Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Seriously. Who printed a blurry menu?
After a few sips of strong coffee, she started to feel more human. She reached into her handbag to pet Wally, her worm. A stuffed worm, not a real worm. It would be weird to have an actual worm in her bag.
Wally was colorful and slightly fluffy. Not at all like a real worm. But she loved him. Cash made him for her years ago. They’d never had much as kids, but they’d always had each other.
Or so she’d thought.
Her food arrived and she gave the server a small smile of thanks. A pile of pancakes with syrup and whipped cream beckoned.
Before she could eat, though, her phone started ringing. Aidan’s name appeared.
“It’s seven in the morning. Why are you calling?” she asked.
“Greer, where are you?” he asked with a sense of urgency in his tone.
“At a diner, why?”
“Shit. You left your hotel already?”
“Uh, yep. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Squirt, there’s a storm headed toward South Dakota. It wasn’t meant to hit for a few days, but it’s changed and heading in fast.”
“Storm? S-Snowstorm?”
Shit. Shit. Fuck.
Way to sound capable and strong, Greer.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“This is what I get for coming in January, huh?” she asked weakly. She stared down at her food, knowing she wouldn’t be able to eat it now.
Sick. She was going to be sick.
“How long until you hit South Dakota?” he asked. “You could backtrack and head a different way. Or I can fly out to you. Are you close to Kansas City?”
“Close to Kansas City? Aidan, I’m in South Dakota. I’m about forty-five minutes out of Sioux Falls.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s okay. I’ll leave now and try to get ahead of it.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. You could get caught up in it.”
Panic filled her. “This might not have been my smartest idea. What do I do?”
“Find the nearest hotel and check in for a couple of days.”
Why hadn’t she considered that she might get caught in a storm?
“Please tell me your phone is fully charged.”
“It is,” she replied. Mostly.
“Have you got snow tires on your car?” he asked.
“Aidan, why do you ask me things that you won’t like the answers to?”
He started swearing.
“It’s fine. The storm hasn’t hit yet. I’ll drive to a hotel right now, get settled in, pull the curtains and order room service. I’ll be fine.”
“I’d come to you, but by the time I get there, the storm will have really hit.”
“No, don’t come. That won’t be safe.” And she’d be fine.
Not really. But, hey, that was kind of her normal now.
“I want you to stay on the line the whole time. Understand?”
“Aidan, that’s silly. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Greer, don’t you hang up on me. Greer!”
She ended the call with a grimace. That was going to land her in a world of trouble.
After using the restroom and grabbing some water and snacks, she headed back to her car. Her teeth were chattering. She definitely needed to get some warmer clothes.
Climbing into her car, she turned the key.
There was a clicking noise, but it didn’t start.
Shit. Shit.
Oh, this wasn’t funny.
Try again.
It made the same noise. She could feel her tears building.
This wasn’t happening.
She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Would the diner stay open in the middle of a big storm?
Likely not.
She was going to freeze out here in her car. Or she’d have to get a ride with a stranger. They’d probably kill her and dump her body. It would get found days later after the snow melted.
Awesome.
She stomped her foot on the floor of the car. Urgh!
Okay. Enough.
Taking a deep breath, she called Aidan.
“You are in huge trouble,” he told her.
“More than you realize,” she replied with false cheer. “My car won’t start.”
She drew the phone away as he started swearing.
“You are going to owe a lot of money to the swear jar,” she joked weakly when he finished. “What do I do?”
“I will fix this. Go back into the diner and keep warm. I’ll call you back soon.”
After grabbing her sketching pad from the backseat of her car, she headed back into the diner and sat at the same table.
It had been cleared, unfortunately. Not that she could eat. But she had to pretend to do something while her big brother fixed up the fucking mess that was her life.
The server gave her a strange look as she approached.
“Sorry. Car trouble. Could I get another order of pancakes?”
Twenty minutes later, she was cutting her pancakes into small pieces and trying not to panic when Aidan finally called her back.
“I’ve got a friend coming to get you.”
“What? Who? How?”
“He was on his way home after visiting his sick aunt in Minneapolis. He’ll be there in about two hours. Luckily, he was close. Stay. Inside. Understand me?”
“But wait . . . who is this guy? How will I know him?”