Faked (Ward Family #2)(34)

"Oh," I said weakly.

Bauer smiled. "Yeah, oh."

"So, we're ... driving out into a snowstorm to check on a cat who lives out in the middle of nowhere."

His nod was slow. "It looks like it."

I walked over to the window and carefully pulled back the heavy curtains. Snow was already sticking to the ground. Tree branches were coated white, lending a magical air to the already stunning vista. Like a winter wonderland. Except not wonderful, not anymore.

"He lives about an hour away?" I asked weakly. An hour wasn't so bad. No reason to freak out.

"Yeah. We better grab some coffee and hit the road if we want to get back to Seattle on decent time."

I pinched my eyes shut. "I'm sorry. This is …" I paused. "I should've waited until you were off the phone."

His hands landed on my shoulders, and he gently spun me to face him. He didn't speak until I pried open my eyelids. "Princess, it's fine. I still think this storm will blow past like a sweet little kitten, unlike Agnes, who is an awful, awful bitch of an animal."

My smile came quickly, and he hummed deep in his chest at the sight it.

"Killin' me," he whispered.

"Sorry."

He squeezed my shoulders. "No, you're not. You just can't help it."

Fifteen minutes later, coffees in hand, and breakfast sandwiches wrapped up for us by Richard's housekeeper, we were bundled into Bauer's Jeep as big, fat snowflakes hit the windshield in soft little pats of sound.

"You told Paige this wasn't my idea, right?" he asked, watching me tap out a message to my sisters so they didn't think I'd been kidnapped. "Because she looked very serious when she threatened my life."

"She was serious."

"Helpful," he said dryly. He cranked the engine to life and sat back in his seat.

Me: Long story, but we have to detour north a bit to check on something for Bauer's coach. We'll be fine.





Lia: OMG, don't let him talk you into something insane. Like he cares about a freaking blizzard.





Paige: THIS IS WHY I SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRACK YOUR ASSES. I'm making Logan learn how to hack your phone.





Isabel: fist bump Don't do anything I wouldn't do.





Molly: Who's Bauer? WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT DID I MISS? I hate traveling when exciting things happen sad face emoji





I sighed at the immediate barrage, tucking my phone away into the front of my backpack. "Don't worry, she's never actually killed anyone."

Bauer shook his head, pulling the gear shift into reverse. "You Ward women, you should come with a warning label, princess."

As we pulled out of the driveway and headed into the ominous looking storm, I couldn't believe it, but I was laughing.





Chapter Thirteen





Bauer





Someday, I might build a shrine to Agnes, commemorating the fact that Claire thought she was a sweet old woman stuck in a snowstorm as opposed to the devil cat she actually was, thereby granting me more time with Miss Ward.

But today would not be that day because when the drive to Scotty's cabin took almost three times longer than I expected, due to the combination of zero visibility, slick, icy roads, and blustering wind that even had me white-knuckling the steering wheel, I just wanted to get to our destination safely.

April.

It was fucking April, and I was not okay with the storm of the century hitting Western Canada while I had to be out on the roads with a woman I didn't really know, checking on a cat that I hated to the depths of my soul for the man who meant more to me than anyone else on the planet.

Claire was quiet in the passenger seat, and this time, I didn't push her.

I'd hit the irrational stage of driving about an hour earlier, where you turn down the volume on the music just in case it helped you magically see the roads better.

When I caught sight of the red mailbox signaling the turnoff to Scotty's place, I breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

"We're here," I told her.

She jumped a little at the sound of my voice. "Oh, good."

I glanced in the rearview mirror, and the swirling blanket of white that obscured my vision. It had been years since I'd driven in something like that, and it occurred to me, with Scotty's place close, that we'd probably be hunkered down for at least one night.

"You doing okay?" I asked her. If I was stressed ... I couldn't even imagine what she must be feeling.

Claire was quiet for a second, and then she exhaled shakily. "I don't think I breathed properly for a solid hour."

"We're almost there," I promised.

She nodded.

I smiled. "You can say it now."

Claire looked over at me. Her face was pale and drawn. "Say what?"

Lifting my eyebrows, I waved a hand at the windshield.

"Ahh." She cleared her throat. "I'll save the I told you so for when we're safely inside his place."

The back end of the Jeep fishtailed when I turned down the long driveway. Knowing not to overcorrect, because the last thing I wanted was to end up sliding off the drive and down the slight ditch that I knew lined the first fifty feet or so, I lessened the pressure of my hands on the wheel until the vehicle righted itself. Now that we were protected slightly by the trees that crowded Scotty's property, the visibility increased to something more manageable than it had been on the roads leading us here.