by Debra Jupe
Jack’s body jerked with a groan. He shook his head fiercely and then leaned toward dash’s digital readout. He turned her and squinted. “Near midnight?”
“We’re almost there.”
Jack relaxed into his seat, pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eye sockets, and yawned. “Almost where? No reason to keep anything from me now.”
Katie didn’t respond right away but slowed down. She straightened, lifting her chin for a better view while she carefully maneuvered across another rough patch. “To my grandmother’s,” she answered after she cleared the rut.
“To grandma’s house. As in, over the river and through the woods?”
“Not quite. Though Nana’s farmhouse is in a remote area.”
He grunted. “Farm? Like with pigs and stuff?”
“No animals.” Katie snickered. “Let me clarify. The place used to be a farm. Now it’s a house with farming essentials.”
“Your grandparents are dead, right?”
“Yes, but we kept the home. The entire family is allowed to use it whenever we want.”
“You don’t think your parents will figure out where you’re hiding?”
“If they assumed I’m,” she paused to clear her throat, “on the run, then they’d know which direction I headed. I don’t believe they’ll let anyone in on my destination.”
“They won’t need to.”
“What do you mean?”
“Property ownership is public record. The detectives will discover your relatives own this place and they’ll investigate the area. They’ll find you.”
Katie considered this. The authorities checking court registers never crossed her mind. “Maybe. The process should take them a while. The homestead deed is in my aunt’s name. Plus, we’re several counties north. Hopefully that’ll buy me enough time.”
“It’d better. Use those three days wisely. Get some proof as to who is setting you up. It won’t be long before the investigators discover your whereabouts if they’re focused on locating you.”
“I’m willing to risk it. The house is difficult to find, even using a map, unless you know the location.”
Jack turned his head and gazed outside. “Wherever we are, it’s dark as hell.”
The car dipped then slid as they drove across another obscure pothole. Jack’s palms flew to the dash. “Slow down,” he said raising his voice. “You’re driving too fast.”
“We’re fine. I’ve driven this road zillions of times.”
The auto leapt from another incline. Jack swore quietly and shifted in his seat. “You’re a definite expert in knowing where all the holes are. Have you found them zillions of times?”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but this route is nothing but holes,” she snapped.
The jeep’s bouncing headlamps continued to guide them down the bumpy path. Tires plunged into deep ridges, shaking the vehicle. The engine reared as it fought to climb the uneven terrine’s rough hills.
“Damn,” Jack shouted, after they’d hit one of the deeper ruts. “This is bad. We ought to turn around and go back before the frame breaks in half.”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
Neither spoke. Katie kept her eyes glued to the road. Jack seemed to be in a foul mood. If his disposition didn’t change soon, and let up about her driving skills, he may be dodging the potholes on foot.
The silence continued. Seconds stretched into minutes. If quiet could scream it would sound like the nothingness within the contents of her vehicle.
“Jack?” Katie asked her voice barely above a whisper. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
She slowed the car and looked at him. “What clued you in that I was going to run?”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “First thing I’d do if I were in your situation. Actually, I took off too.” He tossed his hair back. “Though my circumstances are different, I also did a disappearing act.”
“Right. You chose to return home, instead of staying in Dallas—.”
She stopped. In the matter of a few hours, she’d brought the sore subject up three times. She hesitated to voice anything again, especially knowing how uncomfortable the topic was for him.
“You can say it. I screwed up.” His hands rested in his lap and fingers interlocked.
“I don’t understand why you’re still under such scrutiny. Your story is old news now. I mean, if she hadn’t made a big deal out of everything this wouldn’t even be newsworthy. I’m sure stuff like this happens all the time.”
“I can’t say too much due to the legalities, but yeah, you’re right.” He scowled. “The whole thing is about money. For her. The reason this story remains in the local headlines is because she and her new attorney keep it circulating.”
“I read the accounts. You don’t come off well.”
He lifted a shoulder.
“You have a side too, don’t you?”
“Everyone does.”
“You’ve been quiet. Why not put your version out so people will know she isn’t exactly an innocent?”
“The legal aspects, for one thing,” Jack emphasized. “I’d rather my account be revealed in court than in the media, since their tendency is to twist a person’s words. Plus a counter attack either makes me seem pathetic or a dick.”
“So what exactly happened? I mean if you want to tell me.”
Jack released a huge sigh. “You’re aware that I worked for one of the biggest law firms in the Dallas area. My specialty was handling faulty claims against insurance companies, or I represent establishments who are being sued after they denied entitlements. Jenna owns an agency that needed my services. To prepare,” he stopped to swipe his brow. “She and I met. First in the office...we spent a lot of time together. Things became more informal. We saw each other after hours, for meals, and...” He stopped. “You know the rest.”
“You had a personal relationship with her.”
“Nice way of saying I slept with her.” His lips lifted into a sardonic smile. “Yeah, we were inappropriately involved.” He shook his head. “After I lost her case, she turned on me. Accused me of soliciting the affair as a means of payment. She claims I made improper sexual advances and coerced her into bed.”
“Sounds awful.”
