Threads of Love

by Frances Devine

  Chapter 6

  Boredom forced Zoe to open a bag of chips before they’d gone thirty miles down Interstate 25. She really needed to think about eating healthier.

  Dewayne’s silence filled the car with ice and Zoe with dread. How was she going to survive the drive with someone who clearly resented her? By now, she would’ve thought he’d have managed to put the past behind him.

  She stole a glance at his rock-solid profile. A muscle twitched next to his eye. Obviously breathing the same air as her set him on edge. Her feelings on the matter were as tangled as the threads on her first quilt. One moment she wanted him to keep his distance, the other she wanted them to resume some kind of friendship. After all, they’d loved each other once. At least she had. She stuck her hand in her pocket. Still did, if she were honest with herself.

  Glancing out the window, she sighed. No chance for a rekindling of what they’d once had. She’d hurt Dewayne too deep. Besides, he most likely wouldn’t want to move to Oklahoma, and she wasn’t sure she’d want to start over somewhere else. Not that he’d ask.

  “Stop playing with the ring.” Dewayne’s words cut to her soul.

  Zoe snatched her hand out of her pocket. “Sorry.”

  “I don’t understand why you’ve kept it.” The Hummer surged forward.

  She leaned to look at the speedometer. The needle crept toward eighty-five. “Should you slow down?”

  He growled and eased off the pedal. A gust of wind shook the Hummer and pelted the windshield with raindrops. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. Zoe glanced again at the speedometer, relieved to see it lower again.

  Why did she keep the ring? Something from a happier time she loathed to part with? Probably. A sign she still had feelings for Dewayne? Most likely.

  The rain came across the plains in a gray sheet of water. Old Suzy would’ve died of fright with the ferocity of the winds. Zoe chuckled at how she thought of her car as a living thing. Still, the Mustang wouldn’t have braved the winds like the larger Hummer.

  “Well? Why did you?” Dewayne said, reminding her that avoiding the question wasn’t an answer.

  She shrugged. “You gave it to me in love. I don’t toss that away lightly.”

  “No, you only toss away people.”

  “That’s not fair. I explained my reasons for leaving.”

  “You could’ve told me then. Or called. Something. Maybe I would’ve gone with you.”

  “By the time we got to Oklahoma, I didn’t know what to say.” Tears threatened to clog her throat. “I’m sorry.”

  He grunted.

  “You still love me.” She stared at him through blurry vision.

  “No.” He cut a quick glance in her direction. “I’m in love with what could’ve been.”

  Her fiddling with his ring ate at him like termites in an old house. With bad weather coming in, he didn’t need the distraction of the ring or the perfume that drifted his way every time she moved. He couldn’t be positive, but he thought it was the same scent she wore in high school. Something floral and musky. Totally Zoe.

  “Can you grab me a Coke?” He motioned his head toward the bag at Zoe’s feet. The drink wouldn’t be cold, but he needed the caffeine after the sleepless night he’d just had.

  “Wait,” he said as she plunged her hand into the bag.

  A gas station loomed ahead of them, and Dewayne steered the Hummer to the side of the building. “Be right back.” He shoved open his door and dashed through the increasing rain toward the restroom.

  Once inside, he locked the door and planted his hands on each side of the chipped porcelain sink. With head bowed, he stared at the rust stains around the drain. What made him think he could do this? He wanted to grab Zoe and shake some sense into her. Make her see that he still loved her, despite what he said. But every minute spent in her company ripped him apart. God, what do You want me to do?

  Dewayne pounded the sink. Shards of pain ripped through his fists. He’d tell her. Sometime between here and Colorado Springs, he’d lay his heart open and let her know he still loved her. He’d open a business in Oklahoma, or she could move to New Mexico. Or they could start fresh in Colorado. Having that ring in her pocket meant something. Meant she still felt something for him.

  Resolved, with a plan in place, he splashed cold water on his face and raced back through the rain to his car. Zoe glanced at him then transferred her attention back to the window. Another thing he liked about her. She didn’t always feel the need to talk, like some women did. But today, he needed to fill the silence with words. Get to know the woman he could’ve spent the last twelve years with.

