by Beth Ehemann
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” I told her for what felt like the millionth time that morning.
“It’s a long drive, Brody, and the weather is going to get really bad. Can’t you leave your truck here for a couple days and take a quick flight home?” Her eyes pleaded with me not to drive back to Minneapolis today.
“First of all, it’s a 3-hour drive, not that long. Second, if the weather is that bad, I wouldn’t get a flight out today anyway. And third, I have a ton of shi-” I stopped myself as she raised her eyebrow at me, “stuff to do at home. I’ll be fine. And before you ask again—no, I won’t leave my truck here.” I walked over and picked her up off the ground in a bear hug.
“Please call me every 5 minutes.” She muffled into my shoulder, the worry evident in her voice.
“No problem. I won’t be able to see through the downpours anyway, so taking my eyes off the road to keep calling you shouldn’t be a problem.”
She squirmed out of my arms. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she punched my arm as hard as she could.
“Not funny, Brody Michael.”
It’s amazing how even at twenty-seven years old, when your mom says your middle name it reduces you to feeling like an eleven-year-old kid who just broke the living room window with a baseball. Or in my case, a hockey puck.
Bending my knees, I lowered myself to her level and put my hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.
“I. Will. Be. Fine. Please stop worrying.”
“When you have kids one day, Brody, you’ll get it. They may grow up and leave your house, but they never leave your heart. You never stop worrying.” She sighed, narrowing her eyes at me. “And when your son is Brody Murphy, you tend to worry more than most.”
“Ha! Thanks for the confidence, Mom. Seriously though, I’m good. The meteorologists were saying this morning we might not get as much rain as they were originally thinking anyway.” “Yeah, well the meteorologists are idiots. It’s already started south of here, and a lot of it.” She wrapped her arms around herself, and her hair practically turned gray right in front of me.
“I’ll just drive really fast through it. No problem. The longer I stand here, the longer it’s going to take me to get home.” I winked at her and hopped up into my truck as she returned a death stare. I’d already said good-bye to the whole family inside, but somehow I knew she’d follow me out, begging me one last time to stay, and I loved her for it. The engine roared to life as I started my truck and quickly pulled out of the driveway before she decided to throw herself on the hood. I rolled my window down and gave her one last wave on my way down the street.
“Okay, a big cup of coffee and we’re good to go,” I said out loud to myself as I pulled into the Dunkin’ Donuts. I reached over to the radio and flipped it to the AM station to get a weather update. Mom would never know, but I was a little nervous. They were calling for one of the worst strings of storms we’d seen in a long time and I really did want to beat it home. I meant to leave a couple hours ago, but she insisted on feeding me first and who was I to turn down my mom’s biscuits and gravy and bacon? The clock read 11:30.
Shit, I gotta get moving.
About an hour and a half later, I was tempted to call home and tell her what every mom wants to hear from her child.
You were right.
The roads were a slick mess and the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely see through my windshield. I drove by car after car pulled off to the side of the highway, cars spun out in ditches, cars lined up at every exit. All of the motel signs I passed had their ‘no vacancy’ lights on. It was coming down hard and fast. My eyes were strained from focusing so hard, but I kept telling myself to just get through this bad patch and then I could pull over and take a little coffee break. And a bathroom break, thanks to that large coffee and Big Gulp I had.
Up ahead of me was a small silver Civic, half off the road. I looked in the window as I passed and there was a woman sitting in the driver’s seat with her hands covering her face, looking completely freaked out. I pulled over to the side and reversed my truck until I was just in front of her car. I threw on my baseball hat and hopped out of my truck.
As I made my way back to her car, she got out and met me halfway.
“Thank you so much for stopping,” she called over the rain in a shaky voice. As I got closer I realized she was closer to my grandma’s age than my mom’s.
“No problem. Looks like your front end is stuck in the mud, huh?”
“Yeah, I slid off the road and now I can’t get out.”
