already headed back to his truck. I’d won this round.
I was mentally scanning through my favorite boy baby names, when I heard the rumbling noise. It was much too loud and much too close.
In an instant, the speeding car crested over the top of the hill and barreled down toward us. I stood frozen in the middle of the road. It was too far to leap to safety in either direction.
I spared a quick glance at my brother and saw his horrified, helpless gaze as the car sped directly toward us.
The piercing squeal of the tires on the slick pavement broke the silence of the evening as the driver slammed on the brakes. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the car skidded sideways on the ice directly toward us.
I only had time to whirl around and present my back to the oncoming vehicle as I curled my body around the precious bundle, in the frantic hope of protecting the innocent baby from the impending impact.
2
Molly
Dizzy, dazed, and confused, I blinked my eyes open. The blood pounded in my head and my hands shook as I frantically tried to scramble up to my knees.
Miraculously, I didn’t feel hurt, but my only concern was for the precious baby I cradled in my arms. Had I crushed him when I fell?
In an instant, Max was by my side. His eyes were wide with fright as he yelled, “Molly! Are you okay?”
I nodded, but couldn’t seem to find my words. Tipping my head down to check on the bundle in my arms, I was thrilled to see stunned blue eyes blinking up at me. It only took a moment for the loud wail to erupt from his tiny mouth.
“He’s crying. That’s a very good sign,” Dani assured us as she approached and kneeled down by my side. She kept one comforting hand on my shoulder as she used the other to dial 9-1-1 on her phone.
I squeezed my eyes shut with relief that the baby didn’t appear to be injured. When I reopened them, I noticed the back end of the sports car sticking out from Dr. Dalton’s chiropractic office. The entire front half of the car was crumpled and sitting in the ruins of what was, just moments ago, Dr. Dalton’s reception area.
Thankfully, the office had been closed when the car rammed its way through the enormous front window, or numerous patients would have likely been injured.
Staring at the steaming pile of rubble, I said to Max, “We’re okay. Go check on the driver.”
He looked reluctant to leave my side, so I gave him my best stubborn little sister stare until he turned to comply with my request.
I rocked the bundle in my arms back and forth, in a feeble attempt to soothe him, repeating the mantra, “Shh… It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
Although I wasn’t sure if I was attempting to calm him or me, it seemed to be working on both of us. His wailing had decreased from infuriated, ear-piercing screeches to mildly annoyed, hiccupping sobs.
Within moments, we heard the wail of approaching sirens. I stared blankly at my brother’s back as he set to work on the crashed vehicle. He yelled status updates back to Dani, which she relayed to the dispatch on the phone, but I wasn’t lucid enough to fully register what either of them were saying.
Before long, the blinding flashing lights of sirens surrounded us. When a uniformed man tried to remove the bundle from my arms, I clamped the baby tighter in my grasp.
“Ma’am, we need to check you and your baby for injuries,” the deep voice informed me in a no-nonsense tone.
I started to tell him the sweet infant wasn’t my baby, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Dani stepped in to efficiently take charge.
She looked me directly in the eyes as she gently took the baby and said, “They need to have a look at him, Molly. They’ll take care of him.”
Her promise came out as a gentle coo. Even though she couldn’t possibly know if her statement was true, her calm and confident demeanor had me trusting her words. I reluctantly loosened my tight grip on the baby.
When his wails escalated, I felt like screaming, “See? He wants me!” But some still-rational part of my brain helped me manage to refrain.
The man kneeling down to assess me was blocking my view of the baby. I tried to lean around to see past him, but he used both hands to steady