by Heather Gray
Eli dodged the napkin. “Hey, I never said anything about dinosaurs. You’re the one who brought them up.”
Then the teen stuck his earbuds back in and tucked his blanket snugly around his body.
“It’s getting colder, isn’t it?” Avery asked.
Gavin nodded. “You can check the temperature on your phone if it would make you happy. Not that knowing how cold it is will make us feel any warmer.”
Avery pulled out her phone and clicked away. “Didn’t it almost get up to seventy earlier today?”
“ Mmm-hmm,” he replied.
“Well, it’s in the low forties at the moment. It still says snow in central Texas, but it looks as if the cloud coverage might be moving our way.”
“Tonight would be a good night for a heater. I’m losing feeling in my toes.”
“On the bright side,” Avery said, “we’re all crammed in so closely together our body heat should be able to keep us warm.”
“I have a feeling all the heat is seeping out where the bumper used to be,” Gavin said with a chuckle.
Silence fell between them, but it was comfortable. The constant tinny hum of the engine, the empty road, and the darkness surrounding them all worked together to make it, for Avery at least, a relaxing part of the drive.
Then Gavin said, “Can I ask you something?” His voice, normally rich as Swiss chocolate fondue, sounded hesitant.
Avery scrutinized Gavin for a minute before answering. “Usually when somebody asks permission to ask a question, it’s because they think the other person won’t want to answer.”
“Maybe,” he said. “You can tell me it’s none of my business, and I won’t mind.”
“Fire away,” she answered. “But I’m not making any promises.”
Gavin glanced in the rearview mirror. Avery, too, took a peek back at Eli, who appeared to be sleeping. “I wondered about Eli’s dad. I can usually tell by the way a kid acts, but Eli doesn’t seem to have any tells. Are you divorced? A widow?”
The question hung between them for a moment. Avery reached for her water bottle and then chuckled. “This is as cold as it would be straight from the fridge.” Gavin gave her a half-smile. She suspected he would let her drop the whole subject if she asked. She decided not to ask. “I was never married.”
Yes, I had a child out of wedlock. Now what are you going to do with that, Mr. Gavin Eastly?
He nodded. “I wouldn’t have guessed, but it makes sense. Thank you for telling me.”
Silence stretched between them, but Avery was okay with it. Even stronger than before, she believed there was more to Gavin than what she saw on the surface. It made her increasingly curious to learn why he’d disappeared from the world of photography when he had.
Something about him made her want to back off rather than push until he revealed more of himself. It was almost as if she saw two people in him. When she examined Gavin straight on, he seemed strong, confident, and even a touch arrogant. On the other hand, when she sought his profile, Avery saw a vulnerability that touched a place in her heart she’d long since thought had been closed off from the world.
Chapter Eight
Between Tucumcari, NM, and Amarillo, TX
December 24, 12:30 a.m.
“The temperature’s starting to climb again. We’re going to have to pull over.” Gavin needed a break. Steadily picking up in speed since he’d started driving, the wind had gotten strong enough that he now had to fight to keep the little hatchback on the road.
“We’re still about ninety miles from Amarillo. No chance we can make it that far?” Avery’s voice had a breathless quality, and her words were stretched out longer than usual.
Gavin tried to read the situation, but he couldn’t tell if she was imploring him about something or if she was worried. “Even if we could drive straight through, at the rate we’re going, it’ll take us three hours to cover those ninety miles. Why? What’s up?”
He heard Avery’s sigh. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Oh.” Gavin brought the car to a stop on the shoulder and maneuvered in his seat so he could face her. “It’s the morning of Christmas Eve. We’re on the side of a freeway with limited visibility. The wind is strong, I’d say at least thirty miles an hour.” The look on her face grew more urgent with each passing second, making him relent. “I always carry an emergency roll of toilet paper when I’m traveling. If you want to use it, you’re more than welcome. I don’t want to think about you getting lost out there, so you’ll need a flashlight, too.” Giving her a stern look, he said, “I still don’t think this is the best location for that kind of pit stop.”
“I can’t wait. Give me a flashlight and TP, and I’ll go.”
“For all I know, we could be parked right next to a barbed-wire fence with a raging bull on the other side.”
Wriggling in her seat, she said, “I’ll take my chances.”
Gavin reached around behind him to where his backpack was stored. He extricated the toilet paper and a flashlight and handed them to her.
She smiled. “Dare I ask why you carry emergency toilet paper?”
He shook his head. “Some things are better left to the imagination. Trust me when I say that story is one of them.”
Avery shut the door quietly after she got out. The soft sound of Eli’s snores filled the car. Gavin reached back into his oversized bag and pulled out a big cherry and silver UNM sweatshirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. He wasn’t sure exactly how to make the offer, but he wanted to have them handy in case she needed them when she returned. It was far too cold out there to be squatting in the snow.
Ten minutes passed with no sign of Avery, and he began to worry. She could have fallen, encountered a wild animal, or gotten tangled up in barbed wire. I should have gone with her. With a soft snort, he whispered into the car, “Yeah. Like she would have ever allowed that.”
When another five minutes passed, Gavin started rummaging through his bag, hoping to find another flashlight.
