Page 50 of Falling

“I can’t exactly take after some woman with a bat. I’ll leave you to deal with them.”

“How old are we talking before the kids are allowed to date?” I ask.

“I’d say at least thirty-five, maybe forty.” I laugh. “The girls anyway.”

“That’s a double standard.”

“Absolutely. But no nasty man is going to tie one of my precious daughters to the bed and fuck her while I’m around.”

“So that only works when your wife is involved?”

“Now you’re starting to understand.” He grins at me. I know he’s teasing. My daughters will be strong, independent women who will know how to get what they want out of life. Why are we even talking about our hypothetical children in the first place?

A fist knocks on the window and we both jump. Peter steps out of the car. I can see a man in a jacket with a patch on the arm. Do killers wear patches on their clothes?

I watch as they walk to the front. They both bend over to look at something. They straighten up, still talking. Finally, Peter walks back to the driver’s door.

“We’re getting a ride to town. I’ll get our bags and come back to help you. Button up your coat.”

“Wait,” I say. “How do we know he’s safe?”

“Well, I don’t think highway patrolmen usually make skinsuits out of people. I guess it’s possible, but we’ll just have to take our chances.”

I breathe a sigh of relief as he closes the door. Checking my phone, I find we’ve been sitting here a lot longer than I thought. Hopefully, someone in town can help us get on our way. A hot meal would be welcome at the very least.

“Ready?” Peter asks, opening the door again. I finish zipping up my jacket, grab my purse, and climb over his seat. The cold hits me like a sledgehammer. Peter helps me slide across the patchy ice until I’m deposited inside the patrol SUV. The officer has the heat running on high.

“I’m glad I was doing one last sweep before heading in for the night,” the officer says. “Deputy Gonzales,” he continues, extending a hand to me. “You can call me Mateo.”

“Thank you so much, Mateo. I can’t imagine spending all night out there,” I say.

“It would have sure been a cold one,” he agrees.

“Can you take us to the nearest hotel?” Peter asks from the back seat. “I can call a tow truck to pull us out tomorrow.”

“I’ll arrange a truck for you,” Mateo says. “Afraid the hotel is all booked up because of the storm. I might have an idea of somewhere you can stay though.”

“We’d be grateful,” Peter answers.

“Of course. Now hang on, folks. This is going to be a heck of a ride.”

nineteen

PETER

I wasn’t concernedwhere the officer took us as long as Geneva had heat. The longer we sat, the tighter she pulled the sleeping bag around her. The idea of spending the entire night in below-freezing temperatures was not something she needed to do.

Everything in the small town we finally reach looks closed for the weather. I should have paid closer attention to the forecast.

“This storm seemed to have come out of nowhere,” Mateo says, as if sensing my self-recrimination. “Caught us all by surprise. Well, here we go.” He pulls up in front of a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. “My brother-in-law said you can use it as long as you need.”

At first look, there doesn’t seem to be much to the building. It’s an old bunkhouse that’s been converted into a hunting cabin. There’s a small porch with a slick-looking set of steps. The handful of windows are covered with what looks like burlap. I guess we can’t complain. This is our only choice, and it was beyond generous to offer it to us.

“This looks perfect,” Geneva says. It doesn’t sound like something she would say. I love her, but in the past, she would have found a thousand reasons we couldn’t stay here.

“Yes, thank you,” I added. Opening my door, I step into the cold. Mateo helps with our bags as Geneva slides carefully to the door. It opens and a tall, thin man greets us.

“Come in, come in. It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey out here,” he says. “I got the fireplace going. There’s extra wood in the room off the back door in case you need it. The missus sent me with some supper for y’all. She’s no slouch in the kitchen.”

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