Page 15 of Road Trip With the Ghost Hunter (Love Along Route 14 #10)

Li

My body felt like jello, and I’d never been happier.

Lucas came back from the bathroom, scooped me in his arms, and rested us comfortably in bed, where he told me everything that happened in Basic Plaines before coming to find me.

I mostly listened, ignoring the gnawing in my gut at my homeless/jobless status.

I adored this bubble we were in, but what awaited us outside this room?

It already went against the odds that we fell for each other while barely knowing the other.

His life was back in Virginia, running his uncle’s construction company.

And me? I had nowhere to go. Rustic Junction wasn’t even a forever stop, just a wait for my next move, stop.

“Hey,” he raised my chin. “What's bouncing around in there?”

Sighing heavily, I drew imaginary shapes along his strong, massive chest. Seriously. My guy was huge. That brought a smile to my face, making the uncertainty sting that much more.

“It was all for nothing.”

“What was?” His fingers combed through my hair, which made focusing very difficult.

“This entire road trip. The job was already filled. She sent me an email two days ago. I just haven’t been checking them.” I avoided his eyes. I felt the shame of being twenty-nine and not having my shit together.

“Hey.” He waited till I looked at him. “It wasn’t for nothing.” I wrinkled my nose. “How else would we have met each other?”

“Hmm.”

“Yeah. Hmm,” he grinned. “You know. I think your lǎo lao had something to do with this.”

“What?” My eyes widened.

“Think about it.” He turned into me until I was on my back, and he rested on his forearm above me, running his fingers over my collarbone. “It’s like they had a hand in helping us find each other.”

Surprised by this theory, I passed my fingers through his deliciously disheveled hair. “You really believe that?”

Suddenly, a vulnerable young man was before my eyes.

He shrugged, focused on the paths he was making with his fingers over my skin.

“The coincidence at the bar. My uncle’s favorite saying knocked my senses and brought me back to you.

I don’t know.” Those winter eyes I loved so much pierced mine.

“If he was at play, surely, your grandmother was too.”

I didn’t hate the idea. “She would do something like that,” I chuckled. “She would’ve teased you, only speaking Chinese in front of you when she could speak English perfectly.” I smiled, remembering how innocent she played, but I got my mischievous side from her.

“He would’ve loved you,” he said, taking my breath. “For real. You two would’ve ganged up on me. I already know.”

Laughing, he kissed me. A sweet, heartbreakingly healing kiss.

“I have his ashes,” he said softly.

“This whole time?” I didn’t know he was carrying them the entire trip.

Nodding, he continued. “I was thinking, heading back to Virginia, stopping at Heartstone. There was this awesome spot by the river. I think,” he stopped to clear his throat. “I think he’d like it there.”

My heart tugged, for more than one reason. I loved that he found somewhere he felt he could release and let go of his uncle. At the same time, it hurt not being the one to go with him. I’d be stuck here, figuring out what to do with my life.

“You could maybe,” he started. When I looked at him, he said, “You could also give some of the shards back to the earth. We can leave them there to rest?” Seeing my confused reaction, he cupped my face. “Do you want to stay here?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go. I have to figure that out.” I stared at his neck, running the tip of my nail through the light hairs on his chest. “I don’t have a home anymore,” I said so softly, I barely heard it, yet somehow, it felt like the loudest thing I’d ever said.

“Come home. With me,” Lucas said.

“What?”

“Doesn’t have to be forever, if you don’t want it to. Just come home.”

Home. That word was so tempting because it wasn’t Virginia I’d call home. As cheesy as it sounded, it was him. He felt like home.

“We’re nuts,” I whispered. Lucas laughed so deeply, I felt it in my own chest.

“Who the fuck cares if we are,” he said, his laughing lips kissing mine. “Come home to me,” he whispered. “We'll figure it out.”

“And what? Live with you? Wouldn’t we be setting ourselves up for failure?” I wanted to free dive without a care, but my logical brain felt like it had to consider practicality.

“You want your own apartment? We’ll get you one. It doesn’t have to look like anything. It's whatever we want.”

“When did you become so carefree?” I laughed. The Lucas I met days ago ate vegetables on road trips. He used logic and paper maps for travel. This carefree, let’s be in love, Lucas felt sudden and new.

“One thing you’ll learn about me,” he leaned down and nibbled on my lower lip, bringing my body to life again. “When I set my mind to something, I don’t believe in doing it half-ass. I’m all in.”

“All in?” I raised my brow, feeling that beautiful, hard tip nudge my core. Raising my head, I bit his lip back. “Prove it.”

