SNOWED IN (Complete)

Chapter Three

BOTH GIRLS FELL SILENT.

The strawberry blonde quickly rang up the rest of my groceries. "That will be sixty-five dollars and twenty-nine cents."

My fingers trembled as I handed her my debit card.

Did Colton kill his father?

Did his mother?

Colton came over to the cashier. He grabbed the bundles of wood and the paper bag holding the wine bottles. "Can you handle the rest?"

I nodded and followed him out of the store.

Colton threw the wood in the back of his truck before opening the door and setting the wine in the backseat. "Here," he said, motioning to the bags in my hands. "I'll help you get these in the truck."

I lifted my arms, struggling due to the pain in my ribs.

The snow continued to fall.

"I need to go pick up my prescription," I said. "Do you mind waiting?"

Colton shook his head.

My mood toward him had taken on a new tone.

I headed to the pharmacy and picked up the cream for my face.

"You be careful now," said the pharmacist. "This weather is looking mighty bad."

I quickly thanked him and headed out to Colton's truck.

After sliding into the passenger's seat and carefully buckling the seatbelt, I folded my hands in my lap. Thoughts collided in my mind as I stared straight ahead at the snow hitting the windshield.

"Listen," said Colton, pulling out onto the road. "Those girls in the grocery store, they don't know what they're talking about."

I didn't respond.

"The truth is my father was an abusive alcoholic. When he wasn't at work, he was either drinking or threatening my mother."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"One night last year he had too many drinks and fell down the stairs. He broke his neck and died."

His voice was difficult to read. I couldn't tell if there was a hint of sadness or plain disgust.

"We called the police, which was difficult because he was one of their own. They didn't know about his drinking problem or how he treated my mother and me. They thought it seemed suspicious. Before we knew what was happening, they charged my mother with murder. Then they charged me with covering it up."

I squeezed my hands together, trying to stop the trembling.

"We were both acquitted due to a lack of evidence."

A silence fell between us as we turned onto the road, the same one I had swerved off earlier.

"Listen, I get it," said Colton. "If you want me to drop you off and never talk to you again, I will."

My headache left a dull pain in the back of my skull. This was too much to handle. What happened to the cute guy with great dimples? Why did he have to have such a crazy life story?

Colton slowed down the truck.

"What are you doing?" I asked, a tingle of fear creeping into my voice.

He gave me a sad, lopsided grin. "I don't know where you live."

"Oh." My cheeks heated. "Take your next left and then turn right on Hickory Trace. My cabin is only one on the road. It's at the end on the left."