“Okay,” she murmured. “I’ll take that as my first sign. West it is.”

Josiah texted as promised when he had returned to the office. All is well here. You?

She sent him a smiley face.

Don’t speed, he had said. That was harder to do than she had at first thought. She set the cruise control and let the Subaru take over, watching the mileage gauge and taking note of each milepost as it passed.

Fifty miles away.

Seventy-five miles away.

A hundred.

When she crossed into Alabama, she thought, I may not know where I’m going, but I do know one thing. I no longer live in Georgia. That thought set wings to her mood.

Originally she had intended to drive only far enough to cross the state line, then look for a motel, but when she crossed over, she changed her mind.

It had cost so much to get to this point, and she had worked so hard. She couldn’t quit now. She stopped only once to fill her gas tank and go through a drive-through. When she grew too tired to drive safely, well past dusk, she stopped at a motel.

As she turned off the car, exhaustion settled in. Using one of her prepaid Visa cards and her new driver’s license, she checked in. There was only one awkward moment when she needed to sign her name and she had to check her license first. (Felicia Johnston? Really?) But the sleepy desk clerk had turned away to swipe the card, so he didn’t notice.

Ten minutes later, she carried the bag Josiah had packed for her into a cool, dark room. After latching the security chain, she dumped the contents onto the bed. Clothes, a toiletries bag, and the manila folder with the rest of her personal documents tumbled out.

She set the manila folder aside to explore later and looked through the clothes. Nothing was expensive, but he had a good eye and had picked things that would look nice on her.

He had also thought of details like a small travel bottle of mouthwash, a stick of organic ChapStick, a woman’s deodorant, and a razor. Feeling warmed, she touched the short black nightgown and matching robe. They were tastefully simple with a small edge of lace around the border.

Her phone chimed. She checked the screen.

Josiah: Check in, damn it.

Everything’s fine, she replied. I just checked into a motel, and I’m going through the bag.

You must be tired. You pushed it late.

Once I started, I couldn’t stop. She wanted to hear his voice, and her thumb hovered over the Call button.

Before she could make up her mind, he texted, Get some rest, and check in tomorrow night.