Page 79 of Mountains Divide Us

FRANK

Goddamn airbags.

Looking at myself in the mirror in the library’s downstairs bathroom, dabbing the little bit of blood on my forehead with a piece of toilet paper, I pressed against the bruise I could already feel forming underneath.

I heard a bang out in the front room and then a dog barking.

“Frank? Frank!”

Samantha?

Grum beat her there, but when she appeared in the doorway, a vision and a soaked mess, I was confused. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She took one careful step toward me. “You’re not hurt?”

“No.”

Launching herself at me, she jumped up and threw her arms around my shoulders, knocking the first aid kit in my hand to the floor and locking her legs around my waist, hiding her face in my neck.

Grum settled around my feet as I wrapped my arms around her back, holding her against me. I wanted to hold her like that forever. Her heart was pounding. “Did you walk all the way here in this weather?” I leaned back so I could see her face, but she hugged me tighter.

“I tried,” she mumbled against my coat, “but Abey found me and drove me the rest of the way. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Promise. Just a little cut on my forehead from the airbag. I think a little piece of the plastic dash covering broke off and flew against my head when the bag deployed.”

Finally, she leaned back to inspect my face, her eyes landing on the cut. She reached up with her pink mitten, soaking up the blood with it. It wasn’t too bad of an injury, all things considered.

Abey appeared in the doorway, her eyebrows doing a caterpillar crawl up her face when she saw Grum hugging my feet and Samantha latched onto me the way she was. “Mrs. Bettison crashed into you?”

“Yeah,” I said. “She was on her way to her sister’s house, but she hit some ice and couldn’t stop the car before it collided with the side of my truck. She’s okay. We needed shelter from the storm, so I brought her here.”

“Is that the woman sitting out in the front room, looking guilty?” Samantha asked.

Abey chuckled. “Yep. That’s Cal’s sister.”

“Myrna?”

“Yeah,” I said.

I’d turned my shoulder radio down so I could hear Myrna over the roar of the wind, but Shelley’s voice came through over Abey’s. “Report back. Everybody okay? Frank? Abey?”

Abey replied, and I looked down at Samantha, smirking. “I broke in. Broke the law.”

She hugged me closer, still clinging to me like static. “I think you’ll be forgiven this time, especially since I left the door unlocked.”

When she was done filling Shelley in, Abey shifted on her feet, resting her hand on the butt of her gun tucked snug in her holster. “I’ll take Myrna on over to Cal’s. You sure you’re okay?”

In any other circumstance, I probably would’ve been uncomfortable with Samantha’s affection in front of my co-worker, but now, there wasn’t anything more important in the world than having her in my arms. I squeezed her tighter, nodding over her shoulder. Besides, Abey was family, whether I liked admitting it or not. “Yeah, thanks, partner.”

Abey slammed the front door shut when she and Myrna left, and as soon as I knew we were alone, I lowered Samantha to the sink, and she widened her legs to let me between them. The snow packed into the tread of our boots was melting and dripping down to the floor around Grum, but he didn’t seem to care.

“You were worried about me? Here,” I said, “gimme your glasses.” They were fogged over and covered in dots of moisture. Reaching under my coat, I pulled the bottom of my undershirt out and cleaned her lenses when she handed the glasses over, then set them back on her face.

She was the most beautiful woman on the fucking planet, even wet and looking like a drowned rat, her makeup streaking black down the sides of her face. Concern clouded her eyes when she looked in mine, and she had me believing in destiny and soul mates. In that moment, with her in my arms, I knew dreams could come true. She was everything I’d been wishing for.

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