your brilliance to help thousands of kids in Lubbock, not just the thirty who are lucky enough to get you in the classroom.” He’d reached out and held her chin in his hand. “We’re going to make one helluva team, you and me. Texas won’t know what hit it.”
Now Rich flew back into the room and tossed a baby-blue cardigan and a pair of ballet flats toward her. “I stole them from the intern,” he said.
She slid the cardigan on—the intern wore Shalimar, which had always given her a headache—and squeezed her feet into the too-small shoes. Patrick smiled. “You look perfect,” he said, kissing her on the cheek.
Rich gave her a thumbs-up from across the room. “It’ll work for today. I’ll get a wardrobe consultant on board for next time.”
Rebecca looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She didn’t recognize the woman staring back.
She heard Patrick’s name being announced and the swell of applause and felt his hand around hers as he tugged her out onto the stage. She stood behind him, chin tilted down, face carefully arranged to project pride and seriousness and approachability and family values and all the countless other attributes Rich had coached her on. She didn’t have to speak—in fact, they would prefer if she didn’t—just stand there and look at the back of Patrick’s head adoringly as she sweated quietly into the intern’s cardigan. Her feet already ached.
Patrick approached the lectern with a practiced wave and launched into the speech she’d heard him rehearsing in the shower that morning. “Good afternoon. My name is Patrick McRae, and I’m here with my beautiful wife, Rebecca, to ask that you elect me your next congressman for the great state of Texas!”
Muleshoe, Texas—253 Miles to Albuquerque
Rebecca hadn’t said a word since they’d left the fox by the side of the road, and the mood inside the Jeep was grim. Her silence felt pointed. Judgmental. Like she blamed Cait for what had happened, even though it had clearly been an accident. That said, if she hadn’t been so caught up in her own thoughts, maybe she’d have seen the fox in time.
She had to admit, she’d been surprised when Rebecca had gotten out of the car after the accident, and even more surprised when she’d insisted on helping carry the body to the side of the road. She didn’t seem like someone who would be comfortable getting her hands dirty. Seemed more like a sidelines kind of woman, used to other people doing things for her. Especially the nasty stuff.
But she’d helped, all right—had barely even flinched as she lifted the fox’s shoulders. Cait could still feel the weight of it in her arms, the soft fur tickling the insides of her elbows.
Guilt twisted her stomach. She should have been paying closer attention to the road.
She shook away the thought. Keep it light, that was her motto. If you let it get on top of you, you’ll drown.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly an auspicious start to the trip.” She was trying for flippant, but when she sneaked a glance at Rebecca, she worried she’d missed the mark. The woman’s face was as still and solemn as one of those ceremonial death masks.
A beat went by. “I’ll be marking down your Uber rating, that’s for sure.”
Cait was quick to catch it. “Hey, don’t forget I offered you bottled water earlier. That’s worth at least a couple of stars.” The joke surprised her: she hadn’t pegged Rebecca as the joking kind, either. It was good, though. It was an opening. She could work with it. “So, terrible driving service aside, how are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
Rebecca shook her head. “I’m okay for now, thanks.” The smile disappeared.
Cait nodded, easy. “Okay, well, just let me know. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I will.”
Silence. She rode it out. She could sense Rebecca wanting to say something, felt it welling up inside of her. She just had to be patient.
Finally, Rebecca took a breath. “Have you ever had something bad happen?”
Cait looked at her. “Driving, you mean?”
Rebecca nodded.
Cait reached over and fiddled with the radio dial. Nothing but static. She was stalling for time. “Nothing serious.”
“So something has happened?”
Cait shrugged. “One woman’s boyfriend chased her out of the house with a baseball bat. I don’t know if he was meaning to use it, or if it was just for show, but we didn’t stick around to see. She dove into the car and I drove off as fast as I could.”