Page 66 of The Blessing

“It’s good, okay,” I confirm. “Hopefully, this’ll keep me awake.”

“Just let me know if you want me to drive, babe. I’m perfectly capable.”

“I know you are, but I’d like to do it.”

It’ll help me keep my mind off things. If I’m fucking lucky.

As we pull onto I-70, I roll the windows down and allow the crisp, November air to flow through the car. The scenery is picturesque and absolutely beautiful. I’ve forgotten how incredible Colorado could be. Since I’ve gotten back, I haven’t really had the time to appreciate it. This is going to be a long fucking stretch today. We’ve got a seven-hour drive ahead of us before we reach our hotel in Emery County, Utah. Grey’s already growing a bit restless in the backseat. I wish Ronnie had one of those cars which had those television screens on the back of the headrests of the front seats, so he’d have something to watch and keep him distracted. The radio can only do so much for him. When his cries become hysterical—I know I’ve got to pull off. With the amount of times I’ve stopped for Ronnie to use the bathroom so far, I wonder if any restaurants will be open by the time we make it to Emery County. Maybe we really will have to order room service, after all.

I pull off to the nearest rest stop; it’s just as shady as the last few were. Every time we stop, there’s always some prick eyeing my girl. I don’t get it. Can’t they see she’s with a man and a baby and put two and two together? I can’t help but stare the random pricks down, giving them a look, which screams, “She’s fucking taken!” Eventually, they get the picture and look someplace else. I was never possessive before I met Ronnie, but every time a man looks in her direction—it drives me bat shit fucking crazy. Luckily, my fighting days are in the past. Otherwise, I’d be tempted to lash out every time I see red if it weren’t for Grey settling my ass down.

As soon as we come to a stop, Ronnie’s quick to hop out of her seat and grab Grey from his. He’s crying so hard that his little face is all red and soaking wet with tears. My heart breaks seeing him like this. I wish I could be the one suffering and not him.

“Dada! Dada!” he cries between sobs.

“I’ll take him, baby. You go ahead and pee. We’ll be waiting right here.”

I rock Grey in my arms and kiss his forehead, whispering into his ear until I feel him begin to relax. I know he hates being stuck in his car seat for so long; I don’t blame him. I knew this trip would be difficult for him. If Lincoln hadn’t sounded so desperate—I wouldn’t have even considered making this trip simply because of Grey’s young age and my inexperience.

I notice a group of guys talking around the bathroom and leering at my girl as she walks by them to get to the women’s restroom. Feeling uncomfortable, I quickly shut the car door, lock it, and jog to catch up with her. “Grey and I will be right here,” I tell her, standing right outside the restroom door. She gives me a thankful smile and disappears into the bathroom. As soon as she’s gone, I shoot the guys a meaningful glare.

I continue to bounce Grey, kissing his wet cheeks as I say repeatedly, “It’s okay, buddy. Daddy’s got you.” His cries turn to hiccups and he reaches out to wrap one of his little arms around my neck. “Daddy loves you, buddy,” I whisper into his fuzzy head of hair. “I love you,” I say, practicing the phrase aloud, hoping I’ll have the courage to say it to Ronnie soon. “I love you,” I say again, now imagining my girl is right in front of me. As I hold my little buddy in my arms—absorbing the moment—my happy thoughts are interrupted by the sound of some prick’s voice.

“You’re a lucky man,” the prick says, staggering toward us.

Jesus Christ, what is it with fucking rest stops?

“Your lady there is pretty fine. I wish I could find me a piece of tail like that.”

My jaw clenches as I stop myself from giving this fucker an earful. If I wasn’t holding my son, this scenario would be playing out very differently. Instead of telling the guy to kindly “fuck off,” I give him a tight smile and ignore him. How dare he speak of my girl like some piece of meat. She’s so much more than a piece of ass. She’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. Apparently, my response isn’t good enough for this jackass because he continues.

“Maybe I can borrow her sometime?”

I give him a menacing smile and the man stops in his tracks. “Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. My. Family,” I spit out through gritted teeth, making sure to enunciate every word with venom.

