This Much is True - Tia Louise Page 0,35

the same thing I’m thinking. We’ve reached our destination. This is where the journey ends.

Only… it’s not that simple. My part in all of this is more complicated than a three-day road trip, and I’ve got forces pulling me in both directions.

Curling my fingers in her hair, I guide her lips to mine for one more hit of my new favorite drug. It’s soft and sweet, with the faintest hint of whiskey.

Our eyes meet. “I hope we don’t.” It’s the best I can say at this point in the story.

Her smile is bittersweet, and I hate it.

I want to make promises. I want to tell her we never have to part, but I promised I’d never lie to her.

I have to follow this path to the end and deal with my shit before I can start fresh. If that’s even possible anymore.

This beautiful girl is way more than I bargained for that early morning halfway between San Francisco and LA, and I don’t know what to expect when we reach Fireside.

Hope

John Roth Dunne just blew my mind, and now he’s breaking my heart.

I’m sitting on his lap with my dress around my waist still aching from that incredible ride on his massive cock, and all I want is to do it all again.

He said he’d never lie to me, and I know he means it. Still, when he kisses me that way, I feel more than I’ve ever felt in my life. What’s happening here is special.

“Seriously, guys? Where the fuck are you?” Scout’s voice breaks our moment, and I’m off JR’s lap in a flash, pulling my dress up and removing my destroyed panties.

He’s right beside me, jerking his jeans over his hips and buttoning his shirt. Warm hands cover mine, and he takes my underwear, slipping them into his pocket.

Arching an eyebrow, I step into my boots. “What are you planning to do with those?”

“Refresh my memory.” His gaze is wicked, and it curls my toes… just as Scout breaks through the trees.

He takes one look at us and shakes his head. I’m sure it’s very clear what just happened. My hair is a wild mess on my head, and I’ve got sand stuck to my legs. JR’s shirt is untucked, and he’s doing his best to bury the evidence.

Scout pivots, returning the way he came. “Time to get on the road, people. Let’s go.”

My bottom lip is between my teeth, and I cover a snort with my hand before JR grabs my wrist, leading us through the woods to the car.

A large, brown paper bag is beside me on the backseat, and the wind whips through the car as we fly towards Charleston.

“What’s this?” I pull the top open.

“I got Heidi to box up all the food my insane brother ordered then walked out without touching.”

“You think it’ll keep?” JR glances back.

“Hell, I don’t know. But children are starving in Africa, and I’m not letting that much food go to waste.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I’m starved.” Reaching inside, I take out a foil container and remove the cardboard lid. “Jackpot!”

Lifting out a piece of fried chicken, I take a big bite, exhaling a groan.

“Hand me one.” JR shifts around, and I grab the next container down.

“Glad to see you worked up an appetite.” Scout cuts his brother a look as JR cracks open the corned beef hash and takes a big bite.

“I kind of had a moment back there.” He sounds apologetic, but his brother derails that train.

“Fuck, yeah, you did. You deserved to. I wish I’d known you didn’t know.” He gives JR a glance. “You still want to go home first?”

JR exhales heavily. “I still want to see my son.”

“Home it is.”

The closer we get to the coast, the narrower the roads become. The trees are spaced out more, and palms fill the shoulders of the road now. We might be close to Charleston, but Fireside is a small town.

Entering on Main Street, a large banner hangs over the road reading “The Palm is Sacred.”

“Looks like they still haven’t changed the town motto.” Scout laughs, and JR shakes his head.

“I bet Alice is still circulating a petition.”

“Who’s Alice?” I slide forward on the backseat.

“Our grandmother.” Scout exhales a noise. “She’s a trip. She’s an awesome grandmother, don’t get me wrong, but she’s a trip.”

Leaning my head on my hand, I study him. “In what way?”

“She was our mom’s mom, and she taught at the high school until she retired. Then she because the town historian,