Page 21 of Finding Hayes
six
. . .
Savannah
There werethings that I’d missed about Magnolia Falls.
Abe and Lily.
The people that lived here.
The quaint downtown.
My childhood home, before I’d found out my entire childhood was a sham.
But this relentless snow was not something that I’d missed. Not even a little bit. My car was not equipped for it, and I was sliding all over the place as I took side streets toward downtown to meet with River.
I could barely see out the windshield because the snow was coming down hard, and my wipers were not strong enough to handle the falling snow. I squinted through the bit of opening that I could see and turned the music down so that I could concentrate on the road.
“Don’t fail me, Big Red. We can stay home the rest of the day if you just get me there and back in one piece.” I was grateful that I’d left early because I was driving slow. I pumped my brakesas I took a left turn, but I was already starting to slide, and I whipped the wheel around to try to stop it, but I was spinning.
Completely out of control.
The next thing I knew, I was sliding off the road. I screamed and tried desperately to correct myself, but it was too late.
Please don’t let the car flip.
My hands were still gripping the steering wheel even when the car came to a stop.
I glanced out the window and was relieved that I was upright, even though I was in a ditch.
It was fitting for the current state of my life, in a way.
I groaned and attempted to open my door, but it wasn’t moving. I shook the handle harder, and nothing was happening.
Damn it.
I climbed over the seat and pushed as hard as I could on the passenger side door, so hard that when it flew open, my momentum had me tumbling out into the snow.
This day just keeps getting better.
The sound of a car pulling up had me rolling onto my stomach so I could try to push to my feet, but the snow was deep, and I wasn’t making any progress.
Before I could process what was happening, I was being lifted upright as I blinked a couple of times against the falling snow to see Hayes standing in front of me.
He looked—pissed.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?” he hissed, brushing the snow off me.
“Don’t you dare yell at me!” I shouted, shoving him back. “I hit black ice and slid off the road.”
“Because your car is a piece of shit.”
“Don’t bad-mouth Big Red!” I yelled before storming around him to get my purse and keys.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing now?” he asked, when I started walking past him.
“I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes. I need to find out how I can hold onto the house that Abe loved and get it renovated like I promised him I’d do someday, without having to get married!” I whipped around so I was facing him.
