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“And what’s the good news?”
“There’s a nice gentleman who’s offered to give us a lift to a motel up the road until the storm passes.” I flash her a cheeky grin in hopes she doesn’t strangle me. Her silence has me slowly easing away from the car door, but then her soft voice causes me to pause.
“Okay. Motel until tomorrow and then we can get back on the road.” She pulls her sweatshirt over her head and shoves her arms into the sleeves of her coat before zipping it up.
“I’ll grab our bags and let him know we’ll take the ride.” I’m surprised. She’s taking this better than I expected. I shut the car door behind me as I round the rear to pop the trunk. I hoist my duffel back over my shoulder as I lift her rolling suitcase out. As I climb back out to the road, I yell for her to grab the car keys and lock up. Just as I finish tossing our bags into the back, Parisa is hunched over, taking her last few steps up the hill.
“What is that?” She points to the offending object in front of her as a piece of rust rattles off the wheel well and drops to the ground.
“That’s our ride to the motel, our only ride, and this kind gentleman has graciously offered it to us.” I open the door, motioning for her to get in. She peers inside before swinging her gaze back toward me, a stern look on her face.
“You can’t be serious?”
“Come on sweetheart, the snow isn’t letting up anytime soon,” the gruff guy bellows from the other side of the cab.
“Yeah, sweetheart. Better listen to the guy.” I flash her a smirk. She narrows her eyes at me before begrudgingly climbing into the truck and I follow behind. “Any idea when the snow is supposed to stop?” I ask.
“Maybe a couple of days. Up here in the mountains you never really know until it stops.”
“A couple days? We’re going to miss the beginning of the conference,” Parisa screeches.
“I’m sure they’ll understand. It’s not our fault we got caught in a snowstorm,” I reassure her.
“Where you two headed?”
“Aspen. We would have been there already if we didn’t have to rent a car from Denver.” Parisa huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest.
Gruff guy leans over to look at me. “She’s a feisty one.”
A small laugh escapes me. “She’s something alright.”
“Hey, I’m right here.” She darts her glare between the two of us.
“We know, sweetheart,” gruff guy murmurs as he taps the steering wheel.
Within a few minutes, we’re pulling into a motel parking lot. The red neon vacancy sign shines brightly against the black backdrop while a single light post dimly lights the small snow-covered parking lot.
“Thanks so much for the ride. We really appreciate it,” I say.
“No problem. Here’s the number for a tow truck. They’ll help you out once the snow clears.” He reaches up to the visor to a clipped stacked of papers and passes me a business card.
The truck comes to a chugging stop near the front door. Parisa’s shoving me to open the door before the truck is even in park. Hopping out, I grab our bags from the back and place Parisa’s on the ground while throwing my bag strap over my shoulder and following her steps toward the front door. When I’m standing beside her, she turns toward me.
“Where’s my suitcase?”
“Back there.” I hike my thumb behind me.
“You didn’t grab my bag?”
“Nope.”
She blows out a huff and stomps her way back to the parking lot to retrieve her suitcase. I watch as she pulls it with two hands since the wheels are useless through the thick snow. Once she reaches me again, she stops and drops the handle of her suitcase.
“If I get murdered here, know that I will make it my mission to haunt you until your last breath.”
“I know this isn’t the Hilton, but it’ll have to do. It’s either this or sleep in the car.”
“I’m kind of liking my chances with the car.”
