SkinwalkersWoman Read Free

have seen it coming. Like a Mack truck flying at her down a deserted
highway.
    Like the leaping rabbit that popped in front of her wide
eyes an instant before she swerved to miss it. She screamed as the SUV slammed
through a deep hole at the side of the dirt road and she prayed that horrible thunking sound wasn’t because she had just broken the damn thing. Despite the groaning
and growling sounds and the slightly jerky steering, the car managed to make it
to the little flattened dirt area in front of the rental cabin.
    And she sat there staring in horror.
    Oh. My. God .
    Shutting off the faltering motor, she tossed her designer
sunglasses onto the passenger seat and slid out of the car to stare in dismay
at the sight of the log cabin standing before her.
    What have I done?
    Had she truly thought this would be a restful, wonderful
rustic vacation in the desert? Her eyes slid over the old-fashioned hand-pump
that stood in front of the cabin next to an ancient bathtub with claw feet. This
must be the full bath . At least in New York she’d had running water .
And a toilet . The outhouse she could just see to the far left of the
area was the last frigging straw.
    Oh no, no, no!
    With a fastidious shudder, she decided that she would much
rather turn right around and drive back to the nearest town. They’d had decent
motels, at least. With indoor toilets.
    When she saw that old man again, she was gonna give him a
piece of her mind. Damn if she hadn’t instantly trusted the guy. He had seemed
so honest and so nice. But then, con men came in all shapes and ages. She
should have realized when she’d paid him the pittance he’d asked that the place
would be a total disaster. You get what you pay for…
    But her friggin’ inner voice had told her to trust
the old fart.
    Deciding that a hasty retreat was far more appealing than
staying, she climbed back behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition,
resigned to admitting the complete failure of her endeavor. Her heart pounded
dully inside her chest as the SUV’s motor started jerkily, then died again,
refusing to start a second time.
    “No, God…please…don’t let this be happening to me!” she
whispered, and tried again. As the motor grumbled and cranked, it began to get
less and less noisy, until it was just a series of sharp clicks…then nothing.
    She swallowed hard. She knew that sound couldn’t be good. As
far as she could tell, there wasn’t a mechanic or parts store for at least
sixty miles. She had no idea what was under the dust-bathed hood of this huge
vehicle. Looking under there would do her no good, because she had no notion of
what to look for or how to fix it. And she wasn’t up to a long hike in a
hundred-plus-degree heat in freaking designer boots.
    Not even in the fancy running shoes she’d packed.
    With an angry snarl at her stupidity, she dragged out her
phone and climbed up onto the luggage rack of the SUV once more. She twisted
from side to side but not one single, tiny bar appeared. She swore loudly and
angrily, then turned on the GPS and slowly pressed 9-1-1. Even in areas without
a signal, the emergency GPS might allow someone to find her. A passing plane.
An alien spaceship. Maybe even a passing eagle?
    Damn…I wish.
    Climbing back down onto the gravel and dust, she heaved a
deep sigh of resignation and trudged over to climb the unpainted wooden steps
to the wide porch that spanned the entire front of the place. When she got her
hands on that old man, she was going to strangle him. But for now, all she
could do was see how bad the situation was and make the best of it. At least
until help arrived. If it ever does.
    After all, she had dragged along a supply of canned goods
and some cases of bottled water, and could manage to make it through a night or
two until someone picked up the GPS signal. Hopefully. She wouldn’t starve to
death. And she certainly wouldn’t freeze. She irritably ran the back of one
hand over her perspiring