With This Heart(39)

“ Holy buhjesus,” I complained, smashing my face to the window for the fiftieth time. I suppose I thought that if I pressed my face into the glass hard enough, I’d finally be able to see what was going on up ahead.

Beck laughed and shook his head. “I don’t want to blame the traffic jam on you, but I think it’s fair to assume that it’s one hundred percent your fault,” he declared with a hint of amusement.

“ What?!” I snapped, peeling my gaze away from the rainy line of cars.

“ John Denver is demanding penance for your sins,” he explained with a silly grin.

I laughed indignantly, “Ah. I’m sorry . I didn’t realize he was God.”

Before Beck could respond to my sarcasm, a police officer dressed in a long, bright-yellow raincoat tapped on Beck’s window with the tip of his index finger. Rain fell in sheets around him so that his face was shadowed under his hood. Beck rolled down his window and the officer leaned in through the threshold.

“ Sorry for the hold-up. There was a wreck up ahead because of the slick roads. We’ll be redirecting traffic back through the town and I’d suggest not traveling much farther than that. The traffic is heavy and they’ve issued a flood warning for all of our surrounding counties.” His instructions were direct and authoritative.

“ Do you know how long the warning is supposed to last?” Beck asked respectfully.

The officer’s mouth formed a thin line. “Through the night. Rain should lighten up in the morning.”

It was a good thing we had no real destination in mind because Mother Nature was deciding our fate for us. We’d stay somewhere in this tiny-ass town for the night and start driving again tomorrow.

“ Alright, thanks officer.”

The officer tipped his head and then offered us a final “stay safe out there” warning.

“ John Denver is not a merciful God,” I declared once the window was rolled up.

Beck chuckled, “I guess you really pissed him off.”

The line of cars finally started moving and soon we were pulling out onto a road that was barely visible beneath the sheets of rain.

“ So,” I started, “I’m drenched and it’s almost nighttime. What if we just pulled in somewhere and called it a night?”

“ In a motel?” Beck asked, turning his windshield wipers up to their highest setting, which still wasn’t enough. The longer we drove, the more paranoid I became. Country roads weren’t safe and I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of our car.

“ Or we could just sleep in the camper,” I offered, dreading the idea of searching for a vacancy in that tiny town.

He nodded and kept driving. We passed through Main Street, where shops and businesses were all closing their doors for the night. People darted for their cars and one old man tried in vain to stay dry using an old newspaper. I wondered if the ink dripped from the articles onto his clothes.

I only spotted one motel on our path and it looked like it had seen better days. Half of the rooms had broken windows and doors falling off their hinges. There was no way it could still be open and operating.

“ There’s a rest stop a few miles up ahead, we can pull in there and stay the night,” Beck declared.

“ Is that safe?” Visions of rest stop serial killers danced in my head. We were in the middle of nowhere, but I’d seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre and I wasn’t going to be the next victim.

“ We’ll be fine.”

I grunted and stared out the window, wondering what the night had in store for us. The idea of sleeping together in the back of the car seemed oddly romantic, but I didn’t think Beck thought of it that way.

We only had to drive a few more minutes before exiting the two lane highway and driving into a recently renovated rest stop. It was, dare I say… nice . It was made of stone bricks and topped with a metal roof. Tall street lamps dotted the path toward the front entrance.

“ Want to go scout out the bathrooms?” I asked after he parked in the spot closest to the doors. There were a couple of other cars parked near us. I assumed they were waiting out the rain as well.

“ I guess there’s no point in changing in there since we’ll just get drenched again?” Beck asked, turning toward me with a defeated frown.

“ We can change in here when we get back,” I answered simply.

“ Pfft, so that you can sneak a peek?” He shot me a wink that stole my common sense, and then bolted from the car. I hopped out and ran after him, shielding the rain with my hands and fingers. By the time we reached the rest-stop entrance, my wet underwear was wedged so far up my ass that I didn’t think it would ever come out. Beck held the door open for me and we darted inside to the soundtrack of my howling laughter.


“ What’s so funny?”

“ Nothing,” I said, trying to edge toward the ladies room without turning around. I was sure he’d be able to see my bunched up underwear beneath my soaked dress.

“ Mmhm, I bet. Meet me back out here after you fix your underwear!” Beck grinned and I pinched my eyes closed in embarrassment as I pushed back against the swivel door.

After using the facilities, I checked my appearance in the mirror. I was prepared for the worst, so my wet rat appearance actually wasn’t that bad. I ran my fingers through my soaked hair, trying to de-tangle the long strands, but it was hopeless. My jade green eyes looked eerie in the fluorescent lighting and my skin appeared like alabaster marble. I was freaking cold standing in the air conditioned bathroom, so after I washed my hands, I held them underneath the drier for a few minutes, letting the warm air coat my skin.