The storm was quickly over and Luke got them back out on the road. Before they left the rest stop, Luke inspected his truck while Aimee Jo took a much needed leg stretch and used the restroom inside the building. Luke was relieved to find there was no damage to his truck, at least nothing that was obvious.
Just like that morning, neither of them discussed what happened and what had almost happened earlier. Why were they both avoiding it and pretending like nothing happened? It was obvious from the moment they met that the chemistry between them was strong.
For Aimee Jo, it was her protective side that wanted to forget what happened. She was attracted to Luke, but was he truly a knight on a white horse, or in this case a large semi, that was ready to whisk her away and drive off into the sunset? Or did he just want to get into her pants?
She was sure the latter is true. No matter how many guys she’d met, or the bullshit promises they’d made, it all ended once they got or didn’t get what they’d wanted. It was always the same excuse—they weren’t ready to settle down. It was too soon for a steady relationship. When she gave in to them, she was left feeling empty and used.
For Luke it was simple, this girl scared the shit out of him. Aimee Jo was changing his rules, and he had barely known her twenty-four hours. He told himself he wasn’t going to get close. He told himself he was going to stay clear and make no advances on her. What he didn’t expect was for her to make advances. He had to wonder if she would really go for a few days of fun with zero commitment. Could she really be the kind of girl that was okay with that? Maybe he had her pegged wrong, and she wasn’t quite the innocent nice girl he thought her to be.
Either way, he acted differently toward her than any girl he had been with. Maybe it was the fact he knew there would be an eventual ending. She wanted to be in California, and when he wasn’t on the road, his roots were firmly planted on the other side of the U.S. Maybe she would be okay with that, after all.
Luke looked over at her. She was gazing out the window and humming a tune that he couldn’t quite make out. He listened for a minute to see if he could figure it out. He knew many songs, from many different genres, but it was unfamiliar to him. He liked it, though, and was curious what it was. “Whatcha humming over there?” Luke asked.
Luke’s question startled Aimee Jo out of the daydream she was having. She blushed because she was daydreaming about him and how they were earlier and how they were this morning. She had never been so daring with a guy, but something about Luke McIntyre made wanting to love him easy.
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“Yeah, are you daydreaming?” he teased.
“No! I mean, I was just thinking, that’s all,” she answered defensively.
“I asked what song you are humming,” he asked again.
“Oh, it’s just a little tune I’ve been playing around with. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bug you.”
“You weren’t bugging me. I kind of like it. I was just curious if it’s a song I know.”
“I seriously doubt it,” Aimee Jo answered.
“Oh, yeah, why’s that?”
“Because it’s a song I wrote,” Aimee Jo confessed.
“Really? So, you write as well as sing? Do you play an instrument?”
“The piano … and my guitar,” Aimee Jo answered solemnly.
Luke paused a moment over the tone in her voice when she said my guitar. Was it one of the things that was stolen? She said she lost almost everything. Could it be why she was so sad? “They stole your guitar, didn’t they?” Luke finally asked.
“No, it wasn’t stolen,” she answered before looking away again. “It was destroyed,” she finally confided.
“Destroyed? Destroyed how?” Luke said.
“My ex—he was angry at me so he destroyed my guitar to get back at me,” Aimee Jo continued.
“Ex-husband?” he asked, surprised by this revelation.
“No, ex-boyfriend,” she replied.
“Why was he angry at you?” Luke demanded.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she quickly added.
Luke noticed she wouldn’t look at him. She was hiding something. He decided he wouldn’t push for answers now, but he wondered. Could it be the ex that may or may not be following them? He checked the side mirror to see if the red truck was behind them. Again, there was too much traffic to be certain. If he was being followed, it was from a distance.
He glanced over at Aimee Jo again. She was hiding her face, but he watched as she would occasionally wipe her cheeks. She was crying and Luke felt bad for bringing up her bad memory.
“I was thinking we have to stop at Walmart, so if you want, I can help you buy a few things, you know, to get you by until you can get back on your feet,” Luke suggested, hoping a shopping trip might cheer her up.
