by M. Malone
His attempt at nonchalance didn’t appear to have worked because Matt gave him a knowing look. “No, she’s not coming. Yes, I invited her. I even offered to pick her up. I think she was planning to spend the evening with her family.”
“Good. That’s good.” Eli ignored Penny’s smile and turned gratefully when he heard someone calling his name. He didn’t even mind when he saw his mother waving him over. He’d rather deal with more of her pointed questions about his love life than think about all the reasons he needed to stay away from Kaylee Wilhelm.
CHAPTER TWO
IT ONLY TOOK Kay a few minutes to drive to the new apartment complex she’d moved into six months ago. It was always a thrill to drive up and realize she lived here. It wasn’t the flashiest or most expensive place, but it was hers.
One of the only things she’d accomplished completely on her own.
The temperature felt like it had dropped another ten degrees in the time it had taken her to drive home. Kay shivered and pulled the zipper of her coat all the way up to the top of her throat. She covered Hope with another baby blanket to keep her warm and out of the wind and hustled into the building, walking up the two flights of stairs as fast as she could. Her fingers struggled to turn the key in the lock, they were so cold.
“What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath right now.” She finally got the door open and then dropped the diaper bag as soon as she made it inside. Hope jumped at the loud sound.
“I’m sorry. Mommy’s not doing such a good job today, huh?”
She uncovered her daughter and tickled her chubby little belly as she unfastened the buckles holding her into the car seat. Once she was free, Hope kicked and squirmed happily. She cooed nonsense words as they walked down the hall to her bedroom. Kay grabbed the bright blue bouncy chair sitting next to her bed and pulled it into the bathroom.
“I need you to be a good girl so I can shower. Hmm? Can you do that for Mama?”
Hope gurgled and gnawed on the end of her fist while watching Kay with her big bright eyes. With her perfectly smooth brown skin and curly pigtails, she looked like a little doll. Kay blew gently on the baby’s face until she let out a belly laugh. Her heart flipped over the way it did every time. The sound of her daughter’s laughter still had the power to stun her. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.
After carefully strapping Hope into the bouncy seat and giving her the plastic unicorn to bite on, Kay stripped quickly and stepped into the shower. Experience had taught her that she had about three minutes before Hope got antsy.
She soaped her body quickly and then scrubbed her hands over her face. At the sound of the first soft whimper, Kay stuck her head around the shower curtain and blew a loud kiss. Hope grinned and swung her legs vigorously, bouncing herself up and down in the seat.
After rinsing off, Kay grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body, shivering slightly as the cool air hit her skin.
“Oh, my sweet baby girl. I remember the days when I could take a bubble bath for an hour and had time to do my hair and makeup. Now I consider it a good day if I remember to brush my teeth and put on matching shoes.”
Kay smiled down at the baby as she corralled her long black hair and twisted it into a low ponytail. Hope smiled back, then grimaced. A few seconds later, Kay knew it was time for a diaper change.
“You just had to wait until after I showered, huh?” She laughed softly as Hope just continued to regard her with a sour look.
Kay changed into a soft, nubby pink sweater and jeans and pulled on thick socks. Then she went back up front to retrieve the diaper bag.
“Okay, let’s get you clean and then you can play with your blocks.” Kay strapped Hope on the changing table in her room and then reached underneath for the wipes and a clean diaper. When her hand hit empty space, she remembered that she’d put the last of everything in the diaper bag. She’d been planning to go to the store before the snow started. But she had enough to last them through the night.
She grabbed the diaper bag and pulled out the box of wipes. Then a change of clothes. A board book. She started pulling things out frantically. Hope’s favorite blankie. A pacifier.
“I couldn’t have left all the diapers at Mom’s house.” She let out a soft groan when she got to the bottom of the diaper bag.
Kay sat on the floor right where she stood and let her head fall forward into her hands. Her heart raced as the stress of the last few weeks finally caught up with her.
She’d never claimed to be a superwoman. Doing it all wasn’t a statement of girl power but of necessity. She could take care of Hope, record another album, and work full time because she hadn’t seen any other choices. Sure, she could have given up on recording and it would make her life a lot easier in the short run. No more late-night sessions or appearances. She could spend more time with her family and actually get some sleep for once.
Even though it would make her life easier right now, she couldn’t do it. It would mean turning her back on an amazing opportunity. It would mean giving up on her dreams. If she didn’t reach for her dreams, what kind of role model would she be for her child? Her own mother had given up on her career as a singer when she got pregnant with Kaylee. She was determined not to make that same mistake.
There were times when her mom looked like she was a million miles away that Kay knew she was thinking about the old days. Her mom thought she was selfish not to give it all up for Hope, but she couldn’t. Did that make her a bad mom?
Maybe Hope is better off with them.
After a long, wretched moment, Kay shook her head. There had been many days she’d wondered what her mother would be like if she’d kept her career. If she’d be kinder. Happier. If she’d have a little more love in her heart for her daughter instead of criticism. Kay was determined that Hope would never have to think about that.
