Page 52 of No More Billionaires

Icicles hung from the cabin’s porch roof. Beyond it, every tree, bush, and blade of grass seemed to be encased in a thin layer of glass.

I stepped back from the window, a sense of dismay slowly sinking in. “Wow. I remember an ice storm like this in Atlanta when I was a kid—we didn’t have school for four days.”

Four days.I shivered in spite of the toasty heat emanating from the wood stove.

“Well, it could be worse. We could still be stuck in the car,” Larson said. “Listen, I already had some oatmeal. I’m going to take the ATV up to the house and check on Ruby—and persuade her to take some payment for putting us up. If you want, I can go check the overpass afterwards to see if traffic’s moving. Maybe the jam has cleared up in spite of the ice.”

“Yes! Could you? That would be so great.”

Please, please, please, I prayed to the traffic gods.

As much as I’d dreaded spending hours alone in the car with Larson yesterday, today it was my fondest wish. So much better than another whole day—another wholenight—alone with him here.

“Okay—sit tight—and keep an eye on the fire. We don’t want it to die out. It’ll get cold in here pretty fast without it. You should have enough wood in the bin there. I’ll be back as soon as I can, and I’ll bring some more inside.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

I watched through the window as Larson climbed onto the ATV and drove away. He turned and looked back at the cabin just before disappearing over the hill.

He must be freezing out there with no coat.

And I’d asked him to stay out even longer to check the highway. Not only was I a chicken, I was a selfish chicken.

I puttered around the cabin, taking advantage of the daylight to do a complete inventory of the food on hand and to clean the breakfast dishes, make the bed, search for and find more candles.

Just in case. I checked the Rolex Larson had removed and left on the kitchen table. He’d been gone an hour.

The ancient radio seemed to pick up only two stations—one airing staticky sports-talk—the Titans fans were in raptures over their team making the divisional playoffs and already predicting a Super Bowl trip this year—and a country music station. I waited through more need-you-now and I-can’t-fight-it-anymore songs than I would have liked.

Finally, a weather and traffic update came on. The news wasn’t good.

“Highways 24, 65 and 40 are still littered with abandoned cars, and icy conditions have prevented their clearing. The governor has declared a state of emergency, asking everyone to keep off the roads if at all possible,” the DJ informed me.

More doom and gloom was followed by a local meteorologist’s recorded update, which said the deep freeze was expected to last at least another full day.

I checked the Rolex again, went to the window. Where was Larson?

It had been two hours. It shouldn’t have taken him this long to check the highway and make sure Ruby was okay.

WasLarsonokay?

What if the ATV had slipped on the ice and flipped over, trapping him beneath it?

Even experienced riders had wound up with broken bones, even broken their necks and died on those evil big-boy-toys. I pulled on my coat and stepped into my loafers, preparing to venture out and look for him—I couldn’t let him die out there in the cold, alone.

He could’ve stayed here in the warm cabin, but instead he’d put himself at risk and went out there for Ruby’s sake… for mine.

As I stepped onto the front porch, I heard the roar of the ATV. Within seconds, Larson came over the hill, and my heart shot from the pit of my stomach up through the top of my skull. I was nearly light-headed with relief.

“Where have you been? What took so long?” I charged toward the spot where Larson had stopped the ATV and immediately slipped, landing smack on my bottom in the yard.

“Whoa—you okay?” Larson jumped off the ATV and came to me. “You all right? What are you doing out here?”

I accepted his steadying hand as I painfully got to my feet. “I was worried about you—you were gone for so long.”

Larson’s face was full of amusement. It also looked white with cold.

“If I’d known how much you were missing me, I would’ve gotten back sooner.” He held up two white plastic bags. “I went shopping.”

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