Peering through her windshield, she noticed that not only had the wind increased, but so had the snowfall. “Of all the days for a blizzard,” she mumbled. She patted her stomach. “We’re going to be fine.” Though with every passing minute, she became more nervous.
She turned onto the I-70 ramp and saw a police officer standing by a yellow gate, the lights of his cruiser shining blue and red across the dimming sky.
Mandy slowed, not sure what to do. His car wasn’t blocking the ramp, but he held the gate in his hand and appeared to be unlatching it. The yellow metal had a sign attached to the front. Road Closed.
She crept forward as the police officer finished unlocking the gate and prepared to close the ramp. With his back to her car, he didn’t see her. She held her breath. Should she make a run for it? If he was closing the interstate, things couldn’t be good out there.
Clutching the swinging gate, the police officer strode into the road.
Mandy blew out a long breath. She had a child to think about. With her decision solidified, she stepped on the accelerator and, with her car hugging the side farthest from the officer, took off up the ramp.
Chapter 29
The police officer planted his hands on his hips and glared at Mandy as she cruised past him. He reminded her of her father just before he gave a stern lecture. She waved her fingers in the air, mouthing the word “Sorry.” Her face must have been the color of a stop sign; the heat burned her cheeks.
In the rearview mirror, she watched the officer swing the gate behind her and lock it. He rubbed his hands together, as if trying to warm them with friction, and then he hurried inside his cruiser. With his car on the other side, her shoulders relaxed, her face cooled.
Was she off the hook? She glanced in the rearview mirror for one last look. The cruiser still sat there, unmoving. She exhaled noisily. He wasn’t coming after her. Thank God! Maybe closing the gate was a way to bolster the local economy by trapping travelers in town. She hoped so, because that meant the roads might be okay.
As she picked up a little speed on the highway—thirty miles per hour—a gray Outlander passed going at least fifty-five. She thought about speeding up to catch them, but then realized they had four-wheel drive. She didn’t, so she let them disappear into the distance. Ten minutes later, a Ford Taurus passed going about fifty, and she sped up to follow.
The farther east she traveled, following the Taurus, the less the wind blew, and the more the snow eased. By the time she’d reached Salina, it’d stopped altogether, the roads becoming dry. She sped up to the speed limit, watching the sparse trees and houses hustle by.
When her cell phone rang, she grabbed it off the passenger seat, excited to tell Justin she was making good time. “I’m actually going the speed limit.”
“Great.”
“I passed Salina a few minutes ago. How far am I from Wichita?”
“Just a sec.” She heard him pose the same question to someone else. A few mumbles later, he said, “An hour and a half.”
She glanced at her clock. Twenty after seven. That gave her a little less than two hours to get to the airport. “Plenty of time.”
“Plenty of time,” he echoed, the timber of his voice smooth and calm.
She relaxed into her seat. Everything was going to be just fine, and a sense of euphoria settled over her.
“We have a lot to talk about when you get here,” he said.
She immediately tensed again, her spine rigid, her hands strangling the steering wheel. She’d been so freaked out by the weather, she hadn’t thought once about the future of their relationship. “Can’t we just deal with one crisis at a time?”
“Of course. But you’re carrying my child, and I love you, so don’t expect me to give up on us easily.” She heard him sigh. “You’re on the road with plenty of time to think. Just promise me you’ll mull over what you want between us.”
“I promise,” she whispered, scared of the decision she’d come to. She couldn’t imagine her life without Justin by her side, but she also wasn’t sure she could come to terms with what had happened on the beach.
“That’s all I’m asking.”
“But foremost, I’m concentrating on driving.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Get here safe.”
After they said goodbye, Mandy chewed on her lower lip, realizing that whether she wanted back with Justin or not, he was going to be in her life forever. And really, if she desired the best life for their child, then she should stay with him.
“He didn’t do it on purpose.” The image of Justin lording over the ocean and killing Ty filled her mind. Maybe if she said those words enough, they’d sink in, and she’d finally forgive him. Repeatedly, the words fell from her lips, until her stomach gurgled, breaking her from the chant, and an unpleasant fullness settled in her gut. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Her shoulders curled forward as dry heaves shook her chest. Quickly, she pulled to the roadside, gravel crunching beneath her tires, and darted from the car. Falling to her knees on the frozen grass, she lurched, her stomach wringing its contents from her body. Sweat blossomed on her upper lip, her breathing ragged and pained. Dizziness tilted the world, and she groaned as the wind whipped her hair around her face, making it worse.
Three times, she threw up. When the vomiting was over, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and, taking a deep, cleansing breath, rocked back on her knees. The frigid air seemed to lessen her sickness. Mandy sucked in several more chilled breaths before her stomach completely settled. She pushed down on her thighs and stood, her ribs aching from the force of retching.
She officially felt sorry for every woman who went through a first trimester, except the throwing up wasn’t going to last if she didn’t make it to the ocean soon. She touched just below her belly button, imagining the life growing in her womb. Vomiting for months sounded like heaven compared to the alternative and, though her head was still swimming, the urgency to get back on the road reached a feverish pitch.