  “Tell me about your store.” He headed north on the interstate.

  She gave him a puzzled look then shrugged. “I got a job in a florist shop right after Mom and I settled in Oklahoma. It’s relaxing. All I need is my share of the inheritance from Nana, and my dream becomes a reality. I don’t know how much Nana left us, but it will help sway the bank in my favor.”

  “Have you signed a lease on a store front?”

  “No, just have a place chosen.”

  Good. Dewayne smiled. With her mother passed on and no lease signed, Zoe had no obligations keeping her from moving. And they had several hours ahead of them for Dewayne to convince her to stay.

  “When was the last time you saw your cousins?”

  Zoe ripped open a candy bar. “At the funeral last year. We talk on the phone sometimes and e-mail. Why all the questions?”

  “Just passing the time. Was there ever … anyone else? Besides me, I mean?”

  She sighed and looked out the window again. “No.” After a moment, she spoke, her question barely heard over the increasing storm outside. “You?”

  “Nope. Dated casually a few times.” He increased the speed on the windshield wipers. “If this keeps up, we might have to pull over for a while and wait out the storm.”

  Zoe narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to peer out the front window. “It’s getting really dark outside.”

  “Not looking good.” Dewayne frowned. He should’ve listened to his instincts when he’d seen the clouds earlier.

  “How did you know from the clouds in a town hours away that this would happen in the mountains?” Zoe finished her candy, tossed the wrapper back in the bag, and crossed her arms around her middle, still studying the sky.

  “I’ve pulled lots of stranded motorists off this interstate.”

  “Can the Hummer handle it?”

  Dewayne chuckled. “This baby can handle anything.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced, but leaned against the door and closed her eyes.

  For the next hour, the wind continued to buffet the Hummer like a cat with a toy. Headlights shone through the back window and reflected off the rearview mirror. A large truck barreled down the interstate behind them, sending plumes of water from its tires. Dewayne steered closer to the shoulder of the road to let the maniac pass. Only idiots drove like that in bad weather.

  “What’s wrong?” Zoe cracked an eyelid. “How long have I been sleeping?”

  “About an hour. There are signs signaling construction ahead, so we might arrive later than originally planned.” Dewayne drove back onto the asphalt. “It doesn’t help when you have a moron speeding on a wet highway.”

  “You’ve been driving for a while. Do you want me to take over?” Zoe straightened.

  “No, go back to sl—” He cut a sideways glance.

  “Look out!” Zoe braced her hands against the dashboard.

  Taillights loomed in front of the window. Dewayne yanked the steering wheel to the right, and prayed.

  Chapter 7

  Zoe grabbed the strap above the passenger-side door and screamed as the Hummer bounced off the asphalt, hit something solid, and rolled. Her eyes popped open as her head banged against the window, illuminating the darkening afternoon with multicolored spots in front of her eyes. “Dewayne!”

  The vehicle slammed into the side of
a hill and leaned against a large dirt mound. Muddy water dripped through cracks in the window. From Zoe’s left and slightly above her, she heard Dewayne groan. Using her door as leverage, she unhooked her seat belt and straightened, gasping at a pain in her side where her body had slammed into the door handle. The door was caved in from the impact with the mound of dirt outside. “Dewayne, are you all right?” Her head pounded.

  “Yeah. Are you?”

  “I think so. Where are we?” She put a hand to her head, feeling something warm and slick.

  “Raton Pass. Near the Colorado border.” He groaned again and shifted. “There should be a flashlight in the glove compartment. We’ll need it soon. I’d turn on the overhead light, but don’t want to waste the car battery. Hopefully, we’ll be able to leave when the traffic is cleared.”

  Zoe scooted around until she could reach the glove box. After some banging, it popped open. No way would she get it closed again. She fumbled around inside until her hand closed around a heavy-duty flashlight. Please work. She pressed the button and illuminated the interior of the cab.

