Author’s Note: The Model T club always shows up in Kingston on the day of the run. The stop is also famous for its pork chops, at least in my family.
“Nick and Carrie promised to get me one of those pork chops that everyone kept talking about,” Larry said as he got down from the front seat, wiping at his forehead. “I should have brought a hat. This sun is worse than I thought.”
“I’m going to buy Carson one to match his outfit,” Mackenna said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. He grimaced, but she just grinned at him. He should have known. That was the kind of thing that he had to look forward to the rest of his life. For some reason, though, he didn’t mind it. She wrapped her arm around his. “You want to go look at the Model Ts? The car club always has them here, and we’ll be here for a bit since your brothers and Mac will be busy with those pork chops.”
“I suppose it’s a good thing no one here is on a diet,” Carson said, shaking his head. “All diets would be broken after the first stop, right?”
“Yeah,” she said, laughing. She leaned against him as they wandered through the cars, taking a moment to look at each of the Model Ts parked along the side of the road. He couldn’t tell any of the years, but Mackenna knew, of course, and she started to tell him more than he ever needed to know. He didn’t care. He liked hearing her voice, and that was good enough for him. Nothing else mattered.
If he was honest, he was expecting another flashback to hit at any moment, and he wanted to be with her if that happened. He didn’t want his brothers to see him if it happened. Maybe she was right. Maybe this would all be over by the end of the day, and if it was… He did want it. It scared him, but he needed it to end already. This had gone on for too long, and he did not want to draw it out any longer.
He stopped, looking behind him, frowning.
“What?” Mackenna asked, her grip tightening on his arm. She sounded worried, and she looked worried, and that was worse.
“I was just… I feel like someone’s watching me again. It’s stupid. I’m the one that killed him, right? That’s what I said in that thing I got back last night, so why am I feeling like there’s someone watching me again?”
“Because someone is,” she said, putting her hands on his face. “We are probably the most interesting pair here today, and I think we’d win cutest couple, too.”
“Cutest?”
She nodded. “Think about it—how many times have you kissed me today?”
“Uh… I lost track.”
“Exactly. That could be why there’s people watching. It doesn’t have to be the end of the world or anything sinister.”
He put his hands over hers, leaning forward to kiss her. That was what he wanted to believe, that it was nothing. He didn’t know that he did believe it, but he would rather pretend that he did. He didn’t need to be all paranoid. He didn’t want to think that there was someone after him. If that piece of memory was right, then there couldn’t be. He was the killer, and he couldn’t go after himself.
She patted his cheek and stepped back, studying him for a moment. He had a feeling that she was going to try and distract him again, and he thought he looked forward to it. She was good. Then again, he thought she was good at just about everything she did. “Are you at all hungry?”
“No.”
“There are more cars if you want to look at them.”
“I don’t think that I want to look at anything but you right now.” He grimaced after he heard himself, shaking his head. That was dumb He should think before he spoke. “That didn’t come out right. I just… You help me stay calm.”
She shook her head. “You were fine the first time, trust me.”