He was about to wake Eli when the door opened, and Avery climbed into the passenger seat. Her teeth were chattering. Leaving the interior light off in deference to the sleeping teen, Gavin twisted in his seat and reached over to her. He took her hands in his own. “You feel like ice,” he said, as he enveloped her hands and hoped his body heat would help warm them up.
“G-oing pee in the sn-ow is not f-un.” Her teeth were chattering so forcefully he had difficulty understanding her.
“I was getting ready to come find you. You shouldn’t have been gone that long. I got worried.”
“Fell d-own. Twice. In the sn-ow. You’re c-orrect. It’s a w-et snow. Either that, or someb-ody else had already used it for a bathr-oom.” She shuddered. “Gr-oss. I don’t even want t-to think about that.”
“Nobody else is out here on the road. I’m sure you fell in wet snow.”
“I’ve got snow all ov-er my jacket. My p-ants, too. Maybe even inside of th-em. I can’t remember the last time I was this c-old.”
Her hands started to feel a shade warmer, and Gavin let them go. “I’m going to take your scarf and jacket off,” he said as he again reached out toward her in the inky darkness of the car. “I’ve got a sweatshirt you can put on in place of the jacket, and then I’ll give you your scarf back if it’s dry enough. You can’t sit there in wet clothes. It won’t be good for you, and if Eli finds out I let you, he’ll throw things at me once he wakes up.”
Avery tried to help but eventually said, “I can’t get the sn-aps on my jacket. My hands are too st-iff.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get the snaps. Just promise not to slap me for trying to save your life.”
“This is hardly life and death,” she said. He was relieved to hear the chattering fade, making her words more distinguishable.
“Of course not,” he said, grinning at her stubbornness. “We’re stranded on the side of the road with spotty cell service in subzero temperatures. We have no way to get warm, no means
of escape, and you’re in wet clothes.”
A small laugh escaped. “You’re exaggerating.”
He got the last snap, and she turned her back to him so he could more easily pull her jacket off. He draped it over the luggage next to Eli then reached out with the sweatshirt, tugging it down over her head and helping her to get both arms through the sleeves. When he grabbed her scarf, it felt wet and icy, so he put it with the jacket and unwound the scarf from around his own neck before handing it to her.
“You can’t give me your scarf. You’ll get cold now.”
“I didn’t spend the last fifteen minutes rolling around in the snow. I’ll be fine.”
He paused no more than a minute before saying, “You’re going to have to take off your pants.”
A squeak escape her before she said, “I think I misheard you.”
Gavin handed her the sweatpants and said, “Your pants are soaked, and you said yourself, you’ve got snow inside them as well as on the outside. Here’s a pair of sweatpants. I’ll close my eyes and turn away, but you need to get into something dry.”
“I’m fine, really.”
“You’re not fine. You’re freezing, and it’s cold in here. Be sensible.”
“Have you continued sending rant emails to Mitchell?” Her voice was suspicious.
“Why? You want me to tell him about this?”
“I very specifically do not want you telling him. Nobody finds out about this, understood?” Hearing that voice, he wondered how Eli could ever dare defy his mother.
He’s one brave kid.
“Not a word,” he promised. “Although, for the record, I’m sure everyone would understand.”
“No, they wouldn’t. They’d take one look at you, and understanding the situation would be the last thing on their minds. Now turn. Face the window. Close your eyes. Cover your ears. And hum.”
Gavin did as he was told, but he couldn’t prevent the smile stretching his mouth. Avery was awfully prim for someone so independent. He rather liked it. Not that he’d tell her so, of course.
When she said, “Okay, you can turn around,” he tried to wipe the smile from his face. She handed him her soaked jeans, and he added them to the growing pile on top of the luggage.
“Does that feel better?” he asked her.
“I already feel warmer. Thank you.”
“So, uh, what did you mean that once people saw me they wouldn’t understand the situation?”
As he waited for her answer, he turned the engine over and pulled back out onto the freeway, hoping he’d allowed the engine enough time to cool so they would at least be able to get in another hour of driving before it overheated again.
“Next time we stop, we should check the coolant level the way John suggested.” Gavin almost laughed at her blatant attempt to change the subject.
“Good idea,” he replied. “Are you going to tell me what you meant?”
A hearty sigh filled the car, temporarily drowning out Eli’s snores. “Anybody who looks at you will not believe I took my pants off because I was cold.”
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it. “You said I’m good looking, didn’t you? No, no, wait. I think you said I’m smokin’ hot. I could get used to that kind of flattery,” he teased.
“Full of hot air is closer to the truth.”
They drove on for a while before Avery asked, “So why was it okay for you to take this trip? I mean, I know your dad’s not a part of your life, but don’t you have family who would have expected you for Christmas?”
He shook his head. “My mom was a late-in-life surprise to her parents. They passed away when I was still in high school. No aunts or uncles.” Then he wheeled around to face her and asked, “What about you? Aren’t your parents upset not to have you and Eli there for Christmas?”
Avery shook her head. “They understand my job and have gotten used to me picking different days. We’ll have our family Christmas on the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth instead.”
Next, she asked the question he’d been dreading. “What about your mom?”
