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“Oh my God. Lacy!” I scream, fright taking over because I don’t know what to do. I have hardly driven in the city, and I certainly never was taught how to stop a car if the brakes fail. I look up out of the windshield as I hit the brakes over and over, but nothing happens. The road is dark out here, nothing but my headlights leading the way.
“Victoria. We are coming!” I hear Lacy say, and it sounds like she is running.
“The corner! The corner!Lacy!” I scream as a sharp corner approaches, and the road starts to slope downhill, the truck picking up speed.
“Oh no! No, no, no!” I yell as I continue to slam my foot on the brake pedal. My body is shaking, and I sit up straight in my seat. I don’t know if I should take off my seat belt and try to jump out of a moving vehicle or if that will be worse because of the speed I am traveling.
Then it is almost like it happens in slow motion. My hands grip the wheel, and I brace myself as I turn the truck around the corner, going way too fast, but I need to try. But the old truck can’t take it. The rolling happens instantaneously, and there is nothing I can do.
“Lacy!” I scream as the truck plows off the road and through a fence into the field. I can’t see anything as my headlights flicker on and off and the truck rolls. My body’s thrown around as I roll for a second time, thetruck creaking, windows breaking, but as old as it is, the seat belt holds me tight. It pulls against my body, and I feel like I am in a washing machine just tumbling out of control before the truck comes to a stop on its side and the pain in my chest intensifies. My head thuds, the quietness now deafening as I look up and out the broken windshield. The full moon above shines bright, and I am looking straight at a small herd of cows.
“Lacy…” I say quietly, my eyes moving around the truck, seeing nothing but mangled and dented metal and broken glass. I have no idea where my cell phone is or my bag. I wiggle my toes and my fingers, and everything moves as it should. Then I roll my ankles and wrists before bending my knees and elbows. My body aches, but nothing is feeling severe, and even though there is broken glass, I don’t see any blood.
I take a deep breath in and feel pain in my chest from where the seat belt held me. As the shock starts to wear off, so does any bravado, and my eyes water as my hands shake. I turn my head, and the pain in my temple intensifies, so I remain still. I don’t have the strength to move. Knowing that Lacy will find me, I close my eyes and try to breathe out my panic and wonder how life can go from fantastic one moment to almost fatal the next.
31
TANNER
After a late lunch with Connor, and one more meeting that I committed to while in the city, which went over the allotted time, I am now in the jet, Whispers coming into view as we descend.
Feeling a little tension leave, I’m eager to get to Victoria’s, even though it is late. She might be asleep, but I will take great joy in waking her up. At that thought, I look over to the horizon where our homes are and frown. It is dark, nothing amiss, but something feels off. I tug at my collar and roll my shoulders before I pull out my cell and send her a message, telling her I’m home early and will come by tonight. Her persistent ex, her lost father, none of it adds up, and along with the rose in her house, it all puts me on edge. Glancing at my cell, I see nothing back from her, which is unusual, but she is probably sleeping or engrossed in work or something.
As I get off the jet, I crack my neck, feeling jittery, unsettled. Not usually how I feel when I land back at home.
Just as I’m speeding out of the airport in my truck that my team left for me this afternoon, my phone rings. It’s Lacy.
“Tanner!” she says before I’ve even fully said hello, and I immediately know from her tone something is wrong.
“Talk to me, Lacy.” Pressing the accelerator down a little more, I move quicker than I should, but the roads are quiet and I know this place like the back of my hand. If I have lost more barrels due to a forklift accident today, I won't be happy.
“It’s Victoria!” she says, out of breath, hiccupping and clearly distressed. “There’s been an accident. Hudson is here. The sheriff. She’s… she's…” My heart feels like it has fallen out of my chest and been stabbed into a million pieces as I head through Whisper’s main street, only a few minutes out from Distillery Drive.
“She’s what, Lacy?” I bark at her, needing to hear the words.
“She’s hurt, Tanner. She crashed Marie’s truck, and now we are at the hospital.”
I take a deep breath in, the urge to get to her overwhelming. Slamming on my brakes, I turn my truck around and drive back in the direction of the hospital. It’s mere minutes away, so I get there quickly, as Lacy explains to me that she was on the phone with Victoria who was unable to stop the truck. It flew through the fields not far from home, and Lacy immediately went looking for her.
“I’m here,” I say, hanging up the call as I skid to a stop in front of the hospital. I see Hudson’s car here and feelrelief that he is still in Whispers. I also spot Lacy’s and the sheriff's, his red and blue lights still flashing. As I run to the entrance, my adrenaline’s at an all-time high.
“Tanner!” Lacy calls out, waving to me from the front, and I run up to her.
“Where is she?” I demand. Lacy pushes inside, and I follow her as we make our way through the hospital. The familiar smell of antiseptic and the stark white walls and floor almost have me squinting.
“In here!” Hudson's stern words hit me from down the hall, obviously hearing us, given no one else is in here tonight. I have known Hudson for many years, and I know by his tone he is in professional mode. That has me even more panicked as I stride toward the room. I come to a sudden stop as I see her.
Victoria is lying in the bed, hooked up to a few monitors, a nurse tending to her, with Jasmine right by her side. Her clothes are dirty and ripped like she was dragged down a gravel driveway. Dirt covers her legs, face, and body. Blood and shredded skin on her legs, her eyes are red, her cheek swollen and starting to turn purple. My mouth feels dry as I look her over, ensuring she is in one piece.
“I’m okay,” she croaks out before coughing, and I stride toward her with my stomach in knots.
“What happened, baby girl?” I ask her, my hands coming to her face. I touch her so softly I can barely feel her cheek as my eyes roam over her face and body, my teeth gritting tightly together, and my heart is lurching out of my chest, hating seeing her like this. I feel Hudson grab and squeeze my shoulder, a silent request to keepmyself in check because he knows I am about to lose my shit.
“She had an accident. Appears the truck was taking the corner at speed.” I glance up and see the sheriff standing there looking at us. When I look back to Victoria, her eyes are glassy. A lone tear falls down her cheek, and I catch it, wiping it away.
“It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll take care of everything,” I tell her, also needing the reassurance myself because I feel like I am going to have a fucking heart attack. I smell the faint aroma of gasoline and engine oil, and I wonder what kind of shape the truck is in.
“The brakes didn’t work,” she whispers to me, her hands shaking a little, so I grab them and give her a squeeze of support.
