Not Quite Forever (Not Quite series) (29 page)

“We’re lost.”

“We are
not
lost. I’ve lived here for thirty-five years.”

“I don’t care if you’ve lived here for sixty years. We’re lost.” Dakota stopped the car, put it in park. “The more we drive in circles, the harder it will be for anyone to find us.”

JoAnne stared out the window. “Find us? You’re not suggesting we just sit here.”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“I’m sure the way back to the main road is just up ahead.”

Dakota blasted the heat a little higher. “That’s what you said a half hour ago. We almost got stuck, which is why I know we made a big circle.” She pointed out the front window. “Our tracks are still here.”

JoAnne glared out the window. “We’ll just call Larry. He’ll come and get us.”

Dakota reached her hand out, palm up.

“What?”

“Your phone?”

“Mine is at home.”

Dakota shivered.

“What?” JoAnne’s word stiffened Dakota’s spine.

“My phone lost its charge hours ago.” She reached over, opened the glove box. The charger inside wasn’t the one her phone used.
Freaking perfect.

On the dash, north was behind them, but the information was close to useless. They knew the main road was east of them, but the path east was filled with forest and trees and not a road.

Dakota tried to calm her kicking baby, and tried even harder to ignore her bladder.

While the car idled, she turned the radio back on, found a news station.

For the first time in hours, JoAnne didn’t question her as they both listened to the weather report. The report earlier said this storm wasn’t going to come in until two in the morning, but instead it blew in early and seemed to be parking itself over the mountain.

“It’s almost midnight. We have just under half a tank of gas. The more we drive around, the less gas we’ll have to keep warm during the night.”

“If we stay here, the car will get stuck.”

“And if we keep driving, we might
get stuck
. Getting out now to put on chains wouldn’t be smart.”

JoAnne wiped the condensation off the window with her hand. “We should try and find the road.”

Instead of arguing, Dakota found a compromise. “We drive for another few miles. If we don’t find it, we stop. Agreed?”

For once, JoAnne didn’t argue.

Five miles later they stopped.

With the engine still running, and the heater still blowing, Dakota set the parking brake and managed to climb into the back of the car. She unfurled two blankets and handed the water bottles to JoAnne.

“What is all this doing in here?”

“I stocked the car the day after we got here.”

“You thought this would happen?”

“I hoped it wouldn’t.”

For a woman who claimed to be tired hours ago, JoAnne sat with wide-opened eyes and fear all over her face.

“I have food back here, too. Not a lot, but enough for a couple of days.”

“We can’t survive out here that long. We’ll freeze.”

Dakota avoided panic by focusing on the positive. “We won’t freeze. And someone will come looking for us before morning.”

“Oh, God.”

Dakota climbed over the seats and killed the engine.

“What are you doing?”

“Saving gas. Put your coat on, your gloves, wrap up in the blanket. Jump in the backseat. Try and get some sleep.”

Dakota bundled into her ski hat and gloves and closed her coat around her tight. Then she reached for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I just need to pee, JoAnne. Your grandchild has been kicking my bladder for two hours.”

Dakota left the lights of the car on as she stepped out. Snow fell quietly; the fresh scent of the air would have been welcome from the porch of the Eddy home. She watched as her breath made the air fog with each exhale. She didn’t move far from the car and proceeded to freeze her butt off as she emptied her bladder.

She barely zipped her pants before rushing back to the car and climbing inside. “Shit, that’s cold,” she said the moment the door slammed behind her.

JoAnne handed her the second blanket.

Several minutes passed, and Dakota switched off the lights of the car. The silence grew as the temperature in the car fell.

“We’re going to be OK,” she told Walt’s mother.

“Of course we are.”

Good, that fight would help as the hours ticked by.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The plows went all the way to the Eddy house.

Nothing.

No one.

By two in the morning, the police were looking, but an official search wouldn’t happen until morning. Dakota and JoAnne weren’t the only missing people caught in the storm.

The roads farther up from his childhood home became impassible with the exception of plows, and even then, they were waiting for daylight and a break in the weather to get ahead of the snow.

He couldn’t sit, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t close his eyes without seeing Dakota on the side of the road, or worse, down the side of the mountain. What if they’d gotten into an accident? Were they hurt?

Larry made his way to the hospital, leaving Brenda at home to catch any possible phone call there.

At least his father rested comfortably, none the wiser.

Running on caffeine, Walt watched the sky lighten, but the snow kept coming.

With chains on his four-wheel-drive truck, Larry drove the two of them to the police station, where they were met with a lobby full of bundled residents and several sheriffs trying to calm and address each one.

When Walt met the whites of the clerks’ eyes, he forced his attention on her.

