HERO: An Unfit Hero Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  After only a few hours, and two truckloads, the trailer is empty save for Emily’s personal affects. Once I unpack some things from the boxes that I have loaded up, I’ll bring them back and pack up the rest of her stuff, then let my landlord know that I’m officially out.

  I can’t believe that within a few weeks of meeting him, that I’m going to be living with Wyatt. It feels like a gigantic step, but also the next natural one as well. He’s it for me, my very own superhero. He’s everything I never thought I could have, but always dreamed about.

  Wyatt is my future.

  WYATT

  The road ahead of us is long, especially since we’re driving straight into the storm, instead of away from it. Stretching my neck from side-to-side, I glance at the clock and groan. I’m tired and only two hours into a minimum twenty-five-hour drive.

  We’ll stop after twelve hours today. Then finish up the rest of the trip in two more days. Unfortunately, we can only drive forty-five miles an hour in our trucks, so what would normally be seventeen hours in a car is almost double that in the bucket trucks.

  I can’t help but think about Exeter. I wonder if Louis and Ford have her all set up at the new house. I gave Ford a list of shit to check, to make sure everything was in working order. He’s taking care of the utilities that I had turned on in my name, meeting with the servicemen for initial turn on.

  There’s something in the pit of my stomach that is still bothering me though. I write it off as just being unsure, uneasy, and us being new. I wish I would have had at least a week longer to get her and us all situated in the new house.

  Guilt. That’s what I’m feeling. Worry and guilt. I should be there with her. I should be moving her stuff, taking care of everything, and making sure she’s comfortable. Nature is a fickle bitch though, and when she comes storming through, I have no choice but to follow in her path of destruction. Even when I really don’t want to.

  A few hours on the road and we finally stop for fuel and snacks. Once we get situated, I check on Rylan who just shakes his head and assures me that he’s fine. He doesn’t look fine. He looks worried sick. He turns from me, lifting his phone to his ear as he calls Channing. I do the same, taking my own cell out of my pocket and place a call to Exeter.

  “Hey,” she greets cheerfully.

  “You okay? You in the house?” I ask.

  “I am. Ford and Louis helped, they unloaded everything and I’m just unpacking what I have,” she explains.

  I grunt, hating how goddamn jealous I am of my friends. Not that I think anything would happen, but because I want to be there and I can’t. “Take care of yourself, don’t run yourself ragged, okay?”

  “I will, Wyatt. You take care of yourself and be safe, please,” she begs.

  Closing my eyes, I inhale a deep breath, then release it before I speak. “I will, sugar. May not be able to call tonight, we’ll probably travel until it’s late. I’ll call you in the morning before we take off again, okay?”

  “Okay, baby.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, then the line goes dead.

  Letting out a breath, I will my cock to soften. The way she said baby, it went straight to my dick. Fuck, everything about her goes straight to my cock. The sound of her voice, the way I close my eyes and see her—everything.

  I’m goddamn hopelessly in love with her.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  EXETER

  Using the last of the tape, I close Emily’s final box of items. It’s surreal, standing in this empty trailer, a place that I called home and a safe haven for years. Unfortunately, my father shattered the safety aspect of this place, but Wyatt was there in the background, my hero. He saved me from spiraling back down a road that I would probably never be able to dig myself out of, a second time. The first was hard enough.

  Bending down, I pick the box up and turn toward the door. I’m going to leave this trailer park and never look back. Not because I hate it here, or am ashamed. I’m not, not really. What I am, is ready to move on. I’m ready to leave my past in the past. I have so much more in life to look forward to, this part of my life is now over, and I have no desire to ever remember any of it again.

  Once I lock the door, I walk over to the trunk and set down Emily’s final box. It’s sad that her final personal items are so few. Though, it’s not as if I’m much different. Maybe it’s because of our background, our pasts, that we don’t hold much dear to us.

