car. The big sedan pulled out of a side road, right in the path of Laura’s car. She opened her mouth to scream but the sound choked and wouldn’t come out.
The car loomed large in front of her, her own headlights catching the expression on the face of the woman behind the wheel. Laura yanked the steering wheel to the right and sent her car off the side of the road, bouncing as it hit the ditch. Laura hit the brakes and held tight to the wheel as the car tilted. The fence flew at her window, the barbed wire sliding across the glass. Finally she came to a bone-jarring halt, slamming her head against the steering wheel.
Laura groaned and leaned back. Eyes closed, she focused on breathing, on getting her head clear. After a few minutes she unbuckled her seat belt. Nothing seemed to be broken. She reached for the door handle and gave it a good shove. It creaked open and she turned to get out. A woman stood next to her car.
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you coming.” The woman, older, with gray hair peeking out from under a rain bonnet, reached for Laura’s hand. “Maybe you should sit there for a minute.”
“No, I’m good. I just wanted to see if my car is tangled on anything or if my tires are flat.”
“In this weather? Come on, let’s go to my car and we’ll call the police and have them get a wrecker out here.”
“No, let me just get my bearings and I’ll figure out how to get my car out. I don’t have far to go.”
“You can’t drive that car. Goodness.” The woman still held her hand. She gave a pull and helped Laura to her feet. The rain poured down, drenching them in no time flat. “Let me call my grandson. We’ll get this car out of here, get the fence repaired and make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m really fine. I’m going to my aunt’s in Dawson. I should be close.”
Arm in arm they trudged up the embankment to the car idling on the shoulder of the road. The woman opened the door for Laura and helped her in. A moment later she got in on the driver’s side.
Laura leaned back into the soft leather and shivered as the heat from the car hit her. Her head ached. She touched her forehead and her fingers came away with blood.
“Here, let me.” The woman handed her a pretty handkerchief.
“I can’t use this.”
“I have plenty and that’s a nasty gash.” She tsk’d a few times. “My name is Myrna Cooper and I am just so sorry that I wasn’t paying better attention. Did you tell me your name?”
“Laura White. And really, it was just an accident.”
Myrna already had her phone to her ear, nodding as she talked. She patted Laura’s leg. A moment later she slipped the phone back in her purse. “My grandson is going to tow the car and fix the fence. I’ll take you on home with me.”
“If you want, you could drop me at my aunt’s.”
Myrna shifted into gear and pulled onto the road. “Of course, but first I want a doctor to look at that cut on your head.”
“I’m really okay.” And losing ground fast. Laura leaned back, holding the handkerchief to her head and fighting a wave of nausea that came out of nowhere.
“Now, who is your aunt?”
“Sally White.”
“Oh.” Myrna Cooper nodded and then repeated, “Oh.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Honey, has it been a while since you saw Sally?”
“Yes. After my father passed away, we lost touch.”
“Laura, your aunt Sally is in a nursing home. She has Alzheimer’s.”
Laura closed her eyes. Every bone in her body ached and the nausea rolled through her stomach and up into her throat. She wanted to cry. For the first time in a long time, she wanted to give up. She’d been strong through everything, but this might be the last straw. She’d wondered what a last straw felt like.
It felt like falling.
It felt a lot like never having anyone to lean on. When was the last time someone had been there for her? Who was the last person she’d turned to for help? There hadn’t been anyone in years and she had hoped Aunt Sally...
A hand touched her arm. “Now, don’t you worry. Sally happens to be a friend of mine and any niece of hers has a place with me. Not only that—I do kind of owe you.”
Laura wanted to shake her head, but it hurt to move.
“Laura, honey, hang in there. We’re almost to my house.”
As they pulled up the drive to a garage, Laura threw her door open and emptied the contents of her stomach, which wasn’t all that much since she hadn’t eaten dinner. A hand touched her back. Myrna spoke in soft, mothering tones. Laura closed her eyes at the sting of tears. She hadn’t been mothered in years. At twenty-eight, she should really be past this.
“Let’s see if we can get you inside.” Myrna parked the car and a moment later she stood on the passenger side, a hand held out. “Let’s go. And I promise, this isn’t the end of the world.”
“I think it might be.” Laura got out of the car.
A truck pulled into the drive as they walked up the sidewalk to the front porch that wrapped around two sides of what would probably be a beautiful home in the daylight. On a dark, stormy night, it loomed large and rambling, a few lights glowing in the many windows.
The truck stopped behind Myrna’s car.
“That would be my grandson, Dr. Jesse Cooper. He’ll have you fixed up in no time.” Myrna unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Go on in.”
Laura stepped into the house, her vision blurring with tears and pain. A little bench in the entry was as far as she could make it on legs that shook. Myrna walked around the living room, turning on lights, talking sweetly to a couple of little white and yappy balls of fluff.
The door opened, bringing cool air and a few stray drops of rain. The wind had picked up, blowing the rain at a slanting angle. The man in the doorway slipped off boots and hung a cowboy hat on a hook by the door. She watched as he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it next to his hat.
When he turned she blinked a few times and stared up at a man with lean, handsome features and dark hair that brushed his collar. He looked as comfortable in this big house as he did in his worn jeans and flannel shirt. His dark eyes studied her with curious suspicion. She’d gotten used to that look. She’d gotten used to people staring, wondering, whispering behind their hands as she walked past.
But second chances and starting over meant wanting something new, a new reaction when people met her. She wanted to be the person people welcomed into their lives. She wanted to be the woman a man took a second look at, maybe a third, and not a suspicious look.
Jesse Cooper took a second look, but it was full of suspicion.
“Jesse, I’m so glad you’re here.” Myrna had returned with a cold washcloth that she placed on Laura’s forehead, holding it tight as she talked to her grandson. “It seems I had an accident.”
“Really?” Jesse smiled a little, the gesture shifting his features, warming the coolness in dark eyes that focused on Laura.
“I pulled right out in front of her. She drove her car off the side of the road to keep from hitting me.”
Laura closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall behind her. A cool hand touched hers, moving the washcloth and touching the gash at her hairline.
“Let me see this.”
She opened her eyes and he was squatting in front of her, his expression intent as he studied the cut. He looked from the gash to her face. Laura swallowed as he continued to stare, and then he moved and stood back up, unfolding