Jim scooted down below window-level and we listened, our breaths held, as the security car slowly rolled past. When it grew fainter, he ventured a peek and then I watched him follow the vehicle down the road.
“Gone,” he said. “I don’t think they know you’ve escaped yet, or we’d be screwed.” He laughed at me, curled on the floor of the cab. “You ready?”
I gave him a thumbs-up. “Born ready.”
I buckled myself into the passenger seat while Jim stripped out of his jacket and tossed it in the small space behind our seats, then fired the ignition. He filled the truck with the scent of denim and his clean, unfussy cologne. I leaned back in my seat and just drank him in.
Jimmy’s large hands gripped the wheel as he drove. His forearms were perfection, and my fingers itched to run them along the striations of his muscles under that tanned skin. My eyes blazed a path up to his bicep that strained the short sleeve of his black T-shirt. Up, up, to the corded muscles of his neck, to his strong jaw brushed with stubble.
He’s like a shot of booze, or a drug that feels too good to be legal.
I welcomed the lust. The slow roll of want shuddering through my entire body made me feel alive. I hadn’t felt it in years and never this powerful. Never.
Jimmy drove with confident precision, taking me wherever I wanted to go. He’d given me so much and never asked for a thing in return, and there was no place on earth I’d rather be than with him.
Part III
Chapter 27
Thea
“It’s a seven-hour drive,” Jimmy said. “I figure if we push straight through, only stopping for lunch and gas, we’ll get you there fast. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect.”
The adrenaline rush from nearly getting caught faded, leaving me a pleasant buzz of happiness. Blue Ridge couldn’t stop me, but they could make things difficult if they got the police involved. But I was out in the world. The green of Virginia in summer outside our rolled-down windows and the wind played in my hair.
“Music?” Jimmy asked.
“You read my mind.”
He picked up his phone from the dash and handed it to me. “The truck’s too old for Bluetooth, but if you put the volume on high…”
“On it.”
I scanned through his music.
“You sure have a lot of dance and techno here for a rock n’ roll guy.”
“I loaded it up before your procedure,” he said. “For our walks, or while you were painting.”
“Damn, Jimmy. For a guy who doesn’t talk much, you always say the perfect thing.”
He kept his eyes on the road, but the corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile.
I found “We Are Young” by Fun., featuring Janelle Monáe. I hit play.
“I love this. Janelle is my girl-crush,” I said after a few moments. “But it’s not techno.”
“I know but I heard it and thought you’d like it.”
“You were right.”
I cranked up the volume when the chorus hit. It filled the cab like an anthem of everything I felt in that moment. I was alive, I was free, and I was with the man I wanted to be with more than anyone in the world.
For the next few hours, Jimmy and I listened to music and talked. About his Grandpa Jack, because it was the only bright spot in his childhood. About my parents, and Jimmy held my hand while I cried for them. As we crossed into Maryland and I peppered him with questions about pop culture in the past two years.
“Which movie won Best Picture last year?” I asked. “Something with Steve Carell, I hope.”
“Who?”
“You’re kidding, right? The brilliant actor who played Michael Scott? The World’s Best Boss. From The Office? The World’s Best TV Show?”
He shrugged. “Couldn’t say. I don’t watch much TV.”
“Everyone needs The Office in their life,” I said. “Who won the Super Bowl?”
“This year? The Patriots.”
“Last year?”
“The Patriots.”
“Should’ve guessed,” I said with a laugh. “Who is the president?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
My phone rang. “This can only be one person…” I fished it out of my bag. “Yep.” I hit answer. “Greetings, sister.”
“Thea, where are you?” Delia crowed in my ear.
“Honestly, Deel, it’s none of your damn business. Not anymore.”
“You shouldn’t be alone. It’s not safe. If something happens—”
“I’m not alone,” I said. I glanced at Jimmy. He nodded. “I’m with He Who Shall Not Be Named.”
“Of course,” Delia said, her tone bitter with sarcasm. “The orderly. Who else? For God’s sake, Thea…”
I covered my phone with my hand. “Delia says hi.”
“I’ll bet.”
“You are toying with your life,” Delia snapped in my ear. “And for what? That man? Did he put you up to this? Of course, he did. He’s been trying to get into your pants for months.”
“He’s a perfect gentleman, though I’m going to try my hardest to cure him of that.”
Jimmy coughed, and his ears reddened.
“Althea Renée Hughes…”
“No, Delia,” I said. “You don’t get to talk to me like that. If you’re not careful, I’ll end this call and you’ll never hear from me again.”
“Until you need more Hazarin,” Delia said. “Did Rita Soto give it to you?”
“I stole it from her. She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence.”
“Leave her alone. She’s a good person.”
“You need to come back, Thea. You have—”
“Brain damage? I’m not sick, Delia. I’m finally well, and I’m done wasting time.”
A short silence and I could practically hear her desperate attempt to hold on to control.
“I’ll have him arrested.”
I barked a harsh laugh. “For what?”
“Kidnapping a brain injury patient—”
“You try to have him arrested and we’re done forever. I swear it.” Frustrated tears stung my eyes. “Don’t do this, Deel. Mom and Dad would hate this.”
“They would,” she said, her own voice cracking. “They’d hate how you’re risking your life for a man—”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“And going where?” she said quickly. “To New York City? For how long?”
“I don’t know yet. A week, maybe more. And when I come back, it won’t be to Blue Ridge. I’m going to get my own place. Go back to art school.”
“So you’ll come back to Richmond?”
My gaze slid to Jimmy. Who lived in Boones Mill.
“I don’t know all the details, yet,” I said. “I’m going with the flow. But whenever I come back, I’m going straight to a judge and rescinding your goddamn power of attorney.”