  Dewayne clutched his ribcage. A purplish knot rose on his forehead. “Come closer. Lean your weight over here. Maybe we can set the car back on four wheels.”

  Ice water ran through her veins. What if they couldn’t? What if they slid farther in the other direction? She scooted closer, all but sitting on Dewayne’s lap. The Hummer fell back with a thud.

  “Feels like we’ve got a couple of flat tires,” Dewayne said. “Look out the window. See if you can tell what happened.”

  “We almost plowed into somebody, last I remember.” Zoe climbed to the backseat and shoved open the door enough to peer out into the pouring rain. If she hadn’t whined so much about getting to Colorado, they wouldn’t be in this fix and Dewayne wouldn’t be moaning in pain.

  She shone the light through the opening in the door, and gasped. Cars lay crooked and tossed as if a young child had finished playing with them. She searched in the opposite direction. The same scene mocked her. No one would go anywhere anytime soon. Where had all these cars come from? She pressed the button to light up the face of her watch. Weekend travelers? Thank God, Dewayne’s quick reflexes on sending them into the ditch kept them from taking out someone else’s car.

  Pulling the door shut, she climbed back to the front seat and transferred her attention to Dewayne.

  He waved a hand. “I’m all right. My ribs are sore, and the breath got knocked out of me, but I’m okay. You’re not.” He brushed his fingers across her forehead. “You’re bleeding.”

  “And you might have a concussion.” She’d forgotten her head’s contact with the window. Now the pain came back in a throbbing rush. Maybe they both had concussions.

  “No, I’m fine. There are napkins in the console.” He struggled to a sitting position, lifted the lid of the console between the bucket seats, and pulled out a handful of paper napkins. Then he grabbed a bottle of water. “Let me take care of you.”

  Tears stung her eyes. When was the last time somebody had said those words to her?

  “Oh, baby, don’t cry.” Dewayne wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. “Are you hurt anywhere besides your head?”

  She wanted to say yes. Instead, she shook her head. “Just the adrenaline wearing off, I guess. It’s a mess out there. The Hummer looks okay, from what I could see, now that we’re back on all four tires, but we’re blocked in by other cars.”

  “We’ll hold tight until morning. Things will be cleared by then. I’ll call 911 and a tow truck, and we’ll get back on the road.” He wet a napkin and dabbed at her forehead.

  She winced and pulled back to give him easier access. “Do I need stitches?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “What happened?” She moved back to the passenger seat. “All I saw was the back of a semi in the front window.”

  “Good news is we didn’t hit it. My best guess is, someone lost control. When I saw cars scattering and colliding, I barely had time to yank ours off the road.” He leaned his head back against the headrest. “We should probably save the flashlight batteries. I’m going to need it when I go out.” He shifted his position and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “I don’t have a signal. Do you?”

  Her heart seized. “Why would you go out? It’s still raining.” She checked her phone. “No signal either.”

  “Darn. I’m going out to see whether anyone needs help. And to look for a phone.”

  “But what about your head? You could hang a potted plant on the lump.” She should’ve thought of helping others, but Dewayne’s apparent pain and her own aching head kept her wanting to stay inside where it was at least dry, if not warm. She shivered, glad for the jacket she wore.

  “There’s a blanket behind the seat if you’re cold.”

  “Thank you.” She fished it from the floorboard and wrapped it around the front of her. “Are you cold?”

  “There’s another blanket. I’ll get it when I come back. I’ll be wet.” He took the flashlight from her lap then wrenched his door open. Icy rain blew inside. “Stay here. Flash the lights and honk the horn if you need me.” His gaze locked on hers. She nodded, and he was gone, leaving her as alone and frightened as a child locked in a dark closet.

  Dewayne directed the light in the windows of the four-door sedan behind the Hummer. Wide eyes stared from the faces of two young children. He yanked open the driver’s-side door and felt for the pulse of the unconscious woman behind the wheel. A steady beat met his fingers. “Your mom?” One of the boys nodded. “She’s okay.” He hoped. “Let her rest. Help will be coming.” He moved to the next vehicle in line, a semi, its engine still rumbling.

