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W-H-I-T-E-K-N-I-G-H-T
For the first time in his career, Grady was grateful to spend the day in court. Admittedly, he was stalling. Hattie had called him a few hours ago and said that if he didn’t come home and talk to Claire, she was officially disowning him.
Part of him was desperate to get back to Claire and talk it through. Most of him was terrified of getting slapped in the face and being called out as the biggest jerk she’d ever laid eyes on.
He pictured Dr. Strange holding up a single finger. One chance to get it right. There was no snapping his fingers out of this one.
“You make it sound so easy. Pippa was your high school sweetheart.” He loosened his tie and crashed into his office chair.
Lincoln dropped into the seat opposite. “Not that she made it easy. She insisted we needed to focus on our careers and spread our wings to be certain we were right for each other. Officially broken up through college, we dated other people. It was awful, knowing the love of my life was out there, but she wouldn’t have me.” Lincoln’s day had been much more sedate, and he’d skipped the suit and tie today.
“How do I even open the conversation? Claire, I know it’s only been a few days, but I’m desperately in love with you, even though you’re a cheating whore.” That sounded even worse out loud than it had in his head.
“Let’s not go with ‘cheating whore.’ How about you start with, ‘Hello,’ and possibly add, ‘How are you?’” Lincoln looked him up and down, lingering on the yellow shiner that was enhanced by the dark circles under his eyes. “You know, I think you should go exactly as you are right now. Don’t change a thing. Go get her.”
Grady rose from the chair and looked down at himself. He re-tucked his shirt, straightened his pant legs, and smoothed his hair.
Lincoln pushed Grady out the door, knowing he’d hover and fret for hours without a good shove. “Don’t overthink it. You’re a good lawyer, so pretend you’re in court and she’s an unsympathetic judge. Work out your opening statement on the drive over. You’ve come up with utter brilliance in less time.”
Grumbling, Grady headed out the door in front of Lincoln. He hopped in his Forerunner and fired up the engine. Not even the windshield wipers could keep up with the increasing torrent of snow, but he managed to clear the layer of snow that had accumulated in the few minutes since he’d returned from the courthouse.
Lincoln hovered outside the passenger door. Grady opened the window and inwardly rolled his eyes. Not one more helpful tip, as his entire, happily relationshipped group of friends had decided he was too dense to figure this out on his own and had flooded him with advice all day. They weren’t wrong. “What?”
Lincoln leaned in the open window, a gust of snowflakes whirling into the car around him. “Let her know how you feel, then give her time to think it over. And hear her out. If her defense is shoddy, she’s probably worth forgetting anyway.”
Grady rolled his eyes at yet another helpful suggestion. “Got it. Thanks.”
Traffic was sparse in the freezing evening. Grady forced air into his lungs, leaving the windows down, counting on the wintery chill to revive him. Stronger by the minute, the oversized snowflakes melted on the leather interior. Maybe this was a bad idea.
Thick clouds darkened the sky, casting one massive, eerie gloom over the region. Folks were turning in for the night, yet it was only four in the afternoon. The forecast had been updated in the last hour, calling for the snow to pick up overnight, but it looked more like a dumping was on the way.
The flakes coated the county road on the way to his parents’ house. No, these were fluffy golf balls plummeting from the sky... flake was way too tame of a word for these monsters.
He clutched the steering wheel as the tires raged against the thickening snow and tried not to focus on what a shit-show his life had become lately. No home. Balancing two jobs, the career he’d invested his entire education on, and the business he actually liked, but didn’t have time for. And his love life was about as precarious as it could get.
He didn’t bother parking around back, as his mother preferred. He probably wouldn’t be staying long anyway. If this didn’t go well, he might have to skip town entirely.
At this point, he didn’t give a shit how much of a disappointment Patricia found him to be. Come the gala, she had Ryder to present, with his gorgeous fiancée and his successful career. No one would notice if Grady wasn’t there.
He took a bolstering breath and stepped out. Movement from the barn in the distance caught his attention. Of course, Claire would be out with the horses rather than spending the afternoon under his mother’s scrutiny. Although she was a good sport, Patricia was an overbearing force of un-nature and would probably push wedding plans on her.
His toes were freezing in the leather oxfords, and the cuffs of his pants likely irreparably water damaged from the rapidly accumulating snow, but he didn’t care.
