Flynn(5)

“I might not be able to help out tomorrow because I’ll have a calf to look after.”

“That’s fine honey. I understand.” She winked at Flynn.

Emily grabbed her coat and Flynn held the door open for her. She unlocked the truck and slid in beside him and then pulled up her coat collar.

“It’s gonna snow.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Can we still go to the store?”

“That’s where I’m heading.”

“I need more period pads.”

Flynn felt himself coloring up. He’d forgotten just how grown up she was until a few weeks after her thirteenth birthday when she’d gotten her first period.

“Sure honey, we can get some of those too.”

“I want the ones like on the commercial I saw on the TV.”

“Then you’ll have to show me.”

He saw no need to pay attention to those sorts of things, but he guessed Emily did.

Flynn pulled into the parking lot of the local grocery store just as the snow began swirling around. He and Emily got out and rushed inside to get out of the cold wind. He grabbed a cart and they headed down the first aisle.

“Gran said to get sprinkles for the cupcakes. People like them and Uncle Shane will get more money,” said Emily pulling on his arm.

He smiled. His brother was running for re-election and Emily had taken it upon herself to make sure her uncle would still be sheriff. With his daughter as part of his campaign team, how could his younger brother lose that race?

****

Natalie had never been so cold in all her life. Her teeth chattered as she got back in the car after filling it with gas. The tips of her fingers were numb. She blew across them. Growing up in Florida had obviously thinned her blood. Choosing to come to Montana in the middle of winter probably wasn’t the smartest idea. However, now she knew she had a daughter and where she lived, the need to see and meet her was her top priority.

The area was certainly beautiful with its snowcapped mountains and valleys. At least her child had been raised in wide open spaces and close to nature. She wondered if she rode a horse, was an outdoorsy sort of girl, or maybe a bookworm like she’d been.

The snow fell faster and harder on her car. She turned on the windshield wipers and clapped her hands together. She’d never driven in snow before. Maybe she’d head into Timber Creek, check into the motel room she’d booked before she’d left Orlando, get a good night’s sleep, and then by morning it might have stopped. She’d get an early start finding Flynn Malone’s ranch. But something in her heart told her she had to at least find its location tonight so she could sleep with an image of where her little girl called home.

Natalie pulled out of the gas station’s lot and made her way back to the main road. She turned up the windshield wipers a notch, hoping it would clear her vision, but nothing was helping. Gripping the steering wheel like it was going to disintegrate if she didn’t, she focused on the road ahead. She was scared. Daylight was fading fast, and the snow was coming at the car at every angle possible.

She knew she didn’t have much farther to go. She’d programmed the GPS on the rental car and knew the road where the Malone ranch was located was only half a mile ahead.

Feeling the car’s back wheels beginning to slide, she grabbed the wheel even tighter.

The road in question was up ahead. She put her foot down when she got to a hill and then eased off the accelerator as she got to the top.

The ranch.

She couldn’t miss it. It was to her left. Her daughter was in there somewhere. She took her eyes off the road, wondering what she was going to say when she arrived at the front door. All the way on the plane ride to Montana she’d rehearsed how she was going to introduce herself. Back then it had seemed easy, but now bile rose in her throat thinking about it. Seeing her and Jon’s offspring for the very first time made her hands shake.

Natalie hadn’t been paying attention and a deer sprang from nowhere and ran in front of her car. She panicked, hit the brakes, and the car began to spin, careening out of control. She hit the brakes again, realizing that she’d made a dumb mistake because before she could get control back, the car was heading toward a snow packed ditch. It was almost like it was happening in slow motion. The car spun again and bang, it was halfway in the ditch. She opened the door and looked at the back of the car. No way could she reverse or accelerate out with the snow halfway up the rims of the tires.

Slamming the steering wheel, she swore. She was stuck. She was this close to her child and was going nowhere. She reached for her purse and dug out her phone, hoping the road assistance service she’d subscribed to would come and pull her out.