Read Somewhere To Be for Free Online

“If anything is going to get you home tonight, it’s my baby.”
    “Seriously?” Jamie boggled. “You drove here to pick us up?”
    Nick shrugged one shoulder in an offhand gesture. “I figured your family would want to be together, you know? And I didn’t have plans, so it’s like my good deed for the year.” He smiled. “But you can repay me with a coffee.”
    Jamie shook his head slowly, a bemused smile on his face. “Of course. That I can do.” He pushed himself to standing and staggered off to the counter, trying to work stiffness and sleepiness from his limbs. He couldn’t believe Nick was here like this. He ordered him a latte with a double shot of espresso and carried it over carefully, feeling Nick’s eyes on him the whole way. He put it on the table with a couple of sugar packets and a plastic lid but took Nick’s hand as he reached for it. Jamie squatted beside him holding his hand and kissed his knuckles.
    “Thank you. So much,” he said quietly. This was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him.
    Nick flushed a little and shrugged again. “Welcome. Now let’s go get your ladies.”
    Auntie Mimi was half-awake as they approached, wrapping herself in a cardigan, and she eyed Nick thoughtfully.
    Before either of them could open their mouths, she nodded decisively. “You are Nick,” she stated.
    Nick blinked and nodded. “Yeah. That’s me.”
    He looked to Jamie, who blushed a little and shrugged. Nick grinned at him, and Jamie’s cheeks got even hotter.
    “Nick came to pick us up, Auntie,” Jamie said. “His car is better than mine in the snow.”
    Auntie Mimi smiled at Nick and patted his chest. “Yes, you’re a good man,” she said, turning to wake up Grandma.
    Grandma smiled up at them both and hugged Nick in thanks as Auntie caught her up on the situation. She looked tiny as Nick hugged her back gently, a bemused smile on his face.
    He and Jamie hefted their bags onto a trolley, and Nick led the way out of the airport and across to the parking unit, sipping at his coffee and humming as he went. He led them to a small black Jeep with grit and splatters decorating the undercarriage and a few dents on the front bumper. Jamie couldn’t help but grin a besotted little grin as Nick patted the vehicle affectionately and helped to load the bags.
    Mimi and Grandma settled into the backseat, strapping themselves in and thanking Nick as he procured two blankets from the back and passed them over. They tucked them about themselves, and Auntie Mimi demanded Nick call them Auntie and Grandma, just like Jamie did. It was fairly customary in their culture to call older ladies auntie, but Mimi meant it fondly.
    “It’ll take a while still,” Nick said quietly as they slipped into the front of the car, “but we’ll get there. I can bring you back at some point for your car, when the weather has settled a bit. They’re waiving the parking fees, the security guy said, because of the weather.”
    “Awesome,” Jamie replied. “But it’s okay, I can get a coach up. I can’t make you do this journey again.”
    “It’s no bother. I like driving.” Nick smiled, petting the wheel. He put the Jeep in reverse and maneuvered them out of the parking unit and into the airport proper. “Sleep some?” he suggested.
    Jamie looked back at his family, who seemed contented and verging toward sleep once again. A glance at the clock told him it was three forty-five, and he really probably should sleep, but he felt bad leaving Nick awake to drive. Nick reached over and squeezed his hand briefly, flicking his eyes over Jamie for a moment to smile.
    “It’s okay, really.”
    He turned on the stereo, and quiet music drifted out. Nick began humming along softly, eyes rapt on the road as he navigated them out onto the newly gritted motorway. The roads were largely quiet and still, and the snow on the roadsides looked fresh white and kind of beautiful. Jamie took Nick at his word and drifted off to