Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 78760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
The idea of driving into flood water, though, terrified me.
I’d watched on the news as not one, but five vehicles had been carried away by flood waters rushing over the road, and I wasn’t going to be another one of them.
Or so I thought.
I’d just pulled onto Belk Street that would eventually lead me home when I felt the 4-Runner start to drift.
Water came up over the road, lightning fast. One second I was driving, and the next I was being swept right off the road and through the trees.
My blood froze as I lost control of everything.
My car spun backward, and my heart started to pound.
“Dear God,” I whispered, looking over my shoulder to my child in the backseat.
She was enjoying it. Her arms were flapping, and her cries of excitement filled the air around us.
I, on the other hand, understanding just what kind of danger we were in, was freaking out.
Coming to a quick decision, I reached back for the blanket that she always had to have. This one was one of those muslin blankets that was very thin and tied easily.
I’d used it a hundred different times to tie it around Tallulah’s shoulders so she could use it as a cape.
I also had about five of them in the backseat from where they’d been left there.
Meaning I could tie them together, then tie her to me so I’d have my hands free.
Because I was fairly certain that we were about to go swimming.
My phone rang, but I left it in my back pocket where I’d stored it after speaking with my mother.
Instead, I quickly tied the blankets together. Then I unfastened my seatbelt and turned around in my seat.
The car rocked precariously to one side, and I halted.
My gaze went out the window to ascertain what was happening around me, and I froze when I saw flashlights.
I knew they were flashlights by the way they bounced and swirled.
There were two of them, and they were obviously trying to get my attention.
Brows furrowing, I rolled the windows down, then had the thought that I should probably turn the SUV off.
Which I did in the next second, allowing me to hear the yells.
“Answer your goddamn phone!”
I answered my phone.
“H-hello?”
The car bounced hard, and I turned my head rapidly to the side to find that it’d come to a rest against two trees.
The water was still moving quickly around me, but it was held in place—for now.
“Don’t fucking move. Don’t do a goddamn thing.”
My heart started to thud in my chest.
“Tommy.”
He growled something unintelligible, and I bit my lip and looked over my seat at Tallulah.
Her eyes were growing heavy with sleep, and I swallowed thickly.
She had no clue, and I envied her that.
She had absolutely no earthly idea what kind of situation we were in. One wrong move and the car would be swept out to God knows where, and we’d be along for the ride.
“Are you listening to me?”
Tommy’s barked words had me turning back toward the lights, and then placing the phone back to my ear.
I hadn’t been aware that I’d dropped it from its previous position.
“No, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I’m listening now, though.”
He growled.
“We’re tying some ropes off to a tree that’s right here. We’re both going to come get you, okay?” Tommy instructed.
“I’m not by myself. Tallulah’s with me,” I whispered.
At the mention of her name, the eyelashes that started to fan against her cheeks bounced back open.
I smiled at her, trying to dissuade her from thinking anything was wrong.
She smiled back, and her eyes grew heavy once again.
Tommy cursed a blue streak.
“We’re coming. You’re not far off the road.”
I wasn’t?
How was that even possible? I’d floated for what felt like days before I’d hit the trees.
But that was obviously just my brain playing tricks on my rational mind.
Now that I studied the lights that were slowly coming toward me, they were a lot closer than I’d thought they were previously.
By my estimation, I was only about fifty yards off the road, which really wasn’t that far at all.
“Okay,” I whispered, voice trembling now.
The adrenaline, which had been flowing freely through my veins, was starting to recede. And with that, I was quickly wilting.
My eyes started to fill with tears at the realization that I’d nearly killed my daughter—yes, I was overreacting, but that was what parents did—and I held my breath as the two men started toward us.
The flashlights bounced, and my heart raced twice when one of the lights went under water, only to come back up again with a splash and a curse.
“Told you to watch your step,” I heard not only on the phone, but outside my window as well.
At hearing voices, Tallulah abandoned her sleep and turned to watch what was going on.
Her eyes lit as she saw the flashlights bouncing toward us, slow at first, but picking up speed.