||Arden||
"Fuck!" Harry exclaims, glaring at the smoke rising from under the hood of his car.
We're about an hour west of Wichita, Kansas. We've only stopped once to go through a drive thru since we hadn't eaten the night before. We've been listening to the radio since we left hoping to hear that they had arrested the Butcher, but they haven't made any arrests.
He pulls the car to the shoulder and climbs out and walks to the front of the car. I watch as he jerks the hood open and immediately fails his arms around his face, clearing the smoke. I slide out of my seat and cautiously approach the front of the car, careful not the slip in the snow that's built up on the shoulder.
"Any idea?" I ask
"I think it's overheating, but the way it's been running the last hour has me concerned."
I hadn't noticed anything different.We opted to get off the freeway and move away from Wichita. The downside to that choice now is that we're stranded on a rural highway surrounded by pastures.
"You should go get back in the car. It's cold out here." he suggests. I walk back to my side of the car and slide into the passenger seat. After a few minutes he joins me.
"I'm pretty sure it's a cracked head gasket." he says once he's settled in his seat.
"Is that-"
"It's bad." he interrupts. "It's going to be expensive to fix and have us off the road for at least a week. That's assuming they can even find the parts."
"Is it something you can fix?"
"No." he replies staring at the snow collecting in the valley between the open hood and the windshield.
Our heads both snap behind us, towards the sound of a honking horn. A large pickup truck is pulled up behind us and the driver is climbing out of the cab.
"Stay here. Lock the doors and keep your gun handy." Harry instructs before climbing out of the car and meeting the man.
I watch as they talk for a few minutes by the rear of the car before walking around to the front. The man leans over the engine for a few minutes before walking back to his truck and pulling out on to the road.
"He's a mechanic. He's going to tow us to his shop a few miles up." Harry explains
"Can we trust him?"
"We don't really have a choice. Our names are Jacob and Eva, by the way. And we're traveling to California for New Years with my parents."
"Whatever you say, Jacob."
The mechanic returns a few minutes later with his tow truck. I stand off to the side with Jack tucked into my jacket and watch them load up Harry's car. We all squeeze into the cab of his truck. During the short drive back to his shop, he introduces himself as Rick and tells us about how he and his wife have lived their entire lives in Georgia, Kansas. Harry clenches his jaw and pretends to be interested in Rick's children's extracurriculars.
"It's definitely a cracked head gasket." Rick confirms once the car is unloaded and he's taken a second look.
"Shit." Harry mutters under his breath. "How long do you think it will take?"
"At least a week. I'll have to call around to see if I can find the parts locally."
"And if you can't?"
"Two weeks, minimum."
Harry exhales loudly and pinches the bridge of his nose as he tilts his head back.
"I can call the auto parts mall in Wichita, but there prices are higher." Rick suggests.
"Money's not a problem. I just need it done as soon as you can." Harry responds.
"I don't have a lot of business right now with it being so close to the holidays, so I'll do the best I can." Rick adds. "Do you two have a place to stay?"
"We'll just get a motel room." Harry answers.
"Christmas is next week. You don't want your wife in a motel room for Christmas." Rick objects.
I can't help but smile when Harry doesn't bother to correct him.
"My brother in law, Kevin, owns the trailer park a few miles up the road." he continues. "It's not the most glamorous place, but it will feel more like home than a motel room."
"What do you think?" Harry asks me.
"It sounds good." I answer.
Anything is better than camping in the snow again.
"I'll give him a call." he says. "I can rent you that Civic." he offers, pointing to a car parked a few yards over. "It's not as nice as your car, but it will get you to point a to point b."
"That would amazing, Rick." I answer. He nods to us both before turning and walking into his office.
"Are you okay?" I ask him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
"I don't know." he answers glancing towards his car.
"We're literally in the middle of nowhere. I think we'll be safe for at least a week. At least your car is off the road and out of sight."
He opens his mouth to say something else, but stops when he sees Rick walking back towards us.
"He's said to come on over. He has a furnished trailer he can rent you." Rick calls across the garage. "It's right up the road. I'll draw a map for you while you empty your car." he adds, handing Harry the keys to our rental.
