A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (11 page)

Hunter took a second look and froze.

Jesse drove a vehicle with Maryland plates.

Chapter Eight

Becca fought hard with her nerves and lost most of Friday. After work, she'd go home and get ready to meet Brock tonight, and then take a tour of his gallery. The first real good snow of the season was also predicted to hit, and there had already been flurries falling off and on all day.

Liane stopped her on the way out at the end of the day. "Good luck tonight! Brock seems like a nice guy, and he's been talking nonstop about your art while he waits for results on his daughter."

"I'm so nervous," Becca admitted. Liane followed her to the office as she clocked out. Part of the nerves was meeting with someone so interested in her work, the other had to do with her admission to Hunter about what happened all those years ago. This time, she had people to back her up. Really, she shouldn't worry so much. One bad event shouldn't have kept her from giving this a shot, and with Hunter's gentle prodding, she finally had the courage to do this.

"You'll be great. Drive safe. The snow is starting to stick." Liane smiled, then it faded. "Oh, and I'm sorry you had to run into Vince. I know you guys have some history."

Who told her that? Becca masked her annoyance and kept her tone cool. "I figured I'd run into him. I just wish he'd leave me alone. I don't want to talk to him." Maybe Brock said something, since Liane just said he talked about her artwork. Harmless. Becca should have figured word would get around about Vince. Hopefully they didn't know all the details of their tangled history. Those were better left buried, or at least not so out in the open for others to know about.

"I'll do my best to warn you beforehand when I know he's here. Get out of here and prepare for your dinner. I can't wait to hear all the amazing details!" Liane patted her shoulder. "Your art is great on our walls, but I expect to see galleries far and wide picking up a great name. I can say I knew you when."

Becca laughed. "You've been hanging around Hunter way too long," she teased, grabbing her purse. "I'm going, I'm going. Have a great weekend."

The trip home took twice the time, but Becca made it in one piece. The snow fell heavy in some spots and light in others. She debated on canceling, but the worst of it wasn't supposed to hit until overnight. As soon as she made it through the front door, her phone rang.

"Hi Hunter," she answered after checking the caller ID.

"Hey, you make it home yet? It's snowing pretty bad here. Todd wanted to know if I could stay a while longer, but he knows you have a dinner tonight." He sounded torn.

"Why not meet us at the gallery then?" Becca suggested. She wanted him to be there the whole time, but if Hunter at least made it to the gallery, she'd be okay.

"Are you sure? I can head home now."

"It's okay. Help out at the airport if you're needed. I promise I'll call and update you with anything."

"How's the weather at home?" Loud sounds cut into Hunter's words.

"Hit and miss," Becca replied, climbing the stairs to put her purse in the bedroom. "It's fairly light now, but driving home took twice the time."

"I hope the worst doesn't hit until we're both home safe. Okay, if you're sure..."

"It's totally fine! Call me when you're done and I'll let you know where we are." Becca opened the closet door and stared at the row of her clothes, debating what to wear.

"All right. I don't want you to be so nervous. After what you said the other night..."

"I'll be fine. Promise." She had her worries, but she'd shove them aside.

"I love you, angel."

"Love you too." Becca smiled. They hung up and she set her phone on the charger to keep it full, in case anything happened this evening. She faced the closet again, indecisive on what to wear. If Rissi were here, she'd be all over the place, pulling clothes, accessories, and shoes out. Stylish stuff Becca had always left to Rissi. She missed her best friend, but at least she was here in spirit.

Finally, she settled on a forest green turtleneck that came with a long scarf worn around the neck. The scarf was a lighter green with the same dark green fringe at the end of it, and a pair of black pants. She found a pair of thick heeled boots. Becca showered and changed, then fixed her hair in a simple ponytail. She stood in front of the full length mirror on the inside of the closet door and studied herself. Turning left and right, Becca nodded in satisfaction. Brock wasn't going to be picking at her clothing. He wanted to talk art. She looked fine.

She grabbed her phone and purse, then headed out the door. Outside, the temperature had to have plummeted at least another five degrees in the less than one hour time frame she'd been in the house. Large snowflakes fell in between tiny ones. So pretty, but she wished it would wait. Mother Nature waited for no one.

