Page 54 of Out on a Limb
My brow wrinkled to match Andrew’s. I might still be a little drunk, but not so drunk that a few dots didn’t line up.
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly a lot of things made way more sense. “Everything.”
My granddad might have been the one sitting in the office.
He might have been the loudest one at the events.
The one claiming anything he possibly could as his own.
But my grandmother was the one feeding the fish.
Choosing the plants.
Talking to the people who worked with me.
I sniffed a little as tears tried to sneak into the corners of my eyes.
Andrew reached across the seat to grab my hand, holding it tight. “I’ll—”
His words cut off as a set of headlights sliced through the lot.
He grabbed my head and pulled it down, shoving me across the worn upholstery of the bench-style seat. A second later his upper body fell onto mine as the lights flashed through the cab.
I held my breath as the sound of an engine came closer.
Closer.
Closer.
“He’s right beside us.” I whispered it as quietly as I could.
“He’ll leave.” Andrew’s wide body blocked me from being able to see anything, which was probably a good thing, because right now I wanted to peek out the window.
Look to see who it was, even though I knew damn well it was Alan.
“Just breathe.” Andrew’s voice was quiet and calm.
Calm enough that my next breath came a little easier.
The idling of the engine seemed to slow.
Then it shifted.
Like he was parking.
Any calm I’d managed was gone at the sound of that shifting transmission.
My heart started to race, the sound of it pumping loud enough I could swear Alan would hear it and discover us.
I held my breath, waiting for him to open the door.
Walk the few feet that were all that separated us from him.
And discover us, hunkered down and hiding.
But instead of his door, I heard another car. It moved faster than Alan’s had, tires whipping across the blacktop as it raced toward us.