Mandy stumbled to her car and closed the door just as a pulse racked her body, coursing from head to toe and back up. Dear God, she was tired, and she wanted so badly to lay her head on the steering wheel and shut her eyes. But the pulse was a stark reminder that even a few minutes could mean life or death. She turned on the blinker and pulled back onto the highway, speed control set within seconds.
Twenty minutes down the road, the engine lulling her into a relaxed trance, her mind wandered to the baby, and she wondered if she’d been pregnant when Ty had held the gun to her temple. She placed her hand on her stomach for the tenth time that day and sighed while she added dates in her mind.
As the days lined up, her hands and arms went numb, the kind of disembodied feeling she got after a serious shock, like when she’d been diagnosed with cancer. The idea that Ty could have killed her child was almost too ludicrous to consider, but the longer she pondered her question, the more the numbness settled throughout her entire body, her legs and feet soon losing feeling.
Like a poison, the truth slowly seeped into the deepest recesses of her consciousness. Of course, she’d been pregnant when Ty tried to kill her. The last time she’d had sex with Justin was the day before the beach outing. And if her dates were correct, she’d gotten pregnant a week before that.
The numbness bled away, leaving Mandy’s hands trembling and her legs shaking. She took deep, even breaths, desperate to control the tide of emotions overwhelming her. But the attempt was useless. Her entire body quivered uncontrollably, and her breaths came in sobbing gasps. A roar of horror swept over her, shutting her down, until she could hardly see through the tears deluging her eyes.
Scared she’d get in a wreck, she pulled over. As she parked on the shoulder, tears gushed down her cheeks, soaking her face, dribbling down her chin and landing on her coat. Damn Ty! How could he? She pounded her fists against the steering wheel. When that gave her no relief, she grabbed her phone and dialed, praying Justin could talk h
er down.
“Hello?” Justin answered.
“He tried to kill my child!” she screamed, unable to control her anguish and realizing that no one could soothe her, not even him.
“Mandy, calm down. And if you’re still driving, for Christ’s sake, pull over.”
“If he was still alive, I’d kill him myself!” Her shoulders shook, her chest heaving with every breath. “How could he do that?”
“It’s going to be okay. Are you driving?”
“No!”
“Okay, good. Now, take a deep breath and think about something calming. Think about your niece, Emma.”
Fuck that. She wanted to desecrate Ty’s grave. “He tried to kill my baby, Justin. I left Corpus because of what he did, and now I may lose my child, anyway!” She pounded the steering wheel again, the force vibrating the steering column, and pain shot through her wrist. The plastic Ford emblem cracked, a jagged line snaking horizontally through the letters. She clutched her throbbing hand to her chest, her anger rising, twisting her mind, turning her into a monster capable of killing to protect the child she loved.
“Mandy, listen to me. We’re running out of time. You have to make this flight. Do you understand me? I know you’re upset, but you have to work through it and get back on the road.”
She sucked in a deep breath, tears still staining her cheeks, her chest heaving with each lungful of air. She grasped the steering wheel and pressed her temple against the broken faceplate. But, anger still coursed through her rushing blood, and her heart pounded too fast. “I can’t,” she said, her voice a strangled whisper.
And with those words, she flashed to the beach, to the fury in Justin’s face and the fear in his eyes as he gazed at her, his hands prodding her body for wounds. Ty had tried to take away his everything. If Justin’s fury was a quarter of what she felt right now, regaining control had been out of the question.
She finally understood why Ty had died at Justin’s hands. Even with the knowledge, her anger raged on, just as Justin’s had.
“You need to calm down enough to drive,” Justin said.
She placed one hand on her stomach, rubbing the flat plains that might never swell if she couldn’t contain her fury. “I can do that,” she said, though her raspy, seething voice said otherwise.
“Listen, Mandy. We’re not letting Ty win this time. He’s not going to tear us apart, and he sure as hell isn’t going to take our child.”
“Not going to let him win,” she repeated, as she swiped at her tears. She pictured holding a swaddled infant in her arms, rocking the baby to sleep. Her breathing steadied, and her shoulders stopped shaking with every breath. Though her anger was no longer visible, it churned just below her skin, barely kept at bay.
“Not going to let him win,” she said one last time.
“Can you drive now?”
She was still too angry, tears falling to the floorboard, her eyes blurry. A pulse traveled down her body, reminding her of how dangerous this situation was. “Yes. I think I can.” She had to.
He sighed deeply. “Good.”
“Justin?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, too.” She blinked hard, clearing her hazy vision. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it earlier.”
“You’re saying it now, and that’s all that matters.”
She could hear his smile through the phone, and as she imagined his broad grin and sparkling brown eyes, her anger eased even more.
“I’ll see you in an hour,” he said. “Call me if you have any problems.”
“I will.” With that, she hung up. While she still fumed over what Ty had done to them, she had a hope welling in her chest that was comforting and most of all, calming enough to dry her tears.
Ty wasn’t going to win.