Becca drove carefully through the flurries. Cars slid, but most of them gained traction and avoided a crash. She cringed each time a car spun out of control, fearing an accident. Maybe she should have canceled, but she was more than halfway there now. It was a little too late to turn back. She'd looked up the address online and had a map, which was a good thing, since Hunter didn't end up making the trip with her.

Up ahead about thirty yards or so, a car in the lane going the other direction sped up, obviously trying to get around a slower moving car. "Geez! Someone's in a hurry!" Becca feared the worst when the speeding car spun out of control, throwing it in her lane. Cars before her slammed on their brakes, just as she did. The black car continued to spin and slammed full force into another one, pushing it into one more. A total Domino effect happened as the pile up continued. The worst was when a large delivery truck couldn't stop and hit them all with a loud, sickening thud.

Most likely others were already calling 911, but Becca wasn't about to assume. Traffic behind and ahead of her halted to a complete stop. She pulled out her phone and dialed, her fingers shaky as she pressed the buttons. Shouts rang out over engines. She spoke to the operator, letting them know of the large pile up. Becca couldn't count the cars. There were so many of them!

When she hung up, Becca turned off the car, yanked the keys out, and ran over to see if she could do anything to help. Snow crunched under her feet. She couldn't believe how many people stayed in their vehicles and didn't get out to assist or check on anyone. There was a red Honda with the front hood and side all smashed up. Becca wasn't sure how bad the people inside were. Screams rang out from nearby. Child's cries.

She fought down a wave of bile. Becca spotted a woman in the passenger seat, crying. She had a purple goose egg bump on her forehead with blood covering much of her face. Becca noticed the shattered windshield and the amount of red when she realized there was no one in the driver's seat. Choking back a cry, Becca moved faster, almost slipping in the snow. She found the driver- sprawled on top of another vehicle in the accident. All that blood! She'd never seen so much!

There's no way that man made it through. Becca's heart clenched. It was like déjà vu all over.

As she approached the car, the woman rolled down the window with tears streaming down her face. Blood poured from her nose, and her breathing came out loud and raspy. Becca glanced quickly at the smashed car door and wondered about the car that hit this one. The whole street was littered with car parts, and-

She shuddered, thinking of the ejected body.

"I'm g-going t-to have my b-baby! It's way too early!" The woman stuttered. "There's so m-much blood!" She was in hysterics.

Becca charged to action. "Help is on its way. How far apart are your contractions?" She knew a little of this since she'd been there when Jade was born. Chad had been running late from a meeting and couldn't be reached when Rissi went into labor two weeks earlier than anticipated, so Becca became her birthing partner for the first half of Rissi's labor.

"Four m-minutes apart. My husband- he wasn't wearing his seatbelt!" The woman's eyes rolled in the back of her head. "I think the accident c-caused me to go into labor. I was going f-for a check up appointment!"

"Stay with me." Becca rushed to the side of the car.

"Is my mom and dad gonna be okay?" A small voice from the back seat asked. A boy about seven or eight peered at Becca, his face full of blood as well.

She didn't know how to answer that. The faint sound of sirens in the distance relieved her. For now, Becca could attempt to keep the woman and child calm until help arrived. The door was so far smashed in, she didn't think she could get it open. "I'm Becca, and I'm going to stay right here while help arrives, okay?" She said it to both of them, but looked at the little boy, thinking of Hunter. Was this the kind of fear he felt after the crash?

"I'm Henry. My dad- he went through the glass. I can't see him!"

The mother screamed and Becca winced. She held out her hand to the woman. "Squeeze my hand. It's okay. We're going to get y-you through this." If only there was more she
could
do. The wind howled, blowing snow in her face. Becca shivered, but she stayed right there by the family as help arrived. Several fire trucks, paramedics, and police cars pulled up to the scene, the flashing lights reminded Becca of a disco ball. The snow began to fall harder, making it difficult to see the scene clearly. Still, she continued to talk to the mother and son until paramedics arrived in front of the car.

