Page 36 of Chasing Sunsets

Chapter Eleven

Sadie pulled Zack asidethe next morning. “I wanted to tell you I’m not shaking anymore.” She held her steady hands out in front of her.

He smiled, grateful to see her feeling better.

The crew called to put on their microphones, and they learned they’d be traveling to San Antonio. Only three hours from Katy, it’d been one of their favorite places for weekend getaways. He hoped being there would bring back pleasant memories for Sadie.

As for him, he didn’t need a reminder. He recalled the times they spent exploring the city, and the fun they’d enjoyed.

Twenty minutes from their destination, a shower pelted down. He turned the windshield wipers to full speed. The rain had been constant since leaving South Padre. The highway ahead looked like a lake. An eighteen-wheeler zoomed by on their left, splashing water in its wake.

They’d eaten lunch earlier after stopping to fill the gas tank. Sadie now napped in the passenger seat, but he’d have to wake her soon to navigate. Each day she talked more and more, acting like her old self.

The downpour turned into a light drizzle.

He’d not heard a peep from Truman the last two hours, so the guy must be snoozing. He’d tried to get them to talk about their separation the first few days but gave up and spent most of the time in the SUV sleeping.

Blurry red brake lights suddenly came from the cars ahead. He pressed the brakes.

Sadie sat up straight. “How close are we to San Antonio?”

“Less than twenty miles.”

Traffic slowed more, and the cars ahead transferred into his lane—the farthest to the right. He let in a group of vehicles and sighted the problem.

The eighteen-wheeler truck and trailer that flew past him a while back was on its side obstructing two lanes.

A car faced the wrong direction. Another butted against the center concrete wall separating east from westbound vehicles.

As they passed the wreck, Sadie gripped Zack’s arm. “Stop.”

Truman’s head popped up in the rearview mirror. “Oh, hell. I’m calling 911.”

Zack drove into the blocked lanes, leaving the one lane passable. Sadie exited the car before he shifted into park, and he quickly caught up to her. The rain had passed, but everything was still soaked.

Crying wailed as loud as car engines passing by. An elderly man in the automobile facing the wrong way slid out of his car. “Is everyone all right?”

They hurried to the truck, more particularly, the underside of it. Sadie hollered, “Hello, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” a muffled, masculine voice answered.

“Are you hurt?” She sidestepped to the other side of the vehicle, Zack on her heels.

“My buddy ... unconscious ... bleeding ... airbag and the seat belt ... holding me here.” Some of the man’s words were drowned out by passing traffic and the baby’s cries. The shattered windshield held together, leaving nothing visible inside the cab.

“Give me a leg up.” Sadie waved her arms.

Zack cupped his hands, and she stepped into them as he lifted her. She used her arms to steady herself on the door and peered inside the driver’s side. “Can you put the window down?”

A moment later, the person inside answered, “No.”

“Try to wake him. Call his name as loud as you can,” she instructed.

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