“Let’s see if we can get you out of here and on your way. I have chains in my truck to pull you out. I’ll be right back.”
About 20 minutes later, I waved goodbye to her and climbed back into my truck with a fresh blueberry pie. Turns out, the sweet old lady was out in this weather delivering pies to her church so they would have them for their bake sale this weekend. She tried to give me money after I pushed her car out. I said absolutely not, so she insisted that I at least take a pie. How could I tell her no? I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the pie and sent it to my mom with a text that said…
At least if I skid off the road and no one can find me, I won’t be hungry tonight.
She should love that text. I laughed to myself as I put my phone back in the center compartment of my truck. It chirped a minute later and before I even opened the phone, I was pretty sure I was in trouble.
DO NOT make me come and find you. Eyes on the road, Mister.
I swear she would still ground me if she could. She was right though; the roads were getting worse by the minute and I needed to pay attention. Four very slow and torturous miles later, I decided if I was going to continue I needed a gas station and a bathroom, fast. After a quick pit stop, I pulled out of the gas station with a full gas tank and a fresh cup of coffee in hand. I turned back toward the highway and continued through the stoplight that I just came from.
That’s when panic hit me. There were no other stoplights anywhere around.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” I yelled out loud, startling a sleeping Diesel on the passenger seat. Out of all the damn exits I passed, I picked the only one without a returning entrance back on the highway. I angrily pulled a U-turn and sulked back into the gas station then left as fast as I could with my tail between my legs.
A few minutes later, we were back on track, I hoped. “Ok, Diesel, that dude said the road should be coming up here on our right, but honestly, I have no idea where the hell we are. If you ever let me leave the house again without grabbing my GPS, you’ll sleep on the porch for a week.” Diesel cocked his head to the side and lifted one ear at me. I reached over and patted the top of his head.
Suddenly, I slammed on my brakes and jerked my truck to the right, almost missing the road we needed to get back to the highway. Thunder crashed so loud it shook my truck, and lightning lit up the gloomy sky. My truck splashed and pounded its way through deep puddles on the country road. I was never so thankful for my truck lift than at that very moment. An orange blinking light up ahead caught my attention. As I got closer to the wooden bridge, my hands gripped the steering wheel tight in frustration. I took a deep breath and counted to ten as I watched the blinking light on the orange saw-horse in front of me. The saw-horse had been stenciled with the words BRIDGE CLOSED and had yellow caution tape all over it.
“Well buddy, that damn blueberry pie joke might just turn around and bite us in the ass, huh?”
Once again, I turned the truck around and started back where I came from. On my right, I noticed another dirt road that looked like it led further into the middle of nowhere.
“Eh, what the hell. Why not?” I said out loud as I turned the wheel and followed it. At this point, I was so lost I didn’t really care where I ended up. I drove a couple hundred yards in thick mud and sighed as I pulled up to a house. This wasn’t a road after all; it was a fucking driveway. Go figure.
“So, do we knock and ask
for directions or just turn around and go at it on our own?” Diesel got up, stretching his front legs out as far as he could and leaned over and licked my face. I pulled back and playfully pushed him away. “You’re right, we don’t need help, damn it.”
I put the truck in reverse, turning to look out my back window and heard the unmistakable sound of tires spinning. My chest tightened as I pushed the gas pedal again. My entire truck shook as the tires spun round and round, digging deeper into the mud.
“No, no, no, NO!” I slammed my fist down hard on my steering wheel. My chest heaved in anger as I scanned the property for any sign of a vehicle that might be able to pull me out.
Nothing.
Squeezing my phone, I had to fight the urge to throw it as I looked down and saw the battery light slowly fade. Dead. I laid the side of my head down on my steering wheel and stared at Diesel, who was wagging his tail with his tongue hanging out, happy as can be. The ridiculousness of my situation overcame me as I started laughing deliriously until there were tears in my eyes.
