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1
The cars ahead skated on a skim of water. The vivid red of countless tail lights, brake lights bobbed in the endless black of night, the only sign that they weren’t alone in this storm. Sheets of rain fell sideways as it hammered down on the roof, a persistent drumbeat that even the radio couldn’t quite drown out.
Despite the late hour, despite the treacherous conditions, going somewhere special made it worth the risk of travel. For Tessa Sullivan, it was an upscale spa and resort two states over from the simple suburban center she called home. She’d been looking forward to this trip for ages. A splash of rain wasn’t going to stop her now.
It just made her a little worried.
Okay. Maybe more than a little.
As she prayed she would survive her husband’s driving, she was reminded again that there was one thing she couldn’t control: everybody else. It was a hard-earned lesson, going back fifteen years to when she was ten and her father was sideswiped in a storm just like this. Even if he'd been wearing a seatbelt, it wouldn't have saved him.
The SUV to their right suddenly cut over into their lane, spitting water up at the windshield, blinding her. Tess gulped, fervently wishing she hadn't let that last thought cross her mind.
She fidgeted restlessly in her seat, tugging on the strap by her neck as she checked its fit one more time. They had already been driving for close to seven hours without anything more than an early supper and a bathroom break. Jack wasn’t showing any signs of tiring, and his lead foot, heavy against the gas pedal, did nothing to help her nerves.
Not that he noticed. Or that she bothered to complain.
With the exception of the radio, he preferred silence when he drove if they were going somewhere new. She learned about that quirk on their honeymoon last year, where she struggled to keep quiet. It was a sad state of their marriage that she found it much easier this time around. There wasn’t much she wanted to say to him.
Squeaky wipers slid across the windshield, but the rain fell so hard and so fast, there was always a constant river streaking down the glass. She made a note to get them replaced after she returned home. The horrible scraping sound was grating on her nerves.
The music didn’t help. Jack kept the dial tuned to whatever classic rock station he could find. If she heard one more power ballad with the crooner shrieking about lost love, she thought she might open the car door and pitch herself out into the storm.
She looked around, trying to find something else to occupy her.
There. On the opposite side of the highway, Tess could just make out a car sluicing its way through the rain. It had one wide white eye. The other headlight was blown.
Her response was automatic, ingrained in her from when she was a child and she played this game with her mother. Without even thinking, she leaned over and punched Jack in his upper arm.
“Padiddle!”
She knew right away that she made a mistake.
With all of his concentration on the road, he wasn’t expecting the hit. His arm jolted which meant that his hand on the wheel yanked. He pulled suddenly to the left. The front wheels skid, hydroplaning on the slick road as the car slid to the other side. Jack struggled to right the vehicle, breathing heavily when he finally had it back under control.
