Page 17 of Levi
We walk out of the room and out the back door, where a black four door Chevy truck is waiting.Brody is leaning up against it, typing away on his phone.He must hear us because when he looks up, he puts the phone in his back pocket and walks to us.
“Ready?”
“I think,” I hesitantly say.Am I?
“You’re in good hands, I promise,” Brody reassures me, then walks me over to the passenger side and helps me into the truck.
Before the door closes, Mr.Buttons places a hand on my arm.
“I’ll contact you the moment it’s safe.Just know that the District Attorney’s Office is doing everything it can to ensure your safety.”He taps the pocket of his jacket where my letters are securely placed.“And I’ll send these out in the morning.It’s to give you a head start.”
“Thank you.”
He closes the door, and after he and Brody exchange a few words, they hug.Brody gets in and fires up the engine.Brody eases the truck back and pulls out of the shopping strip and onto the road heading towards a highway.We sit in silence for a long while before either of us speaks.In a way, I like the quiet but in others I want to know what’s going to happen and where we are going.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?Or is that something I’ll find out when we get there?”
“No, you can know.We’re headed to my place in Montana.I just bought some land on the outskirts of this amazing town.We’ll be there while we wait.It’s gorgeous and the weather is great; we just don’t have access to beaches.”His smile is infectious and I find myself sharing in his happiness.Maybe this won’t be so torturous after all.
“What a small world?My grandparents and my husband’s grandparents also have a place in Montana.”
“Really?What city?”he asks as he changes lanes.
“My grandparents live in Dillon, and Levi’s grandparents have a place in Twin Bridges.”
He nods, “My place is South of Helena.It’s right outside Whitehall.”
“Do you have a storyline also, or do you get to play yourself until I’m allowed to come back?Am I a friend visiting or long lost relative?”
“You haven’t read through the paperwork, have you?”
I shake my head and reach to open the large envelope.I find a booklet and open it to reveal a passport and driver’s license.Upon further inspection, I see my new name and an updated photo.How did they get that so soon?
Sadie.My new name is Sadie.My heart skips a beat because that is my mother’s name.
“Sadie Jackson?”I cannot believe this.“This can’t be right.”I’m going to be one of his relatives?
“Oh, I can assure you that it is.”He winks, and it makes him even more attractive.I hate myself for even acknowledging it.
“Jackson?As in you?”
“Yep.”He pops the ‘p’ between his full lips.
“There has to be a mistake.This isn’t right.”
“No mistake, Wife.”
Wife?
The name on the papers isn’t what sends my heart into a race to leave my body.It’s the official paper behind it that almost has me passing out.I whip my head over to the driver’s side and see Brody glance over at me with a mega smile.
What in the living hell have I gotten myself into?Before I can stop it, the damn bursts as the tears flow and there is nothing that can stop it plummeting down my face.
Wife.
Saylor
We’ve been on the road for hours as I continue to read over the papers of my new life.Hoping that if I read it again, the words might be different and that the life I’m going to be living for the foreseeable future isn’t hitched to this man seated next to me.
