“You got everything?”
She looked around and shrugged.
“I think so? I have her meds and all her favorite books. Clothes.”
I held up my bag.
“I got your clothes and some photos.”
She looked away, but not before I saw the tears in her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Paulie is giving us some lead time before he takes this to Vincent and Tony. But we have to go.”
“You have already done too much. I can’t ask you to do this too. I’ll find a way–”
“No, Angel.”
I stepped closer and tilted her chin up.
“I’m in this for the long haul.” She stared at me, her sexy lips softly parting. “Besides, they are going to be looking for me too.”
“Oh.” She blinked at me. “I didn’t think of that… oh Lucky, I am so sorry, I should have listened to you.”
“Shhhh… let’s not talk about that now.” I kissed her. “You’ve been through enough.”
I flashed her a wicked smile.
“I’m more than happy for you to apologize later.”
I was joking, but I saw the worry in her eyes. I knew she wanted me. So, what was the problem?
Chapter 22
Kirsten
“She’s out like a light.”
I glanced in the back. Lucky was right. Jacey was sound asleep and we’d only been driving for twenty minutes. I stared out at the dark country road ahead of us, lit only by the headlights.
“She’s always been like that. All she needs is motion to sleep. When she was a baby, we used to put her in the back seat to knock her out.”
“We?”
“My friend Delores and I.” I looked at Lucky. “She was the only one who would talk to me after… I had Jacey.”
“The dad?”
“We went out in high school. I thought it was serious. It wasn’t.”
“He let you have the kid on your own?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Family?”
“No. Not anymore. My family didn’t understand any of this. Maybe if my mom had been alive… but she wasn’t. Dad got harder after she passed. He could be cruel.”
“That sounds really hard, Angel.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t trying to throw a pity party. But it had been hard. And it was nice to talk about it. Especially because I could tell he was actually listening.
So far, Lucky was too good to be true. He was gorgeous. Brave. Kind. Generous. And he seemed to really like me, not just what was between my legs. I hadn’t been interested in a man since… well, since Jacey’s dad. I hadn’t even let myself think about dating. I’d been too afraid to get involved. Too stressed that I might make a mistake that could cost us. And Jacey came first.
I had to make sure Lucky knew that.
“I would have told you about Jacey.”
He looked at me.
“I know.”
“She’s so strong. She never complains. Even with the hand she’s been dealt.”
“Vince said she was sick.”
I glanced back to make sure she was still out. I didn’t like talking about her illness. But he had to know.
“Her lungs. There’s too much mucus. It’s called cystic fibrosis. She needs clean air. We have to watch for air quality, anything that could trigger her. Even the fumes from paint and furniture. Cleaning solutions. Mold. Smoke. Even perfume and scented laundry detergent. Basically anything that could trigger asthma.”
“It’s doable. Not easy but doable.”
“Right. We need some space around us. Trees. The ocean would be even better.” I nodded to myself, making a promise. “That’s where we are going next. To the ocean.”
“Okay.”
I took a quick peek at him to see if he was serious.
“Okay?”
“Okay. Woods. Ocean. Clean air.” He took my hand without taking his eyes off the road. “We got this.”
“You don’t have to say things like that. You might not even want to be with me…”
I didn’t know how to tell him about the bargain I made with God. I promised to be good. Not just good. I had promised to be Godly. That definitely did not include premarital sex. Other people might think it was silly but I knew that God had saved me in that warehouse. I couldn’t throw that gift away.
“I want to be with you no matter what.”
“Lucky…”
“Shhh… rest. We’ll be there in about a half an hour.”
“Angel. We’re here.”
Lucky’s soft words woke me from a deep sleep. I couldn’t believe I’d actually slept. After everything that had happened, and what I’d done… I’d felt as if I’d never feel safe enough to sleep again.
I looked at the man sitting beside me. I realized it must be Lucky who made me relaxed enough to take a nap. It was hard to believe but true. He texted someone and then got out of the car.
“Wait here.”
He was going to make sure everything was okay in the house.
He made me feel safe enough to sleep.
Lucky made me feel safe.
“Mom?”
I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to look at Jacey. I reached out and took her hand.