Race the Storm

Chapter 3

It wasn't until she'd finished five whole chapters that it suddenly occurred to Willa that they'd been driving a while. Maybe not so suddenly because it was a pressure on her bladder that had alerted her to this very important fact.

Looking up from her phone, she glanced around in confusion, not entirely sure she recognized any of the formations. Granted, they probably looked completely different from different angles, but these ones seemed paler, less red than the ones right around the Estate.

"How far exactly is this canyon?" Willa asked, looking around. She wasn't seeing any signs of life besides an 18-wheeler far, far ahead of them on the road. Hauling what looked like...an airplane part? Oh, probably one of those windmill blades, she'd seen one on the way to the Estate.

"We're getting there, why?"

Was he being deliberately evasive? No, that was just his personality, Willa had to remind herself. Assume the best of people. Unless they give you a reason to assume the worst.

"I have to use the bathroom." That was a completely logical reason for him to give her the exact time to their destination, right? He rubbed his chin but didn't respond, and Willa huffed out a sigh. Men. So obtuse sometimes. "In about ten minutes it won't be pretty."

He shot her an alarmed look. "Need me to pull over?"

Willa stared at him, eyes wide. "In the middle of the desert, no. At a gas station, yes please. Or a rest stop, whatever comes first."

Jax made a sound that resembled amusement. "Have you ever driven highways out west before?"

"No, I'm not from here," Willa said with perfect sincerity. What did that have to do with anything?

"Well, Miss Willa. It's not unusual for there to be over 100 miles between gas stations. Or rest stops. Or places to eat."

No. He had to be joking. "Willa. And the Estate would never..." Willa gulped, trying to control what she was pretty sure was a hormone-induced urge to cry. She didn't normally cry. "They plan for everything..." She looked outside again at the bare desert. "I can't..." She could, under normal circumstances. If she had to. But pregnant and with a strange man? She really, really didn't want to. She twisted her hands in her laps, trying to take deep breaths.

She would not yell at this man. She would act like a reasonable human being. Like the Willa she had always been. Yup. Lifting her chin, she looked straight over at Jax.

"I don't think I want to do this nature walk anymore. I would like to go back now, please."

More silence. He didn't even slow the SUV down a little bit.

"Jax?"

"We're not that far," he said, "It'd be closer if we kept going."

"You just said there wasn't anything for miles," Willa said, scooting farther over in her seat, away from him. She hadn't noticed it before, but he was frequently looking up into the rearview mirror, like something was driving up behind them, but they were one of the few cars on the road.

"No, I said it's not unusual to have to drive a long time without anything."

"You know, I still think I want to go back." At this point, she would just run out into the desert to do her business behind a cactus on the way back.

Jax's neutral expression darkened into a frown. "Willa. Let's just keep going."

She felt her eyes get hot again. Nope, she wasn't going to cry. "I don't want to."

The desert blurred by as the car kept going, speeding down the practically empty road. A feeling that something wasn't entirely right was starting to bubble up in Willa. Picking up her phone again, she opened her messages and started texting Cris. Wind rushed around the car as Jax rolled his window down, which only irritated Willa more. Apparently he was allowed to put her window down but she wasn't? Her eyes narrowed.