasy feeling from before and I don’t want to take any chances.
It’s about a 4-hour drive to LA, 2 through the mountains and 2 once we get down into the valley. This gives me a lot of time to think about Penny and how I feel. The feelings I have are totally different than the way I felt about Caroline. I loved Caroline, don’t get me wrong, but I’d loved her my whole life it seemed. I can’t remember actually falling in love with her. We’d always just loved each other. Moving forward together was always the natural thing to do. With Penelope it’s a conscious choice, and one that I never saw coming. I always assumed I’d just end up alone. That big love doesn’t happen for everyone, so asking for it to happen to me twice was just selfish. I’d resigned myself to being a bachelor forever, a punishment for the mistakes of my youth. Those mistakes took everything from me and as far as I was concerned, I didn’t deserve a second chance.
I never imagined that someone as bright and vibrant and just downright beautiful would walk into my life and make me question everything I thought I knew. In fact, with Penny, it’s almost as if there was no question. No reason to say no. No way to walk away from the electric current running between us. If I’m honest, I didn’t really try though. How could I walk away from someone so obviously meant to be mine? I couldn’t. And I’m so thankful I didn’t.
Just in the last few weeks, she’s made my life so much more exciting and alive than I can remember it ever being. I don’t even want to think about letting her go. I know exactly how I feel about her now, the next step is making sure she feels the same way about me.
I know that she cares for me. That I don’t doubt. There’s no way she could have faked her reaction last night when I told her about Caroline and our unborn baby. She could have easily walked out and never talked to me again, and I wouldn’t have blamed her, but she didn’t. She comforted me and for that I’ll be forever thankful. I never imagined she would show me the kind of compassion she did last night. I certainly don’t deserve it. I’m trying to come to terms with everything that happened that day and everything I lost, and she just helped me so much more than she knows. It feels like a large weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Like for the first time in a while, I can breathe a little better, like the light in my world is a little brighter, and I owe that all to Penelope.
I do have to admit that I’m a little anxious about what’s going to happen today at her old apartment. She’s told me that her ex won’t be there, and from what she’s told me about him, I’m glad. He sounds like a jerk and I know he didn’t treat my girl the way she deserves.
My girl. Is that what she is? We haven’t had that discussion yet, but I certainly don’t want to see anyone else. She seems to be on the same page as me, but I don’t want to assume anything. She’s just getting out of a very serious relationship which might mean that she isn’t ready for anything more than a casual fling. If that’s what she wants then I’ll just have to take her however I can get her and hope that eventually she wants more.
Traffic moves quickly as we wind down the mountain and we make great time getting to the gas station at the bottom. I never caught up to Penelope, but when I pull into the parking lot, I see her car door open and she steps out, throwing her arms into the air for a big stretch. She still has the scarf and jacket on, though the temperature has probably risen 15 degrees, so she sticks out in a parking lot with people dressed in long sleeve t-shirts and jeans. She’d stick out anywhere to me though. Seeing her with my bright red scarf on causes my breath to hitch and a weird feeling lodges in my chest. I can’t quite put my finger on it, I just know that it makes me feel good. Terrified, but good. It makes no sense, I know.
I pull up into the spot next to her, throw the truck into park and get out, eager to get my hands on her. We’ve only been apart 2 hours and I’m shocked at how much I missed her.
