Cherishing Mrs. Right Read online

Cody’s brows creased. “We’ll see about that.

  Now, let’s hit the road. It’s gonna be another

  scorcher.”

  * * *

  Darla dug her sunglasses out of her bag and put

  them on top of her head. A yellow and white beaded

  chain hung from the ear pieces. Some would think it

  was a little old fashioned, but Cody just saw it as

  quirky. He liked what she had on. She wore two tank

  tops layered—one blue and one white. She wore

  short shorts that were cuffed at the hem and white

  sandals. He noticed the sparkly ankle bracelet and the

  tattoo of the butterfly. He wondered where her other

  one was.

  “Do you mind?” she asked, holding up the 70s

  music disc.

  Cody smirked. “Only if we get to listen to

  country after that.” He gave her a little wink to let

  her know he wasn’t serious—although he did like his

  country music.

  “Maybe we could listen to some jazz? Or maybe

  some classical? You know, there is more to music

  than just country,” she said smiling.

  “Now don’t be slamming my boys,” he laughed.

  Janis Joplin came on with her hoarse sound, and

  he tried to get into it. He could picture a circle of

  hippies passing the bong and listening to this.

  He turned to her and started to mouth the words

  but quickly changed his mind when he saw her

  mouthing the words to Janis’ song. He shook his

  head.

  After a few songs, he couldn’t take much more.

  “What else you got?” he said, hitting the eject button.

  “I know—Janis is more of a taste developed over

  time. No worries,” she said, digging into her bag for

  something else.

  For the next thirty minutes, they listened to

  Madonna and even some 80s boy band music. After

  a while, he didn’t even hear the tunes. He just

  concentrated on the driving and a good thing, too.

  The interstate was getting quite busy, and lots of big

  rigs were traveling now that it was getting closer to

  evening time. A couple of times they cut right across

  the lane, and he had to tap on his breaks.

  “What’s wrong?” Darla said, clearly awakend

  from a little catnap.

  “Nothing. This idiot just decided to come on over

  and say hello!” Cody chuckled.

  Darla patted him on the thigh. He looked over at

  her, and her smile made him melt.

  “Take a deep breath and let it out,” she said,

  practicing it, too.

  He listened to her take a couple of deep breaths

  and soon he was doing it too.

  “Hey, let’s take the next food exit and get some

  dinner. I’m hungry,” Cody said.

  “Sounds good,” she said not realizing what he’d

  just done.

  Cody chuckled. He was the master at changing

  subjects.

  After a dinner of country-fried steak smothered in

  white gravy, green beans, and strawberry shortcake

  for dessert, the duo hit the road once again.

  “I figure we’ll drive for about two more hours

  then call it a night. We should make Walter Reed by

  noon tomorrow.”

  “Did you get separate rooms again?” she asked.

  “No. But you best behave yourself or I’ll be

  sleeping in the truck.”

  Darla let out a little giggle. “Cody Richardson.

  You amaze me.”

  It just dawned on him that he didn’t know her last

  name. He knew Bryan’s was Weatherspoon.

  Cody strummed the steering wheel with his

  fingers to the Keith Urban song that came on the

  radio.

  “What’s your last name? Is it the same as

  Bryan’s?”

  Darla looked out the passenger window and

  watched as the big trucks passed them. She didn’t

  respond right away. Cody could tell she was thinking

  about it. It must not be a good thing, he thought.

  “Jacobson. That’s my last name,” she said softly,

  still not turning from the window.

  “Sounds like another story we should talk about,”

  Cody said.

  She finally turned away from the window and

  looked his way. He took his eyes off the road for just

  a second to look at her. She flipped her glasses up on

  top of her head. She wanted to make sure they had

  eye contact.

  She started to mouth something but at the same

  time that she began to talk Cody realized he’d taken

  his eyes off the road for too long. He turned quickly

  just in time to see red lights in front of him. He

  slammed on the breaks causing the suitcases in the

  back to come tumbling down, the plastic drinks

  they’d gotten from the drive-in fast-food place to flip

  out of the beverage holder, and ice and soda went

  everywhere. Darla screamed.

  Cody yelled out, “Hold on!” It all happened so

  fast, however, and nothing he could say or do was

  going to help them avoid the collision they were

  about to feel.

  Screeching tires, the smell of rubber burning, and

  the sounds of metal on metal all played out within a

  quick few seconds.

  “Are you okay?” he yelled. “Darla. Are you all

  right?” he repeated.

  Darla was holding her head and weeping.

  He unbuckled his seat belt and reached for her.

  “Darla, I’m sorry. Are you hurt?”

