Losing Faith (8 page)

Seth turned toward the teen and scowled. “Of course you did.” He looked out at the storm raging right outside his window. “We should probably get going. We stick around much longer and we’ll be plowed in. Let’s get this Malibu of misfit toys moving.”

The woman let out a laugh and quickly stifled it by covering her mouth. She held out her hand. My name’s Trista.”

Seth shook her hand. “And your daughter’s name is Savannah. I remember you from the airport. I was the cranky country singer.”

She flashed a faint smile. “I remember.”

Realizing that he was still shaking her hand, he released it and asked, “So where in Indiana are you guys heading?”

“New Haven.”

“We’re heading to Fort Wayne. You guys were probably supposed to be on the same flight as us,” Frank said.

“How much do I owe you?”

Frank smiled. “Don’t worry about that. It’s on me.”

“You’re very kind,” she said, placing a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Her face softened as she smiled at Frank. For a moment, Seth was once again reminded of Lexi. He couldn’t figure out if it was her smile or those beautiful hazel eyes. Maybe it was the experience he could see inside them. For a brief moment, he wished that she’d put her hand on his shoulder and shine her gracious smile his way. “You’re welcome.” The words escaped Seth’s mouth before he realized he was saying them.

“I can’t wait to tell my friends that I’m driving to Fort Wayne with Seth Storm.” Savannah’s fingers tapped on the screen like a woodpecker hammering at a tree. “They’re going to go nuts.”

The sting of fame reminded Seth of his throbbing face and tender groin.

“I really am sorry for hurting you,” Trista said, as if reading his mind.

He waved a hand. “It’s okay. Not the first time that’s happened.”

Trista’s face turned serious. “Really?”

“I’m just kidding.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll be fine. A few minutes, and I’m sure the pain will be gone.”

“Thank you for helping us. Not many people would’ve done that.”

An idea he now wished had been his. “You’re welcome. But it was more Frank than me.”

“But you were the one who got out and walked to our car.”

Frank pulled out into the road and passed the Cavalier that was now covered in snow. Trista’s eyes followed the flashing lights until the car was no longer in sight. She looked down. Seth sensed a sadness taking hold of her. “That’s one hell of a kick you have there. You’re like a ninja.”

She looked up at him, but her eyes didn’t seem to focus on him. Clearly, her mind was somewhere else. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Indiana,” she said simply.

Seth placed his hand on hers. “Me, too.”

Chapter 10

Trista

After driving for a few hours, they stopped at a rest stop to stretch their legs. And probably so that poor Frank, who had been trapped up front with Savannah this entire time, could take a break from the saga of a teen’s life. Trista had listened from the back seat as Savannah told Frank how rough she had had it growing up with a mother like Trista. How she didn’t understand love and that’s why she had forbidden her daughter from seeing Trey, the only boy she’d ever loved. Of course, she’d left out some key details. Like the part about Trey being nineteen years old.

But Trista hadn’t said anything when the topic of Savannah’s
boyfriend
came up. The more she said about him, the more her daughter defended him. A lesson Trista had learned the hard way. Instead, Trista had tried to get her to go to sleep, but Savannah had a captive ear to listen to her sad story. Plus, it wasn’t every day that she got to travel with a celebrity. Even if the celebrity was someone Trista hadn’t heard of before.

“Anybody else want to drive?” Frank rubbed his lower back and gave it a stretch. Trista knew even less about Frank Goodman than she did Seth Storm. Based on his gray hair and deep lines of wisdom next to his eyes, she guessed he was probably in his fifties. He was well groomed in his neatly pressed khakis and red sweater. He carried himself with confidence, almost militarily. At least, it was similar to the way she had seen some of the military officers carry themselves when she’d visit Anthony on the base.

Although she knew little about him, Trista loved how patient he was with Savannah. Her daughter trusted him. And she was okay with that. It had been a long time since she had had a decent male in her life she could talk to.

“I’ll take the helm for a while again,” Seth said.

Frank tossed him the keys. “It’s getting late. Let me know if you get tired, and we can find a place to pull over for the night. As much as I’d like to get ahead of this storm, I don’t think it’s possible. The weatherman on the radio said that this is one of the largest storm systems they’ve seen in more than a decade, stretching from Michigan to Florida.”