I help Harry unload our few belongings into the aging Honda Civic, careful to keep our guns out of sight as we bend over the trunk of his car. I secure Jack back in his carrier as Harry collects the directions from Rick. He climbs into the driver's seat beside me and scowls as he takes in the interior of the car.
"This is an automatic." he grumbles before backing out of the gravel lot and pulling on to the road.
We drive up for just a few minutes before he turns into an asphalt drive way. The signs positioned on either side of it read "Rolling Meadows Trailer Park". A man steps out from the first trailer on our left, waving his arms. Harry stops the car and rolls the window down.
"You must be Kevin." Harry calls out.
"Yes, and you're Jacob and Eva, correct?" he asks as he shakes Harry's hand through the window.
"We are. I heard you have a place for us?"
"I do. Just let me grab the keys." he jogs up the steps and enters the trailer, reappearing a few seconds later, clutching a keychain and a tupperware container.
He walks over to a golf cart that is parked beside his pick up and motions for us to follow him. We drive to the very back of the park. He parks beside a red trailer and then motions for us pull into the concrete parking spot beside it. We climb out of the car and follow him inside the shabby trailer.
"It's a single wide, one bedroom, one bathroom. There's a living room set, a tv and dining table," he motions to the living room. "The kitchen has a few dishes. The water and power are on. There's a queen sized bed in the bedroom. I think that's it." he passes the keys to Harry.
"It looks good. Thank you." I respond.
"Oh! My wife sent this." he hands me the tupperware container. "It's just chicken and dumplings. She thought you guys could probably use a hot meal after the rough day you've had."
"Thank you. That's so thoughtful." I reply, taking the warm container from him.
"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else." he says before exiting the trailer. I let Jack out of his carrier and set up his food and water before taking a seat at the small table.
"I've never had dumplings." Harry says, looking over the contents of the tupperware container like it's a petri dish.
"It's good. Even if it wasn't I'm too hungry to care." I respond, mouth half full of food. He finally sits down across from me and takes a bite.
"We need to lie low here. Keep to ourselves until the car is ready and then get the fuck out of here. I'll call Michael tomorrow and see if he has any information."
"A week is a long time to lie low."
"We don't have a lot of options. We're practically sitting ducks."
"So you're telling me I'm stuck in this single wide trailer with you for an entire week? Whatever will we do?" I ask, winking.
"How are you so calm about this?" he asks, without a hit of anger in his voice. "I've put you through so much in the short time I've known you and you're still here. Every time something happens I think this is it, she's going to leave. When you caught me with the ketamine, after the wedding, after you found out who I really am, after you were forced to uproot your life, after you were nearly killed by a bounty hunter earlier today. But you're still here. Why?"
"Because I love you? Because you're the closest thing to a family I think I've ever had and I can't imagine being anywhere else." I reply.
"Really?"
"Really." I confirm. "Plus this will be an insane story to tell our grandchildren."
"Grandchildren?!" he exclaims, nearly choking.
"That is if we ever use up that life time supply of condoms you have."
"We do have a week."
After we polish off the chicken and dumplings, Harry checks the locks on all the doors and windows while I spread our sleeping bags and blankets out over the bed in the master bedroom and change my bandage. After Harry is content the trailer is secure, he reloads both our guns and places them on the headboard before climbing into bed beside me. He snuggles against my back silently for a few minutes before speaking.
"Did you mean what you said earlier?"
"About wanting to be here?"
"No, about grandchildren."
"Sure."
"You'd want to have kids with me?"
"Well, not right now, obviously, but once we've got all this figured out? Yes, I would." I respond, intertwining my fingers with his. "Why, do you not want kids?" I ask
"I haven't thought about it, honestly. I never thought that I would get to have them." he replies, his voice quiet. "I want you to have the things you want. I'm trying to get us out of this-"
"I know you're trying."
"Trying isn't good enough, I need to fix this."
"Hey, let's worry about this tomorrow. You need to rest."
"You're too good to me."
"I love you." I correct.
"I love you too."
A.N. Hopefully this chapter wasn't as stressful.
Any predictions?
Do you trust Rick and Kevin?
P.S. This is one of my favorite songs ever.