Now what?
She glanced back at her car and sighed. Her only option was to go down because on this slick road going back the way she came was out of the question. She hopped back into her car, buckled her seat belt and turned the heater on high. In her rearview mirror headlights approached, making it imperative she get her car out of the way.
Compressing the brake, she put the car in drive and pulled on the wheel. It didn’t budge.
“Are you kidding me?” Maggie glanced in the rearview mirror and tried again. The lights were getting closer. When the wheel still wouldn’t budge she searched the dashboard for the hazard light switch. She had no idea if the oncoming driver could make out her taillights in the heavy snowfall. Her stomach jumped when she discovered the button with the familiar triangle and flipped it on.
A backwards glance revealed the vehicle closing in with no sign it would stop. Maybe the driver couldn’t stop. She’d have to get out and flag them down. She sighed. The car was warm. Out there was not. With no time to figure out another option, she grabbed her backpack and jumped out. She’d barely cleared the car when the vehicle, which she could now identify as a truck, bore down in her direction.
Maggie jumped up and down and waved her hands trying to get the driver’s attention. Nothing. He was seconds from slamming into her car. She scrambled across the snow-covered road and across the embankment on the other side. The least she could do was not get splattered.
She covered her eyes and waited for the crash. Unable to resist, she spread her fingers and peeked at the scene in front of her in time to see the truck swerve and miss her precious BMW by mere inches. The driver accelerated and snow flew from under its tires, hitting her in the chest and face like little pellets, as it continued down the hill. Too stunned to move, she watched the taillights move farther away until eventually they disappeared.
So caught up in the rude truck driver, she failed to hear the next vehicle crest the hill.
A horn blasted into the darkness and Maggie screamed before she whirled around to see a large SUV with an emergency light in its window making its way down the hill in her direction.
Oh thank God. Maybe this one would stop. She slumped against the tree and swore if she got home safely she’d never do anything this stupid again.
The vehicle slowed as it approached before coming to a stop at the rear of her car. Bright headlights illuminated the area.
“Anyone hurt?” a male voice boomed.
She shook her head and responded, “No, I don’t think so.” Her teeth chattered but that was hardly cause for alarm. After she picked up her stomach from the road she turned to the stranger.
“Thank you for stopping.”
The man opened his door and unfolded from the interior of the large SUV. Maggie gasped as she craned her neck to take in the sheer size of her rescuer. Dear God, he had to be six and a half feet tall. Not just tall either. He was built like a freaking line backer. His shoulders alone blocked half the light from his headlights as he walked in her direction. She blinked against the glare and swallowed. Her rescuer was as big as a bear and they were alone, on a dark night, on an empty road.
She glanced side to side and confirmed they were indeed alone. An uneasiness she didn’t like crawled along her spine. Hadn’t she seen this very scene in a movie one time? The heroine had been too stupid to live.
“You’re welcome.” His voice carried the several feet between them and her heart beat rose. That voice sounded familiar. She twisted her head until the torches most called headlights not spotlights disappeared from her vision.
The imposing figure of her supposed rescuer morphed into a gorgeous man. Light brown hair neatly trimmed around his head, a strong jaw that lent the man more than a fair share of arrogance and the gorgeous ocean blue eyes she’d been captivated by in high school.
“Goddamn it, Tucker. Is that you? What are you doing here?” The fifteen years since she’d seen him last melted away. She pictured him as he’d been back then. The last time she’d seen him he’d been leaning against the bed of someone’s truck with his hands shoved in his pockets and a smirk on his face. She’d been with Derek and far too preoccupied with the outcome of her date to talk to him.
A tight smile formed across his face, bringing her back to the present. “Such language from a lady. Since when can’t a man come to the rescue of a damsel in distress?”
“You obviously don’t know me very well,” she muttered under her breath.
“Whose fault is that? It’s been what, ten years or more?”
She shrugged. “Something like that.”
“I didn’t expect to find you on the side of the road. But I can’t say I’m sorry for it.”