Page 2 of Your Heart & Mine

"Yeah, some accident," Wyck answered shortly. "I'm headed out to Carrington Ridge now. The bastard escaped me being able to personally tell him who was ruining him, but I'll finish what I started anyway. He can watch his kingdom crash and burn from hell."

"Okay, man. I'll get right on it," Davis agreed. "I'll holler at you when I find out."

"Thanks, Davis." Wyck blew out a breath.

"Sure, man. Hey, it's almost over."

"Yeah," Wyck responded, but he didn't sound nearly as sure.

Chapter two

Culture Shock

Harperhadalwaysthoughtthat driving through snow at night must be what rocketing through space looked like. The white flakes looked like tiny points of light speeding around them in the darkness – like hitting warp speed on the Enterprise. HerScottywas currently white-knuckling it along a narrow, winding country road.

Her best friend, Cam, was a city boy through and through. He hadn't even gotten his drivers' license until he had moved to Raleigh, North Carolina from London at twenty-five. He told her he hadn't needed it until then with public transport as good as it was in the city of his birth. "The Tube, love, is a glorious thing," he'd told her more than once. "Raleigh should really invest in their own."

Raleigh, however, didn't have a subway and buses weren't exactly easy to get around on. Cam managed well enough, however, navigating in the bumper-to-bumper traffic there and traveling at high speeds on the interstate that surrounded it, but the mountain roads of southwest Virginia were a completely different experience. The snow coming down steadily wasn't helping either.

"Cam, I can take over," Harper offered again. "I know these roads like the back of my hand. I'm fine."

The perfectly coiffed, blond man flicked his bright blue eyes in her direction. "You are not fine, darling," he insisted. His upper crust British accent making everything he said sound like a royal pronouncement. "You've had a terrible shock and you're not driving."

Harper heaved a breath. "Getting ourselves dead would be a bigger shock," she muttered. "Really. There's a Stop n' Shop just up the road here. Let's pull over and at least take a break."

"Where?" Cam squinted out the front windshield, trying to see any semblance of civilization.

"See that little light up there on the left?" Harper pointed to a speck of light in the pitch blackness ahead of them. "That's it."

"How can you tell? That could be anything." He leaned forward in his seat trying to make it out.

"Because it's been there since before my daddy was born." Harper's eyes rolled toward the ceiling. "I told you, like the back of my hand."

"I'll have to trust you, love. I can't see a bloody thing." He paused. "And don't think I missed that eye roll."

That made Harper grin, and roll her eyes at him again. She honestly didn't know how she ever got along without Cam.

A couple of minutes later, he pulled in and parked, leaning back in the seat with a loud sigh. He massaged his hands and rolled his head to look in her direction. "Are there no straight roads at all in this godforsaken part of the world?"

Despite her fatigue and grief, Harper grinned at him. "Not a one." She shook a finger playfully in his face. "And I'll have you know this is God's Country. You'd better not say stuff like that around the locals."

"If you say so. I guess even God needs a place to hide occasionally," Cam mumbled. "Does this place at least have coffee, do you think?"

"I know they do," Harper assured him, opening her door. Freezing wind whipped strands of hair that had escaped her French twist across her face, and she shivered before pulling herself out of the bucket seat. "Mrs. Overbay will have a fresh pot on and, if we're lucky, she may have some apple dapple."

"What in the world is an apple dapple?" Cam asked, throwing his hands up in the air and giving her a piercing look.

"It's a special kind of apple cake. You'll love it!" Harper let the wind slam the car door shut and headed for the warmth of the small, country store.

"Finally, things are looking up." Cam turned up the collar of his short jacket and hugged his arms across his chest as he followed Harper. She'd told him he'd need a hat and gloves at the least, but he hadn't listened. It was only about three hours from Raleigh. He wouldn't believe her when she'd told him the weather could be completely different. This high up, they were their own little microcosm, and if there was any snow around to be had, they were going to get it.

The bell tinkling over the door announcing their arrival sparked a cascade of memories in Harper's mind. The old, warped floorboards under her feet were exactly the same as were the smells of stale coffee, ripe apples, fresh biscuits and a smidgen of old cigarette smoke underneath. They were near tobacco country here and 'no smoking' laws came late to the county. Abiding by said laws came even later. She saw Cam's nose wrinkle, and her lip quirked up. This whole trip was going to be a huge culture shock to him.

"Lawd, is that you Harper Carrington?" A woman's creaky voice came from behind a counter cluttered with small baskets of homemade fried pies, peanut butter balls, and a tall, plexiglass case of state lottery tickets.

"Yes, ma'am," Harper smiled at the woman as she came around the counter and threw her soft arms around her.

After the embrace, she held Harper at arms' length and surveyed her with sharp, black eyes. "You're a sight. Pretty as ever and so fancied up!" Her voice lowered. "I'm so sorry about your daddy, Harpie. Such a shock for everyone." She tsked and shook her head stepping back. "I've said for years those logging trucks are a danger to everyone on the road!"

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