Chapter Three

Katie stood outside her apartment building hoping that Adam would get there soon. The forecast called for snow and she felt the chill in the air. Shivering, she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

God, she hated that she had to ask Adam for help. Now he had something on her, now she owed him; that made her feel very uncomfortable, indeed. She preferred her relationships with men to be entirely in her favor.

Her cell phone rang and she saw that it was Reena. She paused, thinking about not answering, but she knew that if she did that, Reena and Maggie would just take it in turns to keep calling until she went insane or picked up. Whichever came first.

“Hi, Reena,” she said, trying to sound normal.

“Katie, I just got your voicemail. You OK?”

“Yeah. I mean… yeah. Sort of.”

Reena was silent, trying to think what to say. “So, he’s really dying?”

“Ryan says so.”

“And how are you doing?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. Relieved, I guess, in a way. Angry, like he’s escaping something. Mostly, I just really want to get there and see him die.”

Reena nodded. “I know, sweetie.” She paused. “And Adam’s taking you?”

“Yeah. Can you believe it?”

“Well, sure I can. Mia says he’s a nice guy.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “He’s an asshole, Reena.”

“I know you keep saying that, but he is an asshole who’s going pretty far out of his way to help you out. Maybe cut the guy a bit of slack?”

Katie sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll try.”

“So I called to ask if you want me to come with you.”

“Thanks, Reena, but Adam will be here any second and we’re going. I don’t want to wait even one hour longer than we have to.”

“You sure?”

“Totally.”

“Alright, then. You’ll call me or Maggie if you need us, right? We can get on a plane and fly there. All you need to do is ask. But you call us anyway, OK? If we don’t hear from you, we’ll call and check how you’re doing.”

Katie blinked back tears. Sometimes it still amazed her that she had friends who cared about her as much as they did.

“Thanks, Reena. I’ll for sure call you on the road, let you know how it’s going.”

“And drive safe. The weather looks bad heading that way. Utah’s nothing but blizzard after snow storm after whiteout.”

“Yeah, I saw that on the news.”

Just then, a silver car turned on to her street and stopped right next to her. She saw Adam inside, wearing sunglasses and a white t-shirt and looking devastatingly – and annoyingly – sexy.

Oh, Lord. Here we go.

“Hey, Reena? Adam’s here. I’ve got to go, OK?”

“Alright, sweetie. Be safe and be strong. We all love you.”

“Love you guys too,” Katie said.

Adam sat in the car for a few seconds, watching Katie on her cell. Black coat, black pants, black boots. Black hair and black eye makeup and black nail polish. A dozen earrings in each ear. Good Christ, did the woman have to dress herself in head-to-toe black all the fucking time? He had researched Katie’s photography extensively, and he knew that even all her photos were black-and-white. Was she totally color-blind or just trapped in some bizarre teenaged emo phase that refused to pass? He sighed.

What in the holy hell possessed me to offer to do this?

But even as he asked the question, the answer came to him: Adam remembered her voice on the phone that morning, panicked and frightened. Vulnerable. She needed help, and Adam was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a man who refused to help if he could.

Oh, Lord. Here we go.

He perched his sunglasses on his head and climbed out and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said.

They looked at each other across the roof of the car for a few seconds, fully taking in the situation.

“So,” Adam said, gesturing at the backpack and camera bag at her feet. “”That’s it?”

“Yeah. I travel light.”

He opened the trunk and took her bag – of course it’s a fucking black backpack – and packed it up. She glanced into the trunk and saw a tent and several big bags and a professional-looking first-aid kit. She cocked her head.

“What’s all that stuff?”

“I go camping a lot.” Adam slammed the trunk shut. “I just keep everything in my car all the time. It’s easier than hauling it in and out every weekend.”

“Even in the dead of winter? I mean, it’s kind of silly to have things take up all that trunk space when there’s snow on the ground, isn’t it?”

He stared down at her, already annoyed. “Well, it’s my trunk, so how about I pack it up the way I want to?”

She puffed the air out through her cheeks and hitched her camera bag strap on her shoulder. “Fine. Whatever makes you happy, Wilderness Bob.”

They glared at each other.

Adam crossed his massive arms, and despite herself, she admired his bulging biceps and forearms covered in tattoos.

“So, why don’t we get a few things straight before we embark on this sparkling adventure together?” he said.

“Like what things?”

“Well, first: my car, my rules. Rule number one is, I choose the music, at all times. Deal?”

Boys and their fucking control issues. They really need to be king of the remote control for the TV and the music in the car, don’t they? Gah.