considerate. But tonight she would be jittery, nervous, and torn by doubts. No, this wasn’t a good time. When it happened—if it happened—she wanted to be ready.
He pulled the car into her driveway, walked her to the front door, and gave her a lingering kiss. “Think about what I said,” he murmured as she unlocked the door. “Call me if you change your mind.”
From the open doorway, she watched his big, sleek car glide out of the driveway. As the taillights vanished down the street, she closed the door behind her and switched on a lamp. The house was quiet. Safe, she thought, unless one of Stella’s minions was hiding in a closet, ready to jump out at her. Maybe she should have invited Drew inside. At least she wouldn’t have been here alone.
Laughing at her own fear, she walked through the split-level house, turning on the lights. Nothing. She was being silly. All the same, she was glad Erin was safe on the Rimrock with Will.
She paused, thinking of her daughter. When she’d brought Erin to the ranch on Saturday, she hadn’t planned on leaving her there. Most of the clothes Erin liked, along with spare underthings, sanitary pads, schoolbooks, and other necessities, were here. Tori had already packed a suitcase for her and planned to take it when she drove to the ranch tomorrow. But with a storm moving in, the roads might be better tonight. She glanced at her watch. It was barely ten-thirty, not too late to change clothes, make the twenty-mile drive to the ranch, and stay the night in Beau’s old room.
Fifteen minutes later, dressed in her jeans and her warm ranch coat, she was driving down Main Street, headed out of town. After she passed the last streetlight, the night was pitch-black, darkened by the clouds that had poured in over the caprock to fill the sky. Wind battered the old pickup, threatening to blow it off the road. Tori’s fingers cramped on the wheel as she struggled to hold it steady.
She’d been driving about ten minutes when the storm broke in full fury. Lightning streaked across the sky. A fusillade of marble-sized hailstones blasted the vehicle with a clattering roar, covering the road in an instant. Worried but calm, Tori geared down and turned on the wipers. She’d driven in bad storms before. She’d be fine.
The windshield had fogged over. Remembering too late that the truck had no air-conditioning to clear the glass, she punched the defroster button and cleared a spot with her hand. Her headlights showed nothing but white. She was driving blind. But she’d traveled this road hundreds of times over the years. The ranch turnoff couldn’t be more than a few minutes ahead. She didn’t dare pull off the road and wait. The storm could get even worse, stranding her. She had to get to the house.
The truck crept forward through the swirling whiteness. Hailstorms tended to pass with the storm front, giving way to rain or sleet. Surely, this one would stop in the next few minutes. If anyone in the house had left a light on, she’d be able to see it in the distance and find the gravel lane that turned off the main road. Maybe she should call. But her purse, with her phone in it, was out of easy reach. If she braked to find it, she could kill the engine or skid on the ice-slicked road.
She pushed on, minute after tension-fraught minute, inching forward with the defroster on full blast. By now, she knew she’d missed the turnoff to the lane. But the road’s steep edges gave her no room to turn around without the risk of sliding off and getting stuck. What she needed was a wide spot or, better yet, a side road to a ranch or farm where she could drive in, back out, and make the turn.
The hail had given way to a driving, icy sleet that froze on the surface of the road. As the whiteout cleared to a dark gray, Tori could make out the road’s shoulder in the headlights. Just ahead, a rutted lane cut off to the right, probably leading to a farm—just what she’d been looking for. Tapping the brake, she eased the wheel into a careful right turn. So far, so good. But she’d only gone a few feet down the cutoff when she realized her mistake. The farm road sloped at a sharp angle from the high shoulder of the road.