Aimee Jo shook her head slightly. “You don’t have to do that,” she said quietly.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. I just can’t drop you off in California with only the clothes on your back.”
She wiped away one more tear before finally turning to look at him. “I have money, Luke, I’ll be okay.”
“Sweetheart, a hundred bucks doesn’t go very far, especially in California. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to help,” he said.
“But I feel bad. You’re already taking me there. I just don’t want to be a burden to you.” She stared down at her hands, feeling awkward about this discussion.
“Look, if it really bothers you, just promise to credit me when you become a big country music star. Deal?” he teased her.
This caused Aimee Jo to finally smile. “Deal,” she said, smiling over at him.
“Okay, now that we have that settled, why don’t you grab my guitar back there in the closet and show me what you got?”
Aimee Jo’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious?” She laughed.
“Yeah, I’m serious. If you’re gonna invest in something, don’t you want to check it out first?”
Aimee Jo unbuckled her seat belt and stepped to the closet. She pulled out the beautiful Takamine acoustic guitar. She had only caught a glimpse of it last night, so she had no idea how extravagant the instrument was. A guitar like this would cost a fortune. Carefully, she brought it back up with her to the front.
“This is a very nice guitar.” She held it gingerly, not wanting to even breathe on it for fear of somehow messing it up.
Luke quickly glanced over at her and noticed how uncomfortably she was holding it. “It’s just a guitar, Aimee Jo, it’s not going to bite ya.”
“Luke, this is a very expensive guitar. Are you sure you are okay with me touching it?”
Luke bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying he could think of something else he wouldn’t mind her touching. “Like I just said … it’s just a guitar,” he finally spit out.
“Do you play?” she asked.
Did he play? Oh, this girl had no idea what he liked to play. He would be happy to show her as soon as he stopped for the night. “I dabble. I’m trying to teach myself. It gives me something to do besides stare at the TV when I am taking some downtime,” he admitted.
Aimee Jo started tuning the guitar. Even her own guitar hadn’t been as nice as this one, but she had loved it. Her meemaw had surprised her on her twelfth birthday with the modest Gibson acoustic. As soon as she was done tuning, she began playing the tune she was humming earlier.
Luke listened as she played. Immediately he recognized the tune she was humming just moments before. It was a nice mellow tune and she played it beautifully. No doubt in his mind she was talented. She stopped and looked over at him.
“That was the tune you were humming earlier. Does it have words? I still haven’t heard you sing,” Luke said.
“No, it’s just something I have been working on for a few weeks now.”
“You wrote it?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s not quite finished yet.”
“It’s very pretty,” Luke said, staring out at the road ahead.
“Thank you.”
“Well, don’t stop now. Play me another, and this time I want to hear you sing. You need to practice for the audition.”
Aimee Jo started playing again. This time she played a Kelly Clarkson favorite of hers and the song she planned on singing at the audition.
Luke quietly drove as he listened to the beautiful sounds coming from next to him. Her angelic voice sang the words while still playing the guitar without any mistakes. Not only was she good, she was fucking good. When she was done, he was speechless.
“Well, what do you think?” she shyly asked.
“I think I’m going to need your autograph. If you sing like that in auditions, you’re going to be a star.”
They finally made it to San Antonio and stopped to get supplies and some things for Aimee Jo. They made it back to the truck after at least an hour of arguing in the store. Luke was happy he won the argument, but Aimee Jo was fuming all the way to the truck.
“I thought you girls loved shopping? Why are you so mad?” Luke chuckled as he started putting away some of the supplies he bought.
“You went way overboard,” Aimee Jo grumbled as she went ahead and started helping.
“No, I didn’t. You needed some clothes and things and I bought them. What’s the big deal? It’s Walmart, for Christ’s sake. It’s not like I broke the bank,” he argued.
“You said a few things, Luke, and the next thing I know there is way more at the register than what I picked out. And don’t use the Lord’s name in vain,” she scolded.
“I think you’re being silly,” Luke replied.
Aimee Jo shot up and gave him a dirty look.
“About the stuff I bought, look, I’m sorry, but it’s really no big deal,” he said, feeling like he just got scolded by his mama.
