The Homecoming Benefactor

14 | the drive

"Well I'll be damned, look who came back from college!" The portly elderly man behind the counter immediately recognized Nick.

Nick shook the man's hand and looked him up and down. "Been working on the arms. Charlie?"

"Oh, you're just like your daddy," Charlie chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "Who's the lady?"

"None other than Miss Frances Horn," Nick beamed, putting an arm around me. "She likes me for some reason."

Charlie turned his gaze to me, his light blue eyes meeting with mine. "Nick's a good kid. I don't think the Costas have made any bad kids, but this one's the best, in my humble opinion. You should play 'Strawberry Wine' when you get back on the road, he knows all the words. Sounds just like Deana Carter and all."

Nick laughed and shook his head. "I think you're exaggerating just a tad."

"Nice to meet you," I said, folding my hands on the counter.

"Say, do you have any of Miss Hattie's ooey gooey butter cake?" Nick took his wallet out from his pocket and looked at me. "Francie, you haven't lived yet until you try this."

"Miss Hattie left a little while ago to go feed the dogs, but there's still some left," Charlie replied before walking into the back.

"I used to work at this store some days in the winter as a second job," Nick explained. "Charlie and Miss Hattie are like grandparents to me. They're the kind of people that'd give you the shirts off their backs."

Charlie brought out two plates of the yellow cake and insisted he wouldn't charge us for it, since getting to see Nick for the first time in months was good enough. He wasn't kidding; it really was some of the best cake I ever had. It was like a mixture between regular cake and pecan pie filling, and that description barely does it justice.

"Thanks, Charlie," Nick said, taking his last bite. "I'm gonna drive Francie around town some before we go to the farm."

"Well, y'all have fun now!" Charlie waved at us as we headed back to the truck.

Once we got into the city limit, Nick described everything to me in detail, from the schools to the stop lights. He showed me where he was teaching his sister how to drive and she crashed into a yield sign that was still bent up to that day. We drove by his elementary school, middle school, and high school, all within the span of twenty minutes. As I listened to Nick's reminiscing, I wondered what it was like to spend your entire childhood in the same town. That was a feeling I never knew.

"Ready to go to the farm?" Nick sped up as we passed the backside of the city limit sign.

I nodded, and we spent about ten minutes or so maneuvering through a series of winding roads, which eventually went from paved to dirt. When I saw the first cow, I knew we were close. Before heading to the house, we veered off onto a wooded path, headed for what looked like a small pond. Nick parked the truck next to the end of the path with his truck bed facing the pond.

"This probably seems so tacky, but hear me out," Nick insisted, opening my door.

"I'm hearing," I replied sarcastically.

He smiled and said, "come get in the truck bed, just for a few minutes." I nodded and followed him there.

The sounds of birds chirping and water flowing permeated the atmosphere. It was like one of those white noise apps, except it was coming from real life. I realize that sounds chronically online to say, but, while I have heard nature before, this was on another level. The trees were barely green from the autumn weather, but they still incorporated nicely with the scenery. Nick opened the tailgate on the truck, and I climbed in, my legs dangling from the edge when I settled.

"We'll go to my parents' house in, like, five minutes," Nick said. "I just wanted to show you this."

"It's peaceful," I replied. "I imagine you came out here a lot when you lived here."

"Definitely," Nick effused, putting an arm around me. "A house with six kids is never quiet."

I folded my hands in my lap. "How many people have you brought out here?"

"Just you, Francie." We were now face to face, diagonally positioned of sorts.

"I must be pretty special, then," I blushed, twirling a piece of my hair.

"No doubt about it," Nick replied, placing one hand on the side of my face.

The glow of the passing sun reflected a warm light on Nick's olive skin, and lit a bit of a glow in his dark brown eyes. I had never seen him so relaxed. In the months that I had known him, he was often so worked up, and none of us really knew if he was capable of slackening. Knowing what was about to happen, it was ironic that this was one of the few times he wasn't nervous.

"It's been real hard staying patient for this," Nick said softly, staring directly into my eyes.

"Well," I breathed, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "You don't have to anymore."

Just like that, our lips sealed. He didn't move my hands, grab my chest, or try to take things further than they needed to go. One arm was wrapped around my waist while the other stayed on the side of my head. After a few seconds, he moved his hand to the back of my head and started running his fingers through my hair. The feeling was soft, slow, and tender, which I hadn't felt since high school. It had been such a long time since a man had seen me as something other than sexual. While Nick could have thought about me that way, he didn't show it, and I appreciated that more than I could express.

• AUTHOR'S NOTE •

Our main character finally gets to be somewhat happy and relaxed! For now, at least. We are about to start off our vacation, which will last the next few chapters, and there will be some twists and turns throughout. Stay tuned!