Page 77 of Last Chance Christmas

Please, Lord. Let the brakes do their job. Cole blew out a breath and flicked on his lights to alert the other truck.

Cole tapped the brakes once more. The cruiser lurched forward, then slid to a stop, halfway in the intersection.

The plow truck whizzed around them, spraying salt across their windshield.

Thomas whistled. “That was close. Good work, man.”

Cole leaned his head against the seat. They were still a mile away from the Mountainview Ridge Overlook crash site. Every second created more distance between Mackey’s arrest and his escape. No thanks to this weather, the manhunt for Mackey was becoming more treacherous than Cole had bargained for.

Only time would tell if they were too late.

Two

“We’re four minutes out,” Kianna Russell radioed to the dispatcher from the passenger seat of the ambulance. Trace steered the truck down the street and made a left turn.

Kianna gripped the door handle and let out a breath. “The sleet doesn’t look to be letting up anytime soon.” The icy mixture collided with the windshield, and the gray sky grew darker.

“You’re telling me. Whoever decided it would be a good idea to venture onto the roads didn’t check the radar.”

Kianna grimaced. Please, Lord, don’t let there be any fatalities. No family deserved to lose loved ones, especially around the holidays. “Just get us there in one piece so we can get these people to safety.” Even if her holiday wasn’t going to be spectacular, she could make sure it ended well for someone else.

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” played over the radio station, and Kianna turned the volume down.

Trace gave her a side glance, his eyebrow raised.

“What?” She shrugged. “I’m not in the mood for festive holiday music.”

“Bad memories?”

“Something like that.” Kianna shifted her attention to the trees lining the road. She really didn’t want to bare her heart right now. Not when the song already dredged up reminders of what she’d once hoped for. Except her reality had turned out exactly like the song predicted.

Only in her dreams.

“A lot of people hide behind the tinsel and lights to mask their grief this time of year.” Trace sighed. “I get it. That used to be me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up reminders for you too.”

Trace shook his head. “Don’t be. God’s brought me so far from that time. Reminded me of all the goodness He has shown me. It still hurts at times, but I have so much to be thankful for now. Like my beautiful wife and baby girl I get to see when this shift is over.” He grinned.

Kianna stared out the window at the cloudy sky. Trace had lost love once to death. While her experience with love wasn’t the same, it had the same effect. Grief. Confusion. Heartache. Longing. It all swirled around her like a winter storm, threatening to pummel her in an avalanche she couldn’t escape.

“Everyone else might have the perfect Christmas with lights and mistletoe, but those good moments only come for other people.” She let out a laugh, but it fell short. Somehow, God had prevented her from partaking in the celebrations of life.

“I hear you. But I can tell you from experience, it’s not true.” Trace gave her a sympathetic smile.

He turned the corner and pulled to the side of the road. A green four-door sedan sat by the guardrail.

Kianna let out a breath. Thanks to other pressing matters, their conversation ended.

The hood of the vehicle was pushed in, and green paint streaked along the metal guardrail, where the car must have hit before coming to rest.

The rescue squad truck pulled up behind them, and the crew hopped out.

“I’ll grab the stretcher,” Trace said, then exited from the driver’s side.

Kianna pulled up her hood to keep the ice from searing her neck. Then she walked around to the back of the ambo and grabbed the medic bag. If the temperatures continued to drop, there’d be a nasty mix of slush and snow.

Eddie, from Rescue, followed her over to the car. Cracks lined the windows, and the side mirror lay a foot away on the ground.