“Of course it would.” I cast my eyes to the ceiling, hoping for divine intervention. It didn’t come.
You deserve this, Burke.You deserve to drive the mostly naked, deluded man home to Camden. In the snow. And remember this, next time you try to force things.
“Grab your veal medallions while I put away the dishes,” I said tiredly. “I’ll meet you outside.”
Chapter Three
Parker
“Joe!”I nearly sobbed into the phone. “Thank you, sweet Tom Brady and all the other angels, you finally answered!”
Joe Cross, O’Leary’s local tow truck driver and self-proclaimed world’s biggest Patriots fan, laughed. “Well, if you’re prayin’ to Tom Brady, I’m always gonna answer. What’s shakin’, Parks?”
“I’m stuck,” I told him succinctly.
“Literally or metaphorically?”
“What? I mean my car, Joe.” The snow was blinding, so there was no one around to see me roll my eyes, but I did it anyway. “How often do people call a tow truck for metaphorical reasons?”
“You’d be surprised. Life has a way of turning the metaphorical into the literal,” he said sagely.
Right.“Sure, okay. Look, I was headed to Syracuse for the night so I could catch a plane tomorrow, and the snow got worse out of nowhere.” I sounded a little panicked because I was. “I lost control on a slick patch and ended up on the side of the road.”
“You alright? You hit anything?” Joe asked sharply.
“No, I’m fine. Only thing I hit was a snowbank. Thing is, when I try to turn the wheel and hit the gas, the whole thing whines like nails on a chalkboard and it doesn’t move. I might have damaged a tire or something.”
Joe made a skeptical noise. “Sounds like you damaged the axle, kiddo.”
I closed my eyes and grimaced, though no one could see that either. “I’m… guessing that’s not the kind of thing you could run out here and fix real quick so I could get on my way?”
He laughed out loud. “Not unless you’ve got a magic wand and know how to use it. Besides,” he added ruefully, “won’t be anybody going anywhere ’cept plows and emergency vehicles once the state of emergency goes into effect.”
“The… state of emergency,” I repeated, watching the snowflakes swirl in the glow of my headlights. My wipers could hardly keep up with the onslaught, and the snow had started to build up on the edges of the windshield. “As in, no cars allowed on the road?”
“As in,” he agreed. “You didn’t know?”
Mother.Fucker. “No. I’ve been listening to a podcast. And, um, when does that go into effect?” I asked with just a shade more panic. I remembered this from years past—times when the entire world seemed to shut down for a day or two or three or…
“Governor announced it a couple hours ago. Takes effect at midnight and goes until eight o’clock tomorrow morning, but the boys and I are pretty sure it’s gonna last longer,” he said cheerfully. “We’re out plowing right now. Rocco’s at the wheel and we’re taking turns.”
“Ah. Of course.” I cleared my throat. “Alrighty then.”
Eight o’clock tomorrow morning was, interestingly enough, when I needed to be at the airport in Syracuse, just in case my ten o’clock flight to Arizona happened to take off on time. Or ever.
“Listen, here’s what you do. You hang up with me and call the police,” Joe advised. “I know the Staties’ve been hoppin’ with stranded motorists left and right, and I’m guessing the local guys have gotten their fair share too, so you’re not alone. Everybody knew the storm was coming, but nobody expected it to come this early or hit this hard. The cops’ll get you home, and I promise, soon as I’m allowed, I’ll go out and get your car for ya on the flatbed. Then we’ll see what’s what. ’Kay?”
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed, stifling a sigh. “That’d be… great.”
Except, of course, for the fact that I didn’t have a home for them to bring me to. Or even a hotel room. I was going to have to throw myself on Caelan’s mercy after all.
I wassuchan idiot.
I’d known I was going for days, but I’d avoided saying goodbye to anyone until just this afternoon. And even then, I’d spent way too long sitting atFanaille, watching people drink coffee and eat pastries like the end times were coming, feeling kinda sad and fond and heartbroken because I was gonna miss them, and maybe a little bit terrified too, because I was going to stay with my parents for a while, but I had no clue what came after that.
And yeah, I’d sat there hoping against hope that the universe would send Jamie Burke wandering in so I’d have a chance to say goodbye properly this time, even if he wouldn’t say it back, because maybe then my dumbass heart could finally draw a thick line through Jamie’s name.
But it figured the second I was reconciled to the fact that he wasn’t going to come and I’d be leaving town for good—after I’d given Cal the keys to the little storage unit in Rushton where I was keeping a few pieces of furniture and the spare key to my car so he could retrieve it from the airport for me—nowthe universe was getting wishy-washy. Either that or it was my destiny to be buried under a mountain of snow and not seen again until the spring thaw.
