“Hello? Are you okay?”
Nobody answered. Her heart lurched in her chest. They must be hurt.
She stuck her head inside and called again. The car was empty. They’d gotten out. That explained the open door. She took another look around. A purse sat on the floor on the passenger’s side, its contents spilled on the floor. She recognized that enormous bag.
Mrs. Phillips.
Jesse’s mom.
“What are you doing out on a night like this?” she muttered. Jesse would be frantic if he knew his mother was out in a blizzard. She shut off the engine, killed the lights, took the keys and closed the door. She had to find Mrs. Phillips before something worse happened.
She slid her way back to the SUV and grabbed her phone. It was dead. The long day had taken its toll on her phone as well. She couldn’t call Jesse, or the police now.
Torn between indecision, she looked around her. Footprints staggered their way down the street toward the walkway. Mrs. Phillips was headed away from home.
“I’ll find you,” she called into the night.
She parked the SUV and raced down the road, feet slipping and sliding as she followed the tracks. Surely Mrs. Phillips hadn’t gotten too far. It didn’t matter, she’d follow as long as there were tracks. She had to ensure Jesse’s mom was okay.
The footprints swerved toward a fence. Mrs. Phillips must have stopped there. Stiletto heel marks ground through the snow, picking up gravel. Didn’t the woman have enough sense to wear proper boots?
A bit further along, a broken heeled shoe lay discarded in the snow. Darn. Mrs. Phillips wasn’t even wearing dress boots, she was down to one strappy, stiletto heel. Heart pounding, breath coming in gasps, she pushed herself harder.
Ahead of her, a motion light flipped on. Mrs. Phillips was illuminated in its glare.
“Mrs. Phillips. It’s me. Hailey Masters. Come here. Stop, please. I’ll help you out of the cold.” For a moment, it seemed her voice went unheard; then her quarry staggered against the fence and turned back.
Her long winter coat was unfastened. Her hat was askew, but she was okay. Hailey covered the distance in a few short strides and she flung her arms around Mrs. Phillips.
“I’m so glad I found you.” Her voice cracked and she swallowed back tears of relief. “Come this way. My car’s just over here. Let’s get you inside, out of the cold.”
“Hailey?” Her breath blasted over Hailey. She gagged on the scent of stale beer and nachos.
“It’s me, Hailey Masters.” She buttoned Jesse’s mother’s coat, wrapped her arms around her shoulders and led her gently in the right direction.
Pity and sorrow lumped like a lead weight in her stomach. She couldn’t, wouldn’t keep this from Jesse. This was beyond inconvenient or embarrassing. This was deadly dangerous. Something had to be done.
“I can’t go home,” her mother’s old friend wailed, “Jesse will kill me.”
“No. He won’t. He loves you. He wants you home safe and sound.” He’d be angry for sure, but Hailey knew him well enough to know he’d also be relieved.
Holding up a one-shoed inebriated person was difficult at best. In icy snow was worse. When that person tried to hop on one stilettoed foot, it was impossible.
“Here, hold onto this fence. I have an idea.” Anything to get them moving. She slipped out of her thick snowmobile mitts and helped Mrs. Phillips put them on as shoes. She put the grippy, palm-side down, making them less slippery. Progress was faster after that.
“Here we go. Up you get.” She grasped Mrs. Phillips’s cold hands and assisted her into the SUV. She slammed the door and raced to the other side and fired it up. She switched the heater to blast full heat. She was freezing. Jesse’s mom had to be worse. Frostbite could be an issue. Stilettos in winter was insane.
Jesse’s mom slumped forward, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. She looked up at Hailey, mascara running down her face. “Don’t,” she hiccupped, “don’t tell Jesse.”
“Just relax. Everything will be okay. We’ll be home in a minute. Whose car was that? I didn’t think you drove anymore.”
“Borrowed it from a friend at the bar. He’s going to be so upset.”
“Let’s save that worry for another day and focus on getting you home safely,” Hailey advised, debating whether or not to call the police and report the abandoned, damaged vehicle.
“Not home. Jesse will find out. You can’t tell him. Promise me you won’t tell him.”
“I can’t. Not this time. You’ve got a problem. You need help. You could have frozen to death out there tonight.” Her stomach reeled. Mrs. Phillips wasn’t one of her favorite people, but nobody deserved to be stuck in a winter storm, risking their life.
