“Wow, you weren’t kidding. Hotel room without maid service… you don’t even need a maid. Did you ever stay here?” Dray gaped as he looked around the small four room apartment. Dexie sighed as she looked around her apartment. It was stark, sparsely furnished, and a miserable reminder of her exile.
“I stayed here a lot more when Rosie was alive. After she died, it was for shorter periods of time and mostly between trips to places that made forgetting easier.” Dexie admitted. “Ivan let me keep it because I was quiet and paid the rent on time.”
“I’m sure. Damn, Dex, this is just painful.” Dray grimaced.
“At least I’ll get my deposit back,” she snickered bitterly.
“Like you need it.”
“Probably not, but if you and I are going to be renegades, we’ll need a stash.”
“Renegades. Interesting perspective.”
Dexie smiled gingerly, her face still swollen and sore. Her twenty-four hours in the hospital for ‘observation’ hadn’t been long enough to make her look less like a punching bag. But Dray’s presence throughout the night had bolstered her sense of peace. Now they were at her apartment to collect her meager possessions before returning to Peace.
“Is Ivan going to be angry with you for the lack of notice?” Dray asked as Dexie moved closer to him, the loneliness that permeated the apartment chilling her.
“No. I’ve been month to month for nine years. And when I talked to him, he was fine with it. He said he was glad I’d found the way back to my home.” Dexie’s smile softened. “He’s so like Rosie sometimes.”
“Shall we get this done?” Dray asked.
“Sure.”
Less than three hours later, the apartment looked even more barren and cold. What little Dexie had was packed and loaded in the back of Dray’s battered old truck. They’d agreed that a second trip to Billings to exchange her rental car for her truck would be necessary when she felt better. And Dexie had decided the few pieces of furniture she’d bought out of necessity would stay for the next tenant after a brief conversation with Ivan. By the time the two of them were finished, Dexie was exhausted and ready to just stop moving. Her body ached horribly and her ribs were on fire.
“We need to get you some food and rest,” Dray commented as he helped Dexie into his truck.
“I can’t argue that,” Dexie sighed. Dray smiled as he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb before closing her door and walking around to the driver’s side.
“I know it isn’t even a ninety minute drive back to Peace, but you should nap on the way,” Dray suggested as he started the truck. Dexie moved to the center of the truck, her leg pressed up against his, and put the seatbelt on as she smiled shyly at him. She craved his warmth and his touch, tangible reminders that Brent was the exception, rather than the rule, when it came to men. Dray put the truck in drive then lifted his arm over her head to wrap around her shoulders. Feeling like she’d finally found a port in the storm, she sighed and laid her head on his strong shoulder.
The slowing of the truck roused Dexie from her slumber. Blinking groggily, she sat up straight and looked around. Dray’s arm was still around her shoulders, resting on the back of the bench seat. She shivered and pressed herself into his side.
“Are you okay?” Dray asked quietly as he turned off of Main Street onto McBride Lane.
“Yeah, just sleepy. Sorry I…”
“Nope. Don’t even start. I told you to rest. You just got out of the hospital.”
“Thanks for staying with me, by the way,” Dexie murmured as her mind leapt to a different thought without warning.
“You’re welcome.”
“Dray?”
“Yeah?”
“Does it seem weird between us now?”
“Weird as in we’ve led completely opposite lives from each other for the last ten years or weird as in we’ve stepped beyond the notion of friendship but haven’t even kissed?”
“Both.”
“A little. Your ordeal with Brent hasn’t helped either. That’s why I took leave… so that we could get back to a place where weird isn’t between us anymore.”
“Yeah. That’s what I want. No more weird. I just want peace.” Dexie sighed.
“Peace the town or peace the sensation?” Dray teased.
“I never wanted the town. I just wanted to be with the people I love and have the sensation of peace, however fleeting it may be.”
Dray smiled as he came to a stop in front of the house he’d grown up in. Dexie stared at the white farmhouse with its brick red trim and sighed again. It wouldn’t be the same without Millie Palmer puttering around in the kitchen, creating amazing baked goods. As she gazed at the building, memories of a broken lamp drifted hazily into her mind.
“What’s wrong?” Dray asked.
“Aside from the fact that I won’t get to see your mom? I think I broke your lamp at the cabin. I’ll pay for whatever damages there are.”
“We’ll worry about that later. It’s still a crime scene as far as I know. And as for Mom, yeah, that’s still tough for me too.”
“I’m sorry,” Dexie murmured sadly. Dray’s arm tightened around her shoulders and brought her closer. Dexie closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Let’s go on in. You still need food.”
“And a bathroom.”
Dray chuckled as he opened the door and left the truck then helped Dexie out.