“Me too.” Tauri grinned at Kane. “Girls are silly.”
“This is the problem.”Emily’s cup clinked on a saucer.“When we need a male’s perspective, they all run for the hills.”
“I’ve always been honest with you, Em.” Kane ran a hand down his face. “The problem is, only you know what’s in your heart. It’s scary, sometimes. From a male point of view, we have two options: go in boots and all and hope the girl likes us and maybe face rejection or take the slow road, become friends, and see if the attraction is mutual. I figure Raven is much like me and your dad. We prefer the courting.” He sighed. “If the pace is too slow for you, tell him.”
Jenna smiled at Kane. “Yeah, well, it worked for me.”
“Thanks, I appreciate your candor.”A chair scraped as she stood. “We’ve been dating once a week or fortnight for ages and he still drops me at the front door. I care for him and believe he would protect me with his life if need be. You’re right, he’s old-school, like you, Dave. I’m just hoping I won’t be thirty by thetime he makes up his mind. Maybe I’ll invite him to dinner with the family. Oh, is that the time? I gotta go or I’ll be late for work. Autopsy is at ten. See you then.”She disconnected.
“I don’t usually give that kind of advice.” Kane’s lips curled into a smile. “Maybe I’ll write an Agony Aunt column for the local newspaper. I’ll call it ‘help for dating couples—a man’s perspective.’”
Pulling wipes from a packet, Jenna cleaned the egg from Jackson’s hands and face and handed him a sippy cup of milk. She stared at Kane. “You know, maybe you should have told her to get involved or show interest in his dog training and rehousing program. It’s a big part of his life. I don’t figure he’d give that up to marry Emily. Maybe that’s the reason they’re only having casual dates?”
“Ha, there you go.” Kane stood and collected plates. “Advice for my first column: get involved in each other’s work or hobbies.”
Shaking her head, Jenna stood and lifted Jackson onto one hip. “How about you concentrate your energy on finding me a few suspects?”
Laughter filled the kitchen. “Yes, ma’am.” Kane looked at her over one shoulder and winked. “Gotcha.”
SIXTEEN
As they headed out onto the highway, a howling wind blew the snow into great sheets that made it appear like giant wings flapping across the blacktop. Driving in a snow globe might sound like fun but it terrified Jenna. Blasts of snow smacked the windshield, slowing the fast-moving wipers. A sea of white spread out before her and even the dirty piles of snow alongside the highway had received a thick coating, making them indistinguishable from everything else. Glad of her sunglasses, Jenna peered into the brilliant white. Although the snowplow had gone through earlier this morning, the blizzard had already covered the ice retardant. By the time they reached the main highway into Black Rock Falls, the visibility had dropped to zero. The blacktop had turned into an ice rink and Jenna gripped the seat as Kane took the sharp corner onto the highway. They hit a patch of thick treacherous frozen snow and the tires spun struggling for grip. She held her breath as Kane turned the wheel and they drifted over the ice and onto the highway.
It would be slow going into town as a number of vehicles crawled along the inside lane. “That looks like patches of blackice.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll send a message to the mayor. He needs to get a salt sprayer out here ASAP.”
As Jenna finished the message, a rush of wind buffeted the Beast and ice shards splattered them like buckshot as an eighteen-wheeler sped past spraying them with ice.
“What an idiot.” Kane’s eyes flashed with anger. “He’s lost control. Hang on, Jenna. It’s going to get nasty.”
With both hands pressed on the dashboard, Jenna gaped in horror as the eighteen-wheeler slid sideways and fishtailed as the driver tried to right it. It slid along the highway out of control, the cab and trailer bending frighteningly. Suddenly the trailer whipped around, clipping vehicles trying desperately to get out of its way, but the crushing impact tossed them into the ditch alongside the road. Brakes screamed as drivers tried to avoid the collision. Just ahead of them, the heavy trailer righted itself for a few seconds and then swung erratically back and forth, crashing into other vehicles and tossing parts of them across the hard-packed snow. Jenna held her breath as the eighteen-wheeler bounced with each sickening bang as vehicles collided. Panic gripped her as the truck screamed in a wail of metal, jackknifed, and slid toward them.
“Dammit.” Kane pulled the Beast to a stop in the middle of the highway.
Shaking with fear, Jenna couldn’t so much as blink and held on waiting for the impact. The Beast’s engine roared as Kane reversed along the wrong side of the slippery blacktop, the truck’s snow tires spinning. Behind them drivers panicked, moving in all directions to get some distance between them and the out-of-control truck. Heart pounding, Jenna stared in horror, as the eighteen-wheeler skated across the ice, completely blocking the highway. It trembled, shuddered, and in an almighty crash, the trailer came around to smash into the cab. Sparks flew and gas spilled onto the snow and then silence. Everyone around them had stopped.
“You, okay?” Kane squeezed her arm. “Take a few deep breaths. We’re okay, Jenna.”
Trying to breathe, Jenna swallowed hard as the shock rushed through her. She turned to look at Kane, calm and in control as usual. “That was close. My heart is beating so fast.” She peered out of the window. “It looks bad. I hope everyone is okay.”
“So do I. Let’s go and see the damage.” Beside her, Kane pulled his black woolen cap down over his ears and pushed on his Stetson. He turned to look at her. “I’ll grab the first aid kit. Stay close. Duke, stay here. Good boy.” He left the engine running and climbed out.
Jenna pulled out her phone, running the procedure for multiple car wrecks through her mind. She called Maggie and gave her the details. “We’ll need fire trucks, tow trucks, and the paramedics, and notify the council so someone can come out and clean the debris from the road. Explain what’s happening and we might get someone to push this truck over so we’ve got enough room to move traffic. I’ll need Rio and Rowley. The driver is going down for this accident.”
“I’m on it.”Maggie disconnected.
Climbing out of the warm truck and into the freezing wind, Jenna pushed her hands into her pockets. The snow lashed at her face and built up on her sunglasses. She stayed close to Kane, his large frame easily recognizable in the thick snowfall. Glad of her warm snow boots, Jenna followed him to the first damaged vehicle. She peered inside, seeing a woman still gripping tight to the steering wheel with the airbag in her face. The eighteen-wheeler had badly gouged one side of her vehicle but she seemed to be okay. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
“I think so.” The woman’s window buzzed down an inch or so and she punched down the airbag.
Jenna nodded. “It’s surface damage. Keep your engine running to keep warm. Help is on the way.”
She photographed the damaged vehicle and asked the driver to show her license. She snapped a photograph of it and then followed Kane to the next vehicle. The images and licenses would be used for insurance claims. Five vehicles had been damaged on their side of the highway. The eighteen-wheeler blocked her vision of the other side. She turned to Kane. “The driver looks okay. I’m surprised. I figured the trailer had smashed his cab, but it only took out the front of it.”
“I’ll go and check on him but I’m more concerned about who smashed into the truck on the other side of the highway. It sounded like World War Three from here.” He brushed the snow from his sunglasses and peered at her. “Please, stay close. I don’t want to lose you in the blizzard. If you fell into the gully, the snow would cover your head.”
Jenna snorted. “I was thinking the same thing about you. If you fell into the gully, there would be no way I’d be able to pull you out. Although I admit you’d be a bit hard to lose in the blizzard.” She stared into his reflective lenses, seeing herself in miniature. Her independence still drove him crazy. “Stop worrying about me, Dave. We need to go and check for injuries. It might be some time before the paramedics get here.”
“Sure.” Kane held out his hand. “It’s slippery and together we’re stronger.”
