Chapter Seven
Dallas
“What do you mean it’s not coming? You said—”
I gesture out the window, where it’s already turning gray after a mostly clear morning. “You think I can control the weather?”
“I’m one little person. How hard can it be to get here?”
“That’s the problem. You’re one person. Snowplows and tow trucks are dispatched to places where the most people will be helped. Or to emergencies.”
“This is an emergency. I need to get to my son.”
The look on her face has a knot forming in my stomach. “Is he sick?”
“He’s fine. But…” She swallows hard and gazes out the window. “His dad just died. It’s why I was driving up here.”
I stagger back like I was punched in the gut. My calves meet the sofa and I sit, slumping over until my forearms rest on my knees. “His dad.” I look up. “Not your husband?”
Belatedly, I check her finger for a ring. In all my life, I’ve never been concerned with whether or not a girl was hitched. I found my one true love when I was thirteen, so why should I give a single flying fuck if this one is married or not?
“He’s my ex. But he’s also my very best friend.” She rubs her eyes. “Or he was.” She sits on the edge of the bed. “I still can’t believe it.”
“You said it’s an emergency. Is he all by himself?”
“Charlie. His name is Charlie. And no. He’s with his stepmom, Anita, and her family.”
“Is he safe?”
“Yeah. They’re good people.”
“Okay, so it’s not so much an emergency as somewhere you really need to be.”
She nods.
“I’m sorry to say that doesn’t make my little road the highest of priorities.”
“No. I suppose not.”
“Was your ex in an accident?”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. I don’t need to hear details about anyone dying.
“The doctor said it was something called an AVM. Anterior venous malformation. He had a tangle of blood vessels that irregularly connected arteries and veins. He never knew he had it but was most likely born with it. And since it was in his brain, it caused a massive stroke. It was sudden. They said he probably never felt a thing.” She sniffs back tears. “The worst part is that if they had known it was there, they could have fixed it. He could have gone on to lead a normal life.”
Bile rises in my throat when I think of Phoebe. I was told she might not have experienced any pain. Might not. Not definitely not. I’ve looked it up. Carbon monoxide can make you feel sick, cause a headache, shortness of breath, vertigo, and the list goes on. I know she had a seizure. I can only hope she didn’t know what was happening to her. DJ, on the other hand, died quietly in his sleep. There’s little solace in knowing that. He’s still not here, and he never will be.
My phone buzzes with a text from the propane company. They won’t be coming out today. Or even this week. The news just keeps getting better. “Shit.”
“What is it?”
I pull up the propane meter app on my phone. “I was due for a propane delivery today. It’s not coming.”
She glances at the fireplace, where only embers remain. “I’m confused.”
“Don’t you hear the generator? The hum coming from behind the house? There isn’t electricity this far out. Everything here runs off the five-hundred-gallon propane tank in the back yard. Once that’s gone, the food in my fridge will spoil unless we pack it with snow. The only heat we’ll get will be from the fireplace. And there will be no hot water.”
“But it’s not going to run out, like, today … is it?”
“I’m down to five percent. We’re probably okay for today, but we might want to conserve where we can. I’m going to turn the heat down. And if you shower—”
She holds up a hand. “I get it, I get it, I get it. No wasting resources. It’s fine. We once had to go a week without power when a hurricane plowed through the state. I think I’ll survive.”
“Surviving a week without power in Florida is a bit different from being in the wilderness of New York in a blizzard. Don’t get too blasé about it.”
“Blizzard? Who said anything about a blizzard?”
I show her my phone, the weather app displayed on the screen.
Her eyes grow huge. “Twelve more inches of snow? Are you kidding me?”
“That’s just what they’re predicting over the next twenty-four hours.”
She falls back against the mattress and covers her face. “This is not happening.”
I walk over to her. “Give me your car keys.”
“Why?”
“I’m going to get your suitcase. Well, not your suitcase, but your things. I’ll take an empty backpack with me and transfer your stuff into it. Easier to carry.”
Her face pinks up. “I’ll go with you.”
