Chapter Text
Going on long drives without the goal of finding a storm to chase wasn’t a common occurrence for Tyler, but he found himself enjoying it to his own surprise. He was driving just a little over the speed limit instead of going full throttle and actually on the road with no stress of missing an opportunity. The temperature was also abnormally good and even his weather radar wasn’t showing anything coming, it was as if the universe knew he was on vacation.
His favourite part of this road trip wasn’t that all the conditions were perfect for a long drive. No, the best part was his passenger, the one and only Kate Carter.
After their trip to New York, they had spent a few days in Sapulpa with the rest of the Wranglers until everybody started leaving for their time off as they usually did after the season. Dexter had gone to visit his grandchildren, Dani went to visit her sisters, Lily had gone back home to see her parents and Boone had done the same. That left Tyler and Kate at the farm and they both realized it was the perfect time for their little vacation in Arkansas that they had talked about.
They had left Sapulpa late in the morning as they weren’t actually in a hurry for once, making sure to have a nice breakfast with Cathy before hitting the road. Kate was reading a book in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing out the window and up at the sky just in case there was something worth taking pictures of. Tyler had his road trip playlist going on the radio, country of course and a calmer one than when they chase, but the mood was simply perfect. With one hand on the wheel and the other on Kate’s thigh, Tyler couldn’t be happier.
They still had about two hours left in their drive if they didn’t make any pitstops until they made it to his aunt’s farm in the Searcy area. They had been recognized a few times by people on the road, but it was expected as the pick up wasn’t the most discrete car in the world with all of its equipment and modifications.
Kate eventually closed her book, her eyes a bit tired and slightly dizzy from looking down for so long. “Is there a spot we can stop to grab a snack?”
Tyler didn’t need to look at a map to know exactly where they were, he had driven these roads hundreds of times and already had a solution for her. “If we get off in two exits there’s a pretty decent truck stop,” he replied.
“I need to pee too,” she added.
“I told you that the third cup of coffee was overkill,” Tyler pointed out.
When they got to the truck stop, they split up so they could get things done quicker. Tyler went inside to grab them something to eat while Kate went to the bathroom.
“It has to be him, that’s his truck,” Kate heard a blonde girl tell her friend while she was washing her hands and knew exactly who they were talking about. “He did post that they were taking a vacation on instagram.”
“I wonder if anyone has seen him,” the brunette replied. Kate hurried in an attempt to keep the attention off of her, but failed miserably. “Hey, did you see the person driving the modified red pick up truck in the parking lot?”
Kate turned and waited for the moment she got recognized, but it somehow didn’t happen. That meant that they were probably some of the fans that only followed Tyler on instagram because of the obvious reason and who could blame them. “I wasn’t really looking, sorry,” Kate replied to their disappointment, hoping to throw them off a little. She quickly dried her hands and left the bathroom before the interrogation could continue.
Tyler was already waiting for her by the truck when she walked out. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Already went,” Tyler replied and handed her a bag of salted peanuts, her favourite car snack.
“Then let’s go.”
“You’re in a hurry,” he pointed out, but still listened and walked to the driver’s side.
“I met some of your fans in the bathroom, so if you don’t want this stop to suddenly become very long, we should go,” she explained. “I managed to throw them off our sent by saying I didn’t see you, but who knows how long that’s going to last.”
“Yeah, we’re going to get enough of that once we hit an actual town, it’s probably going to become an issue.” It’s not that he was self-absorbed to the point of thinking that he was so famous he gets recognized everywhere, it’s just that the closer he gets to his hometown the more it happened. Not to mention that they had been on national TV a week ago and his aunt had told him they were in the local papers too. “I can’t believe they didn’t recognize you though.” In his mind, Kate deserved all the recognition and love.
As they waited to turn onto the road to get to the highway again, the girls from the bathroom drove up next to them and were waving enthusiastically at Tyler to roll down his window. He loved his fans so he did it and gave them a little wave before they took a picture of him.
Kate touched his forearm to tell him that they needed to go as there was a few cars behind them also waiting to turn. Just before Tyler stepped on the gas, the girls finally spotted her sitting in the passenger seat and the face they made when they realized who she was totally worth her little white lie.
“You enjoyed that, you can’t convince you didn’t,” Tyler playfully accused her.
“I’m not denying or confirming anything,” Kate said as innocently as possible.
***
About two hours later, they were driving up the gravel road that led to Tyler’s aunt’s farm. Kate looked excitedly at the horses in the pastures that lined the road. “You didn’t tell me your aunt had horses!”
“I figured it wasn’t that much of an important detail.” Tyler shrugged and parked his car next to the barn. “We can go on a ride later if you want.”
“Are they rodeo horses?” As much as Kate would love to go horse riding, there was no world in which she had the skills to ride a rodeo horse and still be in one piece.
“No, they are just pleasure horses. They white one used to compete in barrel racing with a cousin of mine, but she’s retired.” Tyler got out of the car and grabbed both of their bags from the backseat. “There’s some goats too farther down the property.”
“You can give me a tour later, your aunt has to be waiting for us to arrive.” Kate tried to grab her bag from Tyler’s hand, but he held onto it. “I can carry my own stuff.”
“I know you can, but I’m still carrying it,” he dismissed her lovingly. It was a fun little argument they had every single time they reached a motel or anytime they stopped to sleep somewhere. If Kate didn’t grab her stuff before Tyler did, there was no way she was carrying it herself. “You have to be quicker than that honey,” he teased her as they walked up towards the house.
“I’ll let you look like the perfect gentleman for once, first impressions are important after all,” Kate yielded and followed him, excited for her first meeting with a member of Tyler’s family.