Chapter 337 Thunder Doesn't Strike Dogs
On the way back, Winona sat alone at a roadside diner. She didn't care about her biological father; to her, Carlos was her dad.
If she'd found out right after her mom died, she might've cared. But now, she was over it.
Maybe because of what Eva said, Frank's face popped into her mind.
Honestly, she didn't think she looked like him. She took after her mom; people always said they were like twins.
A bright white light flashed across the dark sky, followed by thunder.
Winona used to be scared of thunder as a kid. With her mom around, she'd get extra scared because she knew her mom would comfort her. But after her mom died and Carlos started a new family, no one cared if she cried herself to sleep. So, she stopped being afraid.
People at other tables started leaving, and the staff were busy moving things.
Summer rains are always heavy and sudden. Soon, it was pouring, with lightning lighting up the sky.
Winona's car was parked across the street. She didn't want to get wet, so she decided to wait out the rain. But sitting there was boring, so she took out her phone to watch some videos. Only by then did she realize it had been off.
The charger was in the car, and there were no outlets around. She didn't feel like asking the restaurant for one either.
This kind of rain usually stoped quickly, but today it seemed to last forever. She wasn't sure if it was because she was bored without her phone or if it really had been raining a long time.
Winona was thinking about running through the rain when she saw a car pull up in front of the barbecue stand. The car looked familiar, and when the door opened, the person who got out was even more familiar—it was Zachary.
He walked towards her with a big black umbrella.
Winona's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
When she left, Zachary and Austin were still fighting. She hadn't told him where she was going. Dreamopolis was huge; finding someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Looking for you."
Winona instinctively patted herself down, thinking Zachary had put a tracker on her. How else could he find her so fast?
Zachary, worried she'd be mad, quickly explained, "I called you, but your phone was off. So I checked your call history and guessed you went to the hospital."
Winona nodded.
"Boom!" Thunder roared overhead, deafening.
Zachary dropped the umbrella and pulled Winona into his arms, covering her ears with his hands.
She sat while Zachary stood, her head against his abdomen. His scent, with a hint of tobacco, filled her nose, but it wasn't unpleasant.
Winona was stunned. She couldn't remember the last time someone held her because of thunder. She was slow to react. "What are you doing?"
Zachary's voice was soft and caring, like he was soothing a child. "It's thundering."
"There's a lightning rod; it won't strike you. Why are you so worked up?"
Zachary's eyebrows twitched. Here he was trying to be romantic, and she was talking about science. Winning her over was no easy task.
Seeing Zachary's silence, Winona realized her words were a bit unromantic. But she was used to being on her own, so she reflexively said, "I..."
She wanted to explain but felt it was unnecessary, so she patted his back. "Don't worry, thunder doesn't strike dogs."
When Winona used to gossip with Rebecca, she once remarked that Zachary was like a dog of a man.
Zachary looked at the calm woman in his arms, who even had the presence of mind to comfort him. "You're not afraid of thunder?"
"No," Winona paused. "Weren't you the one afraid of thunder, so you hugged me?"
Zachary immediately said, "Yes, I'm afraid. With the thunder and rain, it's not safe to drive. Let's stay at a hotel for the night."
He nodded towards a nearby hotel.
Austin, that jerk, had lied to him again.
But considering that Austin's lie had given him a chance to be alone with Winona, he decided not to hold it against him. He'd have the doctor check on Austin's injuries later. The guy was so beaten up he could barely move, yet still so annoying.
After Winona drove away from Regal Oaks, he and Austin had stopped fighting, but neither had spoken to the other until they heard the thunder.
Lying on the ground, Austin suddenly opened his eyes. "Winona is afraid of thunder. She just left and hasn't come back. You should go find her."
Zachary didn't know Winona was afraid of thunder. In their three years of marriage, they had encountered extreme weather, but she had always slept soundly beside him.
Not just thunder, even an earthquake probably wouldn't wake her.
Though he didn't quite believe it, Zachary immediately got up and shook the handcuffs on his wrist. "Unlock these for me."
Austin rolled his eyes. "Just break them. They're made of cast iron with a steel coating. Did you really think they were police handcuffs? That's illegal, you idiot."
Zachary was speechless.
If he weren't in a hurry to find Winona, he would have beaten Austin up again.
Winona got into Zachary's car. As the door closed, the sound of raindrops hitting the car body was loud, making the inside of the car even quieter.
She turned her head and saw that half of Zachary's body was soaked. The thin fabric of his shirt clung to his skin, slightly transparent.
In such heavy rain, she hadn't gotten wet at all because Zachary had kept the umbrella over her.
Winona said, "I used to be afraid of thunder. But then I realized that no one would care even if I was scared, so I stopped being afraid."
Before she could finish, Zachary hugged her tightly. "I care. From now on, whenever it thunders or rains, I'll be with you. You can be scared if you want; you don't have to pretend to be strong."
Zachary's body was full of the smell of rainwater and dampness, which Winona didn't like. It reminded her of the time her stepmother locked her outside in the rain all night. But at this moment, leaning against Zachary, her cheek resting on his wet shoulder, she felt at ease.
After a while, Zachary reluctantly let her go and smoothed her windblown hair. "Shall we get a room at the hotel?"
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