What Comes After (Road Trip Romance Book 15), page 1
WHAT COMES AFTER
Road Trip Romance: Tennessee
A.K. Evans
Copyright 2023 by A.K. Evans
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Cover Artist
cover artwork © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations
www.okaycreations.com
Editing & Proofreading
Mackenzie Letson, Nice Girl Naughty Edits
www.nicegirlnaughtyedits.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Epilogue
Preview of Chase the Storm
Also by A.K. Evans
About the Author
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In case this is your first Road Trip Romance read, I wanted to offer a bit of an explanation about the inspiration behind this series. Some readers have come into the series expecting the couple to be on a road trip, and that’s not the case.
If you’ve read my bio, you might have seen mention of how my husband and I are in the process of taking road trips across the United States with our two sons. Our goal is to visit all 50 states.
It was when we were getting ready to head out one of our trips when I was inspired to write this series. How cool would it be to take my readers on a road trip with me?!?! So, when you read the series title, Road Trip Romance, it’s all about you. I’m taking you on a road trip with me, and together, we’re going to find a happy ending in every state across the United States of America.
My plan is to wait to write a book set in a particular state after I’ve visited it with my family. In the end, I’m hoping to have delivered 50 unique love stories that capture some of the best things about each individual state.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey across the country in search of some happily-ever-after endings. And if you’re looking for a book about a couple on a road trip, I’m sorry, this isn’t that book.
PROLOGUE
Devyn
“Son of a bitch.”
Twisting my neck to look behind me, I made sure nobody was around to hear what I’d just said.
This was just my luck, or lack thereof.
Returning my attention to the room, I let out a huge sigh of frustration. The open drawers with clothing hanging out, the barely visible carpet, the rumpled bedding, and the overturned bowl of ice cream sitting next to the open bag of Doritos on top of the dresser indicated that the bedroom hadn’t been cleaned in a long time.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth.
The first thing I did when I arrived at this house nearly five hours ago was clean this bedroom.
Per the owners’ request, I came here once every two weeks to clean. But with the way they refused to make their only child responsible for anything, I wondered why I continued to work for them.
Technically, that wasn’t true. I did it because I needed the money. At six thousand square feet with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and extra services like laundry added into the mix, this house would net me a healthy chunk of cash that I couldn’t pass up.
But I didn’t exactly like having to do the same work twice in a day.
Unfortunately, the owners of this house weren’t the kind of people who seemed to care. Their only concern was having me do the job they’d hired me to do. And while I probably could have skipped over this room, since I’d already done it once, or explained that I wouldn’t be cleaning it a second time, I would never actually do that.
Because I didn’t want to risk losing this house. Without it, I’d never be able to afford my monthly bills, let alone have any extra to set aside for special occasions.
That was probably the bigger reason why I was feeling so frustrated about the mess.
It was Friday, and I had plans for tonight. Given that my financial situation didn’t offer me a lot of opportunity for splurging regularly, to say I was looking forward to what was in store for tonight would have been an understatement.
But if I continued to stand here, staring at this awful mess with the freshly cleaned and folded laundry in my arms, my night would surely be ruined. Roy’s night would be ruined, too.
So, I took in a deep breath and let it out before I stepped farther into the room and got to work.
Keeping my mind focused on the task at hand, I managed to get the bedroom cleaned up rather quickly. When I finished, I immediately went in search of Karlee, one half of the married couple who owned the home.
After letting her know that I was finished and getting paid, I took off. Speeding home, I decided to keep my thoughts on what was ahead for tonight instead of allowing myself to pray that my car wouldn’t have any more issues than it had already had this month.
Between needing to fix the air conditioning, which quit working in the middle of the summer and needing to replace the brakes, I’d sunk enough money into this heap.
Really, I needed a new car.
But I couldn’t afford a new car.
Fortunately, I made it back to my one-bedroom apartment without incident and raced inside. Where I lived left a lot to be desired. My place was clean, relatively affordable, and gave me the very basics of what I needed for shelter. There wasn’t much beyond that.
As quickly as I could, I took a shower and got myself ready. Then I picked up my phone, went to the last call I’d had, and tapped on Roy’s name.
He picked up after two rings. “Hey, Devyn. Are you done at work?”