"What have we got here?" one asked Becca. "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm not injured, I'm just a witness. The woman is in labor. She's got a little boy in the back, and the driver..." Becca pointed in the direction, afraid to say anything more, especially guessing his condition. The man hadn't moved from the spot. No doubt he'd died on impact. She choked up, pain and fear centering in her heart and spreading everywhere. This poor family. On a day ordinarily supposed to be filled with joy when a baby arrives, the roles were forever altered.

Help swarmed all around her, running to different cars and pulling people from the wreck. Becca moved out of the way so the emergency crews could get the door open and the pregnant woman out. She should call Hunter and let him know, and also call Brock, but couldn't get herself to move. A tug on her shirt startled her, and Becca tore her gaze away from the scene. The little boy Henry, who'd been in the back of the car, stood beside her now, his face cleaned up of the blood. Wide brown eyes stared up at her.

"My dad's dead, isn't he?" His voice came out in a squeak.

"I-I don't know," Becca stammered, her heart aching for this family. She strongly suspected, but had no intentions of saying much more to the little boy about it. She didn't want to be the one to tell him. They were strangers.

The boy clung to her, tears in his eyes. She hugged him back, watched the EMTs pull his mom out, and had to hold in a gasp at all the blood. The woman had her hands protectively wrapped around her bulging belly. "I knew a baby sister was a bad idea, but they didn't listen to me. Now I might lose everyone. Will you come with me to the hospital?"

An easy request to appease the scared boy. Becca agreed. "I sure will." A bond already formed between the two. She knew exactly what he was going through, even though her own memories of loss were scattered.

Hunter worried when Becca didn't answer her phone. He tried her three times and it continued to ring, then went to voice mail. He didn't know the name or location of Brock's gallery, but he did know where they were meeting for dinner. Maybe the phone reception was bad due to the impending storm. The location of the restaurant was out of the way, but Hunter wouldn't be able to sit at home without word from Becca. He had no reason to panic, but he definitely was concerned.

Hunter tried once more and left a message this time. "Hey Bec, just checking in. I haven't heard from you in a while and wanted to make sure you're okay where you are. Call me back soon. Love you."

It took him a good while to get anywhere near the restaurant, and when Hunter spotted emergency lights, panic rose from his chest, spreading upward.
Please no!
Hopefully Becca didn't wind up in this mess. As Hunter passed, he worried more. Scraps of metal were strewn across the snow coated road. A smattering of ambulances and workers were still on the scene. What a bad pile up. He pulled over on the side of the road, yanked his keys from the ignition, and darted across the snow to see if he could spot Becca's car or find someone to ask.

Not Becca, not Becca. She has to be okay. Please let her be okay!

Hunter fought down panic. He had no reason to believe Becca was part of this. But then again, she hadn't answered her phone in a while, either.

"Sir? Are you looking for someone?" a male behind him asked.

Hunter whirled around, tearing his eyes away from the mangled wreck of vehicles. "I'm looking for my fiancée. She was supposed to be passing through this area for a dinner meeting, and she's not answering her phone." He tried to sound calm, but even he knew it wasn't working. "Her name is Rebecca Lange. She drives a Subaru." Every pulse point throbbed as he waited on pins and needles for the man to find out for sure. Hunter scanned the mess again. So far, he didn't see Becca's car.

"Sir? We don't have her name anywhere."

Relief slammed him and Hunter didn't hear any other words. He ran back to his car, eager to get to the restaurant and see Becca sitting there with Brock, safe and alive. She may not be part of that accident, but until he saw her for himself, he wouldn't rest.

Becca wasn't at the restaurant, either. He didn't spot her car in the crowded parking lot. Still, he ran inside and searched the crowd for her.

"Hunter, right?" a deep male's voice asked from nearby. Hunter faced the voice.

"That's me," he said with caution.

"I'm Brock. I'm supposed to meet Becca, but she hasn't shown up. There's a real bad accident not too far from here-"

"She's not there. I passed it on the way. Becca's also not answering her phone. If she's not involved in the accident and not with you..." His mind filled with very bad thoughts. Too many secrets had been revealed recently, too many people Hunter and Becca both didn't trust. And now, he couldn't get a hold of her.