Page 78 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)

WEATHER WONDER

“Well, Nuggs, it’s been a half hour, and he hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts, so I guess we got stood up. I hope you don’t think it’s too much of a loss,” I tell him, scratching between his ears.

I try calling Lola to tell her the good news. I know she’s torn up about it, but the call won’t go through. “Must be the weather. Hopefully, I’ll get better cell service the closer we get to town.”

I turn the engine over, pull out of the gas station, and head home for game night with my family.

The closer we get to home, the more my thoughts start to spiral. I’m doing the best I can to focus on keeping my truck from sliding all over the road in this weather, but it’s nothing short of treacherous out here, and my mind is at home with Lola.

I pull off to the side of the road and unclip my phone from where it sits on my dash, map up. The offline map is working, but still, I have no bars.

Nugget whines beside me, shimmying to get closer to me. “I know, Nuggs, but you’ve gotta sit still. We’ll be home soon,” I tell him, guilty that he hasn’t been able to pee yet. Granted, he refuses to go out in the rain.

I try calling Lola anyway, but it doesn’t even ring, dropping the call over and over, along with my stomach, now nestled somewhere below my feet.

We get back on the highway with not another car in sight, likely because no one else would be stupid enough to drive in this. I keep having this feeling that my nervousness isn’t merely a result of missing my wife and some inclement weather. There’s something wrong.

I know it in my gut.