“Don’t worry, Frank. I’ll be fine.”

Trista scanned the snow-covered parking lot through the frosted glass doors of the rest stop. A few cars. A few trucks. But nothing as big as Tuck’s. She wished she could’ve seen the look on his face when he woke up. His bowl of chili spilled all over the floor of that tiny house. Alone. She imagined him looking from room to room, calling out her name, and then putting a fist through the drywall when he discovered what she had taken. Not that she had taken anything that didn’t rightfully belong to her, but she knew he’d be fuming mad anyway. The thought of him pulling into this rest stop now sent chills down her spine. They had to get going. Had to get far from here. “I can navigate for you if you want,” she volunteered.

Savannah walked out of the restroom in time to hear her mother’s offer. She shot her a disappointing look.

“That’d be great,” Seth said without hesitating.

Frank opened their map and walked over to the giant map on the wall next to the vending machines to compare the two. “Looks like we’re about halfway to Louisville. With a little luck and some persistence, we’ll be there in a couple hours.”

“Sounds good to me,” Seth said, jingling the keys. “Everybody ready?”

Savannah latched onto Trista’s arm and opened her hand. Then she used her index finger to trace a heart in the palm of her mother’s hand. It had been months since she’d done that. “Momma?” she asked.

Trista traced a heart in Savannah’s hand and then put her arm around her and squeezed. “Yes, honey?”

“Can I please sit next to Seth?”

She should’ve known her sweet teenaged daughter had a motive other than wanting her mother’s love and attention. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” Savannah whined.

“Because I need to navigate, and you need to get some rest. You’ll be able to stretch out more in the back seat.”

She let go of Trista and crossed her arms. And just like that, Trista had returned to the top of the Worst Parents in the United States list.

When Seth opened the glass doors of the rest stop, a large gust of wind and snow nearly took Trista’s breath away. He turned to Frank, and she saw concern in both their eyes. Their fast walk turned into a jog to the car, which was now completely covered in snow. Seth started clearing it off, and Trista took the opportunity to study the map. She followed the lines and connected the dots all the way to New Haven.

She hadn’t been back in sixteen years. She remembered walking to the grocery store with her mom when she was a little girl. On hot days her mom would buy her an ice cream cone for the trip home. Most of it would melt before she had the chance to eat it, but her mom still would hold onto her sticky hand, all covered in chocolate and vanilla. They had been close once. She turned to Savannah, who was busy playing a game on her cell phone. She used to be close to Savannah, too. Was history repeating itself? She didn’t want to even think about that possibility.

Seth opened the door and climbed inside, bringing Trista back to the present, back to the storm. Snow stuck to his shirt and jeans, completely covering him. He looked miserable. “You look really…cold.” Laughter escaped her before she could cover her mouth.

Seth glared at her but couldn’t maintain it. His lips formed into a smile, and Trista saw it then. His short dark hair spiked up in front. A jaw covered by a five o’clock shadow. And a guitar in his hands while thousands of people screamed his name. Although she had always thought Tuck to be a handsome man, Seth could easily beat him in the hotness category.

Seth put the Malibu in reverse and nearly got stuck backing out. The storm seemed to be getting worse the further north they traveled.

“Do you think this car can handle the roads?”

Seth nodded. “It has traction control and good tires. It’ll be fine. Why? You nervous?”

“A little.” She checked the side mirror, finding nothing but snow and darkness. As much as she hated losing her Cavalier, she felt safer riding in an unrecognizable vehicle. And she had to admit that, even though Frank was older and Seth could obviously be taken down by a girl, she felt safer traveling with them.

He turned his attention back to the road. “You seem young.”

“Excuse me?”

“To be Savannah’s mother. You seem a little young.”

Trista turned to the back seat. A mother’s instinct. Savannah had already fallen asleep with her head on Frank’s shoulder. Frank smiled and mouthed the words, “It’s okay.”

She turned back to Seth. “I was seventeen when I found out I was pregnant. And Savannah is tall for her age, which I think makes her look older than fifteen. Something she got from her father.