“Especially since the whole thing is a lie. I didn’t threaten her, nor did I put on any pressure. Everything between us was consensual. I did the work for a lesser fee because when she came to me, she told me she couldn’t afford us at the time. A practice that’s not unusual.”
Katie leaned around the steering wheel and flipped the defroster switch. “I’m sure this entire episode hurt you.”
“Hell yeah, it hurt me. She’s suing my firm and me for malpractice and personally for emotional distress.” Jack adjusted his vent. “Killed my career.”
“What about you, Jack? What about your heart? Did you have feelings for her or was it just—,” The word “sex” stuck in her throat. She swallowed to rid her mouth of sudden dryness.
Jack remained silent for a long time. Katie glanced at him. He stared at the wipers brushing across the windshield. The movement appeared to lull him into a trance.
“Jack?”
His jaw tensed. “I don’t know how to answer. I told myself this was a casual relationship. No ties, no strings. We’re two people who enjoyed each other’s company.” Jack turned to her. “The outcome has made me cautious. I decided to not get into anymore frivolous entanglements until this is over. Or the whole thing may’ve killed me on getting involved with anyone ever. I’m playing the wait and see game.”
“You’re giving her a lot of power.”
“Come again?”
“This Jenna woman. You’re letting her and the situation control you.”
“It kinda does.”
“Career wise. You have an attorney and a version of what transpired. I’m betting you have ammunition in your corner to dispute her claim, right?”
“Some evidence has been c
ollected which will poke holes into her accusations.”
“You do stand a chance of returning to your job.”
“Possibly. I can also go to work for another firm. Or independently. Either way, my license shouldn’t be suspended once this is settled.”
“So the employment front is secure. But what about relationships? You’re still giving her a huge amount of influence if you stick to your decision against finding someone.”
“I’ve never been great at that sort of thing anyway,” he said miserably.
“You can change. She may’ve hurt you, but everyone’s had their heart stepped on at some point. You have to move on.”
He went quiet again. “Who stomped on your heart, Katie?”
Katie flinched. Her foot gunned the accelerator. The vehicle slipped.
“Whoa.” Her fingers squeezed trying to grip the steering wheel and keep it steady as she pumped the break. “Hold on.” The car skidded, and pitched. A scream caught in Katie’s throat, fighting to twist in the opposite direction from the slide, but the auto continued to slip, tilting to the side. “I can’t stop,” she shouted as the jeep veered off the gravel. She clutched onto the helm, her body braced. They briefly became airborne and landed roughly into a trench, where they came to an abrupt halt.
Neither she nor Jack moved.
“Do you always use a ditch as a way to stop?”
Katie unclenched her jaw and exhaled. She released her grasp to put the car in gear and turn the motor off. “Not funny.” She ran her perspiring palms across her thighs. “Are you okay?”
“How can I not be with you handling everything with such amazing skill?”
“Not the time, Jack.” She shot him what she hoped was an evil glare.
However, the action was probably a waste since they were in near darkness.
He lifted the handle and leaned a shoulder against the panel. The door opened an inch, the edge caught in a clump of mud. A damp flow of air streamed through the crack.
Jack gazed at Katie with a slight grin. “We have a tiny problem.” He pushed on the exit again. It didn’t move. “Yep, it’s stuck. Can you open your side?”
“I think so. The car is leaning more to the right.” She boosted the handgrip. The door easily swung opened. She unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned across the console in front of Jack, and undid the glove box to retrieve a small flashlight. She climbed outside. Her feet sank into a puddle of icy slush, seeping over her boots.
A cruel burst of cold air whipped through her. Her shoes heavy, she trudged to the backseat, pulled the handle, and snatched her coat.
Jack undid his belt and threw a long leg over the middle. He maneuvered crossways onto the driver’s chair and rolled from the car with a soft groan.
Outside, he extended his torso backward, holding his spine with both hands and lengthened his body. He lifted a foot and examined his mud-covered running shoe.
“My best pair.”
“Won’t be after tonight.”
“Touché.”
Katie shined the light at the front of the vehicle. The wheels were wedged into sludge, although the back tires appeared to be okay. “This area must have had a lot of rain recently.”
“Really?” Jack snatched the penlight from her and pointed the beam at the jeep.
“Stop being so snippy.”
“I’m not being anything, Katie.”
“You’ve been sulking since we left. If I’m such a pain, then you shouldn’t have come with me.”
“Somebody needs to keep you out of trouble, although my efforts always seemed to bite me in the ass.”
Katie crossed her arms in front of her and turned away. “Well, excuse me for trying to save myself.”
“I don’t to excuse you for anything. We wrecked in the heart of nowhere, at night, and in the rain.” He paused and glanced around. “We’ll need to use our cells to call for help, though I have no clue if they’ll work. I’m pretty sure the towers are limited in these remote parts.”
“You’re overreacting. The damage doesn’t look that bad. Nana kept a tractor in the barn. We can use it to pull the jeep out.”
Jack glared at her and shook his head. “Not now. It’s too dark. We need to find out how bad we’re wrecked.”
“We’re stuck. Not wrecked.”
“You don’t know that. We can’t go dragging the car through the mud without knowing for sure. We might make matters worse. Besides, Nana’s house isn’t just around the corner, is it?”
