Page 45 of Stormswept Colorado

“So we’re stuck?”

“There’s no driving out of here on our own. Not at this angle, with this much snow.” Spinning the tires would just get us stuck even worse. I had plenty of supplies in my trunk, like a collapsible shovel and kitty litter to help create traction on slick surfaces. But none of that was going to magically fix this.

“Can one of us get out and, like, push while the other steers? That’s a thing people do, right?”

My smile grew. Sometimes I forgot how little real-life experience she had. “That’s a thing people do, yes. But I wouldn’t makeyou get out and push the truck while I sit in here all comfortable. The pusher would be me.”

Her cheeks pinked. “I work out a lot.”

I can tell,sweetheart, I almost said. Thankfully I didn’t.

“Under these conditions, even I’m not strong enough for that. Unless you have some superhero serum lying around. Ollie would love if I turned green.”

Her gaze moved down, like she was assessing my chest and shoulders. I flexed involuntarily, as if she could see anything beneath my coat and uniform.

I’m an idiot.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “There’s a lot of hours between now and the ceremony tomorrow. I’m getting you to that wedding. I’ll carry you on my back if I have to. Lifting this SUV, no. Lifting you? I can manage that just fine.”

“I think you’ve already proven that. Not that I doubted it. You’re…” She gestured vaguely.

“I’m what?”

“Really big.”

My cock twitched valiantly against my thigh, like he was getting ready to prove her right. Hell, no. That would not be happening.

I grabbed my radio and called in.

“Chief, you’re breaking up. Could you repeat that?”

It was Finn Mackie on dispatch. “Finn, I narrowly missed hitting an elk but then slid off the road. Front wheels are in the ditch.”

“An elk? Wow. Glad you avoided it. Remember that accident a couple months back where the drunk hit the elk head-on? Engine block of that car nearly cut the driver in half.” He made a sound of disgust.

“I have a passenger with me, Finn.”

A pause. “Whoops. Sorry about that, Chief. A passenger?”

Finn sounded curious. I assumed Susan hadn’t mentioned myimprovised route to anyone else at the station, and I appreciated it.

“I’m going to need someone to tow me out of here.”

“I’ll work on it. But straight up, Chief, we just had a major accident get called in. Semi rolled over on several passenger vehicles east of town. State patrol is responding, and they’ve requested all units we’ve got available. Can’t get anyone from Hartley with the pass closed.”

“Dammit,” I muttered. I was concerned about the people involved in the accident. Had anyone been killed? But I couldn’t do anything to help. I was over an hour away, and Ayla was my priority. “We can wait. Just see what you can do.”

“I’ll call around to other departments and find someone for you. But with the accident and the storm, could be several hours given your location.” My vehicle had a GPS tracker, so Finn could see my coordinates on the map on his screen.

Beside me, Ayla rubbed her chest. I wondered if the seatbelt had hurt her or if she was anxious. Or both.

“Whoever you talk to, tell them to be careful out in the storm,” I said. “Won’t help anyone if there’s another accident.”

I signed off.

“It could be worse,” Ayla said, trying to smile. “I’ve had tour buses break down. One time, we were stranded waiting for repairs in middle-of-nowhere Kansas. Wound up at a twenty-four-hour diner where there was nobody under sixty, and not a single one of them knew who I was. We played songs on the jukebox and got the barflies to sing along with us to ‘Hotel California’.”

“Sounds like a good time.”

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