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Will rolled nearer before stopping. “‘Use alternate route’,” he read aloud.
“But this is the way we have to go.” She glanced at her phone. Her cousin had called to tell her they were all ready to surprise Uncle Tim for his birthday. She and Will needed to get there as soon as possible. “The road crew could at least tell you where to find that.”
“We passed an intersection twenty yards back.” Naturally, Will had noticed his whereabouts. He called that skill situational awareness, which she obviously needed to improve upon herself. This part of the county had a lot of twisty roads that circled large estates. “It wasn’t a driveway?” she asked.
“Not that I could see.”
Gwen looked behind them. The tail lights caught little of the dark, drenched landscape between swipes of the rear wiper. Coming from her apartment farther south near the thruway, they wouldn’t have taken this route. But they were coming from a party at one of Will’s sisters, who lived across the river.
“If we’re going to go that way, I need to reverse now, before the car coming up behind us blocks us.”
She gripped the cold door handle. “I can get out and hold up my hand to stop them.”
“That’s okay. we’ll manage.”
We will. Will always included her. He didn’t need to claim credit the way her egocentric ex-boyfriend always had. “They’re stopping, but be careful.”
Will began reversing down the road. “You know I am.”
In her book, this wasn’t entirely true. He’d put his life on the line for her already two or three times. She’d never experienced that sort of protectiveness before from a guy. He had stepped up to help her only minutes after their meeting each other.
Maybe that came from his being former military ops, but how he could feel so invested in her after such a short acquaintance, she didn’t know.
The rain had stopped by the time they’d reversed to the intersection with the side road. “There’s no working light on the barrel, but I see a detour sign half way off the pavement,” he said.
She peered past him. The arrow pointed down a road which ran under a commuter train trestle at the bottom of the hill.
Her chest tightened. Quickly, before Will could follow the arrow, she grasped his arm. “Turn left,” she urged, gesturing madly in that direction.
He glanced at her with what in the dim interior might be a frown. “I’m pretty sure that way will take us back to Briar Cliff and the bridge.”
And they’d lose a lot of time. Gwen checked the time on the phone clutched in her lap. If they were going to make the party, they couldn’t waste any more time.
“Never mind.” A half-laugh escaped her. She’d be fine. It had been years, after all. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She did know, of course, and clutched the arm rest with one hand and the edge of the seat with the other. She wanted to close her eyes, but the dread kept her staring straight ahead as the road neared the bridge supports. As the pavement narrowed, her breath clogged her lungs. No visual evidence remained now, but?—
“Are you all right?” Will’s concerned voice overrode the swish of air from the vents.
With her heart still thudding, she could barely speak. “F-fine.” She rubbed her sweaty palms together. “But would you mind stopping for ice cream? I think we can squeeze that in before visiting.”
Will massaged the gear shift knob and lifted an eyebrow in question. She knew what he must be thinking. She’d been rushing to get to her aunt and uncle’s, but now she’d changed her mind? He’d be curious, but she couldn’t explain. Not yet.
* * *
“I’m assuming we’re going to Bailey’s?” Will kept his tone light and teasing.
“Right.” Gwen said and clenched her jaw.
“No problem.” He threw her a smile. Taking that detour had made her tense up for some reason. Once she relaxed, she’d probably tell hm what had spooked her. Or else he didn’t understand her at all.
“I’m calling my aunt. I’ll tell her we’ll be delayed.”
“You still want to go visit?” He turned off the wipers. His sisters were important to him, and one of the things he appreciated about Gwen was that she remained close to her own family. So far, he’d been to their house five times in the month he’d been seeing her, and each time they’d welcomed him with open arms.
“Definitely.” She tapped her phone and lifted the device to her ear. “Let me talk to Aunt Kathy and find out what’s going on.”
Some fifteen minutes later, he parked in an angled spot at the old-timey-styled ice cream parlor and restaurant. He’d been so focused on watching for a black SUV the first time they’d come, he’d barely noticed the décor.
