Rocky Mountain Angels

by Jodi Bowersox [romance]

  Chapter 26

  Eli was starting to get worried. He couldn’t reach Mari, and after calling Joe’s phone a couple of times, Mari’s mother had answered, informing him that Joe had left his phone at her house. She confirmed that they had left the hospital around noon, and since it was only 8:00, they weren’t overdue just yet—even when he took the time change into account. He just didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t reach them.

  Sheri and Beth had both stopped by mid-afternoon with a plate of cookies, saying it was a belated thank-you for helping them move. Beth didn’t seem surprised that Joe and Mari were out of town together, and her thin lips let them know how she felt about it. Sheri, on the other hand, was trying hard not to show how pleased she was about the news. Eli reiterated again for both women that Mari went because it was an emergency, and Joe went on business. Neither seemed to be buying it.

  Ben popped some popcorn to go along with the cookies and suggested a movie, and with both Ben and Beth there, Eli felt himself relax. The foursome laughed through a comedy classic, then ordered in pizza.

  There had been no time for a private conversation with Sheri, but Eli didn’t really want one until he talked to Mari. He had reached at least one conclusion in her absence: had Mari not entered his life when she did, he and Sheri would certainly have given it a go.

  They had left around 7:00, leaving Eli with a burning desire for resolution. He looked at his watch and tried Mari’s phone again.

  ***

  The headlights were dimming. Joe held Mari close to his chest, his coat unbuttoned and wrapped around her. Despite this and all the hot packets tucked around her body, she was still starting to shiver. He pressed another kiss to her head and prayed again for help to come soon—for someone, somehow, to find them in the snow. He refused to believe that this was their end—that God had let them find each other only to let them die.

  The wind continued to blow, and for awhile Joe feared they’d be buried in a drift, but he could still see out of most of the windshield. Enough to know that the headlights were dimming. The heater had already stopped putting out any warmth, and when the battery died completely, no one driving by would have any chance at all of seeing them.

  Mari’s breathing seemed different, and he tilted his head to listen. She sounded asleep, which bothered him since she was still shivering. He was worried about a concussion and shook her gently. “Mari.”

  There was no response.

  He shook her again. “Mari wake up. I need you to keep me company.”

  She roused but barely opened her eyes. “Eli?”

  He swallowed. “No, it’s Joe.”

  She gave him a sleepy smile. “Dazzling Joe, my angel of maintenance.”

  He smiled back. “I thought I was your security angel.”

  She seemed to be thinking. “That, too.” She lay her head back on his shoulder.

  He dug his fingers into her waist, and she laughed. “Joe, stop, I’m ticklish.”

  “Then stay awake, or I’ll tickle you silly.”

  She sat away from him and pouted. “Don’t be so mean. I’m tired.”

  Joe thought she seemed almost drunk and felt sure she had a concussion. Suddenly she looked as if she could cry. Joe searched his mind for a diversion and thought of the blue dress. “Mari, I bought something for you.” Fishing around behind the seat, he pulled out the dress box. Lifting it over her head, he set it on the door beside them and pulled on the ribbon holding it closed. She tried to open it, but the mittens with the Hot Hands inside gave her all the dexterity of boxing gloves. When she gave up, Joe pulled off the lid and spread open the tissue paper. Mari lifted it out and held it up.

  “It’s hard to tell what it looks like now, but it criss crosses over your, uh, front, and goes around your neck, and the back is... is bare. It’s for summer.” He wondered if looking at it would make her feel colder.

  “You bought this for me?”

  She laid it carefully back in the box, and Joe’s heart sank. She doesn’t like it.

  Then she turned back to him, looking a bit dizzy, but smiling. “Can you look right inside me, Joe Rhodes? It’s absolutely beautiful.”

  Joe tried to pull her back inside his coat, but Mari resisted. “If you want to keep me awake and warm, I have a suggestion.” She suddenly looked as serious as a schoolteacher.

  “What?”

