Nikki stood with her hands on her hips, glaring over me with disdain. “And you’re absolutely filthy! What happened to you?” “I hit some debris someone lost in the middle of the road. The rain was coming down so hard I didn’t see it in time, and it punctured one of my tires. I’ve been putting the spare on and rolling around in all this lovely country mud you people keep up here.” I went into the bathroom and pulled a bunch of paper towels out of the dispenser and started wiping my face and arms down. I was drenched. “You need to get something dry on. Why don’t you just go home? I’ll explain what’s going on to Maggie.” “I always carry spare clothes around with me,” I replied, nodding toward the backpack I’d tossed on the floor next to me. She gave me a puzzled look. “You do?” “While I’d love to tell you it’s because I’m such a great Boy Scout, it’s actually the product of waking up after vomit-inducing alcohol and drug binges,”