  Maybe it’s because we are still waiting to find those pieces of value to hold onto. Maybe it’s not even really worth deciphering.

  Walking back to the porch, I slip my key beneath the welcome mat, then tug my phone out of my pocket and send the landlord a text. He already knows that I’m moving out and instructed me to just leave the key somewhere.

  Climbing into the front seat of my car, I start my car and lift my gaze up to my trailer one last time. This is it. Once I shift my car into reverse, there is no going back. Not that I have thought about it really. My life has shifted, it’s changed, and there’s no way around it, I’ve changed. Wyatt has changed me, for the better.

  Heading toward Wyatt’s parents, I suck in a deep breath wondering if I’m doing the right thing. I hope that Wyatt doesn’t get upset, but MawMaw needs to be in her own place, or at least with her family. There’s no way that I’m taking her back home, not with what my father did, but I can’t let her stay with Wyatt’s family any longer. They’re sweet to take her in, to help, but it’s my turn now.

  Parking in front of their house, I take it in again, my eyes glancing around the nicely decorated yard. What I would have given to live in a house like this when I was younger. I honestly can’t believe that I actually know people who do live here now. It all seems so unrealistic.

  My feet move as I walk up the front porch, raising my hand, I knock on the door. I expect Wyatt’s mom to answer, but instead, MawMaw does. Her face lights up as soon as she sees that it’s me. She wraps me up in her arms like she hasn’t seen me in weeks, instead of days. I don’t mind, I soak up her love.

  “How are you doing with your man gone?” she asks on a hushed tone.

  It surprises me that she knows, but it shouldn’t. I’m sure Wyatt’s parents know that he left. I just didn’t really think about that. Releasing her, she takes a step back and allows me to enter the home. It’s just as warm and cozy as it was when I walked in the very first time.

  “I’m okay. Been keeping busy unpacking,” I admit.

  MawMaw’s eyes flash, then her face relaxes. “I’d rather y’all get married, but I know the kids don’t do that these days,” she sighs.

  I want to tell her that we will, but I can’t, because I don’t know that for sure. I know that I would love nothing more than to become Mrs. Wyatt Johnson. Shaking the thought from my head, I give my grandmother a smile and tip my head over to the sofa.

  We both take a seat and that’s when I ask her if she wants to go see Emily today, take her things to her.

  “Oh, I’d love nothing more,” she beams.

  I love how she adores Emily. How she cares for her as if she were her granddaughter, too.

  “What would you think about moving in with me and Wyatt for a while? He won’t be back for several weeks, and maybe by the time he gets home you’ll be able to go back to your place?” I ask.

  MawMaw gets this faraway look in her eyes, then she brings her gaze back to me. “I’m not going back to my home, child,” she announces.

  “What? Why?” I practically demand.

  “I’ve been looking at senior living. I think I may try that,” she hesitantly explains.

  I blink. Once, twice, three times. MawMaw isn’t feeble. She’s more active than me. She doesn’t drive much, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t one of the most active and spry people that I know. There is no way she needs to live in a senior home.

  “It’s not a convalescent home, more like a community. I can come and go as I please, have my own little two bedroom place. I went and looked yester
day. I really like it,” she explains.

  “Will you stay with me until you make the decision for sure?” I chance asking.

  MawMaw lifts her hand, cupping my cheek. Her eyes search mine and she slowly shakes her head. “I’m on the list, should be able to get in, in just a few weeks. Got a realtor meeting me at the house tomorrow morning to put it up for sale. This new home you’re movin’ to, you need to make it your own, child. You don’t need an old woman in there tellin’ you what to do.”

  Tears fill my eyes. It doesn’t change anything, not really. MawMaw isn’t going far, she’ll still be in town and I’ll still visit her several times a week, even take her to run her errands if that’s what she wants. But it feels different. Everything feels different. I’m not sure if I like that.