As he got closer, he heard breathy moans and high-pitched squeaks. Damn, apparently she and Ryder were doing ok after all. He backed away slowly before anyone saw him.
Wait... that’s not Claire. Wow, he really shouldn’t know the sound of his brother’s fiancée in the grips of... yeah.
Quietly, he crept closer to be sure, following the indiscrete sounds. Cozy in the stable office, Sasha, their stablemaster, was wrapped around Ryder, and the pair was making out like a couple of eager teenagers.
Recoiling, Grady backed away. What the hell? Should he tell Claire what he’d seen? Did they have an open relationship, hence the coming on to him?
Not worth deciding today. Run and hide was a much more enticing option considering recent events. He stalked toward his SUV, his pulse firing faster than Sasha’s squeaks.
His tracks from the walk over were already filled in, the snow halfway up his shins already. He’d better move fast to get to Asher’s before the roads were impassable. Nearly back to his car, he had his hand on the door before Ryder came running out of the stable. At first, he hadn’t even seen him through the dense snowfall.
“Dude. I’m sorry you saw that. About Sasha...” Ryder at least had the gall to look guilty. For once, his perfect brother looked disheveled. Of course, that was probably more from the frantic make-out rather than guilt.
“No. That’s just messed up. What about Claire?” Despite what had happened between them, he wasn’t going to say anything to throw her under the bus until he talked to her.
Ryder’s face contorted incredulously. What did he have to be mad about? He was the one caught cheating with the stablemaster. “What about Claire?” he fired back.
Jaws and fists clenching, images of the last time they’d fought over a woman came crashing back. Black eyes, swollen cheeks, his hand fracture that still nagged at him now and again.
“Where is she?”
“Hell if I know,” Ryder said.
The disinterested shrug was more than Grady could handle.
“You’re necking with a family employee while your fiancée is inside, enduring Patricia’s wedding plans for her?”
“Whoa, what? No. First, Sasha is a grown woman, and what happened in the barn is between us. Second, Claire’s not here—”
Grady’s heart plummeted. “Where is she?”
Frozen, Ryder’s skin paled. “Hiking.”
“You let your fiancée go out in the middle of a blizzard?” Fuck it. Grady’s fist flew.
Smashing into his brother’s jaw, the force rattling them both. Unsatisfied, he swung with the left.
Ryder let the first one land, but he dodged back before Grady nailed him with the second.
“I had no idea it was coming down so hard—”
“Because you were too busy nailing someone else—”
“Whoa. I wasn’t nailing her, nor was I planning on it, not yet anyway. And why are you so messed up about my sex life?”
“Why? What? You’re missing the point. Again. If you’d stop and think before screwing around—” Grady shook off the rage and backed toward his car, blowing right over Ryder’s response. “Where is she? I’m going after her.”
Ryder’s phone rang.
Grady looked around. The snow was coming down so hard now he couldn’t see the barn anymore. Sasha came running up behind Ryder. Her face was scrunched up in remorse, but her flushed cheeks told a different story.
Ryder looked worried. “Claire? Where are you? It’s really coming down out there.”
He could barely hear her on the other side of the call. Stepping closer to his brother than he liked, he could hear her shaky voice. “I was out hiking, and there were a few flakes, but now... I can’t see anything. This stupid car is so utterly stupid I can’t get enough traction to get up this stupid hill.”
“Where are you right now?” Ryder interrupted.
“I was hiking at the Riverside Trail and I started back when the snow hit. I turned onto the main road a few minutes ago. The last landmark I saw clearly was the bridge and I think I passed the sign for the park, but now all I can make out is the edge of the road, but it’s becoming less visible by the minute.”
Without thinking, Grady ripped the phone out of Ryder’s hands. “Claire, how far back is the bridge?”
She started at the sound of his voice, but didn’t hesitate. “I’d say I’m about a hundred yards past it.”
Ryder took off into the house at full speed.
“You’re only two miles from Asher and Sophie’s place. They’re at the top of the hill. Think you can make it that far?”
He heard the overpowered engine whining. “I can’t get this stupid car up the hill. I can walk it.”
Grady dove into his SUV and started the engine, shoving into gear without pausing to consider. “I want you to roll back down the hill and park next to the trailhead sign before the bridge. There’s a wide gravel turnoff right at the sign.”