“Something you don’t want me to see? Devices that vibrate when activated?”
Her jaw slackens as I reprimand myself for teasing her. What the hell has gotten into me?
“Oh my god,” she huffs. “You did not just say that.” She glares at me then smirks. “Actually, so what if I did? It’s really none of your business. But no, that’s not what I mean. I just don’t need you going through my things is all.”
“Fine. Come with me then. But you’d better keep up. We’ll have to go faster than yesterday with this weather moving in.” I look at her shoes and her hoodie and go to the closet. “Put this coat on. I’d give you a pair of boots but you’d only trip over your own feet. Double up on your socks and bring extras in case they get wet.”
“Can we at least eat first if we’re going to hike ten miles?”
I open a cabinet and pull out six protein bars, tossing her one and stuffing the others in my coat pocket. Then I grab a few bottles of water and my backpack. “Daylight’s wasting.”
“It’s not even nine o’clock in the morning.”
“Yeah, and if we’re not back by noon, we’ll be caught out in the storm. Winds are picking up already.” I hand her one of my extra beanies and a pair of gloves her small hands will swim in.
She puts on my hat and coat, stuffs extra socks in her pocket, and marches to the door, clearly irritated. As if I’m the one causing all this inconvenience. I’d say it’s the other way around. She’s the one inconveniencing me.
Not even ten minutes into our hike, she breaks the silence.
“Is it dangerous climbing the cell tower?”
I scoff. “We’ll go a lot faster if we don’t talk.”
“Listen, Dallas. I’m slightly freaking out here. I’m stranded in a strange place with a strange guy, my ex just died, and I can’t get to my kid. And now I find out I’m going to be trapped here for at least another day because there’s a fucking blizzard coming. Sue me if I think a little conversation might be a nice distraction from my totally stressed-out thoughts right now.”
I chuckle, finding I’m kind of digging this girl and her smart mouth. As soon as the feeling comes, though, it’s gone.
“So the tower?” she asks, huffing along keeping pace with me.
I shrug. “It’s nothing I haven’t done a half-dozen times before.”
“Have you always been successful?”
I hold out my arms. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“I mean at fixing the signal?”
“Usually. But hey, thanks for the concern about my well-being.”
“Sorry. Of course I’d be concerned about you. I’m just worried cell service might go out again.”
“It could. I’d suggest doing whatever you need to do before the storm comes.”
“Like?”
“Like calling whomever or downloading a movie. Whatever you think you’ll need to pass the time.”
There is a crinkle in her nose. I can tell she’s making a mental list of everything she’ll need to do before service goes out again. I turn away when I realize I might like that crinkle. I might like it a lot.
I walk faster.
Instead of yelling at me to slow down, she surprises me by keeping up. What surprises me more is that she’s not complaining about it. I don’t know Marti well, but from what I do know, the woman loves to complain.
“Charles used to like hiking. We didn’t have hills in Florida, but there were always trails. You know, if you don’t mind snakes and alligators.”
Charles . As in Charlie’s father. He was named after his dad just like DJ was named after me.
My dream is suddenly front and center as I recall an older DJ sitting in the chair looking up at me. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about what he would look like. He’d have been three soon, his birthday falling in just a few days. I was hoping to be able to go to town and get a jumbo-sized bottle of tequila to help get me through the day. Now, though, I’m thinking I might be stuck with just wine.
“You really don’t talk much, do you?” she asks.
“Don’t have much to say.” I try to think of something just to be polite. “So your son was on vacation with your ex?”
“They went up for Anita’s family reunion and Thanksgiving.”
Right. Thanksgiving is coming up. It’s the day before DJ’s birthday… just another day I no longer celebrate.
“That’s nice of you letting your ex have him over the holidays.”
“Charles and I split custody. Charlie lived with him exactly half the time. It worked out well, actually. And now… now I’m going to be a full-time single mom. I still can’t believe it.”
“Yeah, well, there are worse things.”
I don’t turn, but I can feel her staring a hole in the side of my head. I walk even faster. And damn if she doesn’t keep pace the entire way.