"What do you think I should do?"
The dog whined, and its tail thumped one slow tap on the floor.
"I'm going to go find her."
Where the drive met the dirt road, he parked and got out. His boots slipped on the ice and he had to go slow to steady himself.
He scoured the ground for any sign of Toby's car. There were no tracks in the grass. On the road, he couldn't tell one tire track from another—and there were plenty, thanks to the deputies and Rick coming by. Everything was covered in a thick layer of ice that was only getting thicker.
He slammed into the truck and headed for town.
Hold on, honey.
Molly’d hada devil of a time navigating to the shop in town on the icy streets. At least there was nobody else on the road. No other cars to hit.
No red Mustangs.
She needed to get back to the No Name before Cord discovered she was gone. Except, she’d probably already blown that, considering how long the drive had taken her.
Last night when Cord had threatened to run away with her, it had shifted something inside of her. Sort of like the iconic movie moment when the Grinch's heart grew three sizes in one go.
She loved him. And she wanted to be with him.
And he needed the No Name, even if it was to be free of it. Which meant she needed to finish the tractors so the sale could go through on Monday. And Rick had left her a voicemail in the early hours of the morning that one of the parts had been left behind at the store. She couldn't finish without it.
As soon as she got the final part she needed from Rick, she’d call Cord, assure him she was all right. But she wasn’t about to take her hands off the wheel right now. Not as ice pelted her ancient truck and her tires fought for purchase on the slick road.
Nobody else out today, thanks to this terrible weather. She knew Rick was in his store, but he’d told her he’d be closing early. No customers thanks to the weather.
Once she had the part, she could hole up in the living room at the No Name and rebuild the transmission, maybe talk Cord into starting a fire. She could imagine it now, the crackling flames, the pot of chili she’d fix for dinner, maybe with a side of cornbread. The comfort of the house that had come to mean so much to her. Cord’s memories there were painful, but hers would always be sweet. If he sold the place, at least she’d always have her memories.
Finally, she angled into a spot in front of the parts store and killed the engine.
The passenger door jerked open, and Toby’s face seemed to fill her vision, made everything else go dark.
She froze, hands clutched on the wheel, voice stuck in her throat. Not that anybody would hear her if she screamed.
Not that she dared.
Toby aimed a handgun at her face, dead eyes trained on hers.
And it all faded away. The cozy fire, the bubbling chili, the comfortable home, and the man she loved. All dissipated like her breath in the cold air, gone almost as if they’d never existed at all.
As if they’d only ever been a dream.
And this, this nightmare, was the only real thing in the icy world.
She was stupid. So, so stupid. She'd walked right into Toby's clutches.
He climbed into the truck, still pointing the gun at her. She couldn’t pry her hands off the wheel and she was buckled in—too late to escape.
“Start driving. Out of town.”
Her eyes blurred with tears as she followed his order. The tires slipped and then caught and the truck lurched forward.
She was going to give Cord something else to blame himself for. He already held himself accountable for what had happened to Noah, even though there'd been others present that night.
She didn't want that for him.