It was an innocent question, but Gavin’s insides twisted up. If he told her even a little bit of the answer, she’d ask for more, and he wasn’t sure he could tell her the rest of the story without the pain washing over him. He did his best to control his voice as he answered.
“She’s dead.”
Chapter Nine
Amarillo, TX
December 24, 5:30 a.m.
After a short nap during the last hour of the drive, Avery was raring to go. “Let me drive. You should get some rest.”
“Look for a place to pull over. We’ll get some gas, maybe find somewhere warm to get a bite to eat, and see if we can find anyone willing to take a look at the thermostat. It would be nice to drive the speed limit for a change.”
She peeked at her watch and said, “Wow. It’s Christmas Eve. We’d already be in Nowhere if it weren’t for all the trouble we’ve had.” Releasing a breath of frustration, she noticed the windshield. “How can you see anything?”
“Uh…”
“Gavin? How can you see anything?”
“It’s not that bad, and the road’s been pretty much abandoned.”
“I can’t see anything! The windshield is completely fogged!”
“John told us not to run the heater, and I figured that included the defroster.”
“So you’ve been driving like this for the past hour? Why didn’t the window fog up earlier? It was clear the last I noticed.”
Gavin shrugged, his hands clenching the steering wheel. “I think as long as the temperature inside stayed about the same as the temperature outside, it didn’t fog up. There’s been a change in the last hour, though. The car seems to have warmed up.”
“Or it’s gotten so much colder outside that it seems warm in here by comparison.” Avery started rolling her window down. The blast of arctic air woke Eli.
“What on earth?” he sputtered. “Why is it so cold? Are we there yet?” Then, “Uh, Mom. Why are your pants back here?”
“Help me, Eli,” Avery said. “We need to find the off-ramp so we can leave the freeway and get into Amarillo.”
“Are you going to tell me about the pants?”
“Later. Help me find the off-ramp.”
“Please tell me you’re wearing clothes.”
“Yes! I’m wearing clothes! Now help me find the off-ramp so we can guide Gavin off the freeway. In case you haven’t noticed, we can’t see out the windshield!”
“Has the snow been coming down this hard all night?” Eli asked as he peered out the window.
Gavin answered, “It’s gotten heavier in the last half hour.”
“There!” Eli pointed out the window.
Avery spoke up. “About fifty feet ahead… Veer to the right… You’re on the off-ramp now.”
Gavin laughed, “I can still sort of see. I’m not completely blind, you know.”
“I need to use the bathroom,” Eli proclaimed. “Can we stop somewhere?”
“That’s the plan.”
Avery saw the glowing sign of a gas station and directed Gavin toward it.
He didn’t bother stopping by the pumps, opting instead to head straight for a parking spot. “Everybody out! Let’s use the bathroom and see if the cashier can help us find someone to look at the thermostat on Christmas Eve.”
Nobody had to be told twice. As a group, they collectively rushed toward the front door of the gas station and the promise of a working furnace. Avery and Eli made a beeline for the bathrooms while Gavin went straight for the coffee.
When Avery came out of the bathroom, Gavin was sitting by the front window. There were two small tables there with chairs around them. “Go ahead and get yourself some coffee,” he said. “Someone’s on the way to take a look at the car. If you don’t mind cereal, doughnuts, or breakfast burritos heated in the microwave, we might as well eat breakfast here while we’re waiting.”
“How’d you find
a mechanic so fast?”
Gavin stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back in his chair. His eyes at half-mast, he said, “I have my ways.”
Avery stole a look at the cashier and noticed for the first time that, instead of a burly, middle-aged man, the cashier was a twenty-something, blonde girl. “You flirted your way to a mechanic?”
“Is that why your pants are in the back seat?” Eli asked. “You were flirting?”
Gavin sprayed coffee all over the table as he tried to stop himself from laughing.
Eli grabbed some napkins. “Sorry, man.”
“No, no. It’s okay. Honestly. The look on your mom’s face was worth it.”
Avery glared at them both, then, face flaming, marched off toward the small breakfast food aisle.
“This would be a good time to stay on your mother’s good side, Eli. Remember that.”
She heard Gavin behind her, telling Eli to get a drink and something to eat.
Shaking her head, Avery brought her large coffee and chocolate-frosted, chocolate doughnut to the cashier, where she waited for Eli. When he settled an orange juice and a jalapeño breakfast burrito on the counter next to her items, she cringed. “How can you eat anything even remotely resembling Mexican food after last night?”
He shrugged and said, “Hey, if they had jalapeño doughnuts, I’d be all over it.”
Leaning close to her son, she told him, “I had to use the restroom, but there wasn’t one nearby, so we stopped on the side of the road. I got covered in snow, and Gavin thought I should avoid hypothermia by changing into something dry.”
Eli shrugged and said, “You could have said so, you know. It’s when you avoid my questions that I get suspicious.”
Realizing her son was parroting a lecture she’d given him many times, she paid for everything and went to sit down. She nodded to Eli once he joined her, and he bowed his head to bless the meal. “Thank you, God, for getting us safely this far. Please don’t let the car blow up while we’re in it. Amen.”
