The slap-slap of the wipers droned on with each slow-motion moment as she struggled against the storm. Only a few miles until her exit. She rolled to a stop along with the traffic. Weather like this always made the holiday season less than happy for Sophie. She looked off the highway at the tiny town of Bedford. Even in the fading daylight, it was cozy and quaint with its perfect blanket of fresh snow. Christmas lights, colorful, blinking and bright, lit up houses as far as she could see. Christmas. The time of year that intensified the fact she was alone. She sighed and put the VW in gear as traffic inched forward again. It wasn’t like she’d set out to be the loneliest person in the entire state of North Carolina. Heck, there were sure to be others in her same predicament. Right? She frowned. With her luck in the romance department, probably not. She glanced in her rearview mirror.
