Sara in Montana - A Christmas Wish (2 page)

“Where are you headed?” Something wasn’t adding up and he could see Sara growing more agitated by the minute.

“I…I just need to get back on the highway. I’m running kinda late because I haven’t been feeling well.” Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to shield herself from the ever increasing wind and cold.

“Running late?” Trent could see her start to shiver, but was more interested in getting some answers. He was a good reader of people, and this little gal was definitely hiding something.
 

Sara nodded quickly trying to think of something that would reassure the Sheriff and get him to leave her alone.
Where was she again? Oh yeah, Montana. What did she know about Montana…Butte was the capitol. Striving to keep her voice even and not give way to the lie she was about to tell, she looked Trent in the eyes as she told him, “I’m headed to Butte. My fiancé is flying in tomorrow and I’m supposed to pick him up at the airport so we can spend the holidays with his parents.” Sara barely hid her nerves as she spun the tale.

“Butte, huh? You’ve still got several hours of driving left ahead of you. And there’s another snowstorm supposed to start later this evening.”

“That’s okay. I’ve driven in the snow before. I’ll be fine, but I would like to get back on the road.” Sara’s voice was only a whisper by this time. Her throat felt as if it was on fire, her head was throbbing, and her chest hurt if she tried to take a deep breath. Combine that with the biting wind and uncontrollable shivers that had taken over her body, and she knew her ability to continue on her journey was in danger of coming to an abrupt halt.

“Well, if you sure.” Trent moved a step back and opened the car door for her. Surreptitiously glancing inside the backseat, he saw a small duffel bag, along with several blankets and a pillow. It almost appeared as if she had been sleeping in her car.

Sara nodded and slid into the driver’s seat. The cold wind had her teeth chattering and her hands were so cold, she wasn’t sure if she could turn the key in the ignition. After fumbling to grasp the key for several moments, she finally caught hold of it and started the car. Turning towards the open door and the waiting Sheriff, she gave him a small smile and said, “Thank you for your help.”

Trent returned her smile. “No problem. You drive safe now. Merry Christmas.”

Sara was so cold, all she could do was give a slight nod in recognition of his well wishes. She did not have the energy to dwell on the upcoming holiday season and what might have been. Right now, her survival was the only thing she could focus on and that required her to keep pushing farther east.

Trent stepped back, closing her car door and watched as she put the car into gear and headed back towards the highway.

Try as she might, the sheriff’s parting words stayed with Sara as she backed out and headed the car back towards the highway. It was supposed to have been a wonderful Christmas. She had looked forward to her first holiday season as a married woman, decorating a tree together for the first time with her husband, inviting their family and friends over for dinner. She mentally gave herself a shake. Those dreams were gone now. Any Christmas spirit she did have vanished along with her hopes and dreams of being happily married to the man of her dreams. Nightmares are what they had become.

Wanting to take her mind off her morose thoughts, she turned the radio back on and tried not to think about what might have been. The radio announcer had just finished his weather report and it wasn’t sounding promising for her. They were expecting up to a foot of snow, and a travel advisory had just been issued for central Montana as the winds were supposed to kick up and blow snow across the highway known to be treacherous. Sara had never driven in the snow prior to this trip and had scared herself several times during early morning hours as her car skidded on the icy patches dotting the highway.

Sarah briefly thought about turning around and seeing if the small town had any type of hotel accommodations, but then she remembered having used her credit card to pay for the cough syrup. Anyone looking for her would be able to track her credit card use. She definitely needed to put some miles between herself and Castle Peaks, Montana. Another state or two between them would suit her just fine.

****

Rubbing his hands together, Trent quickly re-entered the drugstore, seeing Jeb standing at the front window watching her car drive away.

“You couldn’t convince her stay, huh?”

“No. She says she’s headed to Butte to pick her fiancé up from the airport in the morning. I hope she beats the storm. I don’t think that little car of hers was meant to handle a Montana blizzard.”

“She doesn’t look like she’s ready for a Montana winter. That girl didn’t even have a coat on.”

Trent’s radar was still going off. Something here just wasn’t right. “Hey Jeb, let me see that credit card receipt she signed.”

Jeb looked at Trent, wondering what was going through his head, but opened the drawer and took out the receipt. Glancing at her signature, he read, “Sara Brownell.”

