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Blinking at him, Luce considered. It would mean hours in a car with Ben, on bad roads, but somehow she felt he was a surer bet than the trains. And not even he would try to seduce her in a snowdrift, right? ‘You’d do that?’
‘I still owe you for the room mix-up, remember? And this is cheaper than a first-class train ticket, anyway.’
He made it sound like nothing, but Luce knew better. He was fixing her life again. But if it got her home and her book finished maybe she should just let him. Accept help for once.
Grandad hadn’t had a saying to cover that one, but Luce thought there might be potential in it all the same.
‘Okay, then,’ she said, grabbing her phone and standing up. ‘Let’s go.’
CHAPTER SIX
SOMEWHERE AROUND WELSHPOOL Ben finally admitted to himself that this might not have been the best idea he’d ever had.
The integral sat nav in the car had wanted him to cross over the border and drive south through England, before nipping back into Wales just before Cardiff. But Ben had done the drive south through Wales to the Brecons and the cottage enough times to feel confident in his route, and he didn’t need advice for the uninitiated. Besides, the travel news had reported a pile-up on the A49 that would make things incredibly tedious, so really a drive through the hills had been the only option.
Right now, though, he’d take a three-hour traffic jam over these roads.
Daisy on the front desk had assured him that the snow was worst in the north. What she hadn’t mentioned was that it was heading south. Every mile of their journey had been undertaken with snow clouds hovering above, keeping pace, and dumping more of the white stuff in their path as they drove.
Ben’s arms ached from gripping the steering wheel tightly enough to yank the car back under control as the road twisted and slipped under them. His eyes felt gritty from staring into the falling snow, trying to see the path ahead. And Luce was not helping at all.
To start with she’d just looked tense. Then her hands had balled up against her thighs. Then she’d grabbed onto the seat, knuckles white. Ben had stopped looking over at her as the road grew more treacherous, but he’d bet money that she had a look of terror on her face now.
‘Are you sure this is the best way to go?’ Luce asked, her voice a little faint.
‘Yes.’ At least at this point it was pretty much the only option.
‘Do you think...? Is the snow getting heavier?’
‘No.’ Except it was. Any idiot could see that. But the last thing Ben needed was Luce freaking out on him in the middle of a snowstorm.
‘Are you just saying that to make me feel better?’
That sounded more like the Luce he’d had dinner with last night. Sharp and insightful.
‘Yes.’
‘Thought so.’ She took a breath and released her death grip on the seat. ‘Okay. What do you need me to do?’
‘Keep quiet and don’t freak out.’ Ben ground the words out. Distraction was dangerous.
‘Okay. I can do that.’
He wasn’t sure if she was reassuring herself or him, but she did seem to relax a little. At least until they hit the Brecon Beacons National Park.
As the car climbed the hills the skies darkened even further, looking more like night than afternoon. The falling flakes doubled in size, until his windscreen wipers couldn’t keep up, and the slow progress he’d been making dropped to a crawl. The road ahead had disappeared into a mist of white and the hills were blending into the sky.
They were never going to make it to Cardiff tonight.
‘Okay. New plan.’ Running through the road systems in his head, Ben prodded a couple of buttons on the sat nav and decided that maybe, just this once, he’d take its advice. Anything that got him off these roads, out of this car and somewhere warm. Preferably with a large drink.
‘What? Where are we going?’ Luce peered at the sat nav, which was insistently telling him to turn right. ‘We need to get to Cardiff!’
‘We’re never going to make Cardiff in this.’ Ben swung the car slowly to the right and hoped he’d hit an actual road. ‘We need to get somewhere safe until this passes.’
‘Like where?’ Luce asked, her tone rising in incredulity.
‘My cottage,’ Ben reminded her. ‘It’s a damn sight closer than Cardiff, and a lot safer than these roads.’
There was silence from the passenger seat. When Ben finally risked a glance over, Luce was staring at him. ‘What?’
‘You planned this,’ she said, her words firm and full of conviction. ‘This was the plan all along.’
