Chapter Three

Tanner dropped the elderly couple and their minivan off at their daughter’s house in town, then headed back to the garage.

He had just unwrapped his sandwich and poured himself another cup of coffee when the garage’s ham radio crackled to life.

“Say again?” Tanner said into the microphone, then listened.

The sheriff’s office dispatcher repeated the announcement.

“That’s only a mile from me. I’ll go get it. Any idea where the owner is?”

Hearing the word ‘no’, Tanner frowned.

Someone just parked their car at the end of the exit ramp and bailed? Not smart. Great way to get your car totaled if someone else comes barreling up the ramp.

Tanner made a mental note to teach the owner a thing or two about roadside safety  - once the owner was located, that is.

He shrugged on his insulated coveralls again, poured the coffee back into his Thermos to keep it hot, and headed out to his tow truck to make another run.

***

As Mia walked, she replayed the way this trip should have gone. She should have made it home safely and on time with no issues, with plenty of time left over to help her mother hang the ‘Welcome Home’ banners and other decorations before heading out to meet her big brother’s flight.

Blake Jones had made a career out of the Navy, and he was scheduled to arrive tomorrow for the first time in a long time to celebrate Christmas with them in Mason.

Mia was so proud of him, and she’d squealed with delight when he’d video-called her the first week of October to let her know he’d be able to make it home this year.

“That’s wonderful, Blake! I really miss you and I’m so ready to see you and spend time with you,” she’d told him.

“I know, Mia. I’ve missed you too, kiddo. And I promise we’ll hang out the whole week, okay?”

“Deal.”

A particularly vicious blast of cold wind refocused her attention on her present predicament, and she heard Blake’s voice in her head as clearly as if he was standing right beside her.

Come on, girly. Come on, Mama Mia, you can do this. I believe in you. Just keep going, and don’t stop.

And because Mia had idolized her big brother as far back as she could remember, she took the apparition’s urgings to heart and kept walking, even managing a smirk at the childhood nickname.

But Mia’s sides flared with pain with each step she took, her breath rattling in her lungs. She could no longer feel her feet, and her hands had already become pretty much useless. Sheer stubborn force of will was what she had left, and even that was beginning to wane. Mia was exhausted to her core.

Stop, sit down, take a minute, an insidious whisper crept across her thoughts. So tired… rest…

NO! I have to keep going!

She shook her head fiercely and lowered her chin, straining with all her might to stay focused on following the white line toward help and safety.

When she noticed two lights approaching through the swirling murky black, she thought she was seeing things. Then as she realized her eyes weren’t deceiving her, she stumbled forward, arms raised, crying out.

“Help!” she managed, waving arms that felt like lead. “Please… help…”

She barely registered the vehicle slowing to a stop before she lost consciousness and slumped to the ground.

***

What the hell? was Tanner’s first thought when he saw the bundled figure suddenly appear in his headlight beams. He quickly braked to a stop and got out of his truck just in time to see the figure fall over.

He raced over and bent down, shining the tiny flashlight he carried with him.

“Can you hear me?” he called out over the howl of the wind but got no response.

He reached out and grabbed a shoulder, wincing at the icy water wringing out of his mystery guest’s coat as he did so. Tanner tugged gently until the individual was lying face up, then loosened the hood’s drawstring just enough to take a closer look at the stranger’s face.

Holy crap, it’s a woman.

What the hell is she doing out here?

Tanner slipped off a glove long enough to touch her cheek.

Ice cold. I need to get her out of this storm.

He scooped her up and carried her around to the passenger side of the tow truck, placing her in the seat as gently as he could.

Once he got back behind the wheel, he keyed his mic.

“Dispatch,” he relayed to the Prism County Sheriff’s office, “I think I just found your missing driver, over. I'm taking her to the emergency room, then I will go back and get that car off the ramp."

"Roger that," the dispatcher replied.

Tanner reached across the woman riding shotgun, grabbed the seat belt, and clicked it into place for her. With a worried glance at his unconscious passenger, he shoved the transmission into drive, swung into a wide one-eighty so that he was facing the direction he'd come from,  and set out for St. Claire's as fast as he dared to given the hazardous road conditions. 

Although the small-town hospital was only two miles away, the drive seemed to take forever, especially when Tanner noticed that the woman hadn't moved one inch since he'd settled her into the cab of the truck. He reached out and turned up the heat already flowing freely in the cabin. It didn't seem to make a difference at all.

She's so cold, she isn't shaking anymore, he realized. Not good. Not good at all...

He pressed the gas pedal a little harder, and felt the back end of the tow truck start to lose grip. Tanner swore fiercely and reluctantly continued at what felt like a snail's pace, only breathing a sigh of relief when the hospital finally came into view and he was able to park underneath the awning connected directly to the emergency room.

Thank you God. I just hope it's not too late...

Tanner slammed his tow truck into park, bolted out of the driver's side door, ran around to the passenger side, quickly undid her seat belt, and hoisted the unresponsive woman up and into his arms. He raced through the automatic doors that barely opened in time, and yelled "Somebody help us, please!"