  Chapter Ten

  

  Darla sat on a gurney inside the ambulance and

  Cody leaned up against the cab to his truck giving an

  account of what had happened to the highway patrol.

  Cody glanced over to the opened ambulance doors so

  he could keep an eye on what was going on with

  Darla. After he’d given a full report, he wandered

  over to the ambulance trying to stay out of the way

  the best he could. He could hear protests coming

  from the inside. She felt fine and wanted to join

  Cody. Cody stood back and listened, trying to stay

  out of it. If they wanted to transport her to the

  hospital, he would see about catching a ride. A tow

  truck had been called and soon would be taking his

  truck to the nearest garage. This was going to really

  put a damper on their trip.

  “I have to say, I’ve never seen gauze worn so

  well by anyone,” he said.

  Darla reached up and touched her forehead. “I

  think the medics got carried away.”

  Cody pointed to her lip. “That looks like it hurts.”

  “My tooth went clear in, the medic said. I need to

  put ice on it to keep the swelling down.”

  “The tow truck should be here any minute. We’ll

  get a ride with him and find a hotel and plot out our

  strategy.”

  Darla nodded. She winced. “My neck—it really

  hurts,” she whispered.

  Cody walked up behind her and gently massaged

  her neck and shoulders. He could feel her relax.

  “Oh, yeah. That feels so good. Oh, wow. You

  have magic fingers,” she said.

  Cody laughed. He heard a large truc
k and looked

  up. “I think this is our guy.”

  Cody and Darla squeezed in the front seat with

  the heavy-set driver. The cab of the truck was messy

  with Styrofoam cups, bags, and other wrappers of

  fast-food places. Darla winced when she saw all the

  clutter. She was sitting in the middle and leaned into

  Cody as closely as she could. The stench coming

  from the cab—a combination of body odor and stale

  food—had Darla’s stomach feeling a bit queasy.

  After bouncing around in the seat for almost

  forty-five minutes, the tow truck pulled into the

  garage. Cody popped open the cab door and jumped

  down reaching his hands out to Darla to help her

  with the large step down to the ground. She tossed

  her hair behind her ears and then stretched a bit,

  hoping to ease some of the achiness out of her body.

  “Where the heck are we?” she asked.

  Cody shrugged. “Beats me.”

  The driver came around their side. Darla hadn’t

  realized how scary he really looked. Her eyes

  widened as he spoke.

  “Across the street is a motel. They usually have

  vacancies. I’ll start looking at your truck tomorrow.”

  Cody glanced over at the hotel. He looked back

  at the driver. “Tomorrow, huh? Okay. I’m really

  anxious to get back on the road. I don’t really care

  about the physical damage. I can take care of that

  later. If you could just get her running again, we can

  be on our way.”

  The driver grunted. “I’ll do the best I can.” Then

  he spat a wad of something on the ground and

  walked off.

  Cody and Darla gathered their things from the

  back of their truck and walked across the street to the

  hotel. Cody couldn’t believe the dump they were

  about to stay in.

  “This looks like something out of the movie

  Psycho,” he said.

  The two entered the motel office, Darla slightly

  behind Cody. This place gave her the creeps. Behind

  the counter was a thin man in his forties with dark

  hair and eyes. He talked in a slow manner, and he

  looked strangely at Darla, giving her goose bumps.

  Cody checked them in under his name and took

  the key. “Is there a place for food around here?”

  The man walked out from behind the counter. He

  pulled a curtain that exposed a small room with a

  dining room table that had eight chairs around it.

  “Dinner is at six.”

  Cody quickly glanced over at Darla. Her eyes

  were the size of oranges. He didn’t know her that

  well but he knew her well enough that she didn’t

  want to eat here. “Is there a convenience store within

  walking distance? We’re just looking for some

  snacks.”

  The man clenched his fists. Cody took his arm

  and put it across Darla’s chest. He was in protective

  mode, now. Cody glared at the man. His gesture told

  the clerk he better not show any more signs of anger.

  “Suit yourself. Across the street at the gas

  station,” he said walking back to his counter.

  Cody spun around and grabbed Darla by the arm.

  “Come on,” he said.

  Cody unlocked the door and entered the room.

  “Let me check things out first. You stay right there,”

  he said.

  Darla looked around, her eyes darting all over to

  make sure no one came up on them. She didn’t trust

  this place or these people.

  “Okay, clear,” Cody called out.

  Darla slowly walked into the room. One full-size

  bed in the middle of the room, one small dresser with

  a television on top, and a small, musty smelling

  bathroom would be their rest stop for the night.

  “I don’t think we’ll get much rest tonight. This

  place gives me the creeps!” she said.

  Cody looked inside the small closet. “Me, too.”