“Okay, you hang here and be a good watch dog. Make sure no one drives off, and I’ll go check it out.” Diesel yawned and laid his head down on the center console as I hopped down from my truck and made my way through the muck toward the front door.
A wooden sign hanging next to the front door read Cranberry Inn. I had no idea what town I was in or if I was even still in fucking Minnesota, but ironically this might not have been the worst decision after all. Hopefully we could hang here for the night and head home tomorrow morning. A deafening clap of thunder rattled my chest as I reached up and knocked on the door.
“Ow!” I rubbed the spot on my forehead now sore from being poked over and over by a tiny finger.
“Mom! Mom! Wake up! Look at all the rain!” Lucy and Piper jumped up and down on my bed like it was Christmas morning. I wish I shared their enthusiasm. I was cocooned in my warm quilt, dreaming about palm trees, sandy beaches and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them. I had no desire to get out of bed and face the day, the rain, or my mom. However, duty called and my girls were asking for breakfast. I sat up in bed, pulled on my slippers and robe and glanced over at my two angels looking out my bedroom window, giggling about all the rain.
“Come on, you two, I’m starving.”
While I got busy making monkey bread, the girls’ favorite treat, Fred kept them preoccupied playing Candyland in the family room. Mom’s eyes were glued to the TV, not wanting to miss the latest storm update. A fire was blazing in the fireplace, and other than the house being empty of guests, it felt like a normal day.
I was standing at the counter, mixing melted butter and cinnamon in a bowl, when my mom came up next to me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“I love you, you know that, right?” she asked.
“I do. I love you too, Mom.”
I leaned over and kissed her cheek, knowing that was her way of apologizing for last night. We didn’t argue often, and I can’t remember a time where she made me cry. It wasn’t really her that made me cry though; it was more the painful memories of my relationship with Zach and doubt that I’d ever find the perfect man for me and the girls.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. We all looked at each other, wondering who would be out in this weather. Before Mom could even make a move toward the door … another loud knock. She hurried out of the kitchen, with Fred right behind her. The girls and I hung back. I heard talking and a few minutes later, Mom reappeared in the kitchen with a beautiful redhead who looked to be in her early 40s and a little girl who I guessed was about the same age as Piper and Lucy.
“Kacie, this is Catherine. Catherine, this is my daughter, Kacie. Those are her girls, Piper and Lucy,” she said, turning toward the girls who were already by her side, anxious to meet their new friend.
I wiped my hands on a dishtowel and went over to shake hands with her.
“Hi Catherine, nice to meet you.” I smiled warmly.
“Nice to meet you too, Kacie. This is my daughter, Jenna.” She wrapped her arm around the shy little girl that was hiding behind her. “Sorry to barge in on you guys like this. I drove as far as I could, but the roads are getting worse by the minute, and the bridge at the end of the road is closed. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Her voice cracked as she held back tears.
“Oh, it’s no problem.” My mom rushed over and put her arm around Catherine’s shoulders. “All of our guests left early, so there’s plenty of room. Besides, Piper and Lucy will be thrilled to have someone else to play with.”
With that, Piper and Lucy took Jenna’s hand and pulled her over to join in their Candyland game.
There were three more knocks at the door that day, everyone saying the same thing. The roads were too bad to continue and they were desperate for a place to stay. Henry and Melissa, a sweet older couple, were first. Next was a spunky, cute college-aged girl named Ashley, who I thought I could get along with the next couple days, and last came a set of middle-aged sisters named Pat and Sue who were on their way to an antique show in Wisconsin.
Mom was thrilled as she went into full-on hostess mode. She was in her glory when the inn was full. She lived for it. The house was full of chatter all afternoon; people comparing their encounters of stuck cars and flooded roads. It was late afternoon and I was just taking a huge batch of my fabulous chili off the stove for dinner, when I heard another knock at the door. Mom was out on the back deck grabbing more wood for the fire. With the noise level in the house, I wasn’t surprised Fred didn’t hear it, so I wiped my hands on my shirt and headed up front.
