Page 94 of Rogue's Path

That’s evil. Totally evil. I’m impressed. “You’re not playing nice.”

“I’m playing to win.” He pulls the truck into a little mom-and-pop restaurant. “Ready for the best burnt end hash you’ve ever tasted?”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Why Dylan?

Rogue

It’s hard not to stare at Peaches all folded up in the seat next to me. Her name has got to have a story behind it. “Why did your parents name you Dylan?”

She twists her body to face me. “Dylan is a family name. In every generation, the firstborn male child is named Dylan. Only my father knew that he was getting one chance at a child. Mom didn’t want to have any, but Dad convinced her they couldn’t ruin the tradition. So, boy or girl, I was getting the name. My father was upset for years, according to Mom. That was one of the reasons they divorced.”

“Because of you?” That’s a horrible burden to put on a child.

“Not really. More like because Mom wouldn’t relent and give him a boy. He insisted they leave my birth certificate blank for as long as the government would let them. Then Dad checked how hard it would be to change it.”

“That’s intense.”

“Ya think? But that wasn’t the only reason. Dad got a job as a long-haul trucker to avoid fighting for a while. He was gone so long that Mom fell for someone else.”

That had to be so hard for her. “She cheated on your dad?”

“No. My parents would never do anything untoward. When my father came back from a month-long job, Mom askedfor a divorce. And Dad, of course, acquiesced without any complaints.”

A man just doesn’t let a woman go without a fight. Unless he didn’t love her. I would fight to keep Peaches by my side forever. But then I wouldn’t leave her alone because I didn’t get my way either. It’s her body, not mine to force her to have children if she doesn’t want to.

“That summer, he took me with him on the road.”

“And you found you hated it?” I would too. Two months in a truck with just your newly divorced father isn’t a road trip. It’s a nightmare.

“Yeah. When I got old enough to start traveling on my own, I always flew. There’s no way I would voluntarily drive. I spent a lot of time reading. Dad was never much of a talker.”

Now I feel guilty. “Is this too much for you? We can head to the next airport, and someone else can finish the delivery if you want.”

She leans back against the door. A chill runs down her spine.

That window is ice-cold. “There’s a blanket in the seat behind you. Or I could turn up the heat.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine. It’s comfortable in here. The window just surprised me. And about the other thing, if you had asked me before we left, I would have probably said yes. But today has been different. Plus, I need to know what you have in store for us for lunch. Can you top those burnt ends?”

“Challenge accepted.” I wink at her. “How was your time with your mom? Was she happy with the new guy?”

“Blissfully happy. Uncle-dad loved spending every moment with her. And he wasn’t interested in more kids. I was enough for him.”

“Uncle-dad?” Please say that doesn’t mean what I think it does.

“Have I mentioned Mom married my uncle? No, try explaining it in elementary school when you have to do a family tree.”

I can’t even imagine.

“It gets worse. My dad, in turn, remarried. I’ve always thought his seemed more about revenge.”

Revenge? How could you possibly get back at something like tha— “He married her sister.”

“Oh, yeah.”

That’s messed up. So messed up. It’s shocking that Peaches ended up the woman she is today.