As he approached the sedan, he realized the glow they could see from the road came from the blinking hazard lights. And the vehicle was running. The first thing Zack did was go to the rear to make sure the snow hadn’t blocked the exhaust pipe. It hadn’t yet, but as heavy as it was snowing, it was a good thing they’d gotten there when they did.
From the noise inside the car, Zack could tell they knew help had arrived. When no one opened the door, he guessed it must have frozen shut. He’d brought a window breaker if he needed to use it, but he would prefer to see the condition of the people inside before spraying them with glass. So he positioned himself and gave the door a couple of hard kicks and tried again. That time, it moved a little.
The others had joined him by then, and the three men were able to pry open the door.
“Oh, thank the Lord you’ve come,” the man in the driver’s seat cried.
“Daddy!” Holly pushed her way to the car.
Then they heard a siren.
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived,” Ike quipped.
“They’ll have better equipment,” Kathy said.
“Let’s get all the doors open,” Zack suggested.
Marc pointed to where responders were already following their path. “Let us help with that while you deal with the authorities.”
Zack turned and headed up the hill, glad to recognize the people. Turning to descend with them, he brought the incident commander up to date with what they knew so far.
“Thanks for locating them,” the man said. “It would have taken a lot longer without the flare. Don’t you have a party to get back to? We’ve got this.”
By the time Zack made his way downhill again, Marc and Ike had already retrieved the spine board, and Kathy had his first aid kit.
“We’re in the way here,” she observed. “We should head back. McKenzie will be worried.”
Ike and Marc headed back up the hill with the board.
“I want to stay with Holly,” Zack said, feeling pulled in two different directions.
“Don’t worry.” Kathy gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. “We’ll store your gear, so you can take Holly to the hospital with you.”
“Thank you.” Zack hurried to join her.
When they pulled her twin sister from the car, she had regained consciousness but was confused. Her mother, who had an injured arm, hovered nearby.
“We should head back so you can be there when they arrive.” When Holly looked about to argue, he repeated Kathy’s earlier statement. “We’re in the way here.”
Reluctantly, Holly nodded, and the two of them worked their way back up to his truck.
CHAPTER 9
As they made their slow return trip to Canyondale, Holly remained silent beside Zack. He could only imagine what kinds of thoughts she must be having and probably beating herself up for having remained estranged from her family for so long. And knowing the ex hadn’t made the trip with them probably added to her guilt.
“Holly, what can I do to help?” Zack finally asked as they crawled toward the hospital lights. The snow appeared to be slowing.
“I’m so sorry.” She put a hand on his leg. “I’ve been sitting here having a mental pity party. What if they had died?”
“But they didn’t and now you have a chance to heal things. Do you want to call your brother or wait until you have word about the exact state of their condition?”
“Oh, Jason.” She fumbled in her purse but then hesitated once she had the phone in her hands. “He’s in Florida, so it’s two hours later there. It could be a long time before we have a final diagnosis. Should I let him get some sleep before I call?”
“It probably depends on him. What do you think?”
“I would want to know, even if it meant a sleepless night,” Holly said.
“I would too, but then I’m a spiritual man, and I’d be praying for them.” Zack shrugged. “At the very least, your brother could send positive vibes out to the universe.”