  Darla sat on the edge of the bed. “I doubt these

  sheets have been changed in a long time. This room

  smells.” She scrunched up her nose.

  “I pray he gets the truck running by tomorrow.”

  Darla quickly looked up at him as he spoke the

  words.

  “I’m sorry. But praying is what I will do,” he said

  as he walked over to the window and pulled the

  drapes open.

  Cody spun around and was about to ask her if she

  wanted to walk over to the garage to get snacks. She

  had her eyes closed, and she was chanting

  something.

  He watched her as she quietly sung some words

  that he couldn’t quite make out. It was easing her

  mind about being stranded at this place. He watched

  on in amazement.

  “I’m going to walk over and get some snacks. Do

  you want to stay or go?” he asked, hating to break up

  her little hymn.

  She quickly opened her eyes. “You’re not leaving

  me here alone.” She jumped off the bed.

  The two headed across the street. Cody pushed

  open the door, and a bell went off. The driver of the

  tow truck was behind the counter watching TV and

  eating a sandwich. He looked up when he heard the

  bell.

  “We just came for some snacks,” Cody said.

  The driver nodded.

  Darla headed down an aisle. “That guy is

  spooky,” she whispered. “I don’t see anything I can

  eat, either.”

  Cody eyed all the items. “What about beef

  jerky?”

  Darla frowned. “I don’t eat meat, remember!”

  “You might have to today if you don’t want to go

  hungry. Just saying …” He headed down the next

  aisle.

  Darla grabbed a bag of sweet potato chips and

  read the back. She made a face but kept them in her

  hands. She walked a little farther to the one and only

  refrigerated area and scanned the contents. Soda,

  beer, water, cheese. She reached inside the

  refrigerator and grabbed a couple of waters and some

  cheese sticks. She could see Cody up at the counter

  waiting for her. She strolled up and placed her four

  items on the counter with his. One by one the driver–

  clerk rung up their items. He was so slow that they

  wondered how many passersby came through and

  ever bought anything. As they headed out of the

  small store, Cody turned around at the last moment.

  Hope to hear something about the truck early

  tomorrow,” he said.

  The driver grunted.

  Cody and Darla watched TV while they snacked

  on chips, cheese sticks, and candy.

  “I bet I’ll have an upset stomach over this crap,”

  she said, motioning to the wrappers from their loot.

  Cody laughed. “Tomorrow we’ll have a

  wonderful meal. I’ll pray on it. And you … you

  can—”

  Darla reached out and touched his hand. “I’ll

  pray on it, too. I’m exhausted. I think I’ll take a

  shower and hit the sack,” she said, getting up and

  heading toward the bathroom.

  Darla pulled back the sho
wer curtain with force.

  The rust-stained bathtub and black mold growing on

  the tile told her it hadn’t been used in a while or

  cleaned in a while for that matter.

  “This place really does remind me of the Bates

  Hotel in Psycho!”

  Cody belted out a laugh. But deep down inside he

  knew it really was no laughing matter.

  “You go ahead, I’ll stand post in case anyone

  with a big knife comes in,” Cody said.

  Darla whirled around. Her eyes were dark with

  an intense feeling of fear. “Okay, Cody, that really

  isn’t funny!”

  Cody walked over to Darla and wrapped his arms

  around her. “You’re safe with me. I promise.” He

  kissed the top of her forehead.

  Cody gently pushed away from Darla and studied

  her face. She looked scared, and it bothered him.

  “Seriously. I won’t let any harm come to you.”

  A half smile appeared on her face. “I know,” she

  softly spoke.

  Cody started to unleash his hold of her when she

  grabbed his hands and wouldn’t let him. “Cody?”

  Cody slanted his head and locked his gaze with

  hers. “Yes?”

  She leaned in slightly and kissed him on the

  mouth. He held her there by reaching up and putting

  his hand behind her head, paying careful attention to

  her injuries. He swept his tongue on the inside of her

  mouth, holding her tighter and tighter as they kissed.

  She let out a small moan. He quickly stopped the kiss

  and moved her back, still holding onto her arms.

  “Are you okay. Did I hurt you?” he blurted.

  She let out a little giggle. “No, silly. I was

  enjoying it.” She reached up and kissed him on the

  nose.

  Cody shook his head. “I guess I’m just a little

  paranoid.”

  “No worries. We’re taking it slow, remember?”

  Cody furrowed his brows. “We are? I thought we

  were taking a break, stepping back, and assessing the

  situation … relationship … or whatever you want to

  call this thing we are doing,” he said.

  “I changed my mind.” Darla headed to the

  bathroom. She quickly turned around. “That’s a