Chapter One
Emma
“Everybody dance—”
“Rock your body—”
“Tonight is the night—”
I held up one hand while trying to keep control of my laughter. “Hang on, I think we’re all singing different songs.”
Howling is more like it, Buster said from Carol’s lap.
My friends and I dissolved into giggles, with me barely able to keep my attention on the road. The old tabby had complained about our singing a couple of times already on the trip, but Carol had reassured us he was excited about being able to help. He was even a little proud when she’d told him we needed him for his excellent tracking abilities. So, him muttering about us, knowing deep down he was happy to be here, for some reason made the trip even more fun.
And yet, my merriment was tinged heavily by the knowledge that we were less than thirty miles from my old home. The home I lived in with my piece of crap nearly ex-husband for too many years to count. Yes, a road trip with my awesome friends was definitely lifting my spirits, but it wasn’t enough to make me forget the disaster that waited for me at the end of our adventure.
A disaster I’d wanted to avoid forever. But what was that old saying? Eventually, the truth always comes out? It was something like that…
“Another cookie?” Deva asked from the backseat, and the grin on her face was full of mischief.
I eyed the cookies in her bag and tried not to sigh. Is that why I was having such a good time when I should be sweating and clenching the steering wheel like I was running from a bank robbery? Deva’s magic treats?
“Deva, those snacks you gave us…” I glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Maybe I should’ve waited until I wasn’t driving.”
She waved me off. “I swear, they aren’t that strong. And besides, I’m watching. I’ll help keep you on track.”
Carol adjusted her knitting needles beside me as another song came on the radio. Beth leaned forward from the backseat and turned a familiar dance song up and started singing along. Carol dropped her hands, but the knitting needles still floated in front of her. After a few seconds, the floating needles began knitting to the rhythm of the song on the radio as we sailed down the highway. The click-clack of the needles hitting each other strangely added to the music instead of distracting from it. Which is when Carol pulled out all her dance moves. Of course, her hands were free to dance to the music, because her magic kept the needles moving, and before I knew it, I was joining her with one-handed dance moves of my own.
“Do you remember this song?” Beth shouted from the back.
Deva laughed. “At the homecoming dance?”
And then I remembered too. We’d gone as a group and spent the whole night dancing like morons, not caring if everyone thought we were idiots. I’d felt so dang free that night. So alive. And as I belted out the words, that old feeling came rushing back to me.
A van went past us, with all the teenagers inside waving and laughing. We’d been following each other for hundreds of miles. They’d stop at a rest stop and we’d get ahead, then a while later we’d stop and end up meeting up again on the interstate. They passed us again now as we danced, all of them laughing at us silly women. But none of us minded one bit. When we were their age, we drove a little too fast too, and maybe made some bad choices.
Heck, who was I kidding? Weren’t we on our way to try to find the ex I’d turned into a toad? Yeah, I was a safer driver these days, but I definitely wasn’t done making mistakes. Hopefully, I was starting to make better choices though. My mind flicked to Daniel and I wondered for a second what he was up to while we were on our roadtrip.
Beside us, another van sped up and passed us. I glanced at them and saw a mom and dad in the front seat. Behind them, the kids had their windows rolled down. All of them looked excited, and it made me smile. My ex and I might not have had a happy marriage at all times, but I remembered when my son would unroll his window on the freeway because he loved the feeling of the wind on his face.
My throat felt a little tight as they drove off and disappeared around the curving freeway. This was one of those times where all the rough parenting moments faded away, and I just wanted a little kid to run up to me and hug me like I was their whole world.
And then I reminded myself of everything else that comes with it, of the diapers, the late nights, the cleaning up puke, the hours creating meals and helping with homework, everything that comes with having a kid, and that tight feeling slips away. I think of having a nice cup of tea with my friends, and not being interrupted. And actually having a full night's sleep. And not worrying about where Travis was and what he was doing all the time because he was an adult now. Or at least I tried not to worry so much.
Being in my forties had its perks.
Not even five minutes later, we rounded a large curve, and I slowly hit my brakes, terrified of what I saw ahead of us, but worried I’d be struck from behind if I slowed too fast. The van of kids, now a ways in front of us, swerved to avoid a dark SUV going the wrong way on the interstate. But to my shock, the SUV just kept going, racing toward the van with the family in it just in front of us.
I wanted to cry out, but it was already too late.
The mom, who had been driving her children with dad in the passenger seat, must’ve jerked the wheel, because the huge vehicle tilted and rolled. I slammed on my brakes while the wrong-way SUV sailed past me at a horribly high speed.
My friends all screamed, sounds of terror and shock reverberating through our car and ringing in my head.
On the other side of the guard rail was a huge dropoff. Almost a cliff. If they went over that, who knew if any of them would survive? I could picture newspaper headlines I’d seen about that spot, and none of them had a happy ending.
Then, I pictured the family in my mind and felt cold dread rush through me. No, I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let a family die in front of me, if I could help it.
