returning.
I sighed, admonishing myself to let it go. âWant me to drive for a while?â I was hoping Daniel would nod off, then wake up in a better mood. This donât-look-at-me-donât-talk-to-me persona was unsettling. It reminded me that, like the mail-order brides in days of old, I was married to a man I barely knew, and headed into the mysterious frontier hundreds of miles from all that was familiar.
We made a quick stop, and I took over the pilotâs chair. Daniel was asleep in less than ten minutes. Nick eventually crashed, too, and I sank into the quiet of my own thoughts, strumming a tune of self-assurances to calm my ruffled spirit. I was a DC girl. If I could survive in the city, I could survive here. I wasnât some fragile little hothouse flower. Iâd lived in six foreign capitols. I was . . .
Something large and shadowy bounded across the ditch and walked into the road. I jerked my attention back to the driving. A dog . . . no . . . deer. A deer. Adrenaline zinged through my body, hot like a lightning strike. I gripped the steering wheel, hit the brakes, felt the Jeep begin to slide, the trailer protesting the sudden change in momentum, skidding side to side.
Daniel bolted upright, blinking in confusion. Nickâs car seat buckled forward against the seat belt, then snapped back with a pop. Daniel grabbed the dashboard. âWhat in the . . .â
Possible endings raced through my mind, rapid fireâoverturning and rolling into the ditch, flying end-over-end, the trailer crashing through the tailgate, hitting Nick, the Jeep flying headlong into a tree. My parents getting the news . . .
And then, just as quickly as it had sauntered into the road, the deer calmly moved to the opposite lane, leaving room for our vehicle to slide past before finally coming to a rest, the trailer cocked sideways across the center line.
We sat in momentary silence, not a vehicle or a street lamp in sight, stressed pieces of metal in the carâs undercarriage letting out soft crackles and pings, as if it were catching a breath along with the rest of us.
âIs a doe-deer like at Grampyâs house, Tante M!â Nick twisted to see out the side window. âAnd a baby one, too!â He pointed as a smaller deer scampered across the pavement to join the first one, unaware that tragedy had been only an instant away.
âMan, that was lucky.â Daniel blew out a puff of tension, his hand resting on my arm, where the muscles were still trembling.
âUh-huh.â In the fringes of the headlights, I noticed a small white cross in the ditchâthe kind that people plant at the site of a tragic accident. It simply read, Blessing , with no further explanation. Suddenly that seemed to fit the moment. Not a random stroke of good fortune, a blessing. A reminder that time was too precious to be spent fighting.
Daniel squeezed my hand and kissed me on the cheek, as if he were thinking the same thing. âIâll take over the driving, if you want. Moses Lake canât be much farther.â
I didnât offer any argument. Iâd seen my life flash before my eyes in the last three minutes. My fiercely independent streak was ready to curl up in a corner and lick its trembling paws. I was happy to go back to being a co-pilot.
We switched places, Daniel limping stiffly around the backof the car and me dragging my tired body around the front, and we were off again.
âLast leg,â Daniel promised as the trailer righted itself behind us. âIâm ready to get there and get out of this car.â He laid his hand on the console, palm up, and I slid my fingers into his, then leaned back against the headrest.
âThat sounds so good,â I murmured. âWhen we do get there, I vote we just grab the air mattress, Nickâs sleeping bag, and the sack with the pillows and blankets. Everything else can wait until