“Yeah, I just got home and showered. I’m leaving here in the next two minutes to get you,” I replied. “Our reservations are in twenty-five minutes, so hopefully you’re ready.”
“I’ll be ready,” he assured me. “Just text me when you get here.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Alright. I’ve got to go. I’m getting another call.”
With that, Roy and I disconnected. I grabbed my purse, keys, and the gift, and I was out the door in a flash.
It wasn’t until I was finally back in my car on the way to pick up Roy that I started to settle down. I wanted to have a good time tonight, and if I didn’t at least try to relax, that was never going to happen.
That wouldn’t be fair to Roy or to me.
Today was Roy’s birthday, and I was taking him out to celebrate. We’d been dating each other for ten months now, and I wholeheartedly believed he might be the guy for me.
The truth was, Roy and I might have struggled in some areas with our connection to one another, but I had a feeling that had more to do with our respective personal financial situations. We both did our best to make ends meet, and Roy had been having an especially difficult time lately, considering he’d lost his job almost three months ago and hadn’t managed to find anything else.
Not only that, but my car was only a slight step above his right now, because his stopped working two and a half weeks ago. With no job, he couldn’t afford to get it fixed. I was doing what I could to help him out with rent, but being on limited funds myself, I couldn’t do much.
But since it was his birthday tonight, I really wanted him to have a good night, and I thought he deserved to have some fun. I couldn’t afford anything extravagant, but we were going to have a nice dinner out before we went to the movies.
I made it to Roy’s place, sent him a text, and waited. A moment later, he came outside and walked right up to the driver’s side door. He opened it and said, “Let me drive.”
Figuring he was probably sick of not being able to drive anywhere and not caring if I drove, I unbuckled and crawled over the center console to the passenger seat.
The minute he was seated behind the wheel, I leaned toward him, placed a chaste kiss on his lips, and smiled. “Happy birthday.”
He smiled back at me. “Thanks, Devyn.”
After settling back in my seat, I put on my belt and asked, “So, how was your day today?”
Roy had already started driving toward the restaurant. “It was okay. A lot of my friends reached out with birthday wishes.”
“That’s nice. Did you do anything?” I pressed.
Taking his eyes off the road, he glanced over at me and asked, “How would I have done anything? You know my car is out of commission right now.”
There was a clear edge of frustration in his tone. “I know. I just wasn’t sure if maybe someone stopped over to visit with you, or if someone picked you up to take you out for lunch.”
Roy didn’t look over at me again, but I could see something move through his expression. No doubt it was disappoint ment, and I suddenly felt horrible for him. “Nobody stopped over. Just you.”
Wanting to turn things around, I promised, “Well, I think we’re going to have a fantastic night. I’m looking forward to the movie.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, it’s been a very long time since we’ve been able to really get out and do anything fun.”
Hearing those words, I suddenly didn’t feel so bad about all the extra work I’d been putting in lately, so I could save up the money to do something special for Roy. We both needed to have this, and I was simply glad I found a way to make it happen.
We made it to the restaurant with just two minutes to spare before our reservation, and we were seated immediately.
Since I wanted to keep the positive vibes we’d both been feeling toward the end of our drive, as soon as Roy and I gave our dinner selections to the server, I reached into my purse and pulled out the small gift box.
“What’s this?” Roy asked as he reached for the box.
Beaming at him, I said, “Happy birthday.”
Curiosity, and perhaps a bit of caution, moved through his expression as he took the box and started to unwrap it.
With the wrapping removed, he opened the box and revealed what was inside. Roy inspected the gift, and I couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking, so I thought I’d speak.
“I wanted to get you something else, something more, but it’s been a little tough lately,” I started. “Anyway, I confirmed that this was a really good knife with the guy at the store. He said a lot of guys, especially hunters, buy this one, so I thought it’d be great for you.”
Roy was tough to shop for. I wanted to get him something he’d be able to use, and since he liked to hunt, I figured a knife would not only be practical, but very much appreciated, too.
Apparently, I was wrong.
“It’s nice,” he mumbled as he put it back into the box. “Thanks.”
I tipped my head to the side and eyed him curiously. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t like it?”
Roy placed the box off to the side and brought his eyes to mine. “It’s not that, Devyn. It’s just that I can’t exactly go hunting anywhere when I don’t have a working car.”
