Page 18 of Salute, To Bravery

I hesitated. “Wait, what?”

“Like I said, I’m not trying to be weird, but to me, it makes sense.” Ian grimaced and gave me a little shrug. “What do you think?”

I sat there for a minute, unable to get my brain to process what he was suggesting. “How does that make sense? We barely know each other?” I chuckled.

“Can I explain?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Sure, go ahead.” I sat back in my chair, ready to hear the ridiculousness that was about to transpire.

“You still want to go on your trip, right?”

“Yes.”

“I have nowhere to go, but I have a ton of money put back from my contracts, okay?”

“Okay, I’m with you so far.”

“I can help fund your trip. It gets you out of here, which you want desperately for some reason. It gives me a place to put my head for at least a little while. Plus, you can’t say we don’t know each other.

We’ve been working together for sixteen weeks now.

I’ve been at your place a number of times.

” He raised his glass to make his point, then realized it was still empty and sat it back down with a frown. “Seriously, what do you got to lose?”

“You could be some psycho murderer for all I know, Ian!” I laughed.

Ian scoffed. “First of all, I would have killed you by now. Second of all if I do murder you, at least you won’t have to face whatever you’re running from.” He crossed his arms in front of his broad chest and leaned back in his chair.

He had a point.

“What makes you think I’m running from something?”

“Because one day you got a call from your mom and your entire mood shifted. Not long after that, you insisted on having your vacation on certain dates, and you insisted on being out of the state during those dates.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. I really hated how observant he was sometimes. Thursday night would be our last shift together anyway; it’s not like I was breaking any rules by going with a coworker.

But the thought of being alone with him for that long made me nervous.

I wasn’t really afraid anything would happen to me.

I just sucked at navigating social situations and was afraid of it being awkward.

That was actually one thing parents loved about me.

A perfect wife stays silent. Then again, I couldn’t stay where my parents could find me.

I needed my last bit of freedom before being tied down the rest of my life.

“Dottie?” The nickname he’d used for me broke my train of thought. He was the only one to ever call me that.

“Yeah?”

“You kind of spaced out on me there. You can always say no, it was just an idea.” He had leaned forward in his seat again; the smell of his cologne overpowered all the other scents in the room, and I found it hard to focus.

I took a deep breath to clear my head, but it only filled it with his scent. I then realized how close he’d gotten, a worried expression on his face. “Actually, Ian, I think it’s an amazing idea.”

His face lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah, why do you seem so shocked?”

“Because it’s absolutely insane, you barely know me.” A huge grin stretched across his face as he nudged my arm with his elbow.

I couldn’t help but grin back and return his nudge. “Okay, future roomie, walk me home. We have a trip to pack for.”

He smiled and hopped down from his chair and held out his arm so I could loop my arm in his. “Whatever my lady requires.”

I giggled. This might not be too bad after all.

◆◆◆

Thursday night, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in my small bed until finally giving up at three.

My studio wasn’t the biggest I’d seen, but it fit me comfortably when I was alone.

My bed folded out of my couch, and most of my clothes fit in the dresser that also held the TV.

I kept my belongings to a minimum, liking the space it provided as well as the fact that it was so much easier to keep clean.

I also knew that once I married Josh, I’d have to pack everything and move it to wherever we would be living.

I rubbed my face again and briefly remembered Anne getting onto me for doing it so much. It was a habit I was finding hard to break, especially when stressed.

I rolled out of bed and folded it up into the couch.

I might as well get a start on the day. I talked Ian into coming over at about five so we could pick up the RV before the traffic got too terrible.

At least that’s the excuse I gave him. In reality, I wanted to be gone before my father showed.

By the time my father got here, I would be long gone and they wouldn’t be able to find me until I wanted to be found.

I double-checked my luggage, making sure I had everything I would need.

I would only be gone for about a month, but to be honest, I’d never been on a trip like this before.

I didn’t know what to expect, or what I’d need.

I had decided on one big bag for all of my things as well as my tote bag for my laptop and other electronics. I hoped it would be enough.

