Lone Star Holiday. Jolene Navarro

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      Chapter Two

      “Aunt Maggie? It’s—”

      “Oh, mija, it’s so good to hear from you!” A slight pause came through the line. “Is everything okay?”

      The love and concern in the older woman’s voice wrapped itself around Lorrie Ann’s heart. Eyes closed briefly, she eased a smile across her face.

      “Yeah, I’m good. I’m actually in Clear Water heading to the farm.” As the silence lingered, her stomach knotted.

      “What? Oh, my, Lorrie Ann Ortega! What do you mean you’re in Clear Water? Why are you just now calling me?” Lorrie could almost hear her aunt’s thoughts processing. “Oh, sweetheart, what happened?”

      “Nothing.... I just need a place to rest, get my thoughts together. Is it okay that I came to the farm? I don’t know Mom’s latest location.” Nerves hit her stomach hard. “It’s just for a couple weeks while I figure things out. I can rent one of the cabins.”

      “You hush about paying. This is your home. Your room’s always ready for you.”

      Lorrie pulled in her lips and bit down. The need to cry burned her eyes. She pulled a deep breath through her nose before she dared speak again. “Thank you, Aunt Maggie. I’m at Second Crossing now, so I’ll—”

      A deer darted across the road. Her phone slid to the floorboard as she grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. Hitting the brake, she pulled her car to the side of the road.

      The deer’s hooves slid on the pavement, fighting to regain control. The white of the doe’s eyes flashed, and in a frenzied twist it turned back the way it had come and ran behind her.

      In Lorrie Ann’s rearview mirror, she tracked the animal as it scurried right in front of a yellow Jeep. Eyes wide, Lorrie Ann watched the events as if in slow motion. Horror filled her mind as the deer collided with the grille of the oncoming vehicle. The deer flew over the hood into the windshield, and the Jeep lost control. It slid in the loose gravel and rolled toward the river. Frozen in her seat, Lorrie Ann stared as a group of cedar trees stopped the rolling car.

      “Lorrie! Lorrie Ann, answer me!” Her aunt’s frantic voice brought her back to herself. White fingers had a death grip around the leather of her steering wheel. As she reached for the phone between her feet, her hands shook. She took a deep breath. The dark shades fell to the floorboard, and she didn’t bother picking them up.

      “I’m here. I’m fine, but there’s been an accident. I have to call 911.” Without waiting to hear her aunt’s response, she ended the call and hit the emergency button. She stepped out of her car and jogged along the shoulder of the road, her heels clicking across the asphalt. Breath held tight, she approached the flipped vehicle. When she heard crying, relief eased her muscles a small bit, proof of life.

      She knelt to look in the cab, her heart pounding at the thought of what she might see. A young girl hung upside down by her seat belt in the backseat.

      A sob muffled her words. “Rachel! Rachel!”

      Her weeping broke Lorrie’s heart. “Sweetheart, my name’s Lorrie Ann. I called the ambulance.”

      The voice on the line demanded her attention, asking for details. “There has been a car accident at Second Crossing. Oh, I’m Lorrie Ann Ortega. There’s a girl about five or six in the backseat. She is awake and suspended by her seat belt.”

      Lorrie scanned the cab, noticing two more girls up front. Broken glass covered the roof, but the roll bars had done their job and created a pocket for them.

      The passenger in the front seat appeared to be around ten or twelve. “There are two girls in the front, both strapped in their seats. The driver has blood on her face. She looks unconscious.” A deep sigh of relief escaped. “But breathing.”

      The young girl in front started twisting against her shoulder strap. “Celeste? Celeste, where are you?” A frantic tone edged her voice.

      “Rachel! I’m...I’m scared.” The smaller one in the backseat reached forward.

      “Don’t be scared. Stop crying! It won’t help.” Her voice sounded more mature than her age.

      Lorrie Ann couldn’t help being impressed. “Girls, help is on the way. Are you sisters?” Their matching ponytails bobbed as they nodded their heads. “It’s Rachel and Celeste, right?”

      “Yes.” The older girl in the front spoke, moving both hands to rub at her face. “Amy’s our babysitter. Oh, Daddy’s going to be so mad.”

      “I’m sure your father just wants you safe.”

      “Oh! My leg is stuck. I can’t move it.” Rachel sounded calm, though her voice pitched higher at the last word.

      Lorrie Ann narrowed her gaze on Rachel’s right leg surrounded by metal. It looked as if a piece of the engine had pushed through.

      The driver groaned.

      “Amy, Amy, wake up!” Rachel reached across and touched her shoulder.

      “What happened?” Amy pushed back her hair. “Oh, no!” She sucked in deep breaths, and her eyes went wide. “Rachel? Celeste? Please, please tell me you’re all right!” She cried out in pain, hugging herself and moaning.

      “Easy. Don’t hurt yourself.” Lorrie Ann pressed a hand to the older girl’s shoulder. “I hear the sirens. Help’s almost here. Just hang on, girls, and try to stay still.”

      Lorrie Ann turned from the crumbled metal and watched as an ambulance arrived.

      A state trooper pulled in from the other direction. He quickly stepped from his car and made his way to the wreckage. Lorrie Ann squinted against the sun to get a better look at him and then hung her head.

      He hunched next to her, scanning the inside of the car. “Hang tight, Amy. Girls, we’ll have you out soon.” He turned until she saw her reflection in his aviators. “Lorrie Ann Ortega? What in the world are you doing here?”

      She stared into the face of another ghost from her past. Even with the dark shades masking most of his face, she knew who hovered over her.

      “Jake Torres, I’m trying to help three scared girls here.”

      He nodded. Bracing a hand on the door as he peered back inside, he spoke again, his voice softened. “We’re here to help you girls. So breathe and stay calm.”

      He glanced back at Lorrie Ann over his shoulder. “Girl, you sure know how to make an entrance back to town.”

      * * *

      Making his way to the post office, John could not stop the urge to whistle a sweet tune as he waved to the cars slowly passing by. The plans for his day had fallen apart when Dub called, needing help with a renegade horse.

      He smiled, remembering his frustration when the church secretary, JoAnn, called right after with a problem at the construction site. Both unscheduled events put Maggie’s niece right in his path.

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