  Sliding her hands around his neck, she rubbed his cold nose with hers before she settled her lips on his. Joe couldn’t believe how soft her lips were. He wrapped his coat around her and deepened what Mari started. Kissing Beth had never been like this. It started a fire in his chest that spread to his belly, leaving him breathless with want. He slid a hand into her hair and reveled in the feel of it. Breaking away from her lips, he kissed along her jaw and around the edge of her ear, listening to her breathing come fast and heavy. “Oh, Mari, I love you. I love you so much.”

  She held him tight around the neck. “I love you, too, Joe, my angelo d’amore.”

  He pulled back to look at her. “Hmm?”

  She laughed. “My angel of love.” Her body convulsed with a shiver just as the headlights went dark.

  Chapter 27

  At 11:00, Eli called the highway patrol with Ben standing by, looking concerned. He still hadn’t been able to reach Mari, and he knew she would have called if there had been more delays... if she could. Something was wrong.

  “So, there was a blizzard earlier in northwest Texas, northeast New Mexico, the Oklahoma panhandle and southeast Colorado?” He was repeating both for clarity and Ben’s benefit. “Is it still going on?”

  “No, the winds calmed down about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Have you had any reports of car accidents.”

  “We’ve had quite a few folks go off the road, but no serious injuries.”

  Eli felt hopeful. “How about a white Dodge Ram pickup?”

  “Let me check... no, I don’t see a pickup. The larger pickups are usually okay in this weather.”

  “I see.” Eli ran his hand through his hair, reluctant to hang up when he didn’t know what else to do. “Well, thank you for—”

  “Just a minute, there’s a new report coming in... someone ran into a herd of Angus out on the road in the northwest corner of Texas, but sorry, it’s not a Dodge Ram. It’s a smaller Toyota pickup. Sorry. Leave me your number, and I’ll let you know if we have any reports for a Dodge Ram.”

  Eli did as he asked, thanked the man again, and hung up the call. Short of jumping in the car and driving out into the storm in his sports car, he didn’t know what to do, and he knew that would not be exceptionally wise.

  He looked to Ben who was sitting with his head bowed and his eyes closed. Eli guessed he was praying.

  He decided to join him.

  ***

  Joe heard the squeal of tires on pavement and jerked awake. He had vowed to keep Mari from falling asleep, and he had dozed himself. “Mari, wake up.” She squirmed a bit on his lap but didn’t lift her head. “Mari, I heard something.” His breath was now a fog between them.

  She licked her lips and swallowed. “Do we have any water left? I’m parched.”

  “Maybe.” He felt around beside them until he found the water bottle they had been sharing. He shook it and felt a bit of a slosh inside. He unwrapped her from his coat and got it into her hands. “I need you to stand up. My legs are asleep, and I think I heard something out on the highway.”

  Joe gave her a boost up as she struggled to stand then grabbed onto the steering wheel and pulled himself up. The needle sensations shooting up his legs were unpleasant, but he stomped his feet anyway to speed circulation back to his toes. He needed to see if there really was someone on the road, or if it had just been a dream.

  “Sweetheart, I’m going to need to leave you for a minute. I think I heard tires squeal on the highway. Someone else may have found the cows.” He reached around her to open the glove box, and everything tumbled out of the sideways compartmen
t. Feeling around on the floor at Mari’s feet, he found the flashlight he was looking for. Please, God, let the batteries work. He flipped the switch, and light shown up at the driver’s side door.

  “You had that the whole time?” Mari’s teeth were chattering.

  “I didn’t want to waste it until we needed it.” He was glad now that Mari had insisted on “clothing” him with the rest of the hot packets. His butt was pretty toasty because of the two in his back pockets and his toes were feeling okay. He knew he had a good woman when she said she couldn’t smell a thing when he’d pulled off his boots.

  He needed to get his boots back on, however, for a trek outside, and that meant removing the warmth temporarily. He took them out quickly and stuffed them in his coat pockets. He was sorry to have to take off his gloves to lace up his boots, but it couldn’t be helped. He needed to get out fast and back fast. Mari was freezing. He didn’t know how much more she could take.