“I can do that.”
Ryder appeared and swung open the passenger door before Grady could take off. He tossed in a stack of white and cream-colored blankets he must have grabbed from the parlor. Ryder’s expression drawn tight, he said, “Go get her.”
He didn’t wait for the door to close all the way before he took off down the driveway, letting the force of his acceleration slam it shut. “Talk to me, Claire. Are you at the sign yet?”
“I, I’m not sure. Yes. Yes, I can see it. I’m pulling off the road.”
“Keep your headlights on bright and turn your flashers on until I get to you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Ok.” She sounded scared. Dammit, he’d better make it.
Like driving blindfolded, the whiteout was near complete. He couldn’t see shit, but he couldn’t leave Claire out there, alone in the storm. “Stay with me, Claire, I’m not leaving you.”
How could such a gorgeous whiteout make everything so blindingly dark? Her heart was beating so hard it filled her entire ribcage, threatening to burst out of her chest. And her hands were vibrating like that little toy she’d kept in the bedside drawer that was probably covered in dust and nonfunctional by now. These were nothing like the pretty little stars that fell from the sky in the movies. These were Godzilla loogies.
Grady’s voice kept her in the present. “I’ll be there soon. It’s going to be ok.” He sounded absurdly confident in an uncertain situation.
“Are you crazy? I can’t see two feet in front of me.”
She flipped on her high beams, her emergency flashers, and hoped she kept the ridiculously red car as close to the road as possible so he could see her, but not so close someone else would run into her. Blinded by the whiteout, she squinted so she could just make out the trees that lined the road.
“Keep your heat on and sit tight. I’m on my way.”
“You’ll get lost trying to find me. Go back home. I’ll walk up the hill and find your friends’ house.”
“Have you always been this stubborn?”
“Me? You’re the crazy one driving through a blizzard so we can freeze to death together. How can you even tell where you’re going?”
“I grew up here. I could make this drive with my eyes closed.” It didn’t make any sense, but she believed him. Needed to, she supposed. He sounded so sure. He’d better be right.
She watched the minutes drag by. Where was he? It had taken her twenty minutes to reach the trailhead from downtown, and that was in clear weather. It could take him hours in this mess.
“Tell me about your hike today. Was it the Riverside Trail?” He chatted, for him or for her, she wasn’t sure.
“Yes. It was so pretty. I looped up to the Sundown Trail for a bit. When the snow began to fall, I started back. By the time I reached the car, I was turning into a Claire-cicle. I didn’t know snow could be this intense.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it dump like this. Typical, Claire, your first snow is a goddamn blizzard. Do you do anything halfway?” His voice had a desperate edge.
“Apparently not.”
Silence for a moment. She could practically hear him white knuckled on the invisible road, trying to not get stuck in a ditch or wrap around a telephone pole.
“Claire, what’s your last name?”
How did he not know? Thoughts of him filled her every waking—and sleeping—moment, and he didn’t even know her last name. She laughed with relief. “Dabney.”
“What’s your middle name?”
“Carmichael. It was my mother’s maiden name.”
He chuckled. “Claire Carmichael Dabney. I like it.”
“What’s your middle name?” Although she appreciated the distraction they both needed, she wanted to scream and beg him to hurry out of the storm. She was safe enough for now, but knew he’d rush to get to her if she sounded scared or unsafe. He was already risking life and limb for her. The least she could do was keep him safe by staying calm.
“August. After my father.”
“Ryder doesn’t say much about him.” Sure. Safe subject. Way to go, Claire.
“He died shortly after I was born. Drunk driver. Patricia had already divorced him and forbidden him from seeing us.”
“That’s terrible. Did they arrest the driver?”
“No, he was the drunk driver. Fortunately, he didn’t take anyone else out with him.”
“Grady, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Patricia married Haley’s dad shortly after and Haley came a few months later.” He cussed under his breath, but quickly started talking again, as if nothing was wrong. “Apparently, I can thank him for my attitude.” A loud crack shattered the air, and Grady cussed as a thunderous boom resonated through the call.
“Are you okay? What was that?”
“I’m good. Just a tree in the road.”
“Falling? Grady?”
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t get killed because of me.”