Chapter 30
Clenching and unclenching his hands with each step, Justin paced back and forth between two white pillars in the terminal. People buzzed past him, a low din to his chaotic brain as he wondered how Mandy would greet him.
He glanced at his watch. Eight forty-five. Five minutes ago, he’d talked to her while she’d parked. Her voice had sounded strained, as if she was holding back tears. She said she loves you, he reminded himself. But she’d been in a crazy mindset when the words had crossed her lips. She’d been angry and hurting and scared. All those things were enough to make her crave comfort, to make her need his familiarity. Did the tearful voice he’d heard moments before mean she’d changed her mind, maybe wished she hadn’t spoken those three words? In a moment, he’d know, because her expressive eyes gave away everything.
Anxiety ate at his gut as he watched the sliding glass doors. He rolled his neck, attempting to ease the tension in his shoulders, but it didn’t work; instead, his muscles just stiffened.
Weary from the day of traveling and tired of staring at an endless stream of travelers leaving the airport, he checked the departure screen for the fiftieth time, making sure their flight was still on schedule. So far, so good.
As he resumed his feverish pacing, Mandy’s blond hair bobbed into view over a group of Asian men wearing suits. Though he couldn’t see her face, he’d recognize her natural honey shade anywhere. When her entire figure became visible, he went perfectly still, his heart barely whispering a beat.
Her hair was swept back in a loose ponytail, and she wore a red wool jacket and black leather gloves. The cold wind had turned her cheeks rosy, and her blue eyes seemed to stand out even brighter amongst the shades of crimson and pink. Her gaze locked with his. He stopped breathing.
Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. For a split second, she hesitated, her stride halting, and his world slowed. Why was she still crying? The possibility that she regretted her words seemed very real, and sorrow flooded his mind, constricted his heart, and made filling his lungs impossible.
She let go of her luggage. The carry-on clattered sharply as it hit the floor, the sound piercing the chorus of conversations and rolling suitcases. Her chest heaved, and she rushed forward. She was at a full run by the time she landed in his outstretched arms. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed into his shoulder.
He wrapped her into a tight hug and buried his head in her hair. She clung to him as if afraid he’d disappear, as if she were his again.
“I don’t want to be apart ever again,” she said through choked sobs.
“Me, neither,” he whispered into her neck. He filled his lungs with her scent—jasmine and vanilla. He was aware the passersby were staring at them, but refused to let her go. He had his Mandy back. That was more than he’d expected and, holding her again when he’d thought their relationship was over, warmed him from the tip of his head to the soles of his feet. “I love you so much.”
She pulled back, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “Ty’s death wasn’t your fault.” She gazed into his eyes as if she could will him to believe her words.
“It was my fault.” The guilt that had been eating away at him rose again. “I should have been able to stop myself.”
“He drove you to that much rage. It had nothing to do with your control.” She shook her head. “Without a doubt, I know Ty’s to blame.”
He didn’t see it that way, but maybe he would in time. “Let’s put him behind us for now.” He wrapped her in his arms again and, as he held her tightly, a pulse of energy migrated down his body, the power shaking his very core. Hugging Mandy so close, with her body pulsing as well, the force doubled. Even the air around them seemed to vibrate.
She pulled away, her eyes darkening. “That one felt stronger, like it was coming from you, too.”
Justin swallowed hard. “It was.”
She inhaled sharply. “But you said the Calling started early this morning.”
“It did.”
Her shoulders straightened, and she pushed away from him, her eyes wide with fright. “You haven’t been counted?”
He shook his head slowly. “We’re fine. The flight’s on time. We’ll be in Miami by eleven-thirty, so
we have hours to spare.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed her tightly, not wanting her to worry.
She sank into his chest, but the tension in her shoulders never eased. “Plenty of time,” she whispered.
He kissed the top of her head, breathing her scent in deeply. “Plenty of time.”
As they clung to each other in the middle of the airport, he couldn’t help but smile at the irony of their situation. While the Calling had broken up one family, it was without a doubt healing another.
* * *
Mandy sat in her assigned seat next to Justin and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Though the soft cotton of his T-shirt was comforting, and the warmth of his body relaxing, she couldn’t sleep. She wiped her eyes with her palms and yawned, then snuggled close to him again. He smelled so good, like the ocean on a warm summer day. How had she thought she could leave him?
“I can’t believe I ran off to Colorado,” she said for the tenth time since their reunion in the airport. “That wasn’t very nice of me.”
He threaded his fingers through hers. “No, it wasn’t.” Based on his goofy grin, he didn’t hold it against her.
She tried to push away the worry gnawing at her stomach. They were going to be fine. The beach was only a few hours away, but the angst still ate at her. Justin didn’t seem too worried, so why should she be? Unless he was a better actor than she realized, and underneath his cool façade was a man panicking.
“You’re not worried?” she asked.
“No. We’ll be fine.”
She trembled, her stomach twisting into a tight knot. A pulse? Justin tensed, too. Yes, definitely a Calling vibration. “Why are they verging on painful now?”
The Calling Page 27
