Flynn Read Free Page A

like
them and Uncle Shane will get more money,” said Emily pulling on his arm.
    He
smiled. His brother was running for re-election and Emily had taken it upon
herself to make sure her uncle would still be sheriff. With his daughter as
part of his campaign team, how could his younger brother lose that race?
    ****
    Natalie
had never been so cold in all her life. Her teeth chattered as she got back in
the car after filling it with gas. The tips of her fingers were numb. She blew
across them. Growing up in Florida had obviously thinned her blood. Choosing to
come to Montana in the middle of winter probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
However, now she knew she had a daughter and where she lived, the need to see
and meet her was her top priority.
    The
area was certainly beautiful with its snowcapped mountains and valleys. At
least her child had been raised in wide open spaces and close to nature. She
wondered if she rode a horse, was an outdoorsy sort of girl, or maybe a
bookworm like she’d been.
      The snow fell faster and harder on her car.
She turned on the windshield wipers and clapped her hands together. She’d never
driven in snow before. Maybe she’d head into Timber Creek, check into the motel
room she’d booked before she’d left Orlando, get a good night’s sleep, and then
by morning it might have stopped. She’d get an early start finding Flynn
Malone’s ranch. But something in her heart told her she had to at least find
its location tonight so she could sleep with an image of where her little girl
called home.
    Natalie
pulled out of the gas station’s lot and made her way back to the main road. She
turned up the windshield wipers a notch, hoping it would clear her vision, but
nothing was helping. Gripping the steering wheel like it was going to
disintegrate if she didn’t, she focused on the road
ahead. She was scared. Daylight was fading fast, and the snow was coming at the
car at every angle possible.
    She
knew she didn’t have much farther to go. She’d programmed the GPS on the rental
car and knew the road where the Malone ranch was located was only half a mile
ahead.
    Feeling
the car’s back wheels beginning to slide, she grabbed the wheel even tighter.
    The
road in question was up ahead. She put her foot down when she got to a hill and
then eased off the accelerator as she got to the top.
    The ranch.
    She
couldn’t miss it. It was to her left. Her daughter was in there somewhere. She
took her eyes off the road, wondering what she was going to say when she
arrived at the front door. All the way on the plane ride to Montana she’d
rehearsed how she was going to introduce herself. Back then it had seemed easy,
but now bile rose in her throat thinking about it. Seeing her and Jon’s offspring
for the very first time made her hands shake.
    Natalie
hadn’t been paying attention and a deer sprang from nowhere and ran in front of
her car. She panicked, hit the brakes, and the car began to spin, careening out
of control. She hit the brakes again, realizing that she’d made a dumb mistake
because before she could get control back, the car was heading toward a snow
packed ditch. It was almost like it was happening in slow motion. The car spun
again and bang , it was halfway in the
ditch. She opened the door and looked at the back of the car. No way could she
reverse or accelerate out with the snow halfway up the rims of the tires.
    Slamming
the steering wheel, she swore. She was stuck. She was this close to her child
and was going nowhere. She reached for her purse and dug out her phone, hoping
the road assistance service she’d subscribed to would come and pull her out.
    No
signal.
    Shit.
    She
threw the phone down on the passenger seat. Maybe she could walk back to the
gas station and get some help. Maybe she’d freeze to death on the way. Natalie
glanced to her left. Or maybe she could walk up to the Malone ranch to see if
anyone was home.
    ****
     
    By
the time Flynn and Emily exited the grocery