Too Fast to Fall (Jackson Hole 1.10)

He walked away, thank God, because a tear had managed to escape and slip down her cheek. She swiped at her jaw and sniffed hard. She wouldn’t cry. It was her own fault, and even if Deputy Hendricks was being particularly hard-nosed, she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t. She deserved this, and he’d cut her enough slack. She sniffed again and scrubbed at her eyes.

The deputy cleared his throat from right beside her.

She froze in horror. He’d walked away to write her a ticket. What was he doing back so quickly?

When she snuck a glance out the window, she saw him holding out a business card instead of the thin paper of a ticket. “What’s that?” she asked, thinking it was a card for the attorney she was going to need.

“Take it,” he said gruffly.

She took it gingerly, barely touching the edges of the card.

“It’s information about a local driving class. I want you to promise to sign up. One, you need it. And two, it’ll help your case the next time I pull you over. Because I will give you a ticket next time, Ms. Stone. No questions. No leniency.”

“What?” she breathed.

“I’m serious. This is getting ridiculous. You’re too old for this crap, and you make a fool out of me every time I let you off.”

“I don’t mean to! I’m sorry! It’s not like I drive away thinking, ‘Yeah! I fooled the Man!’ I mean… Um…” She felt her face flame. His sunglasses stared down at her in unwavering judgment. Her attempt at a smile felt like a grimace as she held up the card. “I’ll take the class. I really appreciate this. I do every time.”

“Every time,” he muttered. “Right.”

“Each time,” she tried. “Both times. Well, this is maybe the third…”

“Yes,” he said. “It is the third. The third warning. The sixth stop.”

“I just get lost in thought. I don’t realize I’m going so fast. It’s kind of hard to keep her under sixty.”

His head turned slightly toward the hood of the car. “Maybe it’s time to buy a nice sedan.”

A tiny, horrified whimper escaped from her mouth.

“I bet you’d save a hell of a lot of money on gas. And it would have airbags.”

“I’ll slow down,” she croaked.

“You’d better. Or you’ll find out how easy it is to keep her under sixty when you’re not allowed out of the garage.”

“Yes, sir.”

His face tipped toward her again at her hoarse whisper. He stared for a moment. She could see her own tiny face looking pitiful and pale in the black lenses.

“Go on,” he finally said. “I’m not giving you an official warning because I don’t want any record of this. It’s an embarrassment. Drive safely, Ms. Stone. And slowly. Please? For the love of whatever it is you value?”

“Yes, sir,” she whispered again.

He stepped back. She waited, but he finally shook his head. “Just go before I change my mind.”

Jenny started the car, wincing at the roar of the engine. Normally, she loved that sound, but right now it seemed a little much. “Thank you,” she said again. “Really. Come in for a free beer sometime, okay?”

Maybe not the right thing to say to a deputy who seemed obsessed with road safety. Shoot. Jenny released the brake and pulled away. In her nervousness, she hit the gas too hard and as she pulled off the shoulder, the tires squealed. Just a little. Just enough to make her wish she was dead.

“Oh, God,” she groaned, eyes flashing to the rearview mirror as she left Deputy Hendricks behind in an unfortunate cloud of dust. Well, not a cloud. More like a tiny, harmless puff.

Heart pounding hard, Jenny drove back to town safely. And very slowly, keeping her eye on the speedometer the whole way. It didn’t feel very much like flying, but it was better than being grounded.

It might be time to make a run for it, after all.

* * *