Page 1 of Wildfire (Owl Creek #1)

It's just my luck that when I finally get the hell out of my hometown, my car breaks down.

I know I shouldn't believe that this is some kind of punishment for leaving my family behind to deal with their own hot mess of a life, but it's hard not to think like that when I'm sitting here by the side of the road.

I pop the hood and take a look, and even though I know a thing or two about cars, I'm at a loss. The damn thing just lost power as I was climbing the hill towards Owl Creek. Now I'm kicking rocks and trying not to yell about the injustice of it all.

Owl Creek is the farthest I've gotten from home since my mom died, the farthest I've been able to reach without turning back out of guilt. But not this time.

This time, I'm done. I mean it.

I pull my hair into a high pony to get it out of my face. It's uncharacteristically hot today, and even though I'm in shorts and a tank, I'm sweating balls.

My cell phone has no service out here. It never does in the hills. I just escaped one of the few places on this god-forbidden peninsula that has any service, and now I'm screwed.

I pop the trunk to grab my backpack, toss my water and a few other things inside, and then lock the trunk with everything I own inside.

I'll have to hoof it into town to see if someone can tow my car and fix it.

Hopefully, there's not a bunch of scumbags out here who will strip my car before I make it into town.

And that's the shitty part. I didn't budget for this. I have just enough money to get where I'm going. Now, I will have to drive straight through and sleep in rest stops once I'm back on the road.

Not a great start to the rest of my life.