Our Journey Read online

  Our Journey

  (Conclusion to The RV Ranch)

  by

  Tey Holden

  Copyright © 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including recording, printouts, information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author.

  (Publication date July 2020)

  Acknowledgments

  My deepest appreciation

  to all whocontributed to the story

  Dedication

  In memory of Shay Shannon, U.S. Marine

  In appreciation for her service

  Semper Fi

  Chapter 1

  Jo drove down the road and wondered if she would be able to kick out the demons in her life and focus on making Kate happy. The prospect of making it to Alaska was fun and challenging, but it was temporary. The real concern was what would happen next, what would the future hold for them.

  She wondered why she doubted herself now when she had never questioned her ability to do anything else in her life? She knew the answer to that question. This time it was not just about her, this time it was about Kate. I love her. But will my love be enough?

  Kate had gone through a lot of hardship in a short period of time. She had lost her dream of becoming a doctor, then there had been the fear of losing the family ranch, and finally the loss of her grandmother to cancer. Grams’ loss had shattered her life. Now she needed someone strong to help her come back from the abyss of despair, a place Jo knew too well, and from where she was still trying to crawl out.

  Grams had been sure that she would find the way for both of them. Why did she have such faith in me? Thinking about Grams made her smile. The woman had left a lasting impression on her, and her death had also touched her deeply.

  Kate caught her smiling. “What are you smiling about?”

  Jo hesitated, not knowing if talking about Grams would make Kate sad or happy. Still, she wanted to be honest. “I was thinking of Grams.”

  “What about?”

  “How she thought the storm divinely delivered me to your door.” That wasn’t exactly her thought, but she wanted to make the conversation light. There was no need to burden Kate with her worries.

  When Kate chuckled, Jo was relieved that the subject had not caused any pain and that instead, Kate was happy about it. “Yes, she believed in fate. Do you?”

  “I don’t know, but things with us seemed to have worked out fine, and I feel good about where we are now.” Wherever that might be!

  Kate looked at her and smiled. The way she smiled made Jo wonder if Kate, as smart as she was, could see through all her doubts. But she also thought that, even if that were the case, Kate would also see her true feelings and intentions. I love her. She must feel that too.

  “Let me know if you want to stop along the way, to rest, or eat something. I can drive for a long time, but I need to eat,” Jo said after draining the last drop of coffee from her cup.

  “I can fix something to eat while you’re driving if you don’t want to stop.”

  “No, I’d rather stop somewhere. It’s not safe to walk around the RV when we’re driving. We can stop at a rest area, or a gas station to go to the bathroom and make something to eat,” Jo suggested.

  “Sounds good. You’re right about not being safe to walk in the RV while it’s moving. It just seems so convenient to have everything we need on board. Would you believe that even though we had a campground, I had never been inside an RV until now?” Kate commented while setting aside her tablet.

  “Well, it was also pretty new to me until I took off on my trip.” She looked at Kate and smiled. “I’ll say that everything has taken a new perspective now that you’re here with me. I’m excited about the trip just because you’re here.”

  “Thanks.” Jo had the gift to always make her feel good. But now her emotional state was fragile, and after a brief smile, she began to cry.

  “Katie, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry, Jo. I’m happy to be here, but when I think about Grams—.”

  “I know. I just don’t like to see you sad, but if you need to cry, it’s okay.” Jo took her hand and kissed it. “Hey, why don’t you look at the map for a place to stop? I’m getting hungry already.”

  Kate dried her tears and again grabbed her tablet. “Okay, let me see what I can find. I’m glad we went to the grocery store before leaving. You’re always hungry.”

  “Well, someone’s putting me through intensive workouts at night. So, I have to load up to have energy.”

  Kate grinned, knowing that it was true. Since they had become a couple, they couldn’t get enough of each other. “Well, in that case, we need to look for the nearest place. I wouldn’t want to run you on empty.” Jo gave her a satisfied grin, which Kate loved.