“Hope has the most important thing. A mother who loves her. She’s happy.” It was the only thing Kay cared about, giving her baby girl a happy childhood. Hope would never have a reason to question if she was loved or if she was a disappointment to her mom.
Kay brushed her hair back from her face and stood. She had a decision to make. Go back to her parents’ house and pick up the diapers or go to the store and buy more. Her parents were closer and she wouldn’t have to stand in line.
But at the store you won’t get a lecture, she thought.
Quickly, Kay retrieved the spare diaper she always kept tucked in the inner pocket of her handbag. It had seemed like overkill to place an extra one there, but she was glad she’d done it now. A few minutes later, she had the baby cleaned up and redressed.
Hope squirmed under her hand, desperate to escape the changing table and get down to the floor to play.
“Okay, little miss. I guess we need to run to the store. Let’s go!”
* * * * *
ELI PUT HIS beer down on the table next to the window. His mom stood next to him, looking out at the worsening storm. Every so often, she’d glance down at the watch on her wrist and then go back to frowning at the glass.
“What’s wrong, Mom? Are we expecting someone else?” Eli looked out the window, but he couldn’t see much beyond the flurry of snowflakes and the crystalline patterns the ice formed on the pane.
“I overheard Matt talking about Kaylee. He said she had to go back out, but then she never called to let him know she got back home safely.”
Eli waved Matt over. When Matt joined them he asked “Did Kay call yet?”
Matt shook his head slowly. “Not yet. She’s still not at home according to this, but she’s not answering her phone.” He showed Eli the blip moving on his cell phone screen. “She shouldn’t be out in this storm. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing. It shouldn’t have taken her this long to run to the store.” He spoke lightly, but there was a thread of worry underneath.
Matt had been guarding Kay for months, and they’d become friends. He knew her usual habits, where she went and when. If he was worried, th
en there was reason to be.
Eli pulled up the GPS application on his own phone. It was useful at times to keep tabs on lower-risk clients, although technically he should have taken Kay’s tracking ID out of his system since he wasn’t guarding her anymore. He pulled up her identification number. A second later, there was a small red blip on his screen. She was definitely not home.
“Maybe she stopped somewhere else?”
“But then why wouldn’t she answer her phone? What if something happened?” Julia twisted her hands, the fine bones showing prominently beneath the skin. “I hate the thought of her and that sweet baby out there in the cold somewhere.”
His mom considered everyone in their town extended family, but she’d taken an immediate liking to Kaylee and her little girl.
By now the rest of the family had gathered closer. Everyone seemed to pick up on Julia’s agitation. Raina hugged her daughter closer, rubbing the baby’s back to calm her whimpers.
“I’m not getting a good feeling about this. She’s usually really good about checking in and letting me know where she’s going.” Matt glanced down at his phone again. “I don’t want to call her parents and alarm them, but this storm is getting worse by the hour.”
A second later, the room was plunged into darkness. Julia let out a small gasp and grabbed Eli’s arm.
“What was that?” someone whispered.
Eli’s heart slowed slightly. “The power’s gone out. Just hold on, everyone, the generators will kick in any minute now.”
As if on cue, the lights came back on and there was a gentle hum as all the electronics in the room powered back on and reset themselves. His parents had done an extensive upgrade, which included generators, to the main house years ago, but he doubted if Kaylee’s apartment building was similarly equipped. Even if she got home safely from the storm, she’d be stuck in the dark with the baby. In the cold.
Alone.
“I have to go.” He disentangled himself from his mother’s arm and grabbed his coat from the hall closet. After zipping it up all the way, he grabbed insulated gloves and pulled on a knit cap to cover his recently shaved head. There were several thick blankets on the top shelf of the closet, so he grabbed those, too. Just in case.
“Where are you going?” His mother appeared at his elbow, her brown eyes filled with worry. Everyone else crowded behind her.
“Are you going out in the storm? It’s coming down pretty hard,” Jackson added.
“You guys are forgetting something.” He pointed at the slightly dimmed lights. “Not everyone has generators the way we do. The rest of the city is under a blackout. Even if Kay’s at home safe, she won’t have any power. And if something has happened and she’s out there alone, it could be a while before anyone else comes along.”
Julia pulled him into a quick hug. “Be careful out there.” She tugged the ends of the hat down over his ears. He smiled at the familiar gesture. She’d done the same thing when sending him out to school in the winter as a kid.
“You know I will be.” He hated to leave her looking so worried. “Don’t worry. I put chains on my tires this morning. I’ll be fine.” He kissed her on the brow and pulled the front door open.
The blast of frigid air that hit him in the face only strengthened his resolve to check on Kaylee. What if something had happened? It was below freezing already, and since most Virginians weren’t used to this kind of weather, it was unlikely she’d be prepared for the cold if she’d gotten stalled somewhere. The image of Kay out there somewhere alone and cold without any emergency supplies quickened his step.
Luckily he’d been one of the last to arrive, so his truck was parked at the end of his parents’ driveway.
Eli loved his truck. It was hardly a flashy sports car, but it was dependable and built for a man his size. Flashy wasn’t his style and it wouldn’t have suited him anyway. He wasn’t classically handsome like his younger brothers. He looked more like a guard dog, and considering his line of work, that was more than fine with him.
