Path of Secrets

CHAPTER TWO-4

THE AWKWARD QUIET THAT had settled in between Donny and Lizzie accompanied them all the way to Green River. It wasn’t until the city limit sign came into view that she spoke.

“So, any ideas on where to spend the night?”

He searched for hotels on Google, then replied, “Up ahead two miles is a La Quinta. I think that will do, don’t you?”

“Should work fine,” Lizzie agreed, and navigated to the hotel’s parking lot.

They parked the truck and walked side-by-side into the hotel’s lobby toward the reception desk. The clerk was friendly and expedient, and in mere moments they’d been handed room key cards and a small map of the room layouts.

“What would you like for dinner?” Donny asked as they went back out to the truck to grab their overnight bags.

“Order in a pizza? I’m in the mood to just relax and watch some TV.”

He nodded once but did not speak again until they were in the room they’d rented. As they set their suitcases down, Donny ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

“Look,” he began, “about earlier...”

“Yeah, what was that?” Lizzie interrupted. “You said an out-of-the-blue topic, but I admit I had no idea you were about to bring up having a family.”

“If it helps any, I blindsided myself with it, too,” he admitted, and watched Lizzie arch an eyebrow. “No, seriously. I don’t know what came over me, and I damn sure have no idea why I thought talking about kids so soon would be a good idea. My only defense at all is that you fascinate me, Lizzie, and I want to know every single thing about you.”

“Okay, but I think maybe we should have built up to that level of question?” she retorted. “Start small, work our way up? Not to mention, you didn’t sound sure about it yourself.”

“Because I’m not,” Donny said truthfully. “I never even thought about having kids until recently.”

“What brought it up?”

He gazed at her intently.

“Wait. Dating me brought it up?”

“Yes,” Donny finally said after a long moment.

“O...kay...,” Lizzie answered. “But here’s the deal. You and I don’t even live in the same state right now. I’m about to go through five months of intensive training, then start a brand-new career in Texas. You’re based in Colorado. Not only that, but we’re still really, really early into this, Donny. I mean, we just took our relationship up to level two. Kids are like, level six or something.”

“I know that. I do,” he assured her. “And I’m not trying to rush either of us into anything, I swear. It just... it popped into my head and before I knew what I was doing it was coming out of my mouth, and I’m truly sorry that I freaked us both out.”

“You did. You did freak me out,” Lizzie told him. “But now, I’m also worried. Because I love you, and I think we have a great thing going here. But what happens if one of us decides that they really do want kids, and the other one decides that they don’t? What do we do then?”

“We keep the lines of communication open, and we talk it out,” Donny answered as he approached her and took her in his arms. “And I can tell you right now - I’m not walking away from you, Lizzie. I refuse to. I am in love with you - you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. Kids or no kids, my place is with you.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a great dad,” she murmured against his chest. “And I don’t want to see you throw away that chance.”

“Lizzie,” he said tenderly, and waited until she lifted her head to look at him. “This – us – means more to me than you’ll ever know. I’m with you, and I’m not going anywhere. You were so right about volunteering and mentoring. I’d never even thought about those things.”

She swallowed hard.

“Besides, I may coach or volunteer and then decide that trying to raise kids is definitely not for me,” Donny continued. “Keep in mind, I haven’t even decided for myself about it all yet.”

“So... mark us both as undecided for now, and table this talk for later?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “Now, what would you like on your pizza?”