Missed calls.” He played the voice mail and there was no mistaking the anger in Nevvie’s voice. He tried calling the number on the caller ID, but didn’t get an answer.
He returned to the passenger seat. “Okay, the next exit you see, pull over. We have to go back.”
“The next one’s not for at least another ten miles!” Tom heard the panic starting to creep into Tyler’s voice. “I should try to find a turn-through—”
“Don’t you dare,” Tom ordered. “This thing can’t go off-roading. Especially with the toad. You’ll flip it or get us stuck.” He looked at the shoulder. “There’s not enough room to pull over so I can off-load the car, either. Barely enough room for an emergency stop. Next place you see where you can pull off—safely—do it. I’ll take the car and go back.” He got up. “The boys are asleep. I’ll get my wallet and shoes.”
He found his phone, where he’d had it on silent in back. Sure enough, a missed call and a new voice mail.
She’s going to kill Tyler . He scrubbed his face with his hand. I just hope she doesn’t kill me, too.
* * * *
“So where y’all from again?” the trooper asked.
“Florida,” Nevvie said. “Well, Dad here is from London, but he’s over here and on vacation with us.”
“Family vacation, huh?”
“Yes,” Nevvie said. “Working vacation. We’re on our way to Seattle after we hit Yellowstone. My husband is an author. He’s appearing at a book fair there. He’s their keynote speaker.”
“Ah. Wait, you mean Tyler Paulson the author?”
Nevvie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them to answer again. Law enforcement still made her a little nervous because of her past history. She also wasn’t sure how much this guy knew about their personal lives. It was no secret to the public that Tyler had a husband and a wife, but it wasn’t something they went around rubbing in people’s faces, either.
“Yes, that’s him.”
Captain Delaney’s gaze met hers in the rearview mirror. “That’s neat. My husband and wife got me reading his stuff. They both love him and insisted I read his books. Maybe if you have time on your way back, you can stop by Mitchell again. They’d love to meet him. You all can have dinner with us, park your rig in our yard for a night or two if you want to rest up. I mean that as a serious offer, too.”
Nevvie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry with relief. “I’m sure we can arrange that, officer. That would be very nice.”
The man smiled. “Just call me Del.”
* * * *
Tom watched Tyler anxiously crane his neck as he looked for a suitable place to pull over. “Tyler, forget it,” he told him. “I don’t want you risking our safety over this. Just wait.”
“I can’t believe I left them behind. She’s going to bloody kill me!”
“Probably. Do you blame her?” Of all the harebrained things for Tyler to do, this had to top the list.
“I just wanted to take some of the stress off her. Do some of the driving for her. This isn’t what I planned.”
“Yeah, so how’s that working for you?” He did feel bad for Tyler. It was obvious from the look on his face that he felt horrible. Hopefully he could talk Nevvie out of whatever rage this would set her off on. Not that he’d blame her, because had Tyler left him behind, he’d feel pretty pissed off, too.
“This was supposed to be our dream vacation,” Tyler said. “I can’t believe I did this.”
“You need to lighten up, Ty. We don’t need you driving. Nev and I can handle it just fine. Seriously. You are supposed to be working anyway.”
“I doubt she’ll let me anywhere near the steering wheel once we get her back.”
“I think you’re right about that.”
They drove on in silence for a few minutes when Tyler swore.
“What?” Tom asked.
“I’m being pulled over. There’s a trooper behind us with his lights on.”
Tom wanted to swear, too. “Were you
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