Page 117 of Truck You

We say our goodbyes, and I place my phone back in the center dash.

My parents aren’t completely onboard with my racing aspirations, but they’re coming around. To my surprise, they were happy when I decided to officially join the Mutter Truckers Auto & Racing team. They said being a part of a professional team seemed safer than the pieced-together approach I’d been operating under for the past several years. They’re not wrong.

Shortly after Mac and I got back together, Liam called me into a meeting. He made it sound so serious, I was afraid he was letting me go. Business can get slow during the winter months, so it wouldn’t have surprised me.

Instead, I walked into his family’s kitchen to be greeted by Mac, Chase, Ash, and Liam. To say I was shocked and overjoyed they asked me to become a driver for them is an understatement.

Mac still plans on driving some, but he wants to step back and take on more of a recruiter and manager role. His goals and priorities have shifted.

Maybe neither of us will ever race in the Sprint Cup, but one day, the Mutter name will be known at the top of the ranks. And I’m excited to help them make that a reality.

Mac pulls into a parking space outside the restaurant, but he doesn’t turn off the truck. Instead, he tugs me close and wraps his arms around me.

“I’ve never spent Christmas away from my family. This year will be the first.”

“Never?”

He shakes his head. “We’ve always been together. Even Warren never misses a Christmas.”

“Oh God!” I lean back and stare into his eyes. He looks calm and at peace. “Are you okay with that? I mean, missing all that time you could be spending with your brother. You hardly ever see him.”

His smile grows and he gives me a light kiss. “It’s fine. He’s staying through New Year’s Day. I’ll get to spend plenty of time with him.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.” He kisses me again and clenches his hands at my sides.

“Ready to go in?” I ask before he deepens the kiss.

“No.” He grumbles and drops his head to my chest.

I smile and hug him tighter. “Well, let’s go inside anyway.”

* * *

“Oh my God. It’s him,”a teenage boy says from a table just inside the entrance to the restaurant. The girl sitting next to him elbows and shushes him.

Mac tightens his grip on my hand while the older girl sitting with her back to the door stands and turns the gentlest smile on us.

“Oh, wow!” She beams. “You’re so tall.”

She leaps toward us and wraps her arms around Mac, causing his entire body to go ramrod straight. I try to extract my hand from his so he can hug her back, but he just pulls me closer as if I’m his lifeline.

The girl hugging him, whom I assume is Millie, is short. Maybe only five-feet-three or four. She’s pretty with dark hair and a kind smile.

Mac finally relaxes and pats her back.

“Millie?” he croaks.

“Yeah.” She releases him and steps back, wiping her eyes. “Sorry. I told myself not to get emotional on you, but clearly …” She just smiles and points at her face with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mac smiles and his own eyes glass over. He squeezes her shoulder and says, “Don’t apologize. It’s not every day you get to meet a sibling for the first time.”

“Oh, my gosh. Look at me crying, and I haven’t even introduced myself. You must think I’m a silly girl. I’m not. I swear. It’s just this is … Well, a lot for us to take in. We thought we knew our mom, and then she threw this at us.”

She turns around to her brother and sister who are still sitting at the table. They’re both staring at us like they don’t know what to say or do.

“I’m Millie in case you didn’t already figure that out.” Millie places her hand on her chest before she points to her siblings. “And this is Greta and Ben. We’re all a little nervous.”

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