Chapter Twenty-Seven

The rain is coming down in sheets as the group of us sit in my truck, taking our morning break.

Weston groans. "This is when I hate working outside. This and when it"s so fucking cold. People don"t pay any attention to us, and I fear for my life."

One of our new guys, Peyton, gives him a glare. "Thanks, I wasn"t fearing for my life until now."

The walkie talkie system we use to communicate with our other crews up and down the highway starts going off. "Shit, I bet there was a wreck." I reach down to turn it up so we can hear what"s going on.

We"ve called police and EMS, a SUV lost control in the rain, slapped the concrete barrier we have set up and barrel rolled. We"re trying to get to the driver. If anyone has crews available to help until the first responders get here, please send them.

I glance around at the men in the truck with me. "We might as well, right?"

They all nod. I put my flashers on, move it into gear and head to the north on the access road we use to go back and forth between job sites. It"s rutted because of the heavy rain and we bump along as if we"re on some old west cattle drive, but eventually we make it up to where we can park and walk the hundred or so feet to where the other crew is trying to give assistance. When I step out, I"ve put on my rain jacket and a hat. Bracing myself against the storm, I head into the cutting wind and meet the other foreman.

"Jasper." His face turns white. "You don"t need to be here, my man."

I"ve known Terry since I started on this crew. He"s never once turned me away, and right now whatever he"s trying to keep me from makes my stomach cramp and ache. "What"s wrong?"

"Trust me when I say you need to go back to your truck. We"ll come get you as soon as we can."

There are very few people they would be worried about me seeing in a wreck. One of those people is on this crew, and I"ve texted the rest of them throughout the day. The only one I can"t reach is my wife. My stomach is in my throat as I dig my boots into the sediment and loose asphalt, pitching forward. Arms are windmilling to keep me from falling. Terry reaches out, grabbing the back of my jacket. When he pulls me upright again, I take off at a run, vaulting over the concrete barricade.

That"s when I see it. The mangled wreckage of my wife"s SUV. It"s over on its side, smoking. The driver"s side door is resting against the wet roadway. I race over and go down hard on my knees, sliding across the blacktop, coming to a rest as close as I can next to the window. There she is, eyes closed, head resting against the seal and weatherstrip. It"s the only thing keeping her face from being on the ground and in the small pieces of glass. Blood is streaming down her forehead, making a river of red across her cheek. Goddammit.

"Daisy Mae. Baby, I"m here," I croak out, scared to death that she won"t hear me, equally scared she will, because then she"ll realize what a precarious situation she"s in.

Her eyes flutter back and forth beneath lids that are purple, standing out in stark relief against her pale face. I reach in, grabbing hold of her hand. "I"m right here," I say the words again. "You"re going to be fine." I don"t know who I"m trying to convince - her or me, but dammit if my words can make it happen, I"ll say them to the end of time.

Weston"s voice is directly behind me. "Jasper, the paramedics are here. You need to move so they can do their jobs. Let them help her."

I don"t want to let go. Letting go is like throwing her into the ocean without a life preserver and hoping she"ll manage to make it. It feels all fuckin" wrong, but the other part of my brain that realizes they're here to help, it knows that they can do so much more than I can. I crawl out from where I"ve wedged myself beside her and stand up. Weston grabs hold of my shoulders, holding me back from making a move toward her.

"We"re here."

And that"s when I realize that the entire crew has showed up. I don"t know who told them or who got them here this quick, but everyone from Boone to Gabby is standing in a circle surrounding me. Boone comes over, putting his arm around me. "We"ve got you. We"ll make sure you get to the hospital; you"re not going to be alone."

My throat tightens. That"s been my biggest fear my entire life. Being alone. Having to handle the hard things by myself, to the point where I"ve walled my emotions off, and not allowed others to see me at my most vulnerable. But when the EMTs pull Daisy out of the wreckage of her SUV, tears that I"ve never allowed myself to cry burn as they well up.

"Oh, Jasper." Alexis pulls me into a hug, wrapping her arms around me, holding on tightly. "She"s going to be fine. I promise."

"Don"t make promises you can"t keep." I sniffle, but not letting her go. "My mom promised me she"d be fine, but then she died." That"s something I"ve never told another person before. I knew my parents weren"t okay, but I hoped I was imagining it. When I woke up and was told they were gone, I realized it wasn"t a dream. It was the worst nightmare, and I would never wake up from it.

"Okay, I won't, but you and I both know how strong Daisy is. Let"s get to the hospital. We"ll follow behind them."

Boone yanks on the arm of my shirt, and at the last second, I think to toss my keys to Weston. "Take care of my truck?"

"We"ll meet you there."

The rain is still coming down in sheets as I get into the back of Boone"s truck and buckle my seatbelt. Pulling my phone out, I see I have a text from Daisy. I didn"t see it since I was at work, but I"m looking now.

D: I"m headed out to run some errands since I"m off this morning. I hope you have a good day, and I"m so sorry I didn"t wake up when you tried to tell me bye. Love you, Jasper.

This morning seems like a lifetime ago, when she"d rolled over with that smirk on her face, refusing to show more than that much of her head from under the covers. If I"d known this was how the day would end up, I"d have laid there with her a few more minutes. I"d have pulled the blanket back and laid down with her just a little longer. I"d have been late to work and not given her a hard time about being lazy because she had half a day off.

"She"s gonna be okay." Alexis reaches back and takes my hand in hers. "She"s strong, and she loves you."

I want to argue that my parents were strong and loved me, too. "I know," is the only thing I can muster.

Boone glances over at her, talking about the elephant in the room. "She"s not like your parents, Jasper. They had a heartbeat on her, and it was strong. Just because she wasn"t conscious doesn"t mean anything bad."

"I know, she"s going to make it," I answer again, voice still low and full of uncertainty. Looking down at the wedding ring I once resented, I do the one thing I haven"t done in years. Not since I was in the back seat of my parents" car and heard the squeal of brakes, the crunch of metal. I pray. Because without Daisy? There"s no chance I have a shot at making it through the rest of my life. Not without her.