Long pause. Way to go, Claire. She couldn’t help the thrill that prickled over her, the hope that he was coming to the rescue because he loved her. But she knew he would do the same for any troubled creature. “Come on, it’s a nice day for a drive.”
“I like your attitude. You’re not a pushover.”
He snorted in a derisive laugh. “Nor are you.” After a long pause, his voice lightened, shifting back to safer territory. “What’s your favorite food?” He was too adorable for his own good.
“Anything with green chiles. Can you tell where you are?”
“Shit, shit... Yeah, found the bridge.” His voice strained, he cracked a laugh of relief, reassuring her. “I’m turning around now. Almost there.”
Claire exhaled a sigh of relief. Not only that he was close, but that he hadn’t found the bridge by flying over the side. She quickly flashed her high beams to show him the way. Diffused headlights appeared right in front of her, and he turned his SUV around so he faced the road, barely visible, although he was only a few feet away.
Grady was at her window moments later and eased the passenger door open, scraping through the mass of snow. Heart pounding in her chest, her eyes welled at the sight of him. His cheeks were pulled tight with stress, but he masked it with a devilish grin.
A lightness washed over her face as she released a hitched exhale. “You made it.”
“Barely. I think we’re stuck here for the night.” He glanced back to where the road should be. “Power’s out anyway. We’ll wait until the snow slows down so I can at least see where I’m going.”
She nodded weakly and grabbed her half-consumed water bottle and her winter coat. “Okay.”
He took her coat, and she crawled over the center console to meet him. Knee-deep in the snow, she rose to stand. Thanks to the glow from the car lights, she could make out Grady, but nothing else in the darkness of the night.
Legs teetering as she steadied herself, he wrapped his arm around her and held her tight against him, her worry melting despite the chill. “You okay?” he murmured.
An emotional outburst festered under the surface. She forced it down and nodded. “Thanks for coming for me.”
His eyes were as glassy as hers were. Probably from the cold. He nodded, then stepped back. Close behind, she waded through the foot and a half of snow that had accumulated in the last hour. Maybe it was two feet. Whatever it was, it was past the wheel wells of the stupid sports car Ryder had splurged on. Death trap is what it was.
She gripped Grady’s hand for the lifeline that it was. She couldn’t even see the ends of his car. He held open what she realized was the back passenger door.
As soon as she was inside, he murmured, “Hang on.”
Where could he be going? She couldn’t see two feet in front of her face, and he disappeared completely. While she waited, she noted the stack of blankets. Good thinking. Patricia would be pissed.
Back a few minutes later, he reappeared, looking like Frosty. She pulled him in onto the leather seats next to her and uselessly brushed the mountain of snow him off. Out in freezing weather in nothing but his work clothes, his suit jacket was damaged beyond repair as snow melted into the fabric. He was frozen solid, his cheeks blazing red. And that shiner was glowing in contrast. She traced the edge of the healing bruise with her fingertips.
He stilled her hand and gritted his jaw tight. “I dug out as much snow as I could around the exhaust pipe. We’ll need to check it whenever we turn the engine on in case the snow covers it.”
Grady was soaked to the skin—sopping, she amended—as the massive snowflakes melted in his wild blond hair. Ryder had been on the phone with her and was about to talk through directions. Not Grady. He’d taken the phone and gotten to her in recklessly fast time.
Shit, tears were full streaming now. She hadn’t admitted even to herself how scared she’d been.
Those ocean blues softened, and he wiped away the tears that poured down her cheeks. She didn’t sob, managing to hold back the snot-storm, but she felt like a leaky faucet.
As he held her tight against him, he murmured, “It’s ok.”
Desperately, she wanted to ask him why. Why would he risk his own life for the slut that had thrown herself at him a few days ago?
“Let’s figure out the next few hours.” Mind-reader. “Hop in back.”
Not easily in her snow-encrusted clothes, she climbed in the back of the SUV. He joined her a moment later and flipped down the seats. From under the back compartment, he pulled out what looked to be an emergency kit.
He set up a flashlight and turned off the dome light, then sat back on his heels and glared at their surroundings. Each on opposite sides of the car, they laid out the blankets into a makeshift bed. He gathered up water bottles and a handful of protein bars. He even had a reflective blanket to lie over them from his emergency kit. She chuckled as the remaining chunks of snow from their clothes had melted and they looked like bedraggled cats that had been dunked in the bathtub.