I’m learning my man doesn’t back down from a challenge. Lucas most definitely proved it. All night long.

***

Driving away from Rustic Junction, we left with an SUV full of trinkets and treats.

Melody hugged me goodbye and sent us off with a bottle of their rustic apple pie moonshine she stole from the back.

Her mother, Wynona, winked when we came downstairs this morning, and I thought I might die from embarrassment.

Lucas and I are not quiet lovers. At all.

She sent us off with some homemade shepherd’s pie and cookies she had made the night before.

We got the car checked out and gassed up before we headed off.

The man at the gas station dressed up as a horse stable sent us off with varied pickled veggies, some soy sauce eggs Lucas was down for, and souvenirs from Rustic.

It was a sweet, quirky town, but definitely not where I wanted to call home.

My body was curled up in the passenger seat, facing Lucas. His hand held mine and rested on my thigh. I drew shapes on his open palm, thinking. “What do you think about me teaching pottery?”

Glancing over, he thought about it for a second. “Would that make you happy?”

I shrugged. “Throwing clay, working at the wheel is the only time I feel detached from everything, in a good way.”

“So, why not just create things in your own space and sell them online or in person at novelty shops?”

The idea tickled my brain. I hadn’t thought of that. “You think people would buy my stuff?”

“Hell yeah. You showed me pictures. The ones you did of those cute animal planters were great. I could see people wanting them.”

Nodding, I kept drawing on his hand with my fingers. “I could still offer classes, too. I’d just have to find a maker’s space or pottery location that maybe rents out space.”

“We actually have a large Maker’s community where I live. There’s an awesome warehouse with tons of equipment for community use.”

My chest bubbled, giddy with the possibilities. “I told you,” he said, squeezing my hand. “We’ll figure it out.”

Smiling, I brought his hand up and kissed it. “We really will.”

The next morning, we were leaving Kansas and heading toward Missouri. Lucas insisted on driving through the night, so we took turns. He fought me on it at first, but I wasn’t having him sleep deprived and driving through the night.

We stopped at a rural gas station to top off.

While Lucas took care of that, I was on the hunt for snacks.

Li approved ones. The bell chimed at my arrival.

For a random middle-of-the-highway stop, it was fairly big.

Near the back was an Asian market section, which surprised me.

At a small table sat an older Asian woman surrounded by cultural ceramics, beads, handkerchiefs, etc.

She smiled sweetly, almost knowingly, at me. “Hi,” I said. “These are beautiful.” I was hovering my finger over some of the ceramic cats curled up, sleeping. One of them was white with delicate blue designs.

“That one is special,” she said in Chinese.

“Oh.” Surprised. “You’re Chinese. Me too,” I said, also in Chinese. “My grandmother was born there. I was born here.”

She picked up the cat I was eyeing and rested it on her palm.

“She brings you prosperity, good luck, and protection. She represents the yin balance in life. Feminine.” She encouraged me to take the ceramic cat by placing it in my hand.

“You have your yang,” she tipped her head to the window.

I turned and saw Lucas walking toward the gas station.

Then I jerked slightly as the feel of her withered yet soft hand cupped my cheek. Staring back at her, moisture filled my eyes. She gently patted my cheek in a nurturing way, just like lǎo lao used to do, then pulled away and sat back down.

The door chimed, pulling me back. I composed myself, looking at the ceramic cat in my hand. “How much?” I asked.

“A gift,” she said.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t—“ but she gave me a look I was very familiar with. You did not argue with your elders. You accepted what they said.

I smiled and whispered, “Thank you.”

“Hey,” Lucas said, wrapping his arm around me. “Ready to go?” He waved politely at the woman, then pointed to the cat. “That’s cute. Almost reminds me of…” he didn’t finish.

“Yeah,” I smiled.

We walked off after he paid for gas, and I felt that lovely woman’s eyes on us.

I wrapped the cat in one of my shirts to protect it and packed it away.

As we drove off, I studied Lucas’s profile.

He was right. Lǎo lao and his uncle definitely orchestrated this.

I never felt so at peace with any life decision.

Thank you, lǎo lao.

And don’t worry, Uncle Filip. I’ll take good care of him.

I leaned over and kissed his bearded cheek. Lucas turned to press a kiss on my head, then rested his hand on my thigh. I leaned my head back, smiling.

Love wasn’t so scary after all. Not when you felt it for the right person who also felt it and loved you back.

We cruised down Route 14, letting go of our ghosts and free-falling into radical living.