Ryan followed her across the room, pursuing her as she climbed down. “Don’t leave like this, Amy. Let me try to figure this out.” He kept pleading as she stormed down the hallway and out the front door.

“At least get in my truck, at least let me drive you back,” he cried out as they crossed the front porch and stepped into the blustery rain. “We can talk. We can get this mess all straightened out.”

“No, no, Ryan, I can’t.” Rain was pelting her skin, wind whipping up her hair. Her legs were moving faster, nearly a run now as she fled down the driveway.

Ryan wasn’t giving up and ran beside her, protesting the entire way. “Amy, what exactly do you plan on doing? Are you going to walk all the way back? Stop, will you, please? This is ridiculous. It’s crazy. It’s the middle of the night!”

Admittedly Amy hadn’t thought that far ahead, hadn’t thought much of anything beyond her immediate need to get down from that attic and out of the house, which was why her heart swelled with relief when she spotted a pair of headlights by the ranch gate. There was a vehicle parked there, its engine idling. Amy ran straight for it.

“Careful, Amy! We don’t know who that is!”

But Amy believed she did, because as she drew closer to the mysterious vehicle, she recognized the logo on the door: Seabrook Taxis. The same driver who had driven her to the ranch was seated behind the wheel, greeting her with a raised hand. Amy made for the rear of the car, opened the passenger door, and climbed in.

“Amy, please don’t leave,” Ryan cried out. “We can talk about this, we can fix—”

Amy slammed the door before he could finish. She locked it and glanced to the mirror, exchanging a look with the driver. He smiled and spoke with the same gravelly voice. “Hello, miss. Good to see you again. Everything all right?”

“Hi, yes, hello,” she blurted out. “You came back. Thank God you came back.”

His eyebrows pinched together. “Been here the whole time.”

“What?”

“Meter’s been running too. You sure did take your sweet time.”

Amy didn’t look at the meter. She didn’t stop to think about why the cab was now here when it hadn’t been here before, and she didn’t look at Ryan, who was hovering right outside the window, his voice muffled but still cutting through the rain and the glass.

“Amy! Please, will you get out of the cab! I don’t know what’s going on! I swear to you, on the life of my father, I don’t know what I’ve done!”