“I can’t hold it, Mommy.”
“We’re almost there, sweetie.”
“You see those buildings?” Owen asked while pointing to the rest stop and motel ahead.
“Yes…”
“We’ll try to see if there’s a room for us so you can go to the bathroom. And if they don’t have a room we’ll go to that rest stop. So either way, you’ll be able to go soon. Okay, Fluff?”
“Okay.”
Owen parked in front of the motel in one of the few spaces left. She hoped that there still would be a room available.
“I’ll be right back,” Owen said as he turned off the engine. He got out of the truck, but leaned back inside and grabbed the car keys.
“Do you really think I would steal your truck and leave you here?” she asked with steam coming out of her ears.
He shrugged. “Why not? Nothing you do surprises me anymore.”
“You’re an—” she just in time swallowed what she really thought of him, for the sake of the little ears in the backseat listening in on everything they said.
Owen closed his door, and she heard the doors lock as he pressed his key fob.
“Are we going to sleep in there?” Frankie said while peering out of her window.
“I hope so, sweetie. Owen is going inside and will check if they have a room left for us.”
“Is Owen going to stay with us?”
Tara opted for a fake smile and said, “Yes. Maybe Owen can read you a bedtime story before we take a short nap.”
“I don’t wanna take a short nap. I need to pee.”
Tara chuckled. “You can do both.”
“And you’ll stay with me?”
Tara unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed over the center console, ignoring the alarm going off in the truck. She wormed herself next to Frankie on the backseat by pushing some bags to the floor.
Owen stepped out of the motel and turned off the alarm by clicking on the key fob. She heard the locks turn on before Owen entered the motel again.
Tara hugged her girl. “We’re a team, right?”
Frankie nodded. “We’re thebestteam.”
Tara smiled as Frankie always gave the same reply.
She ruffled Frankie’s hair and said, “Yes. We are.”
Owen walked out of the motel again and she took her time freely checking him out from the obscurity of the back of his truck.
Owen had always been tall and fit, but now he was built like a M.A.N. He looked like a guy who could easily pick her up and bench press her above his head.
She remembered the last time he held her in his arms. Tara had known that it was their goodbye—Owen didn’t.
Owen unlocked the doors and helped Frankie out of the truck. He got their suitcase before leading the way to room fourteen. Frankie dashed inside in search of the bathroom as soon as he opened the door to their room.
“Does she need help?”