“We have every officer out at this time, Dr. Eddy. We have a description of your mother’s car. We’re looking.”

“Where are you looking?”

The phone rang, distracting her again.

Walt turned around.

Larry nodded toward the door. “C’mon. We’ll look.”

The plows had been through to his parents’ turnoff, but the road to the house was covered in over a foot of snow. They’d been told that an officer had knocked on the door, but there was no evidence of a car passing.

That scared Walt even more.

Larry inched the truck to the house.

Inside was dead silent, the red light on the answering machine blinked.

He heard his own calls, felt his panic all over again with each one.

Walt grabbed the throws from off the backs of the sofas, piled a bag full of water and ready-to-eat food, and shoved them into Larry’s truck.

“They could have missed the turnoff at night.”

“Hard to believe Mom would have missed it.”

“Unless she’d fallen asleep and Dakota missed it.”

Walt agreed with Larry, and they headed farther up the mountain. The snow was even thicker, and the falling rate would give them another six inches before noon.

They made it to a blockade, indicating that the plows hadn’t gone through in some time.

Each hour that passed killed part of Walt’s soul. He called Brenda every thirty minutes only to learn that she’d heard nothing.

Some of the chaos at the police station had mellowed when they returned there just after noon.

Panic moved to anger and Walt made sure he had the attention of as many officers as he could.

When the clerk started in with the
we’re looking
spiel, Walt lost it.

He slammed his hand on the counter. “My pregnant fiancée and my mother are out there. My father is recovering from heart surgery.
We’re looking
isn’t good enough!”

Finally, a sergeant came forward. “I’m Sergeant Mills. Let me show you where we’re directing our search.”

A map in a back room had colored stickpins dotting all over it. “We’ve been patrolling the main road, searched the road leading to your parents’ home. The electricity is out all over the west side of the mountain, and we’ve been all over that area helping residents get out, or get in.”

Walt studied the map, pointed above the turnoff. “The road is closed up here, when did that happen?”

“After midnight.”

“Has anyone been up there since? We didn’t get through.”

“The plows are going through within the hour. If your family missed their turn, there is another one a quarter mile up. Could they have taken that?”

“Anything is possible.”

Walt ran a hand through his hair.

“I know you’re frustrated. We’re using every resource right now. All emergency vehicles are out in the storm. Power is out everywhere, people have been stranded in cars overnight. We’re hoping the snow slows down before sunset. If not, then first thing in the morning we’ll start again, get a bird in the air and see if we can find them from above.”

Walt thought of Trent, his resources. “How many choppers do you have?”

“Two.”

“I can get more.”

“We might not need them.”

Might
wasn’t good enough.

He put a phone call in to his friend.

Both Dakota and JoAnne huddled in the front of the car when they turned on the car to heat it up. The sun might have been up, but the temperature was still bitter cold. Dakota had managed maybe an hour of sleep in the night. JoAnne did marginally better.

About the time the engine warmed enough to blow hot air, Dakota would blow the horn a few times. Three short, three long, three short. If there was one prepper code known, it was SOS. She only did it while the engine ran, afraid she’d kill the battery and they’d lose their ability to warm the interior of the car.

For the first time since Dakota had met JoAnne, the woman appeared her age. The makeup was long gone, her hair flat from the couple of trips outside the car to relieve herself.

When their teeth finally stopped chattering, JoAnn followed her blank stare with a shudder. “I really hope Walt doesn’t tell his father that we’re missing.”

“Your son is smarter than that.”

JoAnne sipped water and continued to stare out the window. “He was such a bright child growing up. Walter and I knew he’d be a wonderful physician.”

“He is. Monica has told me plenty of stories. It takes a special human being to give of themselves as much as he does.”

JoAnne actually cracked a smile, but kept her thoughts to herself.

“He thinks he disappointed you and your husband.”

She snapped out of her trance. “What?”

Dakota wasn’t sure if she should be saying any of this, but what could it hurt? “He didn’t follow your husband into cardiology.”

JoAnne’s lips formed an
O
. She sighed. “Well. I suppose at first we might have been. But Walter and I knew by the way he craved travel and excitement that taking over the practice wasn’t something Walt would do. We’re not disappointed. Though I can see why he might think that. We worry that his quest to save the world will put him in danger.”

Dakota rubbed their baby through her own skin. “I worry about that a little, too. I have to believe that he’ll make the right choices when he’s playing doctor.”

JoAnne actually laughed a little.

“When he and Brenda were little, he’d play doctor. He’d diagnose every blemish on her skin, every sneeze. When they were in school, he’d tell his teachers he was playing doctor with his sister.”

