Page 94 of When You Were Mine

“Well, I dragged my entire family out there, so I’d better stay.” She laughed.

He had a wistful expression. “That was always the difference between us. You understood that spending time with your family was what kept them together. I thought it was giving them financial security.”

“But you know now, and that’s what matters. You have the rest of your life to give your son what you failed to give him the first half of his life.”

He reached for her hand and just as he squeezed it, the car jerked. “Shit.” Eyes on the road, he turned into the slide. He wasn’t going too fast, so he easily corrected. “Ice patch.”

The sky was darkening, and flurries turned to a steady snowfall.

“Maybe we should pull over.” On one side of the highway, a scrubby field led down to a slate-gray ocean. The other side was mountainous. There wasn’t a house in sight.

“Yeah, it’s not safe to drive.”

“Let me text Piers and see if there’s a hotel or restaurant up ahead. Maybe get a coffee.”

“Sounds good.”

Jessica: Hey, the storm’s coming in faster than we expected. The roads are icy, so we think it’s best to get off the road. GPS says we’re thirty-two minutes away from you.

Piers: Good idea.

Jessica: Is there anything out here? Hotel, restaurant, gas station?

Piers: Unfortunately, you won’t see civilization for another twenty minutes. Have you passed an orange lighthouse?

“Did we see an orange lighthouse?” she asked Trevor.

“No, but I wasn’t paying attention.”

Jessica: We didn’t notice one.

Piers: You would’ve seen it. Okay, listen. The highway’s going to make a slow curve around to the left. You’ll see the lighthouse at the end of the promontory.

Jessica: Got it. Will look out for it.

Piers: It’s closed for the winter, but I know the family that owns it. Let me call them, and they’ll open it for you.

Jessica: It’s so close to Christmas. I don’t want to bother anyone.

Piers: They won’t want you on the highway during a snowstorm. Plus, it’s a hotel in the summer, so it’s set up for guests. Stay the night if you need to.

Jessica: Oh, no. I have a?—

But she didn’t bother sending it. What could he do about it? “I’m going to miss my flight.”

“It’s possible. But we should be able to get you out first thing in the morning.”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. Everything might be booked.”

“Elzy?”

She glanced at him.

“I’ll get you on a flight the moment the runways are cleared.”

She smiled. “The perks of being a movie star?”

“Yep.”

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