Dirt And Diamonds

A Month Later...

"Parker, honey, I'm going to the grocery store, okay?" I said as I walked past him sitting in his chair rocking month-old Logan. "You'll be okay till I get back, right?"

"I sure hope so." Parker smirked as he looked over at me.

I smiled. "I just have to go get some food for the house and Logan is almost out of diapers and wipes. I'll be back within the hour."

"You better be. It's supposed to blizzard tonight." Parker said as he nodded his head towards the television that was playing the news.

"Yeah, I know." I said as I walked over and stood beside the chair.

Parker looked up and smiled at me. "You sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Baby, I'll be fine. And Logan might get sick if he's out in the cold. You won't even notice I'm gone." I smirked before kissing his lips for a second.

"I always notice when you're not with me." Parker said.

"I'll be back before you know it, I promise. Take care of our son." I said before leaning down and kissing Logan's forehead.

"No, I'ma throw him away." Parker joked.

I chuckled softly before kissing Parker's cheek. "Love you, babe."

"I love you more." Parker smiled.

I smiled before turning around and walking away towards the door, waving at my boys one last time before I walked out.

As usual, I stayed in the store a lot longer than I had planned. My mind was thinking about what Parker would want for dinner for the rest of the week, what Logan might need, and what we were almost out of at home. I didn't even notice that it had been so long until my phone started ringing while I was looking at a bottle of shampoo.

I reached into my back pocket and answered the call, putting it up to my ear. "Hello."

"Lays, where are you?" Parker asked.

"At the store." I said as I put the bottle of shampoo into the buggy.

"Still? Babe, it's been more than an hour."

"It has?" I said, surprised as I looked at the time on my phone before putting it back to my ear. "Time got away from me. I'm about to checkout then I'll be home."

"Be careful, the snow's starting to come down hard."

"Okay, I will. I'll see you soon, baby." I said as I approached the checkout counter.

"Okay, love you." Parker said.

"I love you more." I said before hanging up the phone and starting to put the groceries on the conveyor belt.

"How are you doing today, Mrs. Schnabel?" A young man who I knew to be named Adam said as he started ringing up the items.

"I'm doing well, Adam. Still using the nurse's office to get out of class?" I smirked.

Before Logan was born, I worked as the school nurse at Haines High School. I loved the job and the students who were there.

Adam chuckled as he shook his head and typed something into the register. "Not so much."

"Good."

"You coming back soon?"

I sighed as I set another item on the belt. "Maybe once Logan gets in school. Parker doesn't want me to work until Logan is in preschool."

"But the new nurse is so old and ugly." Adam said.

I laughed. "I miss you kids too."

Once I was through checking out, I walked out of the store and to the truck. It really was snowing hard. I loaded the bags as fast as I could and got into the truck to turn the heat on. I shivered as I backed out of the parking space.

"Why can't it stop snowing till I get home?" I grumbled, sighing as I drove out of the parking lot.

The visibility was getting shorter by the second, and the snow was steadily falling harder. I could barely make out the yellow line on the road. Of course, that was just my luck.

I still knew how to get home even if I couldn't see the signs because of the GPS on the truck, but it didn't help anything that I couldn't see what was coming or going.

"Shit." I cursed to myself as I realized that I had ran a stop sign. I turned around in the seat and looked behind me for a second.

I felt the truck sliding to the right, and I quickly turned back around and jerked the wheel a bit to the left. That was when I saw the yellow headlights right in front of me.

And after that, it was all black.

***

Continue reading what happens in the sequel "Fire and Ice"!