It was Dakota’s turn to laugh. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes. The phone calls came in. Everyone jumped to the wrong conclusions. Walter and I were mortified. Oh, we laughed about it later, but at the time, we about died of embarrassment.”

“He didn’t tell me that story.”

JoAnne smiled, warmed into a thought she didn’t share. “You have plenty of years to hear his stories.”

Those weren’t words Dakota thought she’d hear from JoAnne Eddy.

Dakota reached for the key when she realized they were both free of chattering teeth. Sundown was only a few hours away. They’d need the heat more then. With the engine off, it was only their voices to kill the silence.

“On our first date, Walt took me bowling.”

“That’s nice. He always liked to bowl.”

“I didn’t think anyone bowled anymore. He seemed at home in rented shoes.”

JoAnne shrugged. “He should. He has been on several leagues.”

“No. Really?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“I guess he didn’t want to embarrass me. My gutter balls must have made him cringe.”

JoAnne leaned her head back, closed her eyes. “I can’t bowl either. Walter dragged me to the alley all the time until Walt could join him.”

“Does Brenda bowl?”

“Yes, actually.” JoAnne opened her eyes, paused. “I’d do just about anything to bowl a few gutter balls right now.”

“I’m right there with you.” Dakota paused, looked out the window. “Walt told me you went to college.”

“I did.”

“What did you study?”

JoAnne actually smiled. “Interior design.”

That made sense . . . the Eddy home had the hand of a professional in how it was decorated. “Did you want a career?”

“I thought I did. Then I met Walter. Seemed silly to juggle being a wife, mother, and an interior designer. After a while I stopped thinking about it.”

“Your home really is lovely.”

JoAnne accepted the compliment with a smile.

Dakota rubbed the small of her back.

JoAnne watched her. “Are you OK?”

“Just a little stiff.” Her stomach growled. “And hungry.”

They’d eaten protein bars for breakfast followed by a few crackers.

“How much food do we have back there?” JoAnne asked.

“A couple of days’ worth, if we’re careful.”

“Then you should eat something,” JoAnne said.

“I’m all right.”

Not five minutes went by and her stomach growled again.

“Dakota, please eat something. Think of your baby.”

Giving in, she tilted the seat back to crawl into the back of the SUV. Her limbs protested as she squeezed into the back. To give herself more room, she folded the backseat onto itself and leaned against it as she dug through the bag. She lifted two cans. “Canned chicken or tuna for an early dinner?” she asked JoAnne.

“Surprise me.”

The can of chicken was larger, easier to split. Dakota dropped the tuna back into the bag, only to have it roll out and under the seat.

She reached around blindly to find it. Instead of a round can, she came in contact with something small and square.

She settled back on her heels and looked at what was obviously a jewelry box.

“What did you find there?”

“Looks like a jewelry box. Are you missing anything?”

JoAnne turned in her seat. “I don’t misplace my jewelry.”

“It’s probably empty.” Dakota was looking at JoAnne when she opened the box.

She gasped, nearly dropped it when her eyes settled on what it contained.

Sitting on a bed of black velvet was the ring she’d admired while shopping with Mary and Monica. “Oh my God.”

Walt!
It must have fallen out of his luggage, his pocket, something.

“What is it?”

With tears in her eyes, Dakota turned the box toward JoAnne.

“Oh, my.”

Dakota ran her fingertips over the ring, what it meant sank in. “I love your son. I love him so much it hurts.”

Using the back of her hand, Dakota tried to dry her tears. Why had she not told him her feelings when he’d whispered his love for her?

Fear.

Fear of letting him in, which was stupid since he was already sitting on her chest laying claim.

If she made it out of this car, she’d drag him to Vegas the second they could catch a plane.

“Let me see it.” JoAnne wiggled her gloved fingers.

Dakota let go of the box, wanted it back the moment it left her hand.

JoAnne whistled. “My son has excellent taste.” She removed the ring from the box, tilted it in the light. “Lovely.” She admired it a little longer and handed the ring toward Dakota. “You really should put this on. We wouldn’t want Walt to lose it twice. I love my son, but he is sometimes a little absentminded with things like his bills, and engagement rings.”

Dakota frowned, not sure she should since he hadn’t yet given it to her. “I don’t know.”

JoAnne rolled her eyes, braved an open door, and tossed the empty box out of the car. She once again handed Dakota the ring.

With little left to do, Dakota removed the glove on her left hand and took the ring from her future mother-in-law. She slid it on and felt fresh tears.

I love you, Walter Eddy the Third. Now find me so I can tell you in person.

She sent her silent words to the Universe and hoped someone listened.