Satisfied that everything was in order, I sat down on the couch. It was only 3:15. I groaned. I flipped on the TV and quickly dozed off to a random infomercial.

The tapping on the door woke me up.

Glancing at the clock, I saw it was 5:30. I jumped off the couch and quickly crossed the small apartment to swing open the door.

Ian smiled at me. “Good morning, beautiful.”

I fought the smile that started to creep across my face. “Good morning, Ian.”

“What, you don’t think I’m beautiful too?” He pouted.

“Get your ass in here and stop standing in the hall.”

He gave me one of his best smiles. “So bossy in the morning. I like it.” He slid in past me and made himself comfortable on the couch.

“Are you going to flirt with me the entire time we’re on this trip?” I put my hands on her hips.

He laughed. “First of all, liking when a woman takes a leadership role is not necessarily flirting. Second of all, you are no longer my coworker, and I can shamelessly flirt all I want now.” He rose from his place on the couch and stopped in front of me.

“Third of all, if you don’t like it, I’ll stop.

I’m not here to make you uncomfortable.” His smile softened.

I breathed in his scent again, trying to figure out what he was wearing that was so intoxicating. I took a step back. “Just remember, this isn’t a trip for you to be getting laid on. At least not from me.” I smiled back at him.

He tilted his head to the side, glee in his eyes. “Oh, so I can bring other women in the RV then?”

I smacked his arm as his grin got bigger. “Really? Have you no shame?”

“Sweetheart, I told you I was in the Army. We have no shame.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Can you just behave for the month?” I giggled as I poured coffee into two travel mugs.

“I’ll be on my best behavior.” He placed his hand over his heart in a silent oath.

“Good.” I handed him his coffee. “I’d hate to have to leave you on the side of the road somewhere.”

He shrugged. “Eh, had worse.” He scooped up my luggage as I grabbed my tote.

The RV was exactly what I had hoped for, especially since Ian was riding with me now.

It had a single queen-size bed in the back of the RV, a decent sized bathroom and a nice couch that folded out into a bed.

It also had a small dining table and storage over our heads for all our bags.

The kitchen was tiny, but I felt like it would be fine as long as we didn’t try cooking a ton of meals in it.

Ian offered to drive first, which I appreciated. I hated driving in city traffic, which is why I completely avoided owning a car. It would be easier for me to drive as soon as we cleared the city and got on the highway.

Our drive started much like our trips to the bar; we kept it polite and only really talked when necessary. Ian asked for directions often, and it dawned on me that he agreed to this trip without even knowing where he was going.

“You realize you’re insane for just blindly going on a trip like this?” I stared at him from the passenger seat.

“Not any more insane than you agreeing to let some dude go with you.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Okay, that’s fair.” I shrugged, a smile playing on my lips.

“So where are we going? Do we have a destination out here in the middle of nowhere or what?” He gestured around him. We’d been driving for a few hours already and had cleared Chicago’s outer reaches some time ago.

“I don’t really have a destination, to be honest. I just wanted away from there. I’ve been thinking about the Ozarks, though.” I chewed my lip as I looked down at my GPS.

“The Ozarks, eh?”

“I know, don’t laugh. I’ve been told it’s very pretty down there.”

“Oh, it is. You’ve got tree-covered mountains, bluffs, and caves. There’s a lot of stuff to do down there if you’re just wanting to get some nature.”

I looked back at Ian, who was thoughtfully looking out the windshield.

“Uh, you’ve been down there before?” I tilted my head to the side slightly.

“Oh yeah, spent a lot of time there. Mostly in the Missouri part, but I ventured around into Arkansas too.”

“Why were you down there? Vacation?”

“I was actually born there. That’s where I’m from.”

I didn’t bother hiding the surprise on my face.

Ian caught me looking at him and chuckled. “What?”

“You just casually drop that we’re going to your home and you don’t bother saying anything?” I crossed my arms.

“I haven’t been back in years. It’s not a place that holds a lot of good memories for me anymore.” Ian got quiet and stared out the window again.

“Should we go somewhere else? We have time to change direction?” I started to pull up my GPS, ready to make other plans.