  “Life is supposed to change, Exeter. We are supposed to evolve, grow, and move. I’m doing that just as you are. I’m proud of the woman that you have become and even prouder of the decisions that you’ve made in your adult life. This man, he’s a good one, with a good family. I can’t thank them or him enough.”

  “Why?” I chance asking.

  “You were just going through the motions. I’ve been so worried, yet here he comes in his big shiny truck, a downright hero. Maybe not a common one, an unlikely one for certain. But a hero all the same. He’s saved you, child, but not just from your deadbeat father, from yourself.”

  I’m unable to speak, tears instead falling from my eyes and down my cheeks. Leaning into my grandmother, I wrap my arms around her and hold her to me. This feels so final, so different, the change is coming, and it is unstoppable.

  “I couldn’t be half of the woman I have become without you,” I rasp against her ear.

  Her hands pat my back, and slowly I gather myself and release her. Wiping my tears, I give her a shaky smile as I stand to my feet. She follows suit, a soft smile playing on her own lips.

  “Let’s get to Emily, maybe we can all end up a crying mess by the end of today.”

  Together we walk out of Wyatt’s parents’ home and toward my car. I freeze when a blue pickup drives by, narrowing my gaze I try to make out the driver, but I can’t. My heart races in my chest, wondering if it’s possible, if he has found us, then I shake myself out of it. He couldn’t, he’d have no way to know we were in this area, at this home.

  We both climb into my car, the blue pickup forgotten quickly as MawMaw begins grilling me on my new home with Wyatt. With a huge smile on my face, I answer every single one of her questions.

  WYATT

  With a groan, I throw my bag into the hotel room. Rylan is already sitting on the edge of the bed, phone attached to his ear. I almost chuckle at the sight, except I don’t, because I’m getting ready to take out my own cell and call Exeter.

  “Do you need anything? Just call Ford or Louis, they’re both in town. They know you’re alone. They’ll be there in a heartbeat…” He pauses, then I hear him grunt. “Okay. Love you, too,” he murmurs.

  I watch as he tosses his phone to the side, then runs his fingers through his hair, in an act of obvious frustration. “You want me to have Exeter pop over on her way home from work tomorrow?” I ask.

  Rylan lifts his head, his eyes find mine and watch as relief floods his features. “Yeah, would you? She’s bein’ stubborn as fuck.”

  I chuckle. Channing isn’t any more stubborn than he is, probably less so. He’d never see it that way though, so I don’t say anything. Walking over toward my own bed, I sink down on the hard mattress, shifting so that my back is against the headboard and I sigh as I bring the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?” Exeter breathes after it rings a few times.

  “Hey, sugar,” I murmur.

  There is a moment of silence, then she lets out a breath, or a sigh of relief, I can’t quite tell. “I was hoping you’d call me tonight,” she admits.

  “What’s wrong?” I demand.

  She laughs, her voice soft and sweet, it doesn’t calm my racing heart though. I hold my breath as she begins to tell me, only letting it out when I realize that she’s only got news of her grandmother and cousin.

  Emily is staying where she’s at for a while, she found a house to rent with a couple of roommates and has a good job in an office as a file clerk. Her grandmother has found herself a house in a senior living area.

  She’ll be living on her own, but the assisted living care is just up the street and she can be there in minutes if there’s an issue. It’s also in a secure, gated community. Something that I actually already knew, because my Mama told me earlier today when I called to check in.

  “That all sounds good, sugar,” I murmur.

  She hums, then tells me that she was able to pick up several extra shifts. I think about my plans to move her grandmother with us, and then what I can do with that extra money now that she’s made her own move.

  I decide to spend the money and upgrade Exeter’s car. Now that we live so far out, she needs something more dependable, something that I know she’s safe in. If I could buy her an army tank to protect her, I would.

  “Hey, got a favor before I get off the phone,” I call out after she’s told me all about her day, her extra shifts, and what she made herself for dinner.

  “Sure, whatever you need,” she quickly states.

