Page 44 of Stormswept Colorado

Shit. I hadn’t experienced a flashback like that in over a year.

I shook off the haze in my thoughts and unbuckled my seatbelt. Reached over to unbuckle Ayla. Her head was bowed. She moaned.

“Hey, Troublemaker.” My voice was hoarse. “You alright?” I carefully touched Ayla’s neck, then inched my hands up to her face. “Can you look at me?”

Her head lifted. Green eyes blinked rapidly. But her focus was clear. “I…yes. I’m fine. Just shaken up.”

Relief bled out of me. I brought my forehead to hers, my thumb stroking her cheekbone.

“Teller, areyouokay?”

My heart thumped again, but for an entirely different reason. She’d called me Teller. First time that had ever happened, but maybe it was the shock of the near miss. Even so, the sound of it moved through me like the sweetest music, smoothing out my jagged nerves.

“I’m just fine. I didn’t mean to scare you.” My hands dropped away from her face, but Ayla reached over to grab my right one.

“You didn’t.” She tangled our fingers together. Our eyes locked and held for another couple breaths. “What happened?” she asked.

“There was a bull in the middle of the road. I swerved to avoid it. But we lost traction. I think we’re halfway in the ditch.” Not that we could see the ditch for all the snow.

“Abull?”

I chuckled. “A bull elk.”

“That…makes a lot more sense.”

“There are cattle ranches around here, but yes, your point stands.”

She glanced around, but the elk was gone. “I guess that was a close call, right?”

“If we’d been going faster, I might have clipped him. He looked like eight-hundred pounds, easy. Maybe a thousand.” I chose not to tell her about the fatal highway collisions I’d seen involving large animals. Gruesome for all parties involved. Even clipping the elk could’ve done major damage to the SUV and the animal.

But still, we’d slid on the ice and gone off the road. Now the SUV was tilted. I squeezed her hand. “I’d better see how things look out there. Then I can work on getting us back on the road.” I had no idea how bad a situation we were in. But there was no point speculating.

“Is there something I can do?”

“Put your coat on. Stay warm.” I grabbed my jacket and gloves from the backseat. “I’ll be right back.”

I had to push hard against snow to get the door open. Flurriesblew into the cabin as soon as I opened the door. Jumping out, I shut it quickly, hoping to keep as much warm air inside as possible. It was damned chilly out here. The icy air stung my nostrils and ached in my sinuses. My boots sank into the snowdrift.

Wading a few steps away, I turned to survey our position.

This didnotlook good.

It took me several minutes to make my way around the vehicle and consider options. Frustration and disappointment sank into my bones.

Then I got back into the SUV, bringing a bunch of snow with me.

“Well?” Ayla asked.

I brushed snowflakes from my hair and shoulders. “There’s an embankment to the side of the road that slopes into a ditch. We’re partway into it. That’s why we’re tilted.”

“Glad it’s not just me.”

I smiled halfheartedly. “Yeah, at first I wasn’t sure either. Been a few years since I was wounded, but I was driving a Humvee when that happened, so car accidents can be…an unpleasant reminder.”

Her brows knit. “Oh. Oh my gosh.”

“I’m fine now. No worries.” I cleared my throat. “We might get lucky, and someone will drive by who can tow us out. More likely, we’ll need to wait for help to arrive. I’ll radio in.” My department vehicle was set up with a satellite connection.

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