“It’s a big deal to me. Why did you do it?” Aimee Jo asked.
“I don’t know, just because.” He shrugged.
“Well, at least I have this.” Aimee Jo held up the receipt she managed to get from the cashier before Luke had the chance. “I am going to pay you back every penny,” she declared before stuffing the receipt back in her wallet.
“Fine, whatever.” Defeated, Luke sat down in the driver’s seat. He still didn’t understand why she was so pissy about the things he bought. He thought girls liked it when you spent money on them. He’d done it a few times with other girls he’d been with, and they’d loved it when he’d bought them things.
Aimee Jo stepped to the closet to grab her suitcase. She laid it across the bed and started putting away the clothes he bought her. She felt like just throwing them in there but she carefully folded each garment and laid them carefully in the case as if they were designer clothes. She may not be happy about the purchases but she would not disrespect his generosity.
Luke watched as she treated the things he purchased with care. He appreciated the fact she didn’t take it for granted, but he didn’t want her angry with him. He had plans for this evening and hopes of picking up where they’d left off earlier today.
“You still want to go to dinner with me tonight?” he asked.
Aimee Jo finally looked at him. She couldn’t remain angry with him. Right now, he was the only friend she had. “Yes,” she replied.
“Okay.” He smiled. “I’m going to grab a quick shower then.”
She nodded and watched as he grabbed a towel from a drawer and disappeared in the tiny bathroom. Earlier, she had taken a much needed shower and it had been cramped with her tiny body in there. She could only imagine how it was for him. She finished her packing and picked out a flowery sundress she picked out at the store. While Luke was in the shower, she quickly changed. Modesty was hard to come by when you’re only inches away from each other. That fact became very apparent when he stepped out the bathroom only wearing a towel.
Aimee Jo tried to look away but she couldn’t. She had no idea how this man, who sat on his butt most of the day, managed to be so muscular, but he was definitely fit and trim. He had a couple of tasteful tattoos, one on his upper arm and one on his chest. His hair was still wet, and droplets of water fell onto his chest, giving Aimee Jo ideas of catching them with her tongue. No man had ever turned her on like Luke McIntyre had.
Luke grabbed another towel to dry his hair when he caught a glimpse of Aimee Jo staring at him. He had to admit he came out here like this on purpose to see her reaction. He pretended to just go about his business, taking the towel and drying his hair and then his chest, all the while she continued to stare.
“You look nice.” He smiled and winked at her. He loved the fact she liked to wear dresses. “Maybe after dinner we can go to a little honky-tonk place that I know of nearby,” he suggested as he continued to dry himself in front of her.
“You mean a bar?” Aimee Jo asked.
“Well, yeah, but they have dancing too,” Luke said as he took the towel and laid it over the shower bar to dry. He stood at the mirror, combing his hair and waiting for her to answer him.
“I guess,” she finally responded.
He stuck his head out the door to look at her. “Oh, yeah, did I happen to mention they have karaoke on Thursday nights?” he added before finishing his grooming.
“What makes you think I’d like karaoke?” Aimee Jo chuckled.
He stepped out, looking even more handsome with his hair combed and the towel still wrapped around his waist.
“Come on, any girl who would travel across the country to audition for a TV talent show has to love to karaoke,” he said before searching his drawers for clothes to wear.
Aimee Jo hated the fact that he was right, but she loved singing to an audience. But she had only sang at church and at church functions, never at a bar. However, she found it extremely hard to argue with the sexy man who was half naked in front her. “I supposed it could be fun.” She shrugged.
“You suppose it could be fun?” He smiled, looking at her with his hand on the towel. “Do you have any better ideas?” he teased.
“Not really.” She watched as he made no attempt to head back into the tiny bathroom.
“Well, sweetheart, if you don’t turn around immediately, I’m about to suggest a new one.”
Aimee Jo’s eyes grew wide and she barely made it around before Luke pulled off his towel. The whole time he got dressed he laughed. The little vixen had been on top of him earlier, kissing him, but now she was going to act all shy. Luke had a feeling tonight was going to be fun.