Hitchhiker by Stacy Borel Read Free Book Online Page B

I care, whether I know you or not. Doesn’t matter that you’ve been the world’s most grumpy human being to me, yelled at me for taking care of a food bill, or that you’ve barely acted grateful for the ride. I would have wondered how you were doing regardless.”
    Tilting his head slightly to the side, he narrowed his eyes. He was attempting to figure me out, probably trying to decide if I was playing some game. Well, keep looking because I wasn’t. This was me—always was and always would be. My parents taught me to be kind to everyone. But there was only so much that they ingrained in me versus what was simply me. I lived by the theory that you never know what someone else has been through. Case in point—Dawson. He might be acting like the world’s biggest asshole, but that might be because of things he’d been through. For me, that just meant that I would have at least shown someone like him a kindness that maybe he was never offered. Not everyone in this world had to be hard around the edges.
    His silence wore on for a couple of beats before he straightened and rested his forearm on my still open door. There went my chance to escape. “I don’t have a place to stay.” He tossed the statement out into the open air like it was weightless and not a big deal.
    It was a big fucking deal! One could only assume he was telling me for a reason. He’d obviously answered one of my questions from a few minutes ago, but I wasn’t anticipating this. Did he want me to ask him to stay with me? I couldn’t possibly . . .”Okay, do you want me to look up the number for the hotel down the street?” I reached into my center console and pulled out my phone. “’Cause I don’t mind. Give me just a second . . .”
    He placed a surprisingly warm hand on mine, interrupting what I was doing. His palm and fingers were so large that they engulfed mine. How on Earth was he so warm out here in this cold weather? Didn’t matter. This was the second time he’d touched me today, and it caused tingles to spread up my arm. I wanted to let my eyes roll back and tell him to touch me more.
    “I said I had a phone. I could look up the info myself.” He spoke low.
    It was my turn to tilt my head and assess him. A thousand thoughts were running through my head all at once, but one stood out in front of the others. Do something brave and be willing to feel, no matter what. Since I picked him up the first time yesterday, I’d felt more emotion than I’d felt in a long time. Could I really pass up the possibility that he could pull more out of me? Just being in close proximity to him was enough. Nothing had to happen. At least that was what I’d keep telling myself, but all bets were off if he touched me again. I bit my lip to keep from smiling.
    “Listen, I’m staying up the road. I have a cabin that’s pretty big. There’s more than enough space and bedrooms.” I couldn’t believe I was doing this. “I know we don’t know each other, and I’m not exactly the Motel 6 but having some company would be nice. Besides, I’m not the best at chopping wood or starting fires.” It was my lame attempt at a joke.
    He let his hand fall to his side. “Are you asking me to come stay with you?”
    I couldn’t hold his stare, so I looked down at my feet. “Yes, I suppose I am. But just for a little bit.”
    He exhaled, then repeated, “For a little bit.” Dawson’s boot covered feet were in front of me, and then they were gone.
    Tipping my head back up, I turned, seeing him round the Rover and open the passenger side. Boy, this felt familiar. I had an eerie feeling this wasn’t the best decision I’d made, but it was done and I was going to follow through.

    As I drove to the cabin, I should have been excited to see the new house. Instead, I found myself anxious over Dawson being back in the car and what he would think of where we were going. With the little bit of information that had been shared, there was a plethora of other