Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
I kept the SUV crawling forward, my jaw clenched.
“I see a neon sign!” Ellie pointed at the passenger window. “I think it might be a gas station. Up there on the right.”
I couldn’t even see the road to turn right on, but I spotted the sign Ellie had seen and followed it like the North Star, praying another car wouldn’t come out of nowhere and hit us.
“The lights are on inside,” Ellie said with relief. “I think it’s still open.”
I pulled into the station’s service lot and put the car in park. “I’ll go in and ask what’s around here.”
“Okay,” she said. “If I can get service, I’m going to try to call Winnie and let her know we might not be back in the morning.”
I jumped out and hurried into the store. The old guy at the register was watching the news on a television behind the counter. On the screen I saw cars buried in snow, drifts that reached the tops of front doors, and radar showing that the storm was still building in intensity with no signs of letting up, from the Dakotas across the Great Lakes.
“Where’s that footage from?” I asked.
“Minnesota.” The guy scratched his grizzled gray beard. “They’ve gotten fifteen inches so far, and it ain’t stopping. That’s what’s coming our way.”
“I thought we were only supposed to get ten inches or so.”
The guy cackled. “When have those idiots ever been right about anything? You can’t know what Mother Nature’s gonna do before she does it. She’s a woman!”
I nodded grimly, eyeing the snowfall predictions that showed our edge of the state with possible lake effect snow reaching twenty-four inches over the next couple days. “Right.”
“You’re not on the road in this, are you?”
“I was.”
He shook his head. “Best take shelter while you can, and maybe stock up on some groceries. I’m closing here soon. I just live over there”—he gestured toward the store windows—“but the walk’s only gonna get worse.”
“Is there a hotel or anything nearby?”
“There’s a motel just up the way, but it’s usually full up this time of year with cross-country skiers.” He shrugged. “Worth a try, though.”
“Okay.” I glanced out the door at the headlights of my SUV. “You gonna be open a few more minutes?”
“Sure. Name’s Milton, by the way.”
I headed for the door. “Thanks, Milton. I’ll be right back.”
It took some effort to push the glass door open in the gusting wind. When I was back behind the wheel, I looked at Ellie. “Did you talk to Winnie?”
“I left her a message.”
“What did you say?”
“That it’s possible we might not be home tonight and to ask Desmond to cover my eleven o’clock tasting tomorrow just in case.”
“We might not even be able to open tomorrow. I saw the news. It’s bad.”
“How bad?”
“Like two feet of snow coming our way bad.”
“Shit! What are we going to do tonight?”
I exhaled. “There’s a motel up the road, but the guy said it’s usually full this time of year.”
“Should we try it anyway?”
“We don’t have much choice. I can’t drive in this.”
“Okay.”
“And I think we should get some groceries. Given what’s coming our way, things might not be open tomorrow. And who knows how long we’ll be stuck here?”
Her eyes widened. “You really think it’s that bad?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. And I’m starving.”
“Me too.” Groaning, she dropped her head back on the seat. “God, why didn’t I cancel that stupid dinner?”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. No point in saying I told you so—she was miserable enough.
“And why did you have to talk so much? If you hadn’t stood around regaling them with the story of how you dunked me fifty times, we’d be home by now.”
Okay, fuck nice.
“Excuse me, but I was the one who said you shouldn’t try to drive three hours north in a blizzard.”
She fumed silently for ten seconds, but she couldn’t argue.
“Come on,” I said, taking the edge off my tone. “It won’t do us any good to fight. Let’s grab some snacks. We’re both hungry and tired.”
We hurried into the store, where I waved at my friend Milton behind the counter. After grabbing some chips, cookies, protein bars, a toothbrush and toothpaste, I placed everything on the counter and found Ellie in an aisle stocked with protein bars and bags of granola. She studied each package, occasionally picking one up, reading the ingredients, and putting it back, like we had all day.
“What are you looking for?” I asked her impatiently.
“I don’t know. Something that hasn’t been on this shelf for two years?”
“Pick something, okay? I want to get over to that motel and see if they have room.”
She looked at me. “What will we do if they don’t?”
“Just hurry up.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Stop bossing me around. I’ve had enough of you.”
“Well, sorry to say, we’re stuck with each other for at least the night, maybe longer.”