Mistletoe Rescue (Mistletoe Kisses)

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

T he room held more people than Holly had expected to face the storm, though there were a couple of empty tables. Still, she was glad they had assigned Zack and her seats at the same table as Kathy, McKenzie, and company.

After the mayor’s welcome, the caterer’s people brought in the food. Except for the occasional gusts of wind, it was easy to forget there was a raging blizzard outside. McKenzie’s stepbrother Ike and especially Marc shifted uneasily in their chairs. They often shared nervous glances with each other.

At first, Holly thought it was because of the storm outside. However, when she opened the program, she noticed the two men would also be honored. The first tribute would be to the city council member who had been killed. If technology worked all right, his widow would accept the plaque through a video call since she had moved with her two young children to another state.

The mayor apologized for the lack of a musical program due to the storm, saying the entertainers would receive another opportunity to perform. As it came closer to the award ceremony, Zack squirmed in his seat. Fortunately for him, the mayor called all three men up at once. And the look on their faces when he ordered his staff to play the viral video recording of the helicopter rescue made her laugh.

“Zack is waving for you to go up too, Kathy,” Holly said, pointing to the stage.

Kathy groaned but, between McKenzie and Holly, they convinced her to join the men. It turned out to be a nice balance of Oldtimers and Newcomers, terms Holly was already hearing less often. Everyone working together to prepare for the Winter Festival had done just what the planners had hoped: brought people together. The more they realized they had in common, the less they perceived each other as enemies.

The mayor finally released them to return to the audience, and Holly couldn’t help noticing how Ike would occasionally glance at Kathy. Holly knew her friend had a crush on him, but she couldn’t decide if he returned her feelings or he was clueless. Which was unfortunate because they would make an amazing couple. But maybe that came from Holly’s own happiness.

When Zack reached the table, she kissed his cheek. “See? That wasn’t so bad, and now it’s done. Let me see your plaque.”

As he handed it over, her phone vibrated on the table. She scowled, not wanting to answer it. Since it could be the hospital, she picked it up. It was from her father. Was he calling to tell her they had decided not to come after all?

“Hello, Dad,” she said, her voice flat.

“Holly!” Her father’s voice crackled as with a poor connection, and she could hear wind in the background. “We’ve crashed. Your mother… static sounds …conscious, but Ivy… static …trapped… static …”

All the fire of Holly’s anger and hurt turned to ice around her heart. With shaking hands, she put the phone on speaker and cried, “Where did you crash, Dad?”

Everyone at the table went silent, and Ike whistled loudly. Zack had already stepped away and had his phone out.

“We just passed mile marker 145 on… static …but we slid… static … small hill.”

“We’re on our way,” Zack said loudly into her phone.

“Thank you… static. ” The call dropped.

“I’ve notified 911. Kathy, are you coming with us?” Zack asked, taking Holly’s arm.

“Has the State plowed that section of the highway?” Marc glanced at Ike, who asked, “Who plowed the parking lot here?”

“I know who.” McKenzie dashed over to another man and quickly returned with a set of keys. “He said to try not to crash it, but it has a full tank of gas. You guys be careful.” She threw her arms around Marc and then Ike.

“I’m with the guys since I’m the only one of the three who knows that section of highway,” Kathy said, and they all hurried to the exit.

Once Holly and Zack were on the road again, he asked, “Will you be okay?”

“What happens if they die?” Holly whispered.

“Let’s pray they don’t.”

So Holly did. All she could think was that, yes, her parents and sister had wronged her, but she still loved them. What if all these times her brother had contacted her, he’d reported back to them about how she was doing? Her father had said nothing about Brett, so he must not be with them. If Ivy had come without him, did it mean he was out of the picture? What if, because of Holly’s hard heart, she had prevented any kind of reconciliation?

She was glad Zack didn’t make idle conversation, because her throat was tight, and she had to keep wiping tears from her cheeks. The road was still terrible, but she sent a prayer of gratitude for the friends in the pickup truck ahead, slowly clearing the worst of the snow. But she wished desperately that they could all drive faster.

Zack fought down his frustration at the treacherously slippery road. He had to remind himself to be patient. It wasn’t like he could get ahead of the other vehicle, anyway. Fortunately, he had gassed up his truck before it started snowing, and he always carried emergency supplies.

He worried about Holly’s silence, but he didn’t want to burden her with questions. As often as she wiped tears from her cheeks, he knew how heightened her emotions must be. Zack debated trying to distract her but decided he should focus on getting her safely to her family.

“I meant to ask before we left, but how long before other emergency responders arrive?” Holly asked.

“Dispatch said there have been a ton of accidents, and they’ll send help as soon as people are available. They also called the Highway Patrol, so if anyone was near the crash, they might get there first. Or not. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.” She gave him a weak smile. “It’s what I’ve been thinking, anyway.”

