Adventures in Winter Driving: Storms of Future Past

Adventures in Winter Driving

A Storms of Future Past Story

Kari Kilgore

Spiral Publishing, Ltd.

For everyone who’s ever driven

down a snowy mountain road

Wondering if they should have stayed home.

Adventures in Winter Driving

Carol Sanderson had the strangest feeling of sitting inside a huge snow globe that just got a good, hard shake.

The world outside the windows of her trusty Jeep Liberty was overlaid in sparkling white. Huge snowflakes danced and spun on their way down—a sure sign of the end of mid-December’s oddly warm and rainy weather.

She switched the Jeep’s heater from full defrost to sending a stream of warm air toward her hands, and especially her feet. Her toes weren’t cold yet, not through her heavy winter boots and thick wool socks. But it didn’t hurt a bit to fend off the coming assault.

A strong whiff of coffee and hot chocolate floated through the car as soon as the front vents kicked in. Right over the cupholders where she’d put two stainless steel mugs-full.

A sip of steaming-hot heavenly brew chased away the lingering chill.

The heater’s dry air and the maroon knit cap she had pulled low over her ears were guaranteed to send her hair into a floaty auburn halo. Couldn’t be helped. She’d rather be a bit fuzzy than freezing later on.

About the only thing she could see besides all that gorgeous white was a yellowish glow outside her passenger side window. The porch light of her boyfriend Sid Rutherford’s house.

Probably warm and cozy inside, sliding toward much too warm if her past experience proved right. She could go wait in there, certainly. Save a little gasoline. Avoid putting a little pollution into the chilly late afternoon air.

Sit through yet another round of puzzled looks and questions from his sweet and incredibly confusing parents. To be fair, they were probably every bit as confused by their son and the stubborn, feisty woman he kept bringing home for dinners and holidays.

Carol could just about write the script after two years of dating Sid.

Why are you out on a day like this? Did you fill up your gas tank? Are your tires in good shape? Is your cell phone charged? Are you wearing warm socks? And of course: Carol dear, I don’t think Miss Kellen would mind one bit if you and Sid called off work just this one time, do you?

As if her thoughts summoned electrons out of the snow, her smartphone buzzed.

So sorry, C. Getting winter driving rundown from M&D. Out there ASAP. S.

Carol snorted and glanced at the porch light again. That was an awful lot of typing