Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
I’ll drive.
X
Owen
The first page was a map, with a highlighted yellow route and a ton of black Xs marked. Confused, I fingered through the rest of the pile. My heart squeezed when I realized it was a printout of all the truck-mechanic shops in the greater Boston area. At the bottom of one of the pages, I noticed a timestamp at the corner—2:12 AM. Owen must’ve stayed up all night putting this together. I wasn’t sure if it was his kindness or my frayed nerves, but I got a little choked up.
I swallowed and grabbed my phone, checking for the millionth time to see if Vera had called or texted. Of course, she hadn’t. My cell was still in my hand when it vibrated with an incoming message.
Owen: Morning, sunshine. I slipped something under your door before I left for the office.
I smiled and texted back.
Devyn: I just opened it. That was sweet of you to put together.
Owen: FYI, I looked at the websites of a few of the places. A lot of them aren’t open on Saturdays and Sundays. So we’d have to go tomorrow. I figure if we leave at four AM, we could beat traffic on our way up and be back by early evening so the kids aren’t alone too long after school. And I can ask Colby to stop at the apartment in the morning, to make sure they actually go and don’t play hooky.
The man had thought of everything. When he’d first suggested going to Boston to search for Vera, it had sounded outlandish. It was a damn big city. But with the clock ticking and seeing how nicely he’d organized a plan of attack, I was starting to feel like it wasn’t so crazy.
Devyn: Don’t you have to work tomorrow?
He typed back almost immediately.
Owen: Came in early this morning to get shit done, just in case.
I chewed on my fingernail. I’d always hated to take favors from others. I prided myself on my independence, but deep down I suspected that was less about needing to be self-sufficient and more my inability to trust others because my mother always let me down. Yet for some reason, I wasn’t nervous about Owen disappointing me, even though I didn’t know him that well. My heart told me he was reliable. That thought—that I wouldn’t mind relying on someone a little—scared me the most.
Devyn: Can I let you know later?
Owen: Of course. Have a good day.
After that, I forced the thoughts of Vera out of my mind because my schedule was jam-packed. I had three video calls with producers looking for fresh talent, and a script I needed to read in order to put together a pitch for roles. Before I knew it, it was almost time for the kids to come home, and I still needed to run down to the grocery store and grab a few things to make dinner. So I gathered up the papers strewn all over the kitchen table and shut down my laptop.
In the elevator, I scrolled through my cell. There were half-a-dozen text messages from actors I represented. As I went to open the top one, a new message arrived. I smiled seeing it was Owen. We were on the same wavelength.
Owen: What’s your favorite junk food? I’m picking up some road-trip snacks in case we go tomorrow. I can’t drive without a bag of Swedish Fish and a pound of wasabi peanuts. Are you sweet or salty?
Before I could reply, another message came in.
Owen: Oooh. They have Pop Corners—kettle corn flavored. My favorite. Though I better get two bags, because I don’t share this shit.
My smile widened. I was a road-trip-snack girl, too.
Devyn: Never tried Pop Corners but I love Swedish Fish.
A few seconds later, a picture arrived. I clicked on it and a snapshot of a very full basket of crap popped up. There had to be twenty different snacks in there—chips, chocolate, candy, nuts.
I chuckled as I typed.
Devyn: Umm…how long is this trip? A month?
Owen: I might be driving to Canada and back if you decide you don’t want to find Vera. I’ll need an excuse to eat all this shit.
Another text popped up.
Owen: So are you in? Or do I need to pack my passport for tomorrow?
Monday was barreling down on me, and I really needed to try something. My wait-and-hope approach wasn’t working out too well. And let’s face it, my hesitancy was more about me being afraid of getting close to Owen than anything else, and I shouldn’t let anything stand in the way of finding Vera. My sister and brother needed her back home. So I took a deep breath and typed.
Devyn: Think you have room in that basket for Reese’s Pieces?
Another photo arrived a few minutes later. Owen smiled in a selfie with a five-pound bag of Reese’s Pieces. His message was underneath.