Page 328 of Steamy Ever After

SAVING ABBY: A SMALL TOWN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL

By Ellie Masters

MOOSE

Nothing helps leave the past behind like a thousand miles and a snowstorm to cover my tracks.

Whoever heard of a blizzard in May?

Isn’t there some kind of law against that? It’s time for flowers and rain showers, not blinding white and freezing cold. In all the summers I spent in Peace Springs, there’s not one memory of snow in May. It feels as if I’m entering a hell that’s literally in the process of freezing over.

Not that Peace Springs is hell.

Hell is a thousand miles behind me in Redlands, California. Peace Springs is my future and holds the fondest memories of my life. I spent my summers in the quiet town. I just never saw myself living here as an adult.

I increase the speed of the wipers. Not that it helps. A thick layer of snow builds on the windshield making the road disappear. I flick the high beams, but that only makes things worse. The light reflects off the falling snow, turning the seething mess into an impenetrable wall of white.

On my last check, Peace Springs was less than ten miles away. I’m almost there. Although, it could well be a hundred miles away with the mess outside.

A hot meal, warm bed, and getting off the snowy highway top my list of things to do. I’ve been on the road since way before dawn, fleeing my past, while leaving sunny California in my dreams.

More like leaving a nightmare behind. My insides clench with lingering fear and righteous anger. Thoughts of Scott make me hyperventilate and that shakiness returns.

I lean forward as if those extra three inches will magically make it easier to see the damn road. As if those three inches will take me further from a painful past.

As for my future, my uncle promises I’ll enjoy working in Peace Springs. The idea of being a small-town doc appeals to me, but it intimidates me too.

Do I know enough to help my patients? Are my emergency skills up to par? What will I do when there’s no one to look to for help?

I’m fresh out of residency, which means I’m knowledgeable and confident, but also aware of how much I’ve yet to learn.

The only reason I agreed to this move is because my uncle needs help.

Okay, that’s not the only reason.

I desperately needed an excuse to leave Southern California.

My uncle’s request came at the best possible time.

Peace Springs is growing, he says. He’s looking to retire soon, he says. Taking over his medical practice will be a great experience for a newly licensed family medicine physician. He has more reasons why I should come than I have excuses why I shouldn’t.

It makes sense to relocate, for many reasons.

Redlands holds bad memories. My parents’ deaths being merely one among many. That’s the reason I told him I’d come, but he really gave me the perfect push to finally leave my abusive ex-boyfriend.

A push is exactly what I needed.

A reason to leave.

I wasn’t strong enough to leave on my own.

Leaning over the steering wheel, I peer through the windshield and curse the falling snow. For a girl born and raised in Southern California, I’m used to endless sunshine, sprawling cities, tall buildings, and highways six and eight lanes wide. Not this tiny road the locals claim is a highway.

My sigh fills the cab with a mixture of regret and frustration. It also fogs the window. I lean forward, pulling my sleeve over my hand to rub away the moisture.

This is a permanent move, Abby. Embrace it.

I know.

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