She could do this, Corinne realized as they finished a quiet—and yes, romantic—dinner that night. With Gabe, she felt able to let her guard down. Maybe even to let go and let God rule the day, and cast her safety-first pledge aside.
The festival was over. The vendors had done well even with the shuttle buses running folks into the village. When she and Gabe had left to go to dinner, most of the vendors were loading excess goods into vans and trucks while wearing smiles of success.
That was good, but sitting here, having dinner with Gabe, laughing about funny incidents through the day...
This was wonderful and normal and she was pretty sure she’d be downright foolish not to grab hold of this man and then keep him, like say...forever?
The waiter brought their desserts in a to-go bag. Corinne shrugged into her coat as Gabe held it out. Then he tugged the sides together for her.
Her heart opened more, and she hadn’t thought that possible. She held his gaze and covered one of his hands with her free one. “This was marvelous, Gabe.”
He smiled down at her, his hands clutching the twin lapels of her coat. “Yeah?” His gaze dropped to her lips, and his smile grew. “I’m in total agreement.” He moved closer.
Then he paused, winked and handed her the take-out bag of tiramisu. “Let’s go check out that baby. I must be going soft on her because when I’m not there, I can’t get her out of my mind. Even with my mother there.”
“You’re not going crazy overprotective, are you?”
He began to shake his head, then frowned slightly. “Possibly. But I’m working on it. I promise.”
“Good.” He reached around her to open the car door for her, then didn’t. He paused instead.
Chill air surrounded them. The leaves had long since drifted from the trees, but twinkle lights took their place, marking the change of seasons and a month of holiday festivities.
He lowered his gaze again, and this time he didn’t wait. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t tease.
This time he gathered her in and took his own sweet time kissing her. A kiss that offered love and support with no words needed. A kiss that spoke to promises and pledges and so much more. And when he drew back, he laid his forehead against hers and whispered, “My lips like getting to know yours. They’re so happy right now. Thank you for making them happy, Corinne.”
She laughed and ducked her head against the smooth leather of his rugged jacket. It felt good to laugh in this man’s arms, to be sheltered in his strong embrace, and when he kissed her again, Corinne was sure of one thing. She’d fallen head over heels for Gabe Cutler, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life showing him that. And she was pretty sure he felt exactly the same way. She let herself get lost in the moment, because in Gabe’s arms, she knew anything was possible, and Corinne hadn’t felt that way in a long time.
* * *
A wonderful evening, full of possibilities of a new today and a better tomorrow.
He’d kissed his beautiful neighbor. He’d taken his own sweet time kissing Corinne, and she’d kissed him back. He felt wonderful. Marvelous. Delightfully invigorated with new possibilities opening before him.
Corinne hit a Christmas music station on the radio as he pulled out onto the road. When she began to change it, he reached out a hand to stop her. “It’s okay. I don’t mind so much.”
She slanted a smile his way, and the rusty hinges on his heart crept open wider. Her expression held hope and promise and affection. His courting skills were as rusty as his heart, but Gabe wasn’t afraid to brush up on his skills with Corinne for however long it might take.
He’d been in love once, a long time ago.
Now he was falling in love again. He wanted everything right for her, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.
His tires hit a patch of black ice.
The car skidded sideways, then recovered. He gripped the wheel tightly, watching ahead for more rogue patches. Damp days and quick-chilling nights left drivers susceptible to ice slicks on country roads. Just as he thought that, the car ahead of them spun out of control.
The lights careened in a full circle, slid left, then right, then shot off the road, into a copse of tall, broad evergreens.
“Gabe!” Corinne’s hand went to her mouth. She grabbed for her phone instantly and hit 9-1-1. She was offering direction and location before he’d come to a full stop on the icy shoulder of the four-lane road.
“Don’t stay in the car,” he warned as he jumped out. “Just in case someone else spins out. And have Grant call out salt trucks ASAP.”
Emily’s husband Grant was the highway superintendent for Grace Haven. “I will.” She climbed out of her side of the car as she made the call to her brother-in-law’s cell phone.
Gabe rushed to the most accessible door of the damaged car, but the sedan was wedged between the trunks of two trees. Branches blocked his way and his vision. He’d grabbed his flashlight from the backseat, and wished it was the high-intensity model tacked to his service weapon. Still, it was better than nothing. He pulled branches back, but couldn’t make progress on the door and hold the wide, draping spruce boughs at bay.
“I’ve got these.” Corinne pulled the branches back, leaving him a clearer view. “I’ll hold, you figure out how we can help them.”
His light noted two passengers and a car seat.
His heart shoved up, into his throat. He pounded on the glass of the front door.
The air bags had deployed.
He detected movement on the far side. The driver was slumped, and the angle of the door’s damage didn’t allow Gabe access. He moved to the other side of the car.
Cars streamed by. A couple of them stopped. And in the distance, he heard the welcome sound of sirens. Backup was approaching.
The woman in the passenger’s seat reached over and unlocked the door.
He pulled her door open. She struggled toward him, crying and gesturing. “My husband. He’s not talking. He’s not talking to me. Help him!”
“We will.” Gabe guided her out. A man from a stopped car took Corinne’s place at the branches, tugging them away from the vehicle.
Corinne circled the car and took the woman’s arm. “Let’s have a look, okay?”
