Page 45 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

More smoke billowed from the car, and a hiss of steam rose. Nash used his left arm to hoist Noelle over his shoulder. Then he took off running, allowing his sizzling bionic arm to dangle limply in the breeze. Behind him, he heard the sheriff shout to his deputy that the driver was unconscious.

“Can’t get the door open, sir,” Deputy Cannon called hoarsely.

“We’re out of time!” The sheriff’s voice rose to a commanding bellow. “Ru-u-u-un!”

The explosion behind Nash rocked the ground, nearly sending him to his knees. He staggered onward with his precious burden, quickly regaining his balance. He canted his body sideways to protect her face from the searing flume of heat that followed. It sent a stinging sensation across his shoulder blades.

He neither stopped nor looked back. He didn’t slow his speed until he could no longer feel the melting ache of smoke and flames against his skin. Only when they reached the safety of the ditch beside the highway did he set Noelle back on her feet. His bionic arm was still throbbing from the heat, but the mountain breeze was quickly bringing it back to a more bearable temperature.

“You came for me,” she sobbed, fisting her hands in the front of his shirt for balance.

He felt the dampness of tears on his own face as he hooked his left arm more securely around Noelle’s middle to anchor her against his chest. “Kind of owed you one, babe, after all you’ve done for me.”

Though her face was filthy, she’d never before looked so lovely as she declared brokenly, “I love you so much, Nash!”

Her confession made his heart sing. “I love you, too. Just glad the Lord saw fit to give me another chance to tell you.” He wasn’t sure why he’d waited so long.

The sheriff caught up to them, speaking frenziedly into his walkie talkie. The wail of sirens sounded in the distance. Deputy Cannon produced a multi-purpose tool and jimmied with the lock on the cuffs imprisoning Noelle’s wrists.

“Your bionic arm is destroyed.” There was a hitch to her voice as she surveyed the useless, half-melted twist of metal hanging at his side.

“It can be replaced,” he assured her. “You cannot.” It suddenly hit him that his bionic arm was largely the reason she was still alive. He might not otherwise have survived pulling her across the line of flames. And if he hadn’t survived, she likely wouldn’t have made it, either.

It all made sense now. In His infinite mercy, God had been playing a much longer game all along. The partial loss of Nash’s right arm had ultimately saved two lives, including that of the woman he loved.

The trapped Ellison Faust wasn’t as fortunate. Apparently, he’d lost control of his car after taking a curve too fast. According to Noelle, they’d run into some sort of wind shear. Or maybe Ellison had been stopped by the hand of Providence. They might never know.

What they did know was this: After committing what turned out to be years of financial fraud and personally bringing Denver Ward to the brink of bankruptcy, Noelle’s ex ended up paying the ultimate price for his crimes during the ensuing explosion.

CHAPTER 10: NEW RULES

While Noelle and Nash were perched in the open doorway of the ambulance, giving their statements to the police, another 911 call came through the radios the paramedics were carrying.

“Got an expectant mother in premature labor.” The address given was none other than that of Bear Mountain Ranch!

“It’s Shelly,” Noelle gasped, struggling to stand. “We have to get to the hospital. I promised her.”

By now, the paramedics had removed Nash’s half-melted bionic prosthesis and were snugly wrapping his upper arm to protect the puckered, blistered skin and ward off infection.

“Any chance you can get us to the hospital?” Nash directed his question to the nearest paramedic.

The guy chuckled. “You’ve definitely earned yourself a ticket to the ER, Mr. Carson. Hop on in!”

The team of paramedics insisted on hooking both him and Noelle up to I.V.s on the drive back to town, assuring them they were only doing it as a precaution. “You’ll both be as right as rain in two snaps.”

Despite his promise, the paramedic’s expression was sober as he radioed ahead to alert the medical staff about Nash’s burns. Nash wasn’t too worried about it. They’d appeared to be in the first or second-degree range. Nothing he wouldn’t quickly recover from. They’d applied a local anesthetic, so he wasn’t in much pain.

A few hours later, Shelly gave birth to her son three weeks and two days ahead of his due date. The infant was surprisingly filled out despite his early arrival into the world. He was just shy of six pounds and was pronounced in perfect health after a careful examination.

“We might have to wait a few more weeks for those dimples,” Noelle sighed from her perch in her wheelchair beside Shelly’s bed. She’d been allowed to follow her friend to the recovery room. After the boy’s weeping parents, she’d been the very next person allowed to hold the precious bundle.

Nash watched her from the doorway of the hospital room with his heart in his eyes. With her usual penchant for putting others’ needs above her own, Noelle still had an I.V. in her arm. Instead of working toward her own discharge, she’d expended her efforts on convincing the nursing supervisor in the E.R. that it was vital to Shelly’s wellbeing to first be escorted to the young mother’s hospital room. Nash was beginning to see the appeal of living in a small town where everybody knew everybody.

He’d insisted they take out his own I.V. and discharge him after treating his burns. They were as mild as he’d originally assumed. He was in need of a shower and a new bionic arm. Other than that, he was fine.

More than fine.

The sight of Noelle holding Shelly’s infant son nearly stole the breath right out of his lungs.

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