“Well, hunting season hasn’t exactly started yet,” I reasoned. “I’m sure you’ll have a job by then, and you’ll be able to get your car fixed.”
He shrugged. “For the money you’re spending on dinner, a movie, and this knife, I could have just used the cash to get my car fixed.”
Hurt moved through me. “I’m sorry, Roy. I thought you’d like having some time together and doing something special for your birthday.”
I had to wonder if he’d realized how much his words had stung, because he quickly apologized. “No, I’m sorry. It was very thoughtful of you, and I’m looking forward to having a good time tonight. I’m just stressed about my current situation.”
“I appreciate the apology, and I understand how you’re feeling.”
As soon as I got the words out, Roy reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He immediately started tapping away on it. I waited until he finished and set it face down on the table. “Sorry. I’ve been getting a lot of social media notifications and text messages today, and it seems they haven’t stopped yet.”
I shrugged it off and insisted, “It’s okay. I’m glad you’ve had some friends reaching out to you today. I’m sure that has helped turn the day around a bit for you.”
“It’s been nice.”
His phone buzzed again. Roy didn’t hesitate to pick it up and start tapping away again. This time, I didn’t wait until he finished before I started to speak again. “So, I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“Oh, yeah?” he replied, not looking up from his phone.
“The bad news is that the job I’d been telling you about last week, the one with that five-thousand-square-feet house, didn’t pan out. I think they’ve hired someone else,” I shared.
Roy continued responding to messages on his phone for another few seconds before he looked up and asked, “Oh, you didn’t get it?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
He glanced down at the phone, back to me, and down at the phone once more before he started tapping on the screen again as he asked, “So, what’s the good news?”
“I’ve got two more consultations lined up for next week,” I told him. “I don’t know yet how frequently they’ll want me to come cleaning for them or the specific level of cleaning service that they’re looking for, but if I managed to snag both of them, it’s definitely going to be an extra couple hundred dollars a month,” I told him.
Long moments of me staring at Roy as he remained engrossed in his phone passed. I felt like a fool as I waited for him to finish. I didn’t want to begrudge him for simply responding to birthday wishes, but I wished he’d at least set the phone aside throughout dinner.
Eventually, he put it down, returned his attention to me, and said, “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
I let out a sigh of frustration and repeated myself. From that point forward, Roy had been mostly focused on the two of us and our conversation throughout dinner. He had picked up his phone only two or three more times, and he made the responses quick. We spent the better part of our dinner talking about my potential new clients and his job prospects. He was looking for something, but he still hadn’t had any luck.
Before I knew it, we’d made it to the movie theater.
I paid for our tickets, and we made our way in to grab seats. For a Friday evening, it was surprisingly empty in the theater. Or, at least, the movie we were seeing wasn’t crowded, even if there were still about ten or fifteen minutes before it was set to start.
We hadn’t been seated there for more than two minutes when Roy said, “Hey, I think dinner isn’t sitting well with me. I’m going to run to the bathroom quickly.”
“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
For the next few minutes, I decided to pull out my own phone. It had been stuffed in my purse from the moment I’d texted Roy to let him know that I’d arrived to pick him up for dinner.
Since the lights were still on in the theater, I figured it wouldn’t be a problem.
Much to my surprise, there was a text message waiting for me when I lit up the display on my phone. Seeing it, something squeezed in my chest.
Then again, it always did every time I saw his name.
Theo.
Theo McCormick.
A man I’d loved all my life, but a man who was too good for me.
I slid my finger across the screen, opened the text conversation, and felt a pang of sadness move through me.
Theo
Tell me this view isn’t gorgeous.
While I didn’t know exactly where Theo was, it was apparent he was standing on a balcony somewhere, and he was looking at a spectacular view.
I’d become accustomed to these texts from Theo.
For as long as I could remember, he had sent them to me. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, I always responded quickly. I wanted to know all that he was experiencing, and I wanted to do my part to be happy for him. But as time went on, as I followed his career, I often found myself allowing time to pass between receiving his texts and sending a response.
He was who he was, and I was me.
We were at such vastly different places in our lives, and I always wondered why he’d continued to reach out to me. We no longer had anything in common, and I’d never fit into his life the way I had always wanted to when we were younger.
Moments.
So many moments had impacted our lives. Theo seemed to have gotten all the good ones. I loved that for him.
