The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

I continued to wave until the cover of the trees hid them and the house from my sight.

“You okay?” Dean asked as I righted myself in the seat and buckled my se

atbelt.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

He fiddled with the knob on the ancient radio, turning on a country station.

“Where to first?”

I leaned my head back and looked up at the tops of the trees and the sun shining through the cracks in the leaves.

“Anywhere. Nowhere. Everywhere.”

Dean

“You hungry?” I asked Willow. She was dozing off with her head leaning against my shoulder.

At my question she jolted into a seated position and blinked bleary eyes at me.

“Huh?”

Her hair had fallen loose from the bun she’d had it in, and now the blonde curls framed her face in a messy disarray that was so perfectly Willow.

“I have to stop for gas, I thought you might be hungry.”

“Hungry?” She repeated, rubbing her eyes. “Um, yeah. I could eat.”

“I’ll look for a place to stop. You can go back to sleep.”

She shook her head, fighting a smile. “I’m already really sucking at this whole road trip thing, aren’t I?”

“Just a bit,” I jested.

“In my defense, I think I only managed to sleep one hour last night I was so excited.”

I chuckled. “It’s okay. Honestly.”

She reached out and turned the radio up a bit. “I can’t believe you didn’t install something more up to date in here.”

I shrugged. “I wanted to keep it original.”

“It really is beautiful,” she commented, running her hands over the gray and white leather seats.

“Thanks,” I practically beamed, “took a lot of time to fix her up, but I’m happy with the end result.”

“You’re so lucky,” she said on an exhale, as she rummaged through her bag. She procured a pack of gum and stuck a piece between her teeth.

“Why?” I laughed.

“Because,” she leaned her head back and began to chew, “you know what makes you happy. Cars and music.” She eyed the acoustic guitar sitting in the backseat.

“Oh come on,” I chuckled, “there are things that make you happy.”

She nodded. “You’re right. Food makes me happy.”

I shook my head and kept my eyes on the road. “Oh, Willow.”