Molly's Man (Haven, Texas 4)

Yes! She had service.

She quickly called 9-1-1 and explained the situation to the dispatcher on the other end. Molly had to fight the urge to yell at the woman that this was urgent and how could she just sit there and talk to her in that oh-so-calm voice as if finding a man unconscious in his truck was an everyday occurrence? Thankfully, she managed to hold back. Just.

“Ma’am, are you still there?”

“My name is Molly. And, yes, I’m here,” she added rather pointlessly.

“Molly,” the dispatcher said in a gentler voice. “Can you turn the hazard lights on in your car then wait inside for the sheriff to get there. I’ll stay on the line with you.”

“Yes, I can turn my hazard lights on.” She should have thought of that. “I’ve got some flares as well.”

“The hazard lights are fine.”

She reached her car and opened the door then climbed in, looking for the hazard light button. Where was the darn thing? She should know where that was, shouldn’t she? There it was. Yay for her. She rubbed at her head. Her skin felt frozen.

“I’ve turned them on,” she told the dispatcher. Her teeth chattering, she blasted the heater on full, trying to warm herself.

“Good. Now, just wait there. The sheriff is about ten minutes out.”

Wait here? She couldn’t just wait in the car while that poor man sat there in the rain. What if he woke up? What if the water level started to rise?

“I can’t sit here. I’ll go sit with the injured man.”

“The sheriff would rather you waited in the car, ma’am.”

So, they were back to ma’am now? There was no mistaking the firm note in the dispatcher’s voice.

“Well, the sheriff isn’t here yet, and I’m not leaving that poor man alone. What if he wakes up?” Even if she couldn’t do much to help, she could at least hold his hand and tell him everything was going to be all right.

She really hoped it was going to be all right.

“Ma’am, you’d do well to do as the sheriff says.”

Molly rolled her eyes. Obviously, the sheriff was one of those types who’d let the power of his position go to his head.

Wonderful.

Well, Molly didn’t figure he could do anything to her for disobeying him.

“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you there?”

“Sorry, I can’t do that. I’m going back to sit with him. There’s no service down there so I’ll have to say goodbye. If the sheriff isn’t here in ten minutes, I’ll call back.” She hung up quickly before the woman could say anything. Hell, she hoped she hadn’t just made a stupid decision. Putting the phone back in her pocket, she climbed out into the rain. Away from the warm air blasting her car. She sighed. Maybe disobeying the sheriff wasn’t her brightest move, but she knew she couldn’t just sit in the car and hope for the best.

She’d promised herself no regrets and she’d meant it.

After grabbing an emergency blanket from her kit, she limped her way down the bank once more. Groaning loudly as her ankle protested every step.

Her stomach dropped as she reached the bottom and realized the water level had risen. Now instead of reaching her knees it was just below her hips.

Shit! How could it have risen that quickly? She knew about flash floods, but surely there needed to be more rain than this?

Carefully she climbed onto the back of the truck. She reached through the open window and tried her best to wrap the blanket around the man. Then she took off her jacket to cover the window so he wasn’t getting rained on. Shivering non-stop, she tried to ignore the way the icy rain easily infiltrated her cotton sweatshirt. She was soaked within seconds. She worriedly watched the swirling, dark water below. She hoped that sheriff floored it. They needed to get him out of here. Now.

Jake drove through the downpour as fast as he dared. He knew these roads like the back of his hand, but that didn’t mean he could act recklessly. The roads were slick, and visibility was poor. He wouldn’t do anyone any good if he had an accident as well.

He’d been at the end of his shift for the night when an emergency call had come in. Duncan was busy with another call out, and they were down one deputy since Linc had taken some leave for his father’s funeral in Dallas. So, he’d taken the call.

Wasn’t like he had much else to do. Not for the first time, he thought about Saxon’s words from a few weeks ago. Was it time to move on? He couldn’t imagine finding anyone like Rebecca again. She’d been his world, and he didn’t want to disrespect her memory by getting involved with someone else.