The guy takes a step back just as Ronnie comes out of the restroom with a worried look on her beautiful face. The jackass has the nerve to look at her in appreciation, and because of that, I’m about to lose my fucking temper. I’m so on edge—it’s not even funny. I don’t want her to ever see that side of me. I haven’t been that guy in such a long time. I give the jackass one final scowl before he decides to turn away and stumbles back to his group of dumb-fuck friends. I grab Ronnie’s hand and stalk off.

“What was that about?” she asks, as soon as we’re a good distance from the group.

“It was nothing,” I assure her. Although, from the look on my face, I’m sure it’s obvious that what just happened was anything but “nothing.” Thankfully, she doesn’t press the issue and allows me to lead her to the car.

I help her into the passenger seat before getting Grey secured in his car seat in the back. He’s reluctant to let go of me and, considering the remainder of the trip we’ve got ahead of us, I definitely don’t blame him one bit. We’ve got a long stretch of road ahead of us and Grey isn’t accustomed to the lack of attention he’s getting. As soon as I slide into the driver’s seat, I adjust the radio, finding some relaxing jazz music to listen to so I can cool off and focus on the drive.

As we head down the open highway, my body relaxes and the tension in my muscles slowly begins to dissipate. Grey’s taking a nap and Ronnie’s reading some paranormal romance book as she’s reclined in the passenger seat. She insisted on driving for a while, but I’ve been on enough road trips to be comfortable behind the wheel for hours on end.

It’s dusk by the time we reach our exit for Green River—where we’ll be staying for the night. I’ve never been to this city, but Ronnie made us reservations for the hotel with the best online ratings. She insisted on paying for it since I was paying for the majority of the trip, and I let her, despite wanting to handle everything myself. I hear her stomach grumbling, so before heading to our hotel I decide to stop and try to find a bite. Grey’s awake and desperate to get out of his car seat, as well. I know if I don’t grant him his wish soon, I’ll have another tantrum on my hands. I drive around for a bit before choosing to pull in at a restaurant called Tamarisk. I’ve never heard of it, of course, but the exterior looks promising and it’s near the river—so maybe it’ll seem romantic to Ronnie.

Since it’s dinnertime the restaurant is fucking packed. So, I pull up to the front entrance to let Ronnie out. “Why don’t you run inside and get a table, ba—”

She’s already out of the car before I finish my sentence, and I have to try hard not to chuckle. She nods and gives me an adorable fucking smile before shutting the car door and hurrying into the restaurant. Per usual, I watch her ass bounce with every step before going to park.

The restaurant is packed with patrons. The aroma fucking incredible. My stomach groans in appreciation and I hear Grey’s stomach make a noise. Ronnie, being as quick she is, already has secured a booth in the corner of the restaurant. I’m glad it’s family friendly because I know Grey can be a loud little thing when he gets fucking excited. I begin to make my way over to Ronnie—but I’m stopped by a young hostess with a flirty smile. I quickly explain that I’m joining to go to my girlfriend as she’s already seated at a booth. Without missing a beat, she asks if I’ll be needing a highchair, which makes me feel bad for being so dismissive moments before. She grabs a highchair and a coloring book for Grey before ushering us to our booth.

Ronnie is already looking over the menu, but that doesn’t stop the hostess from explaining everything to us as if we couldn’t read. She’s looking at me the entire time she’s talking; I think she’s completely unaware of how fucking uncomfortable it’s making me. As she continues to rant on and on about the different options, I riffle through the diaper bag to retrieve Grey’s food and I can’t suppress a chuckle any longer. The sound of my laughter snaps the hostess out of her trance and the haze leaves her eyes as she looks at me, and then to Ronnie—who’s giving her a challenging smirk. The young girl blushes before she quickly retreats to her hostess stand by the door.

“Well, girls certainly do love you,” Ronnie says, obviously a bit miffed.

Now, I finally laugh boisterously, causing Grey to look at me in surprise before laughing, too. “Ronnie, I go through the same thing with you on a daily basis. Men openly ogle you—in front of me—all the fucking time. You wouldn’t believe the amount of fights I almost get into when we go out. This afternoon alone, I can count the amount of fights I fantasized about having on two hands.”