you up. Just let me know if I can ever give you some names. They'd be happy to come out and give you a bid."
"A bid from King's Hardware, huh?" she said, shaking her head like she never thought she'd see the day.
I rinsed the last plate and set it to dry on the rack before drying my hands. "Do any of you want to do anything? Go anywhere? The beach, maybe?"
"I have a friend coming to pick me up from Houston," Michael said. "She was supposed to come last night, and I already rescheduled once when I decided to spend the night. She'll be here at two."
"Yeah, and I was thinking about a nap after all this excitement," Helen said, turning from the sink.
"All right, well, I'm going to go out with Will, then," I said. I looked at Michael. "I'm headed back to Houston tonight if you want to ride with me instead of your friend."
He paused and looked at the clock. He hesitated. "I'd actually be fine with that, if you don't mind."
"No," I said. "I'll probably head back around six or seven."
He glanced at the clock. "I bet I can catch her if I call now." And Michael went to the other side of the room to use the phone.
"I'll wait to see if he's riding with me, but either way, I'll come back over here before I head back to Houston," I said to Helen and Mike.
"Sounds good. When are you coming back?" Helen asked.
"Maybe dinner time. But don't worry about cooking. I can just heat up something quick or wait till I get back to Houston.
"I'll just make a salad," Mike said. "You'll need something good and light for the road.
I knew his definition of a salad was a full meal, and that he would spend a lot of time and effort preparing it. But he smiled like he was looking forward to it, and quite frankly I was looking forward to eating whatever he made.
"Can you make one for Will?" I asked.
"He doesn't have to—"
"Sure," Mike said. "I'll have them ready for six o'clock so you can get on the road after dinner."
Chapter 18
Will and I left the Elliots' house a few minutes later. I told them we'd be back in time to visit for a little while before dinner. Will left his truck at their house, and we got into my new car. It still didn't seem real. I watched Will driving it, and I saw the wind in his hair.
He had done it.
He had told our families that we were together, and he talked them into being okay with it.
The cloud of doubt that hung over our relationship was gone.
There were no more secrets.
Will had basically told them to forgive each other for our sakes, and with the way he phrased it, no one could really argue.
I felt elated. If it were possible to bottle this feeling and sell it I would make a zillion dollars.
"Where are we going?" I asked, knowing we left without talking about it.
"My sister is going to that wedding in Bayou Vista all day."
"Yeah, I heard her talking about that. I didn't think you were going."
"I’m not," Will said. "I'm just saying—she's not at home."
"Okay?" I said.
"She's not at home right now, and I wanted to take you over to her house and show you something while we have the place to ourselves."
I laughed, thinking he was joking, but Will didn't laugh back. "For real?" I asked.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"You'll see."
"Wouldn’t Tara be mad?"
"No, not really. She was mad when I found it, but she's over it. She doesn't care if I use it."
"Will, that does not sound like good logic," I said. "If she doesn't want us there, then she might get upset. And I'm ready to not upset anyone anymore."
Will laughed and reached out to hold my hand. My car was a standard, and he was driving in stop and go traffic, so there was no opportunity for him to hold onto me. He did however, take my hand and put it on his own leg. I had been asking about Tara and whether or not she wanted us at her unoccupied house, and then suddenly, I could think of nothing besides the feel of his warm leg through the thin layer of denim.
"I love this car," he said. "I've never driven a convertible before. Not a car, at least. I've driven a couple of jeeps and of course motorcycles and four wheelers and everything.