Honk. Honk-honk-honk.
Big Ben turned his head back toward Mike.
“Yep, let’s go.” He clicked his teeth and Ben began plodding with purpose through the deepening snow toward the sound.
A moment later he heard the heavy rumble of the diesel fire engine rolling up Main.
Mike stopped Ben near two pickup trucks already there. A car had run off the road into the ditch.
Mike crunched through the snow over toward the guys. “What happened?”
“Vanessa ran off the road,” the fire chief said. “Lilene called it in. She’s in there good.”
“She okay?”
“Yeah. She can’t get out with the driver door against the ditch bank, and the seat belt mechanism locked on impact, so she can’t crawl out the other side.”
Two of the firemen were working from the passenger side to get her out.
Mike retrieved the heavy wool blanket he’d been sitting on from the sleigh, and jogged over to the car.
A moment later he was standing there when they helped Vanessa climb free of the car.
She was shaken, but fine.
He walked over and gave her the blanket from the carriage. “Here you go. This is warm already.”
“Mike?”
He wrapped the blanket around her. “I was out riding. I heard you honk the horn. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You and me both.”
He wrapped his hands around her arms and rubbed them briskly.
She tightened the wool blanket around her.
“Come on, get in the truck.” He led her over to the chief’s red pickup and helped her inside, where the heat was cranking.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I looked down a half second when my phone beeped, and when I looked up there was this huge deer standing there. I panicked.”
“It happens.”
“On a positive note, the deer got away. Jumped right over the car like one of Santa’s flying reindeer. Swear to goodness.”
“Bump your head?” he joked.
“No. Seriously.”
“You and Big Ben need to quit meeting like this. He doesn’t like me changing up his routines.”
“Send him my apologies.”
“I will.” He couldn’t take his eyes from hers.
“What about you? Do you mind?” She gulped.
