CHAPTER THREE
“Bye, Mommy.” Lily yelled and waved as Sarah backed toward her car.
Sarah didn’t want to leave Lily here with Jessica with Sarah back at home, ninety minutes away. It was too soon. She’d just adjusted to leaving Lily at preschool for a few hours. The long list of tasks she had waiting for her could wait.
But Lily needed the freedom, and Sarah needed the time alone. Raising her daughter as a single mother was incredibly rewarding but at the same time, exhausting. Luckily, her family was still not that far away and weekends between cousins were only a drive away. So, Sarah plastered a smile on her face and waved back at Lily.
A few large drops of rain landed on Sarah’s head. What she wouldn’t give for a few minutes’ peace and an uneventful drive back home. Was that too much to ask? She looked up and cursed. The rain didn’t faze her sister and nephew, who stood beside Lily on Jessica’s porch. Well, she couldn’t do anything about the weather, and she certainly wouldn’t get anything done if she didn’t get home first. As the drops quickened, she dashed into the car.
Lily, Jessica, and Nicky darted into the house as Sarah backed out of the driveway. With a final, hesitant wave to the trio through the glass door, Sarah pulled away for the ninety-minute drive back to Oak Grove.
The deep plunking sound of huge rain drops hitting the roof echoed through Sarah’s car. She focused on the windshield and squinted her eyes. The glass filled with water faster than her wipers, even at their highest speed, could swipe it away. Her stomach tightened and her heart raced. She probably should have just stayed at Jessica’s, but she’d never really be able to start a new life for her and Lily if she couldn’t leave her daughter for a simple overnight sleepover.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter, pain radiating through her knuckles. Damn, she could barely see the hood of the car, much less the road in front of her. She sat forward in her chair, her muscles in her cheeks throbbing from her constant tensing. Because she had to drive so slow, the sun was going down and she likely wouldn’t make it home before the sky nightfall. She couldn’t have picked a worse night to drive the route from Philly to Oak Grove.
If she thought the interstate was bad, the winding road leading back into Oak Grove was so much worse. Her stomach clenched and she swiped at the sweat that dotted her forehead. Was there anything else she could add to the stress of the drive home?
Thank God Lily was with Jessica. Those words ran through her mind over and over, the one comforting thought swirling in a sea of frightening ones. The lengthy list of things she hoped to accomplish this weekend forgotten, her only goal now was to reach her new home safely.
She turned the knob on the air conditioner and a huge blast of cold air smacked her in the face… but the thickening sheen on the window didn’t clear. Her jaw ached from gritting her teeth as she eased off the gas pedal. She eyed the shoulder… maybe she could pull off and wait out the storm.
A slight movement in her peripheral vision startled her and she jumped in her seat, her eyes shifting to the side of the road. She shrieked, jerked the wheel to the left, and slammed both feet on the brake. The car skidded out of control toward the deer directly in front of her.
She released the brake and slammed the gear shift down, trusting the lower gear would slow the car. Maybe she could gain a little traction. The tires slipped and then gripped the surface, the car straightened, and she finally regained control, stopping just short of the animal.
The deer stood in the middle of the road, her tongue sticking out of her mouth, her aloof look saying what’s your problem? Their eyes remained locked on each other for a moment, after which, the deer ambled the remaining distance across the road. Two fawns ran onto the road, spindly legs flailing as they hustled behind their mother.
At least she didn’t wreck the car or hurt the doe and its babies. The same couldn’t be said for the inside of the car where her purse had tipped over and strewn its contents throughout the car. She could drive home and clean it up later, but with the storm still raging outside her window, she wanted to keep her cell phone handy. At least she could grab that before she went on her way. But not until she moved from the middle of the road.
She could climb out and walk around, but she’d get soaked. Could she reach her phone without leaving the safety of her vehicle? Well, it was worth a shot. She stretched over the console of the car and the tips of her fingers skimmed the strap of her purse. She withdrew a second and caught her breath and then stretched again, finally grasping the handle and pulling the bag onto the passenger seat. Damn, that shouldn’t have been so hard. Finally, her hands stopped shaking enough to collect the few loose items she could reach.
After she shoved the other items back into her purse, she pressed the speed dial button on her phone.
“Sarah! What’s wrong?”
Thank God her sister answered. Her voice always calmed Sarah’s nerves. “Nothing’s wrong.” Her voice wobbled and she gritted her teeth. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, you usually text me, so when your name popped up on my display, I got worried. Are you home yet?”
“Not quite… almost.” She sure wouldn’t get any closer until she calmed her racing heart and her hands stopped shaking.
“Are you driving?” Concern laced Jessica’s voice.
She drew in a deep breath, knowing she could count on Jessica’s rational thinking to calm Sarah’s overly excitable nerves. “No. I pulled over. I almost hit a mother deer and her two little ones. I stopped the car just in time.”
“Oh, thank goodness. You had me scared for a moment.” Jessica paused. What was she thinking? If she encouraged Sarah to come back to Philly, she wasn’t sure she could resist. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am. It just rattled me a little.”
“I’m sure it did.” Sarah opened her mouth to say something when Jessica’s voice echoed through her ear. “So… why don’t you tell me more about that sexy man you met at the coffee shop?”
Sarah groaned. “I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned him. You’re like a freaking dog with a bone. There’s not much to tell. I stared. I made a fool of myself. I left.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad.”
Only Sarah acting like an awkward teenager in front of the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Lucas’s face filled Sarah’s mind, his piercing eyes staring back at her, eyes sizzling with awareness as they trailed up her body. She imagined laying her head on his broad chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her cheek. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him in close, peppering kisses along his neck, up to his ear, around to… “Dammit, Jessica!”
“Better now?” Her sister’s chuckle rang through the phone.
She could always count on Jessica. “Yes, thank you. I’m glad I called. Give Lily a kiss for me. I’m going to head home now.”
“Text me when you get home. You know I’ll worry.”
All of her life, Jessica had always worried enough for the both of them. Tonight was no different. “Yes, I know you will, Mom.”
Jessica laughed again and Sarah pressed End before placing her phone in the console, wanting it nearby for the rest of her trip home. Thank God Lily’s safe.
After one more cleansing breath, she convinced herself she could finish the drive home. Seat belt fastened—check. Hands on the steering wheel—check.
Sarah checked behind her but found only the dark road behind her. Not one car had passed the entire time she’d talked to Jessica. At least no one else was out in this mess. She slowly pulled her sedan out into the road, starting out at a much slower pace.
Rain continued to pound her car and her muscles burned from the tight grip she had on the steering wheel. Only a few more minutes and she’d be safely tucked into her new cottage and then it wouldn’t matter if the storm raged outside. As she approached the first traffic light on the outskirts of town, she took her foot off the gas and prepared to stop. She didn’t expect many cars to cross her path at this late hour, but she slowed anyway. All she needed was another deer to dart in front of her.
When the light turned green, she turned her head left and then right before heading into the intersection. Suddenly, bright white lights filled the car, blinding her. Deafening sounds of crushing metal filled the air, and her body slammed against the door. She screamed… her car spun out of control… the airbag deployed, smacking into her face and upper body and slamming her back against the seat. Intense pain shot up her arms and across her chest.
Lily’s beautiful face flashed through her mind just before her car slammed into a tree.
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Turn the page for an excerpt from One Last Dance, book 2 in Nancy’s Oak Grove series. The Oak Grove series features the Bennetts, Rachel’s family!