  With the flashlight in hand, he reached overhead to the door latch. “I’m sorry to have to open this. Snow is probably going to fall in.” He picked up the pillow and handed it to her. “Here, hold this so it doesn’t get wet.” Reaching up again, he said a silent prayer that he’d find help out there, and unlatched the door while pushing up.

  As Joe predicted, a good quantity of snow fell in, but he kept pushing until the door held open. Thankful for his weight training, he pulled himself up and out. He looked back down at Mari. “I’ll be back as fast as I can. March in place or something. Keep moving.”

  Mari nodded, and for the first time he saw real fear in her eyes. He shut the door and jumped off the truck into a snow drift that came up to his hips. Damnation. Moving forward proved the snow wasn’t heavy, and he plowed through it until he was walking in about six inches. He could see the headlights of a small pickup stopped on the highway and one of the Angus lying in the road in front of it. What he didn’t see was any movement, except for a few cows that were still hanging out in the vicinity.

  He kicked his pace up to a jog then was slowed as he trudged through the snow-filled ditch. He finally reached the pickup and could see a man with short cropped black hair slumped over the steering wheel. He opened the door, pulled off his glove, and felt the man’s neck for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found one. The man had a nasty cut on his forehead, but other than that, he was probably just knocked out. He didn’t see any sign of an airbag being deployed. That’s probably a lawsuit in the making.

  He knew he shouldn’t move the guy, but he needed to get in and see if he could restart the truck. He unbuckled his seat belt and gently pushed him to the center of the seat. Climbing in, he turned the key, and the engine roared to life. Thank you, God. Then he saw it—a police band radio. And this time he shouted it. “Thank you, God!”

  He turned up the heat, pulled the emergency brake, and turned on the emergency flashers. He wanted to call for help, but first he needed to get Mari. Trudging back through the snow was easier now, partly because of the trail he’d made and partly due to the lightness of Joe’s heart. Getting back up on the snow-covered, tipped truck was more difficult than jumping off had been, but he finally made it and opened the door.

  He looked down at Mari and smiled.

  ***

  Eli was about to jump out of his skin. He had never felt so helpless in his life. Pacing back and forth from the front door to the kitchen and back, he wanted to put his fist through a wall. If he hadn’t been instrumental in the remodeling of those walls, he probably would have. Ben came out of the living room and started up the stairs.

  Eli called after him. “So, you’re just going to bed?”

  Ben paused. “No, but I’m tired of watching you pace. You’re making me crazy.”

  “I can’t help it. I’ve never been this... terrified before in my life.”

  Ben came back down and sat on the steps. “I know, but there’s nothing we can do. It would be ridiculous to go out searching for them. We’re not even sure of the route they were taking.”

  Eli picked up a road atlas off the kitchen table. “No, but there’s not many major highways from here to there. Our best guess would probably be right.”

  Ben shook his head. “It’s a wild goose chase. Especially if the cell phone towers are down. We could easily miss them and not know it, and they wouldn’t even be able to reach us to tell us they were safe at home.”

  Eli tossed the atlas back to the table. “So we do nothing. They could be in a ditch somewhere, freezing to death, and we do nothing.”

  Ben rose and came toward him. “I don’t know if you were listening to the sermon yesterday, but it was on trust. Sometimes that’s all we have, Eli. Right now I’m trusting in El Roi—the God who sees. I’m trusting that God knows right where Joe and Mari are, even if we don’t. And I’m trusting in Jehovah-jireh—the Lord, our provider—that he will provide whatever help they need. And I’m trusting in Jehovah-rapha—the Lord who heals, in case they are hurt.” He put a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “And I’m calling on Jehovah-shalom to give us peace as we wait.”

  Eli had never wished for faith before, but listening to Ben made him feel it’s lack right down to his soul. He looked in Ben’s eyes and nodded, as the lump in his throat wouldn’t let him speak.