Without a word, Grady kicked off his leather shoes that were irreparably damaged by the snow, and he leaned against the side of the car. The flashlight cast deep shadows, accenting his fatigue.
Claire peeled off her soaked sweater. “I’d never seen snow before today.” She smiled with the goofiest smile she could muster.
As hoped, he grinned at her humor and let out a quiet laugh. “Well, you’re making up for it now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a storm hit quite like this.”
“I checked the weather before I left this morning. It was supposed to be an inch or two. I thought that would be pretty.”
“That would have been pretty. I’d say we’re over two feet by now. If this keeps up, I’m not sure we’ll be able to get out in the morning.”
His phone buzzed, and Hattie’s name popped up on the screen. “Hey,” he answered.
Ryder’s voice came through in a near panic. “Did you get to her? Are you guys ok?” Claire glanced at the front and saw Ryder’s phone propped up from where Grady had talked to her the whole way over.
Grady rubbed a hand over his face and leaned against the side of the car. The dark circles under his eyes told of more than just today was bothering him. Good. At least it hadn’t just been her, selfish as she knew that must sound, but his pain was oddly reassuring, that maybe he felt something for her.
“Got her. We’re safe. Roads are getting worse by the second, visibility limited to about twelve inches, so we’re set up here for the night.”
“Ok. Check back in the morning so we know you made it through the night. Sooner if you need anything, not that we’ll be able to get to you. Patricia’s already been trying to bribe the road crews. They’ve had lots of calls from people worse-off than you, so you’re stuck for the night at least.”
“We’ll be fine. Don’t let her do anything rash. ’Night.” Grady clicked off the call and tossed the phone to the driver’s seat.
He leaned forward and turned off the engine. At her worried look, he said, “We’ll turn it back on throughout the night whenever we get cold. I don’t want to run out of gas.”
She nodded and kicked off her shoes, then scooched her sopping pants over her butt and peeled them off, too.
When she looked over at Grady, he was looking everywhere other than her. At least she’d worn fairly modest underwear today for the hike. Expression drawn tight as he avoided looking at her, he flipped off the flashlight and the car was suddenly pitch black. It was too early for sleep, but she supposed they’d need the supplies if they were stuck here more than just tonight.
Cozy under the blankets, she rolled her big winter coat inside out to make a large pillow for them both. She felt Grady slip off his wet clothes before following her under the blankets. Side by side in the dark, each tucked as far against the side as humanly possible, Claire breathed a long sigh. Her visions of snuggling to stay warm were rapidly fading. If they didn’t talk this out, it was going to be a long, long night.
Brain a complete and utter blank, she strained to find something to say. In the distance, although not nearly distant enough, she could hear the cracking and occasional thunderous boom as a tree or large branch broke under the weight of the snow.
She hadn’t moved, or didn’t think so, and hadn’t noticed Grady move, but with each passing minute, he felt closer, like a magnet was pulling them together. Eventually, his arm was against hers, sending heat rushing over her.
“I’m sorry about the other night.” She blurted out. There. Conversation initiated.
Gravel coated his voice, his words cautious, his tone flat, sapped from fatigue. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken advantage.”
Had he been berating himself when she was the instigator? “I was a perfectly willing and eager participant.”
“Fair enough, but I shouldn’t have taken it so far.”
She snorted, “And I probably shouldn’t have flashed you.”
Still lying flat on his back, he chuckled under his breath. “So, that was on purpose?”
An indelicate cackle escaped from deep in her gut. “Of course. What kind of person doesn’t notice their tits and ass are hanging out of her dress?”
Grady’s rumbling laugh shook the entire car. Delighted at hearing him happy, she lost herself in laughter alongside him. After several minutes, the laughter faded. She wiped the tears from her eyes and coughed as she caught her breath. When had she ever laughed with anyone quite like she did with Grady?
After a moment of the quiet, well, aside from the world collapsing around them, he said, “I appreciated the view.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Well, I rarely share that view. So, I’m glad you enjoyed the show. I’m not usually so forward.”
The pause that followed was palpable. There was something bothering him, but would he say it?
He curtly responded, “Goodnight, Claire.”
“Goodnight, Grady,” she whispered, completely, utterly, naively, and foolishly confused.
