him know she’d heard him, but even that felt like too much movement as the car inched forward. Amanda stifled the scream that was trying to get out.
“I’ll be right back.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him run back to his car and take off, leaving her alone again in the dark. How long would it take for help to arrive, and would the guardrail hold in the meantime? The thought of plunging into darkness was terrifying.
The tears kept coming, but she was too afraid to move to mop them up. One near-death experience had been more than enough to give her the wake-up call she’d needed to stop sleepwalking through life. She certainly didn’t need a second reminder to get the message the universe was trying to send her.
Maybe you do need it, she thought, after letting Landon leave earlier with everything left unsaid.
God, if I die, he’ll never know that was I coming to find him, to tell him…
What? What were you going to tell him?
That I love him. That I want him and a life with him and Stella and whatever children we may have together. I want this town and its moose and its quirky people and the big, loving Abbott family and their amazing business. I want it all. Well, maybe not the ravine below. I don’t want that at all.
Hysteria threatened, but she fought it back by breathing through it.
“Please, Landon,” she whispered. “Please hurry. I need you.”
It felt like a year went by before she picked up the tone of sirens in the distance, easily the best sound she’d ever heard. Forcing herself to continue breathing, she clutched her hands together so the shaking and trembling wouldn’t jar the car.
Bright headlights and flashing red lights filled the small space in the car seconds before Landon’s panicked face appeared on the other side of the window. “Stay still for another minute, honey. We’ll get you out.”
She gave a subtle nod to indicate she’d heard him.
Then he was gone, and she wanted to beg for him to come back. Please come back. Outside the car, she heard frantic voices that only added to her anxiety. Then a loud clanking sound and the roar of an engine as the car inched backward, away from the precipice. The driver door flew open, her seat belt was released, and she was pulled into the arms of the man she loved.
“I’ve got you, baby.”
Amanda finally allowed herself to fall apart as she clung to him. “Don’t let go.”
“Never. I’ll never let go.”
Time ceased to exist. All around them, people were talking, barking orders, retrieving the car, calling for a tow in a mishmash of words and images bathed in the red of emergency lights.
“Does anything hurt?” Landon asked.
“No, I’m fine. Now.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw your car. I thought you were staying home to work tonight.”
“I was until I realized I forgot to tell you something really important before you left.”
He smoothed the hair back from her tear-stained face. “What did you forget to tell me?”
“That I love you, too, and I couldn’t bear for you to go all night wondering why I didn’t say it back to you.”
His handsome face lit up with pleasure. “You could’ve called me.”
“No, I had to tell you in person. I felt so bad after you left. You said such beautiful things, and my brain, it just froze. When it finally defrosted, I was horrified.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. Everything is okay.”
“I can’t imagine how scared Dani must’ve been when she went off the road, in a blizzard, with a baby in the car.”
“Thank goodness Lucas saw it happen and rescued her.”
Amanda nodded. “Thank you for rescuing me. I just kept asking you to come and to hurry.”
“I got here as fast as I could.”
“I was so scared I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you that I’m all in, too.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
She rested her head against his chest, filled with relief to be safe in the arms of the man she loved. “Me, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.”
—Victor Hugo
Landon took her home and stayed with her until she fell asleep. When he’d seen her car teetering between life and death, he’d nearly suffered a stroke. He should’ve gone back to the firehouse to sleep, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave