It was a dark and stormy night. Sarah Carlson chuckled at the thought as she drove down the highway. Scary stories often started like that, but this was the first night she ever remembered feeling that way. Night had fallen and it was pitch black outside, except for the streaks of lightening that randomly lit the sky.

A loud clap of thunder rattled the car, and from the backseat Sarah heard, "Boom!"

"That's right, big boom," she said, and turned to flash a quick smile at her two year old son, Davey.

He was fastened securely in his car seat, with a toy truck in each hand. "Boom!" he repeated, and crashed the trucks into each other.

"You're not a bit scared, are you?" She wondered why she felt so jumpy. It wasn't just the darkness, or the threat of the oncoming storm. It felt as if the atmosphere was electrically charged and Sarah was wired into it.

She hoped to get an earlier start to their lake cabin, but one phone call after another kept her home longer than she planned. Now she was driving in the dark with rain pelting her windshield. "We're almost there," she told Davey, reassuring herself as well.

A streak of lightening flashed and Sarah saw a deer in the road ahead. "Shit!" She slammed on the brakes and swerved to the shoulder to avoid contact. The deer galloped off and Sarah clung to her steering wheel, breathing deeply. She glanced back at Davey and asked him, "You okay?"

"Horsie!" He clapped his hands, dropping the trucks.

"That was a deer, sweetie. Can you say deer?"

"Deer," Davey repeated and started fussing for his trucks.

"All right." Sarah figured since she was stopped anyway, she could take a minute to retrieve the dropped toys. She twisted around to the backseat but still couldn't reach them. Muttering to herself as she got out of the car, Sarah dove into the backseat to avoid as much of the rain as possible. "Here you go." She picked up the trucks and handed them to her son. "I hope you realize what a nice mommy you have."

His smile was all the thanks she needed, and Sarah smiled back as she hopped out of the car. Standing up, she came face to face with a man in a dark black rain poncho. Sarah jumped and squealed, "What the--" as the man held his hands up innocently.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled from under the hood. "First the deer, and now me."

Sarah looked at him suspiciously and inched toward her door. "No, it's okay. The weather's making me a little nervous, is all. We're late meeting my husband. He's probably on his way here looking for us."

"Get back in, please, you're getting soaked." He motioned toward the car and took a step away, probably so she would feel more secure, she deduced.

"Thanks." Sarah got in and quickly locked her doors. She started up the car and unrolled her window an inch.

The man took one step closer but Sarah didn't feel threatened. She thought he had kind blue eyes and a very nice smile. "What are you doing out on a night like this?"

"I'm hitchhiking cross-country. I should have stopped at that last town, but I thought the rain might hold off a while. I guess I haven't got Kansas weather figured out yet."

Sarah laughed. "Don't bother with that. But you are out of luck, there's nothing up this way for miles."

He smiled again and tightened his rain poncho around him. "Guess I'm in for a wet night then."

Sarah felt a flash of guilt, but knew she couldn't invite this stranger into her car. Her husband, Cliff, would have a fit. And with Davey, well, Sarah just couldn't take any chances. She looked at the man and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I can't help you."

He waved a hand. "No problem. I've been out in worse. Have a nice night." He started walking and Sarah sat and thought for a moment. A flash of lightening sparked in front of them and she saw the stranger hesitate for a second before continuing his journey. She debated what to do, and finally made a decision she thought was a good compromise.

She pulled the car even with the man, and he looked at her. Sarah rolled her window down an inch and said, "My husband would have a fit if I gave you a ride, so I'm afraid I really can't. But we do have a garage near our cabin where you could spend the night, if you don't mind roughing it."

He smiled widely at her. "Any place that's dry, I can throw my bedroll out, and I'll be happy as a clam."

"It's about half a mile down this road, and then another half a mile on the road to our place. You'll have to walk, but if you want to use the garage, you're welcome."

"No problem," he agreed.