From that point forward, the drive was fairly easy and Toffee was fairly well-behaved whenever he had a hand on him. The ease and quiet was a mixed blessing, however, as it gave Gracie more time to dwell on the ordeal she'd just faced and the road ahead that she'd have to travel alone. Well, not entirely alone, as a bored nudge from the dog in the passenger seat reminded her. She had a dog with a strong protective instinct and what seemed to her like rudimentary training. Toffee allowed himself to be leashed without much trouble when Gracie reached a gas station just outside of the city. Her tank was nowhere near empty, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to top off and maybe fill the extra can. The lights inside of the station were turned off, or maybe they burned out after being on for a month straight. Either way, the late afternoon sun was on the wrong side of the building to provide much visibility.