  ***

  Mari watched as Joe bandaged Jackson Criswell’s head with the help of a first-aid kit he’d found behind the seat. He had come to and had a powerful headache, but otherwise seemed unharmed. He’d been able to recite his name, his wife and children’s names, as well as his address, which seemed to satisfied Mari that he’d most likely make a full recovery after a few stitches in his forehead.

  Jackson couldn’t stop thanking them, saying over and over that he owed them his life—that he could have frozen to death before coming to. Mari supposed that could be true, but she also knew that without Jackson Criswell, they might not have made it either.

  Thanks to Jackson’s truck heater, they were warming up, although Mari wondered if she’d ever feel completely warm again. She looked over at Joe, remembered his kiss, and suspected there was a way.

  She was still having a hard time believing what all had transpired in this very long day. It had started out irritating, moved on to terrifying, and ended up miraculous. It was definitely one for the record books.

  They all let out a sigh when they finally heard sirens in the distance. Joe had warned them about the cows, so hopefully there wouldn’t be any more accidents due to the black beasts. Joe got out with his flashlight to make sure there were none left on the road.

  ***

  The phone rang at midnight. Eli jumped from where he had dozed off in the recliner. Fumbling to answer, he nearly dropped it. He heard Ben jogging down the stairs.

  “Hello?”

  “Eli, it’s Joe.”

  “Joe, where the hell are you guys?”

  “We had a little accident, but we’re both okay. Mari hit her head kind of hard, though, so she will be in the hospital over night.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “It’s just a precaution; she’s going to be just fine.”

  Eli felt a hand gripping his shoulder, and he mouthed, “They’re okay,” to his concerned younger brother.

  Ben crossed the room to sit on the sofa as Joe continued. “I’ll stay with her. We’re in Clayton, New Mexico, and we’ll be home sometime tomorrow if I can get someone to pull out my truck.”

  “Did you crash it? Will it run?”

  “Not really crashed, although we went pretty hard through a ditch avoiding some cows out on the highway. I won’t know for sure until it’s righted. It was a slow tip in heavy snow so I’m hopeful there’s not much damage.”

  “Did you call Mari’s mom, ’cause I tried your phone, which you left there, by the way, and got her all worried.”

  “Yeah, I called.”

  “Well, we’re both glad you’re safe. We were... concerned. Hell, Joe, I was scared spitless.”

  “I know, but Mari’s
fine... She’s... fine. I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you tomorrow.”

  Eli’s brow furrowed. “It wasn’t just Mari I was concerned about.”

  There was a pause before Joe’s voice came back, sounding pinched. “Look, I should check on Mari. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Sure. Give Mari my...” my love? “...my best, okay?”

  “I will.”

  Eli ended the call and looked to Ben. Only then did he realize he was looking through tears.

  ***

  Despite the recliner that wasn’t made for his build, Joe slept like a rock until the nurse came in at 6:00 a.m. He’d been in no mood to try and find their suitcases in the snow after help arrived, so neither one of them had a change of clothes, shampoo, or even a toothbrush.

  When he came back out of the bathroom, the nurse was gone, and Mari looked wide awake. She smiled a bit self-consciously as he came to her side. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.” She felt the side of her head and winced. “Head still hurts, though.”

  He ran the back of his hand down her cheek. “I don’t know how you can still look so pretty.”

  She grimaced. “I don’t feel pretty. We don’t have any luggage, do we?”

  “No.” He patted his shirt pocket. “I’ve got the number for a towing service, and I’m going to call them just as soon as they open. I’m hoping they can pick me up here, and I can ride out there with them.”

  He pulled the recliner closer to the bed and sat. “You were asleep by the time I finished talking to Eli last night.” Mari’s expression reflected his own feelings. “I needed to tell you how I felt about you, and I’m more than grateful that you feel the same.” He paused. “You do, don’t you? That wasn’t just some crisis reaction last night, was it?”

  Mari shook her head. “No, I’ve been falling for you for quite awhile. I nearly kissed you after you scooped my walk.”

  Joe grinned. “And here I thought I was the one who nearly kissed you.”