“It’s not that far.”
“How not that far?”
“About a mile. Maybe two.” She took a step. “If we start now, we’ll arrive before sun up.”
Oversized raindrops dotted their skin as a haunting wail from a lone coyote ricocheted into the disturbing atmosphere.
“You can be there before sunrise. I can’t see a thing,” he held up the tiny light,” even with your powerful flashlight. And I’m not walking in this shit, in the dark, while it’s raining with—vampires howling looking for a meal.”
“Werewolves howl. Vampires don’t have reflections.”
“I stand corrected. I’m still not going anywhere.”
“Well, what are you going to do?”
“I’m staying put. I noticed you packed a pillow and blankets. That’ll work for me.” He leaned in and popped the back of the jeep, and marched to the rear. He raised the hatch, grabbed several pieces of luggage, and dragged them to the front seat, tossing them inside. “I’m sleeping here. I’ll worry about the car and its issue in the morning.” Hoisting the remainder of their bags under his arms, he traipsed through the slush, carrying their things to the driver’s seat. He shoved them in and slammed the door.
“So you expect me to walk to Nana’s by myself?”
He shrugged. “Up to you.” He treaded to the backside again and sat on the edge, propping a foot in front of him to untie his shoe laces. He tossed the muddy shoes into the passenger floor board. “There’s barely enough room for two.” He scooted farther inside as he lowered the hatch. “But I’ll share.”
Chapter 13
“You’ll what?” Katie put her hands on her hips and scowled at the near closed hatch. How dare he offer to share her vehicle? Who did this guy think he was?
Jack raised the flap a bit to peer from underneath. “I’m willing to split the backseat with you.”
“Excuse me. This is my car, my trip and my—,”
“Not a vacation. You’re running away,” he interrupted. “To hide.”
“Whatever. It’s still my escape. You weren’t invited.” She directed a thumb at her chest. “I’m calling the shots.”
He released the handle letting the door elevate. “If you expect me to go to Nana’s in the middle of this monsoon, in the dark, then your happy ass is going to have to carry me while holding an umbrella over my head.”
She gazed upward, flattening a palm in front of her, allowing the tiny droplets to bounce off her skin. “It’s not raining that hard.”
“Hard enough.”
Katie bit her tongue so not to argue. The drizzle wasn’t as fierce as he insinuated, though she had to admit with the strong wind gusts and the holey road, a hike on foot didn’t exactly appeal to her either.
Scooting to the rear, Jack leaned between the middle and backseat to release the lever, ramming the second seat down to make more room although he was still too big for the confined area. “Those are my terms. You can’t go by ’em, then I’m staying put.” He lengthened his body, doing his best to lay straight and undid the top snap of his blue jeans. Zipper parted, he raised his hips to slide them down his legs.
Katie walked to the opening and stared inside with a frown. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking my pants off.” He shoved them over his ankles. “Should be obvious.”
“I can see that. The question is why?”
“The bottoms are muddy and wet, which will make sleeping in an already uncomfortable situation worse.” He pulle
d his jeans away from his feet, tossed them over the front passenger seat, and then he leaned forward to grab the hatch. “Nighty Night. Wake me when you get that tractor here.” He tilted his body outside and tugged the grip.
A boom cracked from overhead. The sky opened and a downpour gushed. A stitch of panic rose in Katie’s chest as large drops pounded the top of her head. “Jack. Wait.” She tried to hurry through the slop, grabbing the flap just before it latched.
An ornery grin spread across his face. “Change your mind?”
She shot him an exasperated glare as she climbed inside. She lifted her legs, and rotated on her butt toward the front of the vehicle, then proceeded to take off her muddy boots and socks. After she tossed them to where his lay, she ran her hands down her jeans to wipe away the excess grime.
His gaze glided over her dirty denims. “You’re going to leave those nasty clothes on?”
She nodded, struggling with every estrogenic hormone to avert her attention from his bare, muscular legs. “I think it would be more appropriate given the circumstances,” she said in a tight, throaty voice. She swallowed and turned away, catching a glimpse of the large bulge situated in the middle his boxers.
Jack stretched across the seat to his duffle, raised the fold, and removed a pair of sweatpants. He slipped them on and then glanced at her. “Better?”
Not really. “Those will keep you warmer.”
He returned to his bag and rummaged inside, bringing out several rolled up shirts.
She gestured at the bundle. “What are you doing?”
“I assume because of the rainstorm, you’re cancelling your midnight stroll to Nana’s.” He used the sleeves to bind them together. “You only brought one pillow, and it belongs to you. You’ll want to sleep on it. I’ll use these to prop my head. But we’ll have to share the blanket. It’s already cold. The rain will make the night even colder, and I don’t have anything to improvise cover.” He threw her a warning look as he bent to reclose the backdoor. “You may want to rethink wearing those soaked jeans.”
Raindrops had peppered her shirt, but the fabric wasn’t so wet. It would dry soon, and was tolerable. Her pants were a different story. Like his, mud had caked around the bottoms and they were soaked through. The moisture traveled to her calves, so high that even her knees were damp. To sleep waterlogged and next to Jack would be a challenge.