Page 102 of Inside Silence

I get to do the honors, cutting down the trees we find in a small copse of younger Douglas fir after a short, twenty-minute ride. By now Tate is smiling, accepting the mug of hot chocolate Phil pours for her.

“Can you handle it?” Brant asks, supervising my work.

I suspect it was his wife who suggested he turn over the saw to me.

“I’ll finish this tree, but would you mind cutting down the other one? My shoulder is bugging me a bit.”

“Sure. I’ll take care of it.”

It may be my imagination, but it looks like his chest puffed up a little.

“My, my,” Savvy mumbles by my side, slipping her arm into mine after I hand off the saw to her father. “You’re a fast learner. You handled him like a pro.”

“Meh, I’ve been watching you and Phil, taking notes.”

“It shows.”

She grins up at me and I can’t resist dropping a kiss on those lips.

“Gross. I’m losing my appetite here,” Tate objects.

“You didn’t seem to think it was gross when I caught you and Carson outside Strange Brew the other day,” Savvy returns with a wink.

I’m not quite sure what she is talking about, but I’m convinced I’m not going to like it.“Sorry…what was that?”

Tate bulges her eyes at Savvy, who turns back to me to pat my cheek.

“Not to worry, honey,” she informs me in a soothing voice. “I’ve got it all under control.”

My daughter is suddenly very interested in her hot chocolate, while Brant lets out a hearty chuckle.

Phil spreads her arms and inhales deeply.

“Love…isn’t it fabulous?”

Epilogue

Savvy

* * *

“Single MVA on Old Winchester Creek Road, three miles west of the Black Mountain Casino.”

The call comes in just as I’m about to head home.

It’s been a long week of snowstorms that’s had us running from one end of the county to the other with similar calls to this. Poor road conditions and poor judgment can be a dangerous combination, all too often with a life-altering outcome. In addition, I’ve been plagued with a nasty bug, which I guess is also par for the course this time of year.

The snow started up again an hour ago, so I’m sure the weather had something to do with it, but something tells me this accident—so close to the casino with little else around—may have had alcohol playing a role as well.

Wonderful.

Instead of finally heading home to a warm bed, I’m once again braving the weather to the scene of an accident in the opposite direction. God only knows how long it’ll take me to get there.

At least I won’t have to bother Nate to let him know I won’t be coming home; he wasn’t expecting me anyway. I told him if things got too ugly out there, I might just crash at the station. It wouldn’t be the first time this winter, which has been pretty brutal so far.

The sparse streetlights barely have an impact on visibility, which is minimal due to the heavy snow coming down. At least they give me some indication where the actual road is. I sure am glad for the chains on my tires and my all-wheel drive, or else I wouldn’t have any traction at all.

As much as I want to get to the scene as fast as possible, I’m not about to jeopardize my own safety. I have too damn much to live for these days.