The woman pushed away. “We have to get my husband out. I smell gas!”
Gabe smelled it, too. He reached in the passenger side, shut the engine down and hoped it was enough to prevent a fiery explosion.
“Can you get him out? Please, you have to help him!” Her tone begged and her face pleaded, and Gabe knew exactly how she felt. He knew it too well.
“Is the baby with you?” Gabe asked.
The woman squinted hard. “I don’t think so.” She gripped her head. “My head hurts. It hurts so much.” Pain contorted her features as she tried to answer his question. “No, she’s with my mother. We were having a date night. Oh, no...” she wailed, as if re-realizing her husband’s state while Gabe searched the man’s neck for a pulse. When he felt the soft beat beneath the pads of two fingers, he sighed in relief.
“He’s got a pulse. And help’s coming.” He called the words across the small grassy incline. Corinne had moved the woman into the clearing and was using the flashlight on her phone to check her over.
Sirens came closer. Flashing lights approached from both directions.
And then a car approaching from the north tried to brake quickly. It spun hard, just like the previous car had done.
The sleek coupe hit Gabe’s SUV, did a three-sixty, bounced off Gabe’s car again, then hurtled through the air, straight at the original vehicle. And Gabe.
Gabe took the ditch, headfirst.
The car sailed over him and into the stand of trees just in front of the first car.
He held his breath, certain that gravity was going to drop the car back into the ditch and take him out. When it sailed over his head, he made a leap for the embankment behind him and scrambled up the slick hill as if his life depended on it because it did.
The thick branches slowed the car enough to avoid hitting the tree trunks or the initial automobile, but then the car crashed down, into the ditch, onto the same hollow Gabe had sought as refuge.
He couldn’t think about what might have been. There was no time for that.
He directed the EMTs and the firefighters with the Jaws of Life to the first car while he helped the driver and a little boy out of the second car.
He ran on adrenaline for nearly an hour.
At some point he noticed that Corinne was guiding the woman into an ambulance.
When the husband was finally extracted, a second ambulance took him to Rochester, where more serious injuries could be effectively treated.
Salt trucks peppered both sides of the road.
On-duty officers took statements.
Tow trucks arrived to clean up the extensive aftermath. The damage from the second accident left Gabe’s SUV undrivable. Drew Slade and Grant McCarthy both showed up during the melee. “Gabe, you’re not dressed for this. Go home,” Drew told him. He motioned to Grant’s SUV parked just up the road. “Corinne’s in Grant’s car. He’ll drive you guys. Do you need to see a doctor? Did you get injured at all when that car went airborne?”
“Nothing,” Gabe assured him. “I got out of the way in time.”
“Then head home, I’ll let you know how it all comes out. Corinne looks shaken up. I think she could use some warmth, peace and quiet right about now.”
Of course she could, and he was so busy playing the hero that he’d lost track of her. What kind of man did that?
He strode to Grant’s SUV and climbed into the backseat next to Corinne. “Hey. Are you okay? Are you warming up?”
She stayed on her side of the car and nodded. “Yes, Grant left the heater running and I’m thawing out. Any word on the injured?”
He shook his head as Grant swung the driver’s door wide. “Drew said he’d let us know.”
Grant settled into the driver’s seat and eased the SUV onto the road. “Let’s get you two home so you can relax. This was a crummy way to end a great festival weekend.” He frowned at them through the rearview mirror. “But witnesses are calling both of you heroes. I’m glad you happened along when you did. And Corinne, thanks for the quick call. That might have prevented a lot more problems tonight.”
“It was Gabe’s idea.” Her voice was soft. She looked tired and worn. “Grant, can you drop me at Mom and Dad’s place? I know they’re at the musical, but I’d like to spend the night there. Be near the kids. And I texted them to watch out for black ice.”
“Sure.” He nodded and when they got into the town, he pulled into Kate and Pete’s driveway.
Gabe got out to walk her to the door.
She waved him off. “It’s fine, Gabe. You’ve had a rougher night than I did. I can let myself in.”
Nerves tightened her tone. Her hands gripped her keys as if frozen to them.
“I’ll just see you to the door, then.”
“Okay.” She walked forward, used the key and pushed the door open. “Good night.”
She shut the door.
He stared at it, wishing they could decompress the evening together. As a cop, he understood the need to dissect a trauma, to talk about the good, the bad, the ugly...and then to put it behind you. He’d been able to do that in his professional life, if not his personal one.
He contemplated his options, then realized it might be best to wait until tomorrow. She deserved a good night’s sleep.
He didn’t like the idea of walking away, but the closed door left few choices. He got back into Grant’s vehicle, and when Grant dropped him off at the door, his mother was anxiously waiting for an update.
Jessie lay sound asleep in the crib. The lights were turned low, and the house next door sat black in the darkness. A night that began with such promise and light had turned dark in an instant.
He hugged his mother. “Let’s talk in the morning, okay? I’m beat.”
“Okay. I’ll sleep by Jessie tonight. I don’t mind a bit,” she insisted, “and you’ve got a lot on your plate for tomorrow with Maureen and Blake.”
He didn’t refuse her kind offer. “I appreciate it, Mom. All of it.”
She hugged him again, then reached up to kiss his cold, weathered cheek. “I know.”