  “Hey, in five miles, there’s a rest area. It says it has bathrooms.” Kate stated, after looking at her tablet.

  “Okay, but if the place looks weird or it’s too crowded, we’ll use our own bathroom. Some places are better than others. You’ll see what I mean soon,” Jo explained.

  “Looks like it’s pretty crowded, Jo. Look, there’s a parking space there.”

  “At least it has an area designated for trucks and RVs. Although I’ve seen people in cars parked in those spots when they can’t find regular parking.”

  “That’s not fair for trucks or RVs because we need more space,” Kate added.

  “Yeah, but you know how people are sometimes and only think of themselves,” Jo said as she pulled into the spot. “Let’s use our bathroom. It’s crowded, and the bathrooms may not be too clean.”

  Jo made sure all the doors were locked before she took off her seatbelt and then proceeded to lower the front and side blinds. “I’m not crazy. I just don’t like people looking in. I don’t have an issue with the rear windows because they’re dark, but I like my privacy up front.”

  “Yes, I like privacy,” Kate spoke as she headed for the kitchen. “What do you want to eat?”

  “What if we make soup and sandwiches? I don’t want to eat too heavily because it might make me sleepy, and we still have three more hours of driving.”

  They had agreed not to drive more than five to six hours per day because that way they could arrive at the next campground before dark. Jo had explained that it was better to have some daylight to hook-up to the campground facilities because in the dark it was a lot more difficult.

  “Okay, perfect. That’s easy.” Kate began to work on the sandwiches, and Jo looked for a can of soup.

  “I’ll make coffee, once I get the soup started. Is tomato bisque okay with you?”

  “Yes, I love tomato bisque.” Jo grinned when she heard Kate’s reply.

  “Do you want cheese on your sandwich?” Kate turned to ask, but when she saw Jo’s grin, she had a second question. “What’s so funny?”

  “Yes, cheese, please,” Jo responded, “I’m smiling because now I know why we have about ten cans of tomato bisque soup in our pantry.”

  Kate’s hands were busy preparing the sandwiches, so she bumped Jo’s hip with her butt. “Hey! Tomato is a vegetable, and it’s good for you!”

  Without a word, Jo placed her arms around Kate’s waist and kissed her.

  “Umm, I better put extra ham in your sandwich, you will need a lot of energy tonight if you continue with all this smooching.”

  “Yeah, please. Load up that sandwich with lots of ham,” Jo said while looking for a pan to warm the soup.

  After they ate and drank their coffee, they got back on the road again. “When we get to the campground, I want you to show me how to hook-up. I know you’ve told me all about it already, but hearing about it’s on
e thing, and doing it’s another. I want to learn whatever needs to be done, and I want to do my part.”

  “Okay, it’s not so hard once you get used to it.”

  After checking in at their first campground, Jo drove the vehicle towards their designated spot. Kate was mesmerized looking at the different styles of recreational vehicles and their sizes. “Oh, my God! Look, that one was once a school bus! And look at that one in the shape of an A! I guess over there is the area for tents. This is a very nice campground. I like it, except for the prices in their small store. I was looking at the grocery items and other stuff while you were checking in, and was glad we stocked up on everything. Those prices are outrageous. I would only get anything there if I absolutely needed it.”

  “Yeah, it’s the price you pay only as a last resort. Okay, I think I see our spot over there. I took one with only electric and water hook-ups since we’re only staying overnight. Let me back up into it.”

  “Do you want me to get out and give you directions?” Kate asked.

  “Not yet, let me see if I can back into it using the camera,” Jo responded while looking at the monitor in the vehicle’s console.

  “Wow, you really loaded this baby with all the techy stuff,” Kate said while also looking at the rearview camera.

