Page 47 of A Thirst for Franc

“I think I’m going to stay in tonight.”

“I can come by with a sixer.”

“I already had wine and whiskey. Adding beer to the mix will be a recipe for disaster.”

“All right then. Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Will do.” I ended the call and tossed the phone on the counter. Normally with Gio gone, I’d jump on a chance to get out of the house. After having Quinn on my counter, her legs wrapped around me, her mouth on mine, only for her to leave, nothing could repair the night. Not even the locals and a vat of alcohol.

I cleaned up the kitchen, poured myself another whiskey, and headed to the living room. Maybe I could find something on TV that wasn’t The Incredibles. I’d seen the movie so damn much, I could recite it word for word.

Settled on the couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table, I grabbed the remote. The ring of the doorbell cut through the silence. My head fell back on the couch cushion. I told Brady I didn’t want to go out. He might not push with words, but sometimes he thought he knew what was best for me and would drag my miserable ass out of the house.

I put the whiskey down and flung the door open. “Brady, I told you—” My words cut off at the sight of Quinn. Her red hair hung in drenched strands. Her clothes were completely soaked through.

“Quinn,” I said before grabbing her hand and yanking her into the house. I slammed the door, leaving the biting winds and slashing rain outside. “What the hell happened?”

Black trails of mascara slid down her cheeks and freckles I’d never noticed before dotted her nose. Her eyes met mine, red rimmed and puffy. She sniffed, her breath coming out in a quivering sob. I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her until the pain was gone.

A puddle formed beneath her, and her body shook, whether from cold, fear, or both. I didn’t know.

Fuck this.

I scooped her up, her arms linked around my neck, and she snuggled into my chest. I took long strides up the stairs and toward the bathroom, settling her on the toilet while I turned the hot water of the shower on.

“You need to get out of those clothes and warm up,” I said.

She nodded. I checked the water temperature, then bent in front of her. I tipped her chin to look at me. Sadness and pain filled her beautiful brown irises and tore at my very soul.

“M-my car,” she said.

My heart slammed into my chest, afraid she might be more hurt than I realized. I shifted my gaze, raking it over her body, checking for bruises and cuts.

“I’m okay,” she said, resting a shaking hand on mine.

“What happened?” I brushed my thumb across her cheek.

Her eyes slipped shut for a moment, her bottom lip quivering. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising and falling. “I was driving, and it was raining hard. I thought it was just a puddle.”

“Did you take Chicken Valley Road?” I asked, and immediately cursed myself for being an idiot.

Her head confirmed what I already knew.

“The river overflows sometimes, especially when the rains come in fast and hard.” All the locals knew to avoid it. There’d been one too many incidents where cars were flooded and totaled. Usually the town got someone out there to put up signs for the tourists, to warn them off. I wondered if anyone even knew the road had flooded already.

“My car started to float. I had to crawl out the window.”

For fuck's sake, she walked all the way from Chicken Valley Road in the downpour after climbing out of her damn car. I should never have let her go. I should have realized how bad the weather was, or at least warned her to avoid that damn road.

Tears slipped down her cheeks, slicing into my heart, and I hugged her to me.

“Why didn’t you call me?” I would have run out the door so damn fast. I would have got her in my truck, turned on the heat, and drove her right back here.

“My phone is dead. I dropped it when I climbed out of the car. I just came here to use your phone, so I can call a tow truck.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I left my car. I didn’t know what else to do.” Silent sobs shook her shoulders.

---