Theo
I stare at the grave in front of me.
Snow drifts over the mound of soil that’s no longer freshly tilled, flower petals thrown askew from the last bunch I brought here.
A hand clamps to my shoulder. Rough, fierce. “You doing okay, ?”
Recognizing the voice, I turn to my best friend. “Been better, Colt.”
“Understandable.” He clears his throat. “I saw the bastard in town.”
Hatred flickers inside me. “Why hasn’t Cody arrested him yet?”
“No proof.”
I dig my fingers into my eyes. “I loved her for so long?—”
“I know.” He drags me in for a one-armed hug. “You should head home, . It’s snowing. They said a blizzard will be heading our way soon enough.”
“Managed to figure that out for myself, Colt.” Still, I shoot him a sheepish smile. “Thanks, bud.”
“Don’t mention it. Saw you on my way home. Zee’d have my balls if I left you out here to freeze.”
Despite his teasing, I can see the concern.
It’s been six months since Bea was chased away from town by her bastard ex-husband.
Six fucking months since my life came crashing down around me and the future I’d been planning disintegrated.
Six months since Dove Bay got her out of town and gave her a new life.
Now all that’s left is a fake grave where she’s ‘buried.’ But it’s just proof that she left me behind too.
“Want a lift home?”
“No,” I rasp. “I’ll be fine.”
“Heard about that argument your dad had with the principal of Our Lady of Sorrows at The Coffee Shop.”
“About the property limits?” I rub my chin. “Gives him something to focus on that isn’t Mom.”
The boarding school has always been a nightmare neighbor. The last thing Frobisher steers want is a goddamn hockey rink in the middle of the prairie.
I love hockey as much as the next Canadian, but goddammit, I’m as sick as Dad is of these out-of-towners flashing cash around and thinking they can do whatever the fuck they want.
“How is Elena?”
“Accusing the toaster of having an affair with the TV.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah.”
“We should get going, bud. They’re predicting the same conditions as the Storm of ’92.’”
We part ways, mostly because he won’t leave until I do. Then, when I’m on the road, I can tell he’s not going to stop following me until I make it to my family’s ranch.
I turn off just so he’ll leave, then I wait, watching him in my rearview mirror so I can turn back and head down Clemens Lane and drive the fuck out of here.
Twenty minutes from home, conditions change. The blizzard Colt mentioned hits. And that’s when I see the car, the taillights blazing red like demonic eyes through the white wall in front of me.
“Shit,” I mutter, pulling as close to the vehicle as I can.
Jumping out of the cab, I rush to the driver’s door and knock on it. Frightened eyes stare at me, darting back and forth in fear until she glances at my jacket and her shoulders sag.
She opens the door. “You work for Colt Korhonen?”
“I do, ma’am. What happened?”
“These damn Fairweather snow tires failed me again! I crashed into a pole?—”
“Are you okay?!” I scan her for any visible injuries, trying not to notice how beautiful she is.
“Yes. I was crawling along. It’s quite embarrassing really.”
“A pole, ma’am?”
“A pole? Oh, yes. It used to be… somewhere there.” She gestures in the near distance. “Please don’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel about eighty.” She sticks out a gloved hand. “My name’s Kara.”
When a gust of wind chases her words, I barely hear her name.
“Do you think you could give me a ride home?”
“Sure.”
“That’s one thing that amazes me about small towns. How helpful you all are.” Her smile’s sheepish. “Thank you…?”
“.”
“Pleasure to meet you, .” That earns me another grimace. “Not that this is pleasurable. I mean…” She sucks in a breath. “Ignore me. Please?”
My lips twitch. “Sure thing.”
I hold out my arm for her and help her onto the road.
Once she’s tucked safe and sound in my cab, I head for the driver’s seat, but that’s when I realize the visibility of before has dialed down dramatically.
I can’t even see my goddamn hand in front of me, and her car’s already blanketed by a thick layer of snow.
Fuck .
Cursing under my breath, I jump into the truck. I reach for my cell, but there’s no signal and the radio’s issuing several alerts that I should have heeded before I took off from home.
But then, if I had, Kara’d be in a hell of a lot more danger than?—
“Are we going to be all right?” she whispers.
“Last time we had conditions like this, we were holed up for a week,” I grit out.
If it is as bad as the Storm of ’92, then… shit. It could be even longer than that.
“What are we going to do?” she cries.
“My family has a cabin about five minutes away. We can stay there. We have enough supplies but?—”
What we don’t have…
…are two goddamn beds.