I opened the door and my breath caught—I wasn’t sure if it was because of the ear-shattering thunderclap that came into the house with the swing of the door, or the man standing on the porch. The tall, wet figure stood in a black North Face hoodie and a baseball cap. His hands were shoved in his jean pockets. The wind was whipping around him and his cheeks were bright red, but he looked up at me from under long, thick lashes and smiled a big sexy smile. I swear the corners of his perfect teeth sparkled, like they do in the movies.
I stepped back, motioning for him to come in. Once he was in the door, my mouth went dry. He was big, much bigger than he looked when he was on the porch. I guessed he was almost a foot taller than my short five foot, two-inch stature. He pulled his hat off, revealing dark chocolate brown hair that was a wet mess of short, loose curls. He smiled that movie star smile again. This time I noticed the two big dimples on either side of his mouth.
My heart was pounding so loud, I was sure it was about to jump out of my chest and land on the foyer floor at his feet.
“Whew! It’s brutal out there.” He shook the excess water off his jacket and ran his hands back and forth through his hair, messing it up in the most adorable way.
“Hi, I’m Brody Murphy.” He extended his hand for me to shake.
“Hi, I’m…” My mind went blank. When I paused, he raised a curious eyebrow and smirked at me. Holy crap, I was going to pass out.
Pull yourself together, Kacie.
“Kacie. Kacie Jensen.”
The minute his giant hand enveloped mine, I felt my entire body wake from hibernation. His warm, strong hand acted as an accelerant that set all the cells and nerves in my entire body on fire. I felt like an idiot when I realized that we were done shaking hands, but I hadn’t bothered to pull mine away yet. Quickly, I snatched it back and wrapped my arms around myself, instinctively.
“I took a wrong turn and thought I was on a road. Hard to see it was a driveway. Anyway, my truck is stuck in the mud out there. Any chance I could grab a room for the night?”
My shoulders sank, along with my heart.
“Uh-oh.” He read the disappointment on my face. “Do you not have any rooms available?”
“No, they’re all taken,” I answered in a quiet, almost inaudible tone.
“Oh.” He took a deep breath and forced it back out. “No biggie, I’ll figure out a way to
get my truck out and keep going. I’m sure there’s something up the road a little more.”
“Stay right here.” I turned to go find my mom, but she was already coming around the corner from the kitchen.
“Hi there!” my mom said in her typically warm, welcoming tone.
“Hi, I’m Brody Murphy.” He offered his hand again.
“Hi Brody, I’m Sophia Jensen.”
“You have a really nice place here,” he said, flashing his gorgeous smile at my mom.
If there was a direct line to my mother’s heart, it was complimenting her inn. This place was her other baby.
“I was actually just coming to get you. I know we’re full, but it’s awful out there. We can’t send him back out in this weather, Mom,” I blurted out, sounding more desperate than I meant to.
“Of course not, dear.” She smiled curiously at me, before turning her attention back to Brody.
“I don’t have any rooms available, Brody, but I do have a pretty comfortable couch in the family room. It’s not private at all, but it’s much warmer than your vehicle. We would love to have you stay with us.”
“Uh, one problem. I have a dog too. He’s super friendly and completely housebroken, but he’d probably be pretty mad at me if I told him he had to sleep in the truck. Any chance he could sleep on the floor in a laundry room maybe?”
“Absolutely not!” Mom said. “No laundry room for him, he can curl up by the fire.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”
He was talking to my mom, but looking at me, causing my heart to race.
“Nonsense. You are staying here, so is your dog, that’s final. Come on in and take your wet jacket off and warm up for a few minutes before getting your dog. You’re going to catch pneumonia.”
She put her arm around him and led him toward the back of the house while I followed behind. “You’re just in time, actually. My beautiful, single daughter just made a huge batch of her delicious chili.”
