CHAPTER FIVE
Lynn
The highway stretches ahead of me, the early evening sun spilling across the pavement as it falls behind the mountains in the distance. Even though I’m driving back home, back to my roots, it feels like I’m heading toward something rather than running from it.
I did it. And I did it on my own. My terms.
When Josh blocked me from leaving and begged me to stay, I stood my ground. I listened to his promises of how things would be different, how he was different. All the same promises he made before.
When I didn’t budge, his promises turned to insults, same as before.
Only this time, I knew what to expect. I picked up the last of my things, turned my back on him, and walked away. I didn’t defend myself or argue until I questioned my own memory of everything that went wrong between us.
Because I’m not crazy. I’m not a nobody. And I’m sure as heck not a loser.
I’m adventurous. A hopeful romantic. I might not have every detail of my life figured out yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m standing still. I’m going places.
I tighten my hand on the steering wheel as a smile spreads across my face.
I can’t wait to tell Briar everything. I reach into my purse and rifle through it until I find my phone to let her know I’m getting close.
I count the keys and clicks until I reach the “Bs” in my contacts.
I take a quick look to be sure, and then glance back at the road.
I spot the debris in my headlights with little time to react. My thumb slips across the keys, and I toss my phone onto the seat as a rickety wood pallet disappears under my car.
The bang that follows is loud. I flinch and suck in a sharp breath.
The steering wheel jerks hard as I clutch the wheel tighter.
The car pulls to the right as a heavy thump-thump-thump rattles through the floorboards.
My heart shoots into my throat. And for one terrifying second, don’t lose control plays on repeat in my head.
I ease my foot off the gas and flip on my hazards as I fight to keep the car pointed straight.
Nothing but fading light and an empty roadway stretches before me.
That and gravel shoulders with deep ditches running the length of the highway.
I’ve read about people skidding off the road and getting knocked unconscious by the airbag. Sometimes, they aren’t found for hours.
Stop it, Lynn. You’re not going to die tonight.
I tap the brake, then think better of it when the car yanks to the right again.
Instead, I let it slow on its own, inching toward the white line until the tires crunch onto the gravel shoulder.
The car shudders harder, loose stones spitting beneath me as I steer as far off the pavement as I dare.
When it comes to a stop, I sit and stare at my white knuckles, wrapped tightly around the wheel.
As the last orange streaks of sunlight pour through the windshield, I catch my breath, my pulse still pounding against my ribs.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I spit between gritted teeth. I slump against the steering wheel, resting my forehead against the back of my hands. “Why me? Why does it always have to be me?”
I let out a sigh and raise my head, knowing I need to check the damage.
But the flash of red and blue in my rearview makes my already racing heart kick up another notch.
For a half a second, I panic, hoping I didn’t speed by him on top of everything else.
For all I know, he saw me swerving on the road and thinks I’m a drunk lunatic.
The patrol car rolls to a stop behind me, lights washing over the inside of my car in alternating bursts. The officer climbs out and makes his way toward me. I lower my window before he reaches the door, trying to pull myself together.
“Everything all right, ma’am?” he asks, peering inside.
“Yes. I’m okay.” I manage a shaky smile. “Just rattled. I think my tire blew out.”
“Looks like it.” His gaze shifts past me, landing on my phone lying face up on the passenger seat, the screen still glowing. “You weren’t texting when it happened, were you?”
“No, sir.” The answer comes quickly, nerves tightening my stomach. It’s technically true. “I wasn’t texting.”
He gives a small nod, then glances toward the back of my car. “Gotta spare in the trunk? We can get that changed before it gets too dark.”
“No, sir,” I wince. The trunk’s full of all of my worldly possessions, not items that could come in handy in case of emergency. “I used the spare on the last blowout.”
I know, I know. It sounds bad. But it’s things like this, not being prepared, that opened my eyes to the fact I’ve been coasting through life rather than being fully present. It’s why I’m here in the first place, bald tires and all.
“Well, you’re about five miles outside of town.” He looks back at me. “Nothing but asphalt from here to Snowflake Falls. Tow truck’s usually not out this late. Do you have someone you can call to get you home?”
“Yes, yes. Absolutely,” I say, knowing full well it makes sense to call my brother, Logan, and also knowing I won’t. “Calling right now.”
The officer tips his hat. “I’ll wait in my patrol car until your friend gets here.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I roll up the window as he walks away, the flashing lights still bouncing off my mirrors and washing the inside of my car in red and blue.
My heart’s still pounding hard enough that each beat bruises my ribs.
I reach for my phone on the passenger seat, the screen still lit and an open call ticking away by the second.
But it isn’t Briar’s name staring back at me.
Brian.
My stomach sinks. I fumbled the phone when the tire blew, and my thumb slipped across the screen as I tossed it. I must have hit the call button and dialed the last person on earth I’d willingly ask for help.
I hesitate before putting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Damn it, Lynn. Stay right where you are. I’m almost there.”
His angry voice instantly makes the hairs on my neck stand up. “Don’t yell at me. I don’t need your help.”
My heart starts pounding all over again.
Of course he’s on his way. My brother’s best friend has some kind of supernatural power that alerts him when everything in my life goes wrong.
It’s like he gets the Batman signal in time to witness every stupid mistake I make.
The fact that he always manages to see me at my worst only makes the hot knot of embarrassment in my stomach twist tighter.
“Don’t bother,” I tell him. “The police are here, and I have someone else to call. I’m hanging up now.”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me,” he growls into the phone, his irritation as obvious as mine.
I hang up, and a jolt of satisfaction curls up my spine. Take that buttinsky.
I barely have time to lower the phone before headlights sweep across the windshield. A pickup slows and pulls to the shoulder in front of me. It jolts when it’s slammed into park, still rocking when the driver’s door flies open and Brian jumps out of the cab.
I seethe as he strides toward me with that easy swagger of his, like he owns the highway and everything else in his path. His T-shirt stretches tight across his broad shoulders, rolled up to highlight his muscular arms. He probably thinks he’s God’s gift to women.
He reaches my car, yanks open the door, and looks at me with that infuriating scowl of his. Dark, hooded eyes, almost menacing with the lack of light. But he doesn’t scare me. Not one bit.
“Pop the trunk and go sit in the truck.”
Before I can tell him exactly what I think of that order, he turns and heads toward the patrol car.
Heat floods my cheeks as I watch him walk away, his tight jeans hugging his firm ass. My fingers curl into fists as I glare at his retreating back. There’s no way in hell he’s going to leave me here, no matter how much I fight him.
I grab the trunk lever and yank it. “Because apparently I can’t go one day without Brian popping up and seeing me at my worst,” I mutter.
Damn him.