Page 94 of XOXO, Summer
The sky splits in two, sending a downpour to take over the town. A blanket of heavy rain won’t keep me from winning the cottage. I lay on my horn out of pure frustration and consider breaking the law by going around the three slowpoke cars.
“I’m starting to sound like a certain hockey player with a penchant for rule breaking,” I say softly, my heart clenching as his voice echoes through my head.“Rules are made forbreaking.”The voice of the devil plays on repeat in my head. Do I? Should I?
The time on the dashboard urges me to drive the defense down the line. I don’t know what sport that’s from, but that’s what I’m going to do. It’s the only way to put in a bid on time. I slam the pedal to the floorboard and drive like a speed demon down the two-lane road, cutting over into the other lane to pass the slower drivers.
The headlights hit me first. A horn blares straight at me. I swerve back into my lane at the last minute to avoid being run over by a semi-truck. I check my rearview mirror for the other cars. “I did it. Daniel would be so proud of?—”
Wheels spinning.
Tires skidding.
I turn into the skid with rain shielding me from seeing my life flash before my eyes. My laptop becomes a flying guillotine, slicing through the interior, hitting the far window, and dropping like a barbell as the car skids into a barbed wire fence.
My mouth is agape, but no sound comes out. It happens in the slowest yet fastest motion, making it hard to compute in real time.
I’m white-knuckled, eyes the size of dinner plates as I catch a quick breath—heart pounding so hard I’m dizzy. Through the streaks of the wiper blades, I spot Bessie on the other side of the mangled fence, judging me.
“Oh my gosh,” I groan, releasing my grip on the wheel.
I drop back in the seat and fill my lungs with air, so grateful to be alive. Gingerly, I touch my head and face, before running my hand down my chest and kicking my legs.I think I’m okay.I unfasten the seat belt, letting it snap back against the car.
My train of thought is a little foggy as I try to get a gripon reality.What do I do now? Call the paramedics? Where is my phone? Is anyone else hurt?
Blood soars by my ears as my heart pounds even harder. “Don’t panic,” I say, searching for my phone with shaky hands as tears stream down my cheeks.
The sound of metal clanging together from behind me makes me jump. “Are you okay?”
I look over my shoulder and find a man giving me a quick once-over. “I think so.” My voice wavers as I try to stay calm.
“You shouldn’t speed in the rain.” He starts back to his car. “Sit tight. I’ll call the police.”
Grabbing hold of the steering wheel again, I flex my fingers around it and stare ahead. I’m freezing cold and starting to tremble. I just want Daniel.
I turn again to look for my phone when a notebook catches my attention from the floorboard.
The cottage!
“Most likely,you’re going to live.” Brandon holds the ice pack to my head.
Propped behind the large steering wheel of the fire truck, I laugh, taking over for him with the ice pack. “You need to work on your bedside manner. It’s not very comforting.” I lift a brow. “Most likely?”
Hanging onto the rail, he searches my eyes for the fifth time, smiling this time when he hops down. “I’m a fireman, not a doctor.”
“You’re also a paramedic. Trust me, I know this. Theremust be a little extra training to work on patients who almost died.”
Running his thumbs along the underside of his red suspenders, he chuckles again. “You didn’t almost die, Summer. You got close to taking out Bessie, though. Mrs. Dover wouldn’t have been happy if you had.”
“She’s not really happy anyway,” I say, sounding more like Dolly than myself.
“I need to get downtown to check out an alarm going off at the pottery store. Security said it was a cat who’d gotten in, so duty calls.” He helps me to solid ground. Eyeing my head, he says, “Hold that on for a few minutes. I called your sister to pick you up since your car had to be towed. She should be here in five minutes.”
“Autumn?” I ask, grinning. It’s Brandon. Of course, he called Autumn. “You didn’t.”
“I did.” He smirks, reminding me of a certain other smirker I know.
“She was on a date, you know?”
A wry grin works its way up to his eyes where it settles. “I know.” He shuts the door. Quite the mic drop. Make big moves and get big rewards.
