“I’m scared, Mom,” Daniel says. He’s always been my strong boy, so for him to show fear now means he’s really scared.
I get up on my knees and lean over the seat. Grabbing his cheeks, I make him look at me. “Listen to me. Everything is okay. I’m just going to step outside for a minute. I’m not getting a signal on my phone inside the truck because of the snow covering it. I’m going to call Jeremy and he’ll come help us.”
He looks at me for several seconds, then he nods. I lean over more and kiss his forehead. I move to Kelsey next. She still looks frightened. “Watch over your brother while I’m outside, okay?”
She nods, and I kiss her forehead as well. Sitting back in the front seat, I pull my gloves and hat back on. It won’t do much good without the engine going, and the heat won’t last long, but I turn the key in the ignition and warmth blasts out of the vents. Grabbing my phone, I quickly get out of the truck and slam the door closed to keep in as much heat as I can. Looking down at my phone, I still have no signal, which isn’t really a surprise. Although I detest lying to my kids, I wasn’t exactly truthful to Daniel. The chance of getting a signal outside the car is slim to none in this weather. The wind and snow are probably blocking any signal.
I climb the small hill from the ditch and walk out to the middle of the road. I turn in circles, trying to locate a house, or some form of nearby living. The snow is coming down so heavy that it’s hard to keep my eyes open to see through it. I shield my eyes with my hand, but it’s no use, I see not one damn house around.
Crap. What in the hell am I going to do?
I walk back to the truck and quickly get inside. It’s warmer than it is outside, but when I turn to face the kids, they already have puffs of white coming out of their mouths when they breathe. I kill the engine; the air coming out of the vents is no longer warm in the slightest.
“Mom,” Daniel says, his voice quivering. “What are we going to do?”
I take a minute to answer him, because… well, I have no damn clue what I’m going to do. Obviously I can’t tell the kids that though. I’m the adult, and am supposed to have plans for everything. Helplessness and fear slither in when I realize how dire our situation is. This stretch of road is long and a good distance away from town. The few times I’ve been out this way, I’ve only seen a couple of cars, and the chance of one driving by now in this weather is pretty damn slim.
What in the hell am I going to do? Think, Gwen!
“Mom?”
I look back at Daniel and force a smile. I need time to figure out a plan.
“For now, you and your sister are going to come up front with me.” I point to the back. “Grab the blanket in the back and climb up here.”
They both unbuckle, and while Daniel grabs the blanket, Kelsey climbs over the seat. I lift the console once Daniel has climbed up front as well. He sits in the middle, while Kelsey sits on the other side of him.
“Scoot closer together.” They do so, and I put the blanket over all three of our laps. I always have a blanket in the back of my Range Rover. It stems from growing up in the north. My parents always told me it’s never a bad thing to be prepared. A look at the windshield shows it’s covered completely, and the window on my side is three quarters of the way. Kelsey’s window only has a thin layer because of the way the wind is blowing.
“Are we going to be okay?” Daniel asks, and I look down at him, then over at Kelsey.
“We’re going to be just fine. Someone is going to come by soon and see us.” I ruffle his hair, acting as though I’m not worried, while I silently start to freak out inside. My options are very limited. I can either leave them in the car while I go look for a house, hope another car comes this way and spots us, or bring them with me. I don’t like any of those options.
I jump when I hear a loud thump on the window. When I look over some of the snow has slid off the window, and I see someone standing there. Both relief and fear mix together at seeing the person. On one hand, I’m relieved that someone has already found us and we won’t freeze to death, but on the other, I have no idea who it is. For all I know, it could be a serial killer. I don’t really have a choice though. It’s either take the chance and hope I’m not putting my kids in even more danger by opening the door, or ignore the person and hope someone else will find us before we freeze. I opt for decision number one, because the chances of a serial killer looking for victims o
utside in this weather are low.
I look back at the kids. “See, I told you.” I smile.
I take a deep breath, say a silent prayer, and turn the key so I can power down the window a few inches. Wind and snow immediately hit me in the face, and I have to blink a few times to clear my vision. When I do, I’m surprised at who I see. It’s the man from the market yesterday. His head is covered in a beanie and the way he’s holding his face against the wind hides the scarred side.
“Hi. Thank you so much for stopping.”
He bends and peers inside the truck, his eyes flickering from Daniel to Kelsey. He shows no surprise at seeing me.
“Why are you driving out in this?” he asks, bringing his eyes back to mine. This close, they look a dark smoky gray, instead of the black they appeared the other day. I wonder if they change according to what he’s feeling.
“We were dropping off a pie at Mrs. Myers’ place. It wasn’t supposed to be this bad this early,” I tell him.
“You learn around here to always expect the worst. It says to expect snow tonight, then you prepare for it today. This close to the mountains, there’s no telling when the snow will actually get here.”
“Is there any way you can pull me out?”
He straightens and looks toward the front of the truck, then the back, assessing the situation, before bending back down.
“Snow’s too thick. I’ve got chains on my tires, but they won’t do any good. You’re too far down into the ditch.”
I grip the steering wheel and try to stay calm. It could be worse. We could still be out here alone. Besides, I didn’t really think there was a chance I’d get my truck out today anyway.