Michael had offered to come up and get her on Valentine’s Day, but Autumn had told him he didn’t need to do that. It seemed kind of silly to her for him to drive up to Jerome to get her, only to turn right around and come back down the hill to take her to his place.
That was why she got in her Nissan Rogue after saying goodbye to Rachel, and drove to Clarkdale’s historic downtown. In her purse was a travel toothbrush and toothpaste that she’d bought at Walgreens, along with a change of underwear and a pared-down bag of makeup. She didn’t know for sure that she’d end up spending the night…but she figured she might as well be prepared just in case she did.
The weather had been bright and sunny — if cold — ever since that one storm had passed through, and so the roads were clear and dry. St
