Page 61 of The Jellybean Dilemma

With my composure firmly in place, I cut him off. “Stop, Greg. I get it. Whatever this experiment was, it failed. It’s over. I’m too much of a diva, I’m great fodder for stories at parties and I’m perfect for sitting in the back seat. Thanks for driving me home.” I took my own bags out of the door to the trunk where I waited for him to open it.

Then I climbed into the back seat, wishing very much for that barrier to slide up between us so I had some protection between me and the guy responsible for shredding my heart into the raw, throbbing mass that it was.

* * * *

The drive was slower than usual, and Greg kept both hands on the wheel. The snow flew at our windshield like a million white arrows racing by. High beams were useless, only illuminating more flakes. At least it’s coming straight down. If the wind started blowing, there would be surprise drifts to avoid on top of everything else.

The hypnotic stream of snow in the headlights combined with the champagne to lull me to sleep. I woke up when I slammed against the car door, my seat belt jerking tightly across my lap and chest. My breath left me in a whoosh. Startled, I automatically looked to Greg.

“Hold on, Rhonda,” he called between gritted teeth as he tried to straighten out the car.

I’d seen him do it before, had faith he’d do it this time, kept waiting for us to settle back onto the road and go on our merry way. But it never happened.

Instead, we went careening toward the ditch, and time slowed as we flew to the opposite side of the road. I bit back a scream as we toppled over the embankment. The world went upside down as the car flipped onto its roof. Metal scraped against the rocks and roots above my head until we stopped with a dull thump.

Greg was in the back seat, beside me before I could even take a full breath. “Rhonda! Rhonda, are you okay?”

I hung suspended from the ceiling. How’d he get out of his seat belt so fast?

“Are you hurt?”

Carefully, I assessed myself. “I don’t think so.” I’d be sore from all the jerking around, and would probably have some bruises, but nothing was sprained. My ribs all seemed intact.

I felt lucky to be in one piece.

“Here, let me help you down.” He put his hands on my waist, holding up my weight so it wasn’t on the seat belt anymore. “Go ahead and unlatch the belt. I’ve got you.”

Regardless of everything between us, I trusted him in this moment, and I pushed the button. I didn’t even fall. He smoothly lowered me onto the floor…roof of the car. Then he smothered me in his embrace, his face pressed to mine, his arms wrapped around me.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” His words came out in a choked whisper.

I began to shake as the fear hit me then, his and mine. Adrenaline ripped in on its heels. “What about you, Greg? Are you okay?” He has to be okay, right? To be able to do everything he just did? I pushed away from him. My hands flew over his torso frantically, trying to feel any bumps or breaks.

“I’m all right, Jellybean. Probably a few bruises in the morning, but I’m in one piece.” He kept rubbing my arms, trying to soothe me.

I realized as I stared at him that the lights were on in the car. He’d somehow done that as well, so I wouldn’t be suffocating in darkness.

His hands gripped my shoulders. “I have something to tell you, and I need you to stay calm, okay? Lots of deep breaths.”

My chest tightened at his words, and I dug my fingers into his forearms as panic began fluttering inside me.

Chapter Eighteen

“We landed upside down, in a ditch.” Greg’s words came out slow and measured. “I’m not sure how deep the snow is, or what the situation will be once I get outside.”

How deep the snow is… I read between the lines. “Wait, we could be trapped here?” The walls felt closer, the air thinner. My breaths came in stuttering gulps. Did the lights just flicker?

“No, Rhonda, I won’t let that happen. I’ll get us out. It just might take some time, and we have to stay calm. Can you do that?” He watched me, full of compassion and empathy—along with an undercurrent that scared me but warmed me at the same time.

It gave me the strength to say, “I’ll try.”

His hand came up to cup my cheek, his thumb sliding back and forth. “You’re so brave, Jellybean. Always ready to conquer anything. I have something else to tell you, and I hope you won’t be too mad at me.”

Greg paused, glancing over my shoulder. “I took a different route, knowing how late it was when we got started. I own a place up here, a cabin I rent out most of the year to hunters or tourists for the summertime. It’s empty right now, and I thought maybe we’d need a place to crash. I didn’t mean to do it quite so literally, but I think we’re nearly at my front porch, or at least my driveway.”

The odds of crashing close to shelter were slim at best through many parts of the Upper Peninsula. A lot of Michigan’s northern section was state forest or national parks with no buildings of any sort. To land so close to a place that he owned had to be a miracle. Or some sort of fairy-tale plot in one of Avery’s cheesy romance novels.

I frowned. “Why would I be mad about that?”

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