Page 106 of Truck Stop Titan

I tore the blanket away, shining the light on two shocked faces, headphones in their ears, plugged into a mini computer. They sat side by side, an empty carton of Pringles at their feet.

Rocky and Mim screamed at the same time, startled by my sudden appearance.

Unable to bear my own weight, I fell to my knees, dropping the flashlight.

“Dane!” Rocky shouted. “Wanna go camping with us?”

I couldn’t speak, my head buzzing, my chest…well…shit, was I even breathing? Mim wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tight, then let go, plopping right back down at Rocky’s side.

Three deep breaths and I forced my angriest tone, despite the relief crashing through me. “Rocky James Mason. Get your ass up that bank right now. Your mom and dad are scared to death.”

His smile faded. He shot a sideways glance at Mim, then met my glare. “Ah, man. We just wanted to go camping.”

I was not fit to rebuke the kid. I didn’t trust my emotions.

“I’ll grab your shit. You help Mim up the trail.” I handed him the flashlight, but he handed it right back.

“Jeez. I have my own.” He reached under the sleeping bag and pulled out two heavy duty Maglites, slapping one into Mim’s lap. “C’mon. I think we’re in trouble.”

Mim ignored me completely, chin in the air, and marched behind her best friend. I wanted to shake her. Yell and scream and make her promise never to scare me like that again. I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go. Lock her in a cage where I could keep her safe from the world. Where she could never make me feel such fear, so helpless ever again.

Instead, I followed behind, waited at the base until they’d ascended the trail, then listened for the cries of relief. After hearing Tango’s angry voice, I staggered backward, dropped my ass in the sand, and let the emotion take over, every muscle in my body trembling something fierce.

My phone buzzed.

Moriah: They’re here. We’ve got them.

Me: I know. Go back to the house. I need a minute.

Moriah: OK

Head in my hands, I released a silent, violent, purging scream. If that was what parenting entailed, I wanted no part of it. No fucking way would I survive twenty years of that shit. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Caring. Worrying. Responsibility.

I couldn’t do the parenting thing. I couldn’t be a father.

I wasn’t built for such bullshit.

# # #

Overhead, the sky morphed from purple to blue. At my feet, waves licked the shore in lazy strokes. My wet ass would be numb for days, yet I sat in the cold, damp sand, staring blindly across the bay, emotions waging war with instinct.

Freedom beckoned, the open road a siren’s call luring me from the heavy weight crushing my chest.

Through the early morning hours, I battled the urge to flee. Disappear. Leave responsibilities I had no right bearing behind.

Would’ve been easy.

Then again, leaving Moriah would kill me. Leaving Mim would destroy any chance I had of being anything less than the fuck-up my nurturing had created.

My girls. Fuck. Not sure how I’d fooled those beauties into believing I was someone worth something, but God damn I was done questioning my luck.

Freedom was alluring, true. But a lifetime staring into those freckled faces, hazel eyes beaming at me, bright fucking smiles? Hell, even their frowns were stronger, more magnetic than any innate pull of the wild.

I was no longer a solitary man. Terrifying, true, but empowering just the same.

My phone buzzed against my thigh as I pushed to my feet.

“Hey, gorgeous,” came out raspy and weak, my throat and lungs raw from the damp air.

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