“Can you call him?”
“Nah,” she said, even though she knew she could. Billy would make time for her. But as much as she wanted to hear his voice, she made a point of not bugging him during his working hours.
They heard the phone ring, and her mom ran inside. A minute later, she was peeking out the door, her hand on the receiver. “It’s Eddie Jessup,” she said, sounding perplexed. “He says it’s urgent. ”
“That’s weird. Urgent?” Cold panic prickled up her arms—Eddie never called the house phone. Whenever she had construction issues, she contacted him or his brother Jack on her cell. She jogged inside, pulling off her gloves.
The call was quick. “Oh, God. ”
Her mother barely waited for her to hang up before she asked, “What is it?”
She met Mom’s eyes. “There’s been an accident. ”
Thirty-seven
Billy held Sorrow in the antiseptic waiting room. She leaned against his chest, and he willed strength into her. She’d need it.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” she said.
He’d come over right away, speeding Sorrow to Silver City Memorial Hospital, with her parents following in Bear’s truck.
He squeezed her closer. “What good is a police vehicle if I can’t rush you to the hospital?” He kissed the top of her head. “We’re lucky Eddie drove by when he did—he’s got a work site near the Simmons place. He found Laura in the middle of nowhere, off Old Mine Road. ”
She nodded against his chest. “It’s our shortcut. Old Mine hits a couple of back roads that eventually land you on 88 to Silver City. ”
“I know the route,” he said. “It was a miracle Eddie saw the car. She’d rolled into a pretty deep ravine. ” The prospect chilled him. The road was thin and winding, shrouded by rock face on one side, sloping down to tall pines on the other. It was the foothills, and the drop off the eastern side got pretty steep in parts. “It’s possible a few people drove by and didn’t even see her. ”
Keri’s accident flashed in his head. She’d been in Oakland, in the middle of the city. How many hundreds had driven by her accident site, rubbernecking for a glimpse?
He pulled Sorrow more tightly to him, holding on, thinking he might never let go. He knew firsthand just how lucky Laura had been. How lucky they all were that she’d survived.
The door to the waiting room swung open, and Sorrow looked expectantly at the nurse who’d appeared, but she was just calling in a patient. Her shoulders sagged. “I hate hospitals. ”
“Who doesn’t?” He smoothed a hand over her hair. “Don’t worry. You’ll be able to see her the moment she’s out of radiology. ”
“Do you think she broke her collarbone?” Sorrow asked, repeating the same question she’d asked not five minutes earlier. It was pure speculation, but he was happy to indulge in as much idle conjecture as she wanted, as long as it helped her pass the time.
And, for the moment, it was putting off the difficult news he needed to tell her.
“Whatever happens,” he repeated for the umpteenth time, “she’ll come through just fine. She’ll be okay, and you two will be at each other’s throats again before you know it. ”
At that, she burst into tears. Panic overwhelmed him, and he ran through his mind what he’d just told her, wondering what he’d said wrong. “What is it?”
“I said such horrible things to her the last time we talked. What if those had been the last things I ever said to her?” She scrubbed her face, and it was a relief to finally see her tears start to flow. The whole drive to Silver City, she’d been frozen, unable to cry, and he was beginning to fear it was shock.
“It’s okay. ” He gently shushed her, rubbing her back and thumbing the tears from her cheeks. “I promise you, Laura will come through this just fine. She was lucky. It could’ve been a lot worse. I finally talked to the guys on the scene—your little GMC Jimmy is a pancake. ”
Dread and fear swept through him anew, a ball of ice in his belly. He’d lost one woman before; he’d not lose this one. He grabbed her chin, held her gaze, and told her in a grave voice, “I want you in a better truck. With air bags all over the place. And steel beams. One of those giant Ford Excursions. Or how about a tank? I need you safe, Sorrow. ”
She laughed, looking grateful for the flash of humor. A wave of emotion slammed into him, overtook him—this woman was so strong, so self-possessed. The words I love you burst into his heart, cut to the forefront of his mind. They were on his lips but still too frightening to say, so instead he hugged her more tightly, his voice cracking with intensity as he told her, “I feel so blessed it wasn’t you behind the wheel. ” An accident had claimed his love once before, and he’d do everything in his power to prevent it from happening again.
Something shifted inside him, and the sheriff took over for the man. “We are lucky,” he said vehemently, “and I intend on staying that way. There’s something we need to talk about. Silver City PD told me some things you need to hear. ”
“What? Was it her fault?” She pulled away to look at him, looking afraid at what he was working up to. As well she should. “I still don’t understand how the accident happened. ”
He took her hand, led her to a seat in the corner, away from the other people in the waiting area. He walked slowly, piecing together just the right words. “That’s just it, Sorrow. It wasn’t an accident. Your sister said a Hummer was on her tail. She slowed to let him pass, but as he was passing her, he slowed, too, and matched her pace. ”
“It sounds like something out of a movie,” Sorrow said, looking confused. “You mean he was driving side by side with her?”