  “Yes, I did. I thought that it would enhance the experience of the trip. Okay, we’re in. Let me take a look outside to see how close we are to the hook-ups.” Jo stepped out and came back inside. “We’re good. Now, the next thing we need to do is to make sure that we’re leveled. I had electric levelers installed on this baby, so that’s very easy to do. Watch.” Jo pressed a few buttons on the dash, and the RV adjusted itself to the terrain. Kate watched as Jo played with the buttons.

  “Wow, that’s neat!”

  “If we didn’t have electric levelers, then we’d have to go around and put those yellow or orange booties you see on those RVs over there to compensate for the uneven terrain. Some campgrounds have paved pads and leveling is better, and sometimes not even necessary for us since we’re on wheels. Okay, now that we’re set, let’s go outside.” Kate followed her out of the RV.

  “I’m going to hook-up the electricity and then the waterline,” Jo said as she began to take the hose and the electric cord from the cabinet outside the RV.

  “Looks pretty easy. I think I can do this at the next campground,” Kate said pretty sure of herself.

  “I always keep disposable gloves in the hose cabinet, just in case the hook-ups are dirty. You need to protect your hands,” Jo explained.

  When Jo finished the tasks, she continued explaining the next step. “I didn’t get a sewer hook-up since we’re only going to be here one night. Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t need to dump every day. The tanks are large, so we can empty them every other day depending on our usage. I’ll show you how to do that when we do a sewer hook-up tomorrow. But, so that you know, there’s the grey water tank, which is water from the sink and shower. There’s also a black water tank, which is water from the toilet. You always empty the black water tank first, so that when you empty the grey water tank the soapy water will wash the line. I always wear gloves when I do the sewer because it’s dirty work. I’ll show you how to do it if you have to do it, but I’ll take care of that myself.”

  “Did they teach you how to do all of this stuff when you bought the RV or did you learn it on your own?”

  Jo chuckled. “When I bought the RV, they gave me a walkthrough of how things worked, and I also watched a lot of videos, but I learned more once I started to do things myself. Things don’t always work the way they’re supposed to, and campgrounds are all different, so you never know for sure what you’re going to find. Some campgrounds have better facilities than others. You’ll see. This one is pretty nice, but sometimes all you find when you need to stop is a real dumpy one, and you have to learn to adjust. Also, like with everything, there’s a learning curve. Not everything is as easy as it appears. Believe me! Some things I learned the hard way, with plenty of mishaps.”

  It was already early spring, but there was still snow on the ground in the higher elevations, and the air was crisp. After hooking up the water and electricity, they went inside. “Is there anything we need to do inside?” Kate asked.

  Jo frowned, not understanding Kate’s question. “What do you mean?”

  “Any other hook-up inside?”

  “No, all we need to do inside is open the exhaust fan vent over the stove and drop one of these blue pills in the toilet to control odor and to dissolve stuff. I also make sure that the water is running, and that the AC or heater work. Let’s check.” Jo said as she reached for the heating unit knob. “We’re good here.” Kate put her hand in front of the vent and felt the warm air coming out.

  “Is the heater electric?” Kate asked.

  “We have both. When we’re in campgrounds we use electric. If we ever dry camp, or it gets to be too cold, we turn on the furnace, which uses the same propane gas we use for cooking. The refrigerator also runs on either one depending on the situation. We also need to check the water.” Jo proceeded to turn the knob, and the water began to flow after some splattering. “All is good. I always let the water run a bit because sometimes it comes out dark at first. Also, since we don’t know the quality of the water, don’t drink it. We drink bottled.”

  Jo looked around. “Let’s see, what else? Oh, we need to turn on the water heater. At night, I also make sure that the doors and windows are locked and that the blinds are down for security and privacy. The RV also has an alarm system, but I only turn it on as needed depending on the campground. I’ll explain that later. For now, that’s basically it.” Jo paused. “Come on, let’s make dinner. Oh, so that you know, we have Internet access. I renewed the WiFi contract, so it’s ready. It’s better than using the phone because when we’re driving in Canada, cellular data usage becomes expensive. I also don’t like to rely on campground WiFi because of privacy concerns and because they’re usually slow since so many people are on it.” Jo opened the refrigerator and looked inside. “So, what do you want to eat?”