  The driver sat slumped over the wheel. No seat belt. Dewayne climbed inside and felt for a pulse. This time, nothing but chilly skin met his touch. He closed his eyes and sighed. How many more would he find dead before completing his trek down the long line of cars? Using the man’s CB radio, he called in the accident then turned off the ignition and climbed from the truck.

  He pulled the collar of his denim jacket higher on his neck and flashed his light down the road. A few people huddled around their vehicles. Only two were moving from car to car. Maybe, like Dewayne, they searched for survivors.

  The next vehicle, a small model truck, had the engine smashed into the cab. The driver and passenger, dead. Dewayne said a prayer that he wouldn’t find any more dead bodies and kept moving. Two hours later, he’d tied a tourniquet on a man’s leg, handed a newly orphaned infant to an elderly woman to care for, and cried more tears than he could number. Cold and despondent, he trudged back to Zoe, his clothes clinging to his shivering body.

  She woke when he wrenched open the door and slid inside, his teeth chattering so hard he thought they’d crack. He held up a hand when she started to speak. “Not now, please. Fetch me the other blanket, okay?”

  “Use this one. It’s warm from my body.” She draped it over him, enveloping him in her scent. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He could hear her scrounging for the other cover. How could he tell her about the devastation outside their cold little world?

  “How bad is it?”

  “Very.” He pulled the blanket over his nose and willed the shaking to stop.

  “Is there anyone that needs, well, a woman’s touch?”

  He cracked open an eye. “I don’t want you to see what’s out there. I used a CB radio and called for help. Just wait.”

  “I can handle it, Dewayne. I watched my mother die.”

  He groped for her hand and squeezed. “Please, stay with me. Pray for those out there. That’s the best thing you can do. And pray that help arrives soon. With the wet roads and congestion, it’ll take emergency vehicles a while.”

  Zoe wanted to help. Not be treated like a fragile flower that would wilt under devastating circumstances. She and Dewayne were fortunate. She wanted to use the gift God gave them to minister to others. There were people she could sit wit
h and pray for. She moved to climb over the seat, her own door still pressed against the hill.

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Why?”

  “A woman alone shouldn’t be traipsing around after dark.” He turned his head to look at her, color returning to his face. “Yes, we’ve all been in a horrible accident, but there might be others out there who will prey on innocent people. I can’t protect you if you aren’t here.”

  “Can I at least get you something to eat or drink? I’ve got ibuprofen.” She reached for her purse.

  “That would be wonderful. And one of those granola bars.”

  Zoe used the water in the bottle he’d opened to down three ibuprofen before handing the bottle over to Dewayne. He smiled his thanks and popped four of the little orange pills.

  “The rain has stopped. Try to catch some sleep,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. “No telling how long we’ll be here.”

  She scooted her back against the door and watched as the moon, playing hide-and-seek with the clouds, illuminated his face. Already the lump on his forehead promised a colorful array of blue and purple. She pulled down the visor mirror. So did her own. She smiled grimly. What a way to see her cousins for the first time in over a year.

  Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she checked for service again. Still no bars. She was thankful Dewayne had found a CB radio and called for help. How bad was the pileup that prevented help from coming? She thought to ask Dewayne but decided not to when she noticed his steady breathing. What had he witnessed outside that would leave those deep furrows in his forehead? How many people sat in their cars, paralyzed with fear and injury? How many dead?

  Tears spilled down her cheeks as she tried to find the good in the night’s circumstances. Sometimes, her life verse was hard even for her to hang on to.

  How long would she be confined to a car with the man who wanted her gone as quickly as possible?

  Chapter 8

  Zoe woke to loud voices as the sun peeked over the horizon, spreading fingers of gold and magenta across the dented metal of a rainbow hue of automobiles. She rolled the kinks from her neck and glanced at the empty driver’s seat. Where had Dewayne gone to so early? She crawled from the Hummer.