Her phone rang, and she fumbled to answer it. “It’s Kathy.” Holly put the phone on speaker.

“The highway marker’s up ahead,” Kathy said. “Marc wants to know if Zack has any amber filters for his spotlights.”

“Eagle Scout here,” Zack reminded them.

“Marc says he is too, but his filters are at the house.” Kathy sounded worried. “The snow is so heavy we’ll need help to see where their car went off the road.”

“Should we start at the mile marker and work our way back?” Zack asked.

“Wait,” Holly cried, waving to the right. “What’s that? It’s a light.”

“Stop!” Zack moved his foot from the accelerator and slowly pumped the brake, finally shifting to a lower gear. They still slid a little, but eventually came to a stop. Up ahead, Marc was doing the same thing with the other truck.

“I’m so glad you know how to drive in snow,” Holly said with a shaky voice. “Can you turn around or back up?”

“I don’t want to get stuck in the snow on the side,” Marc said through Kathy’s phone. “Let’s try backing up. You can back up, can’t you, Jarvie?”

“Why do guys have to make everything a competition?” Holly asked, irritated, even though she knew they were trying to lighten the mood.

“ Yes ,” Kathy agreed.

It took a few white-knuckled minutes, but they finally reached the spot where Holly had spotted the light. Zack had barely stopped before she was undoing her seatbelt.

“Wait for me. You won’t do anyone any good if you fall and get hurt too. And I need to get my lights.”

Holly grumbled but did as he said. The truck with the others had come to a stop too, and Ike was lighting a flare to mark the spot for any other responders who might show up. Zack almost always carried emergency equipment in his truck since the hospital had begun training staff for emergency situations, and he had trained with Kathy. It was a good thing because he never knew where he might be when he would get a call from Marc or Ike about a medical rescue flight.

The wind was blowing hard enough that it was difficult to hear if Holly’s father was calling to anyone, but every once in a while, he caught sight of the glow she had seen between the blustering snow. By the time he had the covers on the portable spotlights, the others had joined them. He handed them to the guys while he and Kathy pulled out the spine board.

“Let me break the path,” Marc told Holly, who had already moved toward the light down the hill. “My legs are longer, and I have a torch.”

“No,” Zack told him. “You might reinjure that leg. You bring up the rear with the second light, and keep an eye on Holly, since the snow is so dang deep. Ike, you help Kathy with the spine board. I’ll take the lead, since I have more experience with snow than Ike.”

Marc looked about to argue, but he must have seen the frantic look on Holly’s face and gave a curt nod.

The trip down the hill ended up not being as treacherous as Zack had feared because the car had already plowed a path. New snow had filled some ruts, but it wasn’t as bad as breaking a path through virgin snow.

As he approached the sedan, he realized the glow they could see from the road came from the blinking hazard lights. And the vehicle was running. The first thing Zack did was go to the rear to make sure the snow hadn’t blocked the exhaust pipe. It hadn’t yet, but as heavy as it was snowing, it was a good thing they’d gotten there when they did.

From the noise inside the car, Zack could tell they knew help had arrived. When no one opened the door, he guessed it must have frozen shut. He’d brought a window breaker if he needed to use it, but he would prefer to see the condition of the people inside before spraying them with glass. So he positioned himself and gave the door a couple of hard kicks and tried again. That time, it moved a little.

The others had joined him by then, and the three men were able to pry open the door.

“Oh, thank the Lord you’ve come,” the man in the driver’s seat cried.

“Daddy!” Holly pushed her way to the car.

Then they heard a siren.

“Looks like the cavalry has arrived,” Ike quipped.

“They’ll have better equipment,” Kathy said.

“Let’s get all the doors open,” Zack suggested.

Marc pointed to where responders were already following their path. “Let us help with that while you deal with the authorities.”

Zack turned and headed up the hill, glad to recognize the people. Turning to descend with them, he brought the incident commander up to date with what they knew so far.

“Thanks for locating them,” the man said. “It would have taken a lot longer without the flare. Don’t you have a party to get back to? We’ve got this.”

By the time Zack made his way downhill again, Marc and Ike had already retrieved the spine board, and Kathy had his first aid kit.

“We’re in the way here,” she observed. “We should head back. McKenzie will be worried.”

Ike and Marc headed back up the hill with the board.

“I want to stay with Holly,” Zack said, feeling pulled in two different directions.

“Don’t worry.” Kathy gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. “We’ll store your gear, so you can take Holly to the hospital with you.”

“Thank you.” Zack hurried to join her.

When they pulled her twin sister from the car, she had regained consciousness but was confused. Her mother, who had an injured arm, hovered nearby.

“We should head back so you can be there when they arrive.” When Holly looked about to argue, he repeated Kathy’s earlier statement. “We’re in the way here.”

Reluctantly, Holly nodded, and the two of them worked their way back up to his truck.