Saved by the Cross (Cross 3)

24 - Come

A/N It happened again. Wattpad didn't send notice of yesterday's chapter. If you missed it go back one chapter.

Feeling tired, Gray sat in the breakfast room of a medium range hotel chain under the Whitby Enterprise umbrella. The continental breakfast was the standard fare. Monty had sent him on a tour of the Southwest, because the chain was experiencing an uptick in complaints and reduction in occupancy rates.

His theory was Monty wanted to put some space between him and Doyle. He repeated her name, Doyle, in his head, but preferred to call her K.

He looked down at his scrambled eggs and noted the breakfast quality was the same in Phoenix as it was in Flagstaff, and Albuquerque and Reno and so on.

He had yet to find anything egregious in any of the hotels he stayed in. Like so often, most were situated close to other competing hotels. When he returned to his room, he'd research the competition.

His phone vibrated with a text. Good morning. She had slept in at least with the time difference, but she had planned to edit photos from her last shoot.

The only thing his twelve-day trip was good for was writing. Austin had arranged for a kid in the book business to read his novel. Gray was nervous about having someone else read it, but that was why he wrote it. The kid must be hungry because he read it right away and provided a lot of feedback with the caveat that it was only the beginning of his rewrites.

The need to succeed and find a proper title for himself weighed on him. First was the burden of how to make it happen after years of hanging around and letting Monty support him. He was a unique version of a kept woman, but it worked for a long time. His second reason was a pipe dream. Would he ever be worthy? Every day, every phone call, and every text made him more determined. Yet he couldn't see an end game.

The one thing he learned was that a future of Whole Foods hookups, which lasted a week or two, felt bleak. He took a sip of his coffee and looked around. The room had filled up. The other guests looked content enough. Some were clearly on business. There were retirees who were probably taking a trip they planned for months. Because it was autumn, there weren't many families.

A tall blonde, dressed for business with a short skirt and see-through blouse like Doyle wore, approached his table with a cup of coffee, a yogurt and a banana.

"Do you mind?"

Her voice had a soft southern lilt. She was pretty, especially as she smiled when he reached out his hand inviting her to use an empty chair.

Six months before he would rearrange his travel to stay another night, but he had no interest in playing the game with her. Instead, he picked up his phone and texted words he usually thought, but didn't share. I miss you.

She replied with a smiley. When can I see you?

Although they had hardly seen each other, they had only grown closer. He replied, I'll be home late tomorrow. He had one more night in Tucson before heading back to Boston.

It was only a short drive and there were places he could stop along the way. One place kept him awake the night before.

"You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." He shrugged. It was the same weight he carried for years. "I have to get to work, but how about we have dinner tonight, since we're both traveling alone."

He smiled at her bold attempt. Another time, it would have made him hard. He might have even asked if she could be late to work. "Sorry, I'm checking out" He looked at his watch to let her know he had a time crunch, although he didn't.