Guard dogs were protectors. If there was even a chance Kay was in trouble, a protector was exactly what she needed.
* * * * *
GOING OUT TO get diapers should have been a fifteen-minute journey. Of course, getting her daughter into her coat and car seat had easily eaten up five of those minutes from the start.
Kay watched with mounting impatience as the woman in front of her loaded the checkout conveyer belt with what looked like half the store. All she wanted was to buy her diapers and get back to her car before Hope started crying again. Now it was just her luck that she’d gotten stuck in line behind someone stocking up for the apocalypse.
People are so ridiculous, she thought.
The shelves in the store had been swept clean of all the staple items such as bread, eggs, and milk. She’d figured she could run in and out since she only needed one thing, but instead she’d had to fight to get down the aisles since there were so many people in the store.
After she finally got through the line, she tucked the package of diapers into her huge purse with one hand and picked up Hope’s car seat with the other. The outside of the store was just as chaotic as the inside. The parking lot was packed and there were abandoned shopping carts everywhere.
She looked up at the sky in trepidation after she’d hooked Hope’s car seat back into the base. It was so much worse than when she’d left the apartment. It would have been smarter to just ask her dad to bring the diapers than risk getting stuck out in this storm.
Finally she was able to pull out of the crowded parking lot and back onto the main road. There was a long line of cars waiting to get to the light, so at the last minute she turned the opposite direction and headed for one of the back roads that would lead her to her apartment building.
Maybe she should have taken Matt up on his invitation to come with him to the Alexanders’. His four-wheel-drive SUV would have navigated the icy streets better. Then she could have seen Eli.
That’s the last thing you need.
Although, she probably should have accepted the ride. She patted the steering wheel of her used sedan. It got her from place to place, but it was temperamental and no match for icy, wet conditions. At the moment though, it was all she could afford.
Jackson had told her the real money in music came from owning the rights to the music itself. Most artists who weren’t songwriters made their money from touring and appearances. When he’d first signed her as part of the singing group Divine, she’d wanted to tell him she wrote songs, but she’d been too shy to show him anything she’d written.
Not that it mattered since Divine had never really caught on. They only had moderate success, so Jackson had disbanded the group and offered her a solo contract. She’d finally worked up the nerve to mention her songwriting and he’d offered to take a look at her work. Sadly, even though she’d promised to send him something, she still hadn’t followed through.
Instead she was scrimping and saving, trying to make the advance money he’d given her last a bit longer.
Her thoughts were jerked back to the present when she turned the corner onto a side street, and for a moment, it felt like the car was weightless.
“Oh my god!”
As the car slid across a patch of black ice, Kay instinctively jerked the steering wheel to the left. The sudden motion sent them sailing straight toward the side of the road. The car fishtailed and then hit the ditch with a terrifying screech of metal, which was then followed by absolute silence.
Kay had never known that quiet could be so horrifying. Then the sound of her breathing became loud in her own ears and she struggled to turn her head.
“Hope?”
It was quiet, but then she heard a soft giggle. Kay let out a relieved breath. If her daughter was giggling then she hadn’t been hurt. Actually, she wasn’t even hurt. She held up her hands in front of her face and gave her head a little shake. It must have been the front end of her car on the passenger side that had made cont
act. With what, she was a little scared to find out.
She sat up and reached for her seat belt. The car shifted and swayed. Her stomach lurched. “Whoa! What was that?”
Her windows were too foggy for her to see much but it had felt like she’d run into something. Had she hit the ditch on the side of the road?
“Mommy’s gotten us into some trouble this time, baby girl.”
Her handbag was on the seat next to her, gaping open. When her eyes lit on her cell phone, she leaned forward to grab it.
A horrible creaking groan from the front of the car halted her in her tracks. The car tipped forward slightly and Kay grabbed the steering wheel. “Okay, I won’t be doing that again.”
It felt like she was on the edge of the ditch. If she moved around too much there was the chance they’d slide in completely. She glanced back at Hope who gave her a gummy grin, exposing the two tiny teeth on the bottom row.
She couldn’t take any risks that they’d slide into the ditch because they’d land on Hope’s side of the car. She could be pinned or even crushed.
A hysterical sob bubbled up from her throat. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from making a sound. It wouldn’t help anything for Hope to pick up on her distress. Right now the baby didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong.
Kay pulled a hairpin out of her bun and straightened it. Leaning carefully, she poked the bottom button on her phone. There were two beeps and then she said, “Call Elliott.”
“I do not understand,” the automated voice responded.
Kay hung her head. Her movement must have shifted the car again because there was another creak and she sucked in a terrified breath. If she couldn’t get the phone to work, she’d have to reach for it. If she reached for it, the car could tip over.
She took a deep breath, poked the button with the hair pin again, and then yelled, “CALL ELLIOTT!”
* * * * *
ELI PEERED THROUGH the windshield, scanning the side of the road and looking for Kay’s car. There weren’t that many people out driving since the local news had predicted that the storm would bring a heavy snowfall. Most New Haven residents were probably tucked into their homes safe and sound.
