Granted Wishes (The Granted Series Book 1) Read Free Page B

or Cassie for that matter,” he says. “Now have a great trip and see you in four weeks.”
    Without another word, Ben steps away from the car and stands next to Cassie, who has moved on the curb. Gracelynn honks her horn and tells them thank you and to see them after Christmas. She sighs as they wave good bye, rolls up her window and tells herself not to look back. She has no idea of where she’s headed, but she knows it has to be better than where she is currently at.

Chapter 4
    GRACELYNN SMILES A REAL SMILE for the first time in years, curious for once about what the future could bring. She glances at the GPS and notices it’ll be a four hour trip. Thanks guys for the heads up! Good grief! Good thing I have my sensible flats on for this drive, jerks.
    Driving along the highway and listening to the monotone voice of the GPS makes her wonder about all kinds of things. Like, how the hell didn’t she realize sooner that they were a couple? Oh that’s right, she’s been too engrossed in her own personal hell rather than pay attention to her two best friends obviously very much in love. With her thoughts going everywhere from her friends, to their love life, to work, the drive flies by. She passes beautiful mountains, landscapes and valleys that capture her attention.
    Glancing to the GPS screen, it shows only fifteen minutes left until she reaches her destination. All of a sudden she hears a loud popping sound. She looks around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, but then hears the noise again. She turns down the radio, but the noise gets louder. She pulls the Hyundai off to the side of the road, thinking it could be a flat tire. She hops out, checks the entire car over, but everything seems to be working properly. No smoke, no flat tire, nothing. She hops back into the car and drives slowly, awaiting the next time Mr. GPS tells her to turn.
    She continues to drive without any interruptions and enjoys the scenery. The light snow on the mountains up ahead leaves her breathless. She looks to the GPS which shows an estimated five minutes to her destination when out of nowhere, snow materializes overhead. It blows and drifts everywhere, causing her to drive blind. It’s like she’s in a snow globe and someone shook the globe, making the snow fall around everywhere. And right at the moment, as if she isn’t freaking out enough already, the GPS alerts her with: “You have reached your destination.” She yells in frustration while gripping her steering wheel. “Just great, thanks GPS! I can’t see a darned thing and you say I’ve reached my so called destination!”
    She’s stuck in the road, which she hopes is her side of the road at least. She closes her eyes for a second to gather her composure and then noise erupts from all around her. Bang, pop, slam. And then her car is being dragged into something with horrendous force. She can’t see anything except snow even with her windshield wipers going. She’s confused and feels blood trickling down her face. “This vacation couldn’t get any better.” She grabs the door handle to get out, but it won’t let her.
    A voice appears out of nowhere. “Hello? Hello, miss? I’m Gio. I’m so sorry I didn’t see you on the road. Are you okay? Your head is bleeding…” She closes her eyes before she responds. “Gio, no, I’m not okay. I’m sorry…I’m lost, alone, covered in a snow storm, trying to find my vacation spot which seems to be here somewhere and my head….” That’s all she can say before she succumbs to darkness.
    * * *
    Gio scratches the back of his head, puzzled. Staring at the beautiful woman leaves him wondering why she was in the middle of the road. She’s completely out cold, half in his arms, half still in her car due to her seat belt. It makes him happy knowing she’s wearing one and he feels lucky he ran into her rather than someone else. He has the urge to take her bangs away from her face and touch her skin. In that moment, life stands