“She’s a sweet kid.

Trista took in a deep breath and let it out. “She has her moments. Mostly I think she likes to test me though.”

“She’s a teenager,” Seth said. “That’s kind of her job.”

Spoken like a parent, she thought. “How old is your daughter?”

Seth cocked his head back and arched an eyebrow. “How did you—”

“I saw a picture of a little girl on your guitar case when you were still unconscious. She’s adorable.”

“Faith. Her name’s Faith. And she’s seven.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

Seth nodded but didn’t say anything else. She noticed the tattoo of flames on the back of his left hand. She sensed that this guy had more layers to him than a birthday cake.

“So you’re visiting Grandma?” he asked, changing the subject.

Trista looked back down at the map on her lap. “Yep.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been back to Indiana?”

“About sixteen years.”

“Wow,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “So what was it? Your parents didn’t approve of you having a baby at such a young age so you moved down to Nashville to chase your dreams of becoming a singer?”

“Not quite. I’m afraid I don’t have a singing cell in my body.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Trista shook her head. “I can’t sing. Not a single note.”

“Not even in the shower?”

“Nope.”

Seth rubbed his stubbly chin. “Wow. I’ve heard of people like you, but I’ve never met any before.”

“It’s true. We’re a rare breed of vocally challenged people. We avoid karaoke bars at all costs.”

“What?” Seth feigned shock. “Not even karaoke? That is probably the saddest thing I’ve heard.”

Trista let out a laugh. Cute and funny. This guy could be dangerous. “How long has it been since you’ve been to Indiana?”

“About ten years.”

“Let me guess. You left for Music City to be a big country star.”

“That was the plan,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“According to my daughter, you’re quite the star. You must be proud of making it in this business. I heard it’s not easy.”

“I’m not a singer anymore.”

Trista looked at the side mirror. Still no headlights behind them. Good. “So what’s taking you back to Indiana in the middle of a blizzard?”

He turned to Trista with eyes as serious as the storm they were traveling through. She didn’t know what to say. She could tell that she’d struck a nerve. Her curiosity got the best of her. “What happened?” she asked.

“Have you really never heard of me?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry. I wasn’t raised on country music. I know a lot of people love it, but I just never developed a taste for it.”

“But don’t you watch the news or read the tabloids?”

She shook her head. “Don’t have much time for that either. I work a lot of hours. My spare time is spent working on homework with Savannah and taking care of…well, taking care of things.”

He sighed. “It just wasn’t what I thought it’d be like. I’ve always loved music, but this industry has a way of stripping away the parts of it that you love, until you can’t love it anymore.”

“You must’ve been good. I mean, Savannah has your song as a ring tone.” Even though it was for her worthless boyfriend.

Seth nodded. “The critics said that I had
promise.
”

She thought about that for a few seconds. “So you just quit?”

“Something like that.”

Trista found it all hard to believe. How did someone get as far as he had and just give up? It didn’t make any sense. “You never did answer my question.”

“Really? ’Cause I thought I had.”

“You never told me why you’re heading back to Fort Wayne.”

“For a girl.”

She remained quiet to see if he’d add to the story, but he was silent. She thought it best not to push further. A light reflected off the side mirror, drawing her attention away from him.

“I’ve answered all of your questions. Now answer one for me.”

“Sure,” she said, still looking for headlights in the side mirror.

“Who are you running from?”

Startled, she turned away from the mirror to find Seth looking at her. “Excuse me?”

“You haven’t stopped staring at that mirror since we left.”

Trista was about to reply when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. “Look out!” she shouted, pointing toward the windshield.

A truck with blinking hazard lights sat motionless in their lane. Seth gripped the wheel and aimed to the left, but the car didn’t react.

“Pump your brakes!” Frank shouted from the back seat.

The car turned a bit, but it was still heading straight for the truck. Seth jerked the wheel in the opposite direction, allowing the car to gain some traction and slow it a bit more, but they were still headed toward the broken-down truck. Trista turned to Savannah in the back. Frank had both arms around her, shielding her from the blow that was in their future. Trista wanted nothing more than to be in the back seat with her, holding her, telling that it was going to be okay.