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“But you’re not going to fall,” he said, holding onto her as he opened the passenger door of the car.
Lifting her, he plopped her onto the seat. “Jeeps are not made for pregnant women.”
“No, but they do great in the snow,” he said, thinking it was how he got to work when so many others couldn’t.
The roads were a slick mess as they drove out of the apartment complex and through town. “This is why I don’t want you going to Whitefish.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“These roads are plowed and they’re still dangerous. The highway, I can guarantee you, has not been touched. Until it reopens, they will not plow it. Until the storm stops and the sun comes out, they’ll leave it alone.”
“The weatherman said it was supposed to stop snowing tomorrow,” she said.
A blast of wind hit the Jeep and it was all he could do to hang on to the steering wheel and keep it on the road.
“We’ll see,” he said, not wanting to drive to Whitefish but feeling certain he would be. It was the reason he wanted to see his family today – to explain to his mother why he wouldn’t be there for Christmas.
And maybe get her help in convincing Amelia to stay here in Missoula.
The death of his wife and child had devastated his entire family. And today, they would be so shocked and happy to see he was expecting another child.
It would be a complete surprise unless his brother had heard about it at the hospital.
A car slid through a red light and just barely missed hitting them. Thank goodness he’d been going slow enough that he could stop.
“Oh crap,” Amelia said. “That was scary.”
“And my reasoning for not wanting to go far,” he said, gritting his teeth. Yes, he understood her need to be with her family, but this was dangerous. Too dangerous.
“I’d be safe with you,” she said. “If you drove me in this beast of a vehicle, we could make it.”
He’d been waiting for her to ask him. But he wasn’t certain it was the best thing to do. “We’ll talk about it tonight.”
Tonight, he wanted to tell her about Sandy and Charlotte and then maybe she would understand his reluctance to travel on a snowy highway. Sandy had been an excellent driver in snow, but the semi-truck that hit them had lost control. There was nothing she could do.
And while he’d received a nice sum of money from the insurance company, he would rather have his wife and child.
He pulled up to the house where his parents lived. He saw Michael’s car. The college kids had flown in before the storm arrived.
His father had left him a place under the carport that connected to the garage. Still the melting snow had created a sheet of ice.
“You wait right there and I’ll come around and help you,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think I could crawl out of here without your help,” she said.
Getting out of the Jeep, he said a silent prayer that his family would love Amelia as much as he did.
Reaching the passenger door, he helped her down. Her foot slipped on the running board that had a layer of ice and snow on it, but he caught her.
“That was close,” he said.
“Yes,” she said gasping for air. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” he said as he took her arm and they walked into the garage and then the house.
“Hello,” he called.
His mother came out of the kitchen and her mouth fell open when she saw Amelia.
