Jace
Rain splatters the window as we drive out of Hope on the mountain road. The SUV is newly acquired since I got the sign-off to drive again.
Kayla sits in the passenger seat, frowning at her phone. “The retreat’s still on, as far as I can tell.”
She glances up at the mountain and the gray cloud looming behind it. “Maybe this will pass.”
The storm has been brewing all week, but I’m not going to let a little rain stop me from spending time with Kayla.
Besides, the retreat is only an hour away. We’ll be tucked up in a log cabin by the time the heavy rain hits.
In the past few days, I’ve been to every yoga class Kayla teaches. I like watching her stretch. I like her ass in the yoga pants that hug her curves, and I like the cool, calm confidence she exudes. She’s a woman who’s comfortable in her space, and her calmness is nice to be around.
Also, some of the men were grumbling about taking yoga, and I want to make sure none of them disrespect her by saying anything negative in class.
I’m not sure what I’m going to find at the meditation retreat.
Kayla told me there are separate sleeping quarters for the men and women, unless you book a couples cabin.
Hell, I’ve been dropped into far worse situations.
Coming under live fire, carrying wounded teammates through minefields, hiking for days in the desert to rescue hostages.
But I’ve never spent two days doing nothing but deep breathing and chanting.
My palms get sweaty just thinking about all that time alone with my mind.
However, this is a date, and I’m going to treat is as such.
“Look in the glove box.”
Kayla glances up from her phone. “Huh?”
I reach across the console and take the phone out of her hand. “This is a date, and since talking may be frowned upon at the retreat, the date starts now.” I slip her phone into the side panel of the driver's door.
Kayla peers at me as if she’s unsure to be mad or not.
“So open the glove box.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “What’s in there? A raccoon or something?”
I wonder if she’ll ever stop being suspicious of me. I guess that’s my own fault for teasing her every chance I get.
“You’ll have to open it and find out.”
Tentatively, she unclasps the glove box latch and pulls it open an inch. When no raccoon appears, she pulls it fully open.
Inside is a cardboard box wrapped with a silky, deep purple bow. The woman who served me at the bakery in town did all that. I was just going to bring the cupcake, but she assured me that if it was for a woman, then I needed the bow. Judging by the look on Kayla’s face, she was right.
“You got me something from Sweet you know that, right?”
She shakes her head. “I was always big at school. I got teased for it. Like I didn’t have the right to take up space.”
“Fuck.” Now I really am an asshole. “I’m sorry. People are assholes. But I wasn’t trying to be one. You look pretty damn perfect to me. And I was just being a dick trying to make conversation.”
She keeps looking out of the window, and I hate that she still holds onto the pain about this. That she worries about taking up space because some assholes at school judged her by her size and were too stupid to see her real beauty.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
She peers at me, suspicious again.
“You can give me a dressing down. Tell me something that irritates you about me.”
“Only one thing?” She smiles, and I’m pleased to see it back on her face.
“Only one. I do have feelings, you know.”
She chuckles. “Okay. Let me think.”
She peers out the window at the rain lashing against it. It’s getting even harder, and I turn a corner to find puddles on the road. If we meet anyone coming the other way, this could be bad. But there’s nowhere to stop and wait this out.
I don’t want to share my concerns with Kayla, so I focus on the road and taking it slow, and give her a smile as if I’ve got no cares in the world.
“I knew you wouldn’t find anything irritating about me.”
She turns with a big eye-roll. “I was thinking about which irritating thing to choose.”
“Ouch.” I hold my hand to my chest, mock offended. “And I thought I was the asshole.”
My phone buzzes in the console. It’s hooked up to the car through Bluetooth, and it’s Grant.
“Are you out of this rain?”
He sounds concerned, and I glance at Kayla; she’s clasping the sides of the seat again.
“We’re still on the road, had to take a back road to the retreat. Why, what’s up?”
“A tree’s down on Mountain View Road. It’s blocking access.”
That’s the road we should have taken if I hadn’t been so distracted by Kayla. It’s lucky we missed it, or we could have gotten caught by the downed tree.
“The river’s swollen. There are concerns of flash flooding.”
“Shit.” Trust Grant to check on us. I’ve gotten to know the ex-Navy SEAL over the past few weeks. He came for one of the weekend retreats but ended up staying. I think it’s because of a certain woman who works in the bakery, but the guy’s as shy with women as he is capable with everything else.
He’s a solid guy, and if he thinks the weather’s bad, then I’m going to listen.
“How close are we to the Wild Way?” I ask Kayla.
The Wild Way is a river that meanders down the mountain.
In places it’s a trickle, and in others it’s a churning waterfall.
She peers at her phone, and at the same moment a one-lane bridge comes into view on the road ahead of us.
I put the brakes on, but it’s too dangerous to pump them hard.
The water under it is high, but there’s nowhere to go but forward.
I grip the steering wheel hard and steer us over the narrow bridge and out the other side.
There’s a rest area on the other side, and I pull over for a breather. Rain lashes the car from all sides, and I can barely see the road. This isn’t a safe time to be heading further into the mountains.
“We should turn back.”
Grant is still on the line, and he says something, but the signal is too broken, and his voice is crackly. Then he cuts out. At the same moment, there’s a roaring noise. I turn in my seat and can just make out the murky waters of the river behind us.
“Shit.” I put the car in drive and floor it. The tires spin, and we jump a few feet up the road. The tires skid and I grasp the wheel, but the road is too slippery. The car goes sideways into the bushes and bounces off the compacted earth of the bank.
We lurch forward and back, and the engine dies. Through the rain-splattered windshield, I see the hood is dented. I try the engine, but the car won’t start.
“Are you okay?”
Kayla is wide-eyed and gripping the seat, but before she can answer, the roar behind us grows louder, and there’s a loud crack followed by a crash.
I turn in my seat to find the bridge we just crossed is gone. The river churns angry and brown, spilling over onto the road where we were moments ago.
Kayla’s staring too, and we look at each other. The bridge has been taken out by a flash flood, the car won’t start, and it’s pouring down rain. We’re trapped.