  My lips twitch in a smile at her eagerness to help. She doesn’t even know what I’m about to ask, but she’ll do whatever I need, and that little fact makes me fall in love with her just a little more. I explain about Channing, and before I can even finish, before I can ask her to check on her, she interrupts me.

  “I’ll stop by on my way home from work every day. I go right past their place anyway. She’s probably lonely and scared, maybe we can have dinner together,” she happily announces.

  “I bet she’d love that,” I mutter.

  After a few moments, we say our goodbyes, and I turn toward Rylan, who is just staring off into space. “Exeter is going to stop by on her way home from the hospital and have dinner with her every night. She took up a few extra shifts, so she’ll be there almost every day,” I announce.

  Rylan’s head pops up and his lips turn up into a grin. “Really?” he asks, his leg beginning to bounce with his uncontainable excitement.

  I chuckle, looking down at my feet, then back over to my cousin. “I didn’t even have to ask,” I say.

  Rylan’s lips turn up into a bigger smile. “I like her, she’s good people,” he announces.

  Matching his smile with one of my own, I shake my head. “Yeah, she is.”

  We spend the rest of the evening resting up for tomorrow. The storm hit while we were on the way, and tomorrow we’ll be in Florida and have to start working. I’ve already heard news that there aren’t hotels, and our company wasn’t able to bring in portable trailers yet, so we’ll be sleeping in our trucks until something else comes available. Which is fine with me, I’d rather sleep in my truck than a portable trailer anyway.

  “Get a good night’s sleep, it’s the last one you’ll get for a while,” I suggest.

  Rylan grunts. We just did a hurricane restoration project in Texas a few months ago, he thinks he knows what to expect. He doesn’t. This is about five times bigger, and the accommodations will probably take a bit longer to get in order.

  Honestly, I predict we won’t have a hot meal for the first two weeks, maybe three. If what I’ve read on the news is anywhere near the true devastation.

  Closing my eyes, I see Exeter in my mind. She looks at me from over her bare shoulder, her eyes bright and her smile wide. My eyes drag down her supple curves and I try to hold back a groan at the sight of her sweet body on display for me.

  Then she opens her mouth and lets out a silent scream, her eyes widen and I’m suddenly terrified.

  My eyes pop open, sweat dripping down my face and chest. Sitting straight up, I run my fingers over my face, tugging on the end of my beard as I look around the dark room. Fuck. That dread appears again in the pit of my stomach. I can’t
shake it.

  Hopefully, it’s just my overactive imagination, the way Rylan felt off and on with Channing. Just like with Channing and her situation. It was warranted, but not every time. Just like this feeling is probably warranted, but probably not necessary right now.

  I know she’s okay, and not only Ford but Louis is just up the road as well. The sheriff also told me he’d keep an ear to the ground around town, and an extra eye on her father.

  She’s safe.

  I know she is.

  But I’m not there to protect her and no matter what, I’ll feel uneasy about that fact.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  EXETER

  Pushing my cart down the grocery store aisle, I head toward the bakery. They sell cake by the slice and if Channing is feeling even half of how I am with the guys being gone, then she’ll be grateful for cake.

  Reaching into the bin, I take out chocolate for her, and lemon with vanilla buttercream icing and fresh raspberries for me. Then just to be safe, I grab a vanilla on vanilla one as well.

  Too tired to cook much of anything, I look for the pre-prepared meals, knowing that I can just throw them in the oven and they’ll come out delicious and perfect every time. I know this by my extreme amount of experience. Although I enjoy cooking, my schedule doesn’t always allow for the time, so these are a close second.

  Once I have dinner for tonight, and some extra snacks and of course the cakes, I make my way toward the checkout. I notice Tulip behind the register, and I smile at her. She’s one of the prettiest girls around, a little gossipy, but that’s to be expected when you work at the only grocery store in town.

  “Hey, Exeter,” she greets as soon as the woman in front of me is finished with her transaction.