  “How about those marinated chicken breasts we bought and one of those steamed vegetable bags, and maybe we can cut a tomato with some cheese?” Kate suggested.

  “Sounds delicious.”

  “What if I take care of dinner and you get some rest? You drove the whole time and must be tired.” Kate gave her a little push towards the bedroom.

  “Are you sure? I can help.”

  “No, go lie down for a little bit and relax. I’ll call you when dinner is ready.” Kate partially closed the bedroom door and walked back into the kitchen. When dinner was ready, she called out but didn’t get any reply. She poked her head into the bedroom. “Jo, dinner’s ready.” Since the blinds were down, she couldn’t see clearly in the darkened room. Her concern grew when she still didn’t get a reply. She moved closer to the bed only to realize that Jo was asleep. She knelt next to the bed and touched Jo on the cheek. Then, inexplicably, she began to whimper.

  Jo sensed her and woke up. “Katie?” Just then, she became aware of Kate’s sobs. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  “I called you for dinner, and when you didn’t answer, I became frightened.”

  “Why?”

  “I felt alone, and I thought of Grams gone, and it’s stupid I know, but I—.”

  “It’s not stupid. It’s normal, and it’s okay. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Jo sat up, pulled Kate closer, and held her.

  Jo was very much aware of Kate’s vulnerability. Although they loved each other and got along very well, the truth was that they hadn’t known each other all that long and that other than having lived through the experience at the ranch and Grams’ death, they had not faced life alone together until now. Jo hoped that with time Kate would come to realize that she would never fail her. The tender embrace and kisses that followed were enough to make Kate feel better again. “Let’s go have dinner, okay. I�
��m starving,” Jo said, still rubbing Kate’s back.

  After dinner, Jo patted her belly contently. “This was so good! I think we may need to start walking after dinner. If you’re going to be cooking this good, I can see myself gaining pounds by the second.”

  “Don’t be silly!” Kate smiled. “It was a simple meal, nothing to be bragging about, and it’s healthy food. You’re not going to gain any weight.”

  “Well, I found it delicious and plentiful.” Jo began to remove the dishes from the table and to wash them. Kate immediately dried anything washed and put it away.

  “I think living in the RV is easy. There isn’t much up keeping, and cleaning it will be a breeze.”

  Jo was glad to see Kate so talkative and animated again. She wanted to ask her about her earlier crying incident but debated about whether to ask not wanting to make her sad again.

  “Are you okay now, babe?” She took Kate’s hand and pulled her close.

  “Yes, I’m sorry for earlier. I just—.”

  “Hey, you don’t need to explain yourself. I know how you feel.” When Kate kissed her, Jo realized that the window blinds were still up. “Hey, we need to pull down the blinds before I start tearing your clothes off.”

  Kate chuckled. “Let’s hurry then.”

  “Once we turn on the lights inside, I feel exposed. I think I’m paranoid.”

  “You’re not, I feel the same way too. You never know who could be watching out there.” Together, they pulled down all the blinds.

  When Jo finally pulled the curtain separating the vehicle’s cabin from the live-in area, she grinned and said, “now we can get naked.” Kate laughed. “I make sure to pull this curtain,” she pointed to the curtain between the driving cabin and the coach, “because the bathroom is small, and I undress and dress outside.”

  “Umm, I think I’ll like shower-time.”

  Kate put her hand on Jo’s shoulder and kissed her. “In that case, I think I’ll take one now.”

  Jo began to undress facing the bathroom door. Without warning, she felt when Kate stood up behind her and ran her hand over her back, especially the section where all her scars were located. Since she knew that Jo could not feel her hand in the area, she made sure to expand her touch to adjacent areas where the shrapnel from the IED had not damaged her nerve endings.