Page 2 of Out of the Shadows
After, he moved into a condo at the Scottsdale golf resort he was in the middle of renovating. Convenient, but impractical.
“Where are those darn kids of mine?” Laura said. As she drew in a breath to call them, Sydney and Cody ran from the side of the house.
“Are you going to get a horse, Uncle Logan?” Cody said.
“Probably not a horse, but I’m thinking about a dog.”
Sydney brightened. “My best friend’s Lab is going to have puppies in four weeks!”
“I saidthinking,” Logan said with a grin.
Laura glanced at her brother. If Logan was thinking about a dog, that meant he wasn’t going to travel much. She had worried that after the divorce, he wouldn’t want to be in Phoenix as often, and then what would be keeping her here? Their parents wanted her to move back to Texas. Laura loved where she’d grown up, but there was not much to do in their little town outside San Angelo.
“It’s late, we need to get going,” Laura said.
“I’ll need your help furnishing the place, sis,” Logan said. “You know what I like.”
Logan was one of the most brilliant people she knew, but he only bought what he needed when he needed it. He’d given everything but his personal belongings to his ex, so he’d be starting from scratch.
“I love spending your money,” she teased and kissed his cheek.
She motioned for the kids to get into the 4-Runner, then climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Buckle,” she said automatically when she turned the ignition. Cody was nine. Not a day went by that she didn’t have to tell him to buckle. Sometimes, Laura thought he intentionally waited for her to remind him.
Sydney grabbed Laura’s phone and scrolled through the music. She desperately wanted her own phone, but Laura had put her foot down—high school was soon enough. They had two flip-phones in the house for the kids to take when they went biking or horseback riding; neither needed a portable computer in their pocket.
Laura honked at Logan when she turned west and he turned east out of his new neighborhood.
It was a straight shot to her house in Desert Hills, a rural community on the very northern edge of Phoenix where she lived in a house Logan had bought after her divorce. She hadn’t wanted to accept it—just because Logan had money didn’t mean he should spend it on her after her ex-husband had lost everything they’d owned in one of his get-rich-quick schemes. Logan wanted to give it to her, but she’d said no, though she’d agreed to move in if he agreed that she would pay the mortgage. Having the space was a huge relief. She could keep her animals, the kids had a home base and she wouldn’t have to worry (as much) about rebuilding from nothing.
After starting and stopping six songs in less than a minute, Sydney finally settled on one by a young female artist who had a nice voice, but Laura didn’t recognize.
It was later than Laura wanted to be out. They’d gone to dinner with Logan before touring the house, and then she and Logan spent far too much time talking about the house, the kids, and their family back in Texas. Their baby brother—not so much a baby anymore at thirty-three—had taken over most of the day-to-day responsibilities of the family ranch along with his wife, who was pregnant with their third child, due on New Year’s Day.
Laura also had work early tomorrow, but the kids were out of school for the summer. Now that Sydney was twelve, they stayed home alone when they didn’t have one of their many activities. Juggling rides and pickups necessitated a wall calendar. On Mondays, Laura dropped the kids off at the Anthem rec center on her way to work, provided they finished their morning chores. Having animals—four horses, two goats, a dozen chickens, and three dogs—meant responsibility. Fortunately, her kids loved their small farm as much as Laura did.
Cody chattered away about what kind of dog Logan should get, and Sydney sang along with the music. Laura turned onto Carefree Highway. Sunday-night traffic was light.
Bright lights suddenly flashed behind her, blinding through her back window. For a second she thought they were going to rear-end her.
“Jerk,” she muttered. She pulled over to the right lane, and the truck immediately pulled over with her.
That’s when she grew concerned.
“Check your seat belts,” she ordered her children.
Cody and Sydney both looked behind them, shielding their eyes. Laura sped up; the car behind her kept pace. The speed limit was fifty-five, and she was now going over sixty-five.
She quickly considered her options. There wasn’t a safe place to turn off for at least a mile, and if the driver followed she would be trapped.
“Sydney, call 911.”
“Mom?” her daughter said, fear in her voice.
“Tell them—”
The truck slammed into the back of her truck. Laura screamed, fighting the wheel, but another jolt hit her left side, hard, spinning the 4-Runner out of control. It hit a post, flipped, rolled—once, twice—and landed upright, crumpled against a fence.