Trent took the offered receipt and a notepad from his pocket. Jotting down her license plate number, he added her name and then pocketed the pad and the pen. “I’m gonna go back over to the office and check a couple of things out real quick. I’ll see you later on.”

“You gonna run that girl through the system?” Jeb asked.

“I’m gonna go run the plates first. Make sure the vehicle’s registered to her and that everything’s in order.”

Jeb nodded and said, “I hope you don’t find that girl’s in any trouble. I get the sense that she’s had it pretty rough recently.”

Trent didn’t reply. He would reserve his comments until after he had some facts. His gut told him that she was in trouble; what sort, he aimed to find out.

Chapter 2

Sara had almost made it back to the highway when another coughing fit struck. This one was the worst yet and she had no choice but to pull off the side of the road and place her car into park. Holding her chest, she tried desperately to stop the coughing. Knowing there was no one around to see, she gave free rein to the tears that came with the agonizing pain. As the coughing fit stopped, she pushed the driver’s seat back a little and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to hold herself together.

Sara leaned her head back and closed her eyes, trying to take slow, calm breaths so it didn’t hurt as badly. Finally able to breathe easier, she opened the bottle of cough syrup and took several small sips. Washing it down with the rest of the bottled water the storeowner had given her, she closed her eyes again and waited for the medicine to begin to work.

“God, I don’t know if you’re there, or if you even care, but I need a miracle.  I know it’s the Christmas season and all, but I’m scared and I don’t know what to do anymore.” Taking a deep breath, Sara tried to clear her mind and push back the panic that had been prominent for the last several days.

She was in Montana, not California, and David Patterson was nowhere around. She would be successful in finding a place to hide. She just needed to get back on the highway. Opening her eyes, she started to sit up, only to sink back down again as the urge to cough made itself known. Maybe another few minutes wouldn’t hurt. She would just sit here and take a small rest. Turning the ignition off, she grabbed a blanket from the backseat and wrapped it around her to keep warm. Leaning her head back against the seat, she allowed her eyes to close as she concentrated on keeping her breathing slow and even.

****

Trent fixed himself a cup of coffee as he waited for the license plate information to come back on his computer. He was hoping to find nothing, but his gut told him that would probably not be the case.

Seeing the message indicator start flashing, he returned to his desk and took a sip of his coffee before clicking the screen open. As the information came up on the screen, he sat up straight and cursed. The car was registered to one David Patterson, who had been attacked two days prior and his car reported stolen. His new bride, Sara Brownell, was wanted for questioning in the attack and theft.

That little gal had attacked a full grown man and stolen his car? Again, his radar was going off. He quickly ran another search on Sara Brownell and wasn’t surprised to find that she was squeaky clean. Not even a parking ticket was tied to her name.

On a hunch, he ran her groom’s name through the same database. Checking the time, he saw that less than 10 minutes had passed since she had pulled away from the drugstore. She couldn’t have gotten far. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but something in his gut told him it was imperative that he find her and bring her back to town.  She needed help and he was the only one in a position to help her at this point.

As the search came back for David Patterson, his fears were confirmed. It wasn’t that he had a long record, or even any arrests, but the yellow flag on the account identified him as a person of interest with the feds and that meant there was more to this situation than at first appeared.

Grabbing his coat and hat, he sprinted for the jeep parked out front and headed towards the highway. He didn’t even take time to tell Becky, his secretary, goodbye. Sara was in trouble and although he couldn’t sanction her having stolen a car, he wanted to be the one to bring her in and see if he could help her in any way. She didn’t seem like a criminal to him, but it was his duty to enforce the law. He would find her, and then make a few phone calls and see what other information he could obtain on her groom.

As he neared the entrance to the highway, he spotted her vehicle pulled off to the side of the road. Slowing down, he parked behind the vehicle and noticed that it wasn’t running. Cursing again, he climbed out of the jeep and approached the driver’s side door. The windows had become fogged up, but he could see her huddled underneath one of the blankets on the front seat.

Not wanting to startle her, but needing to get her attention, he called her name several times, but she didn’t seem to hear him. When tapping on the window didn’t get her attention either, he tried the door, finding it unlocked.  Didn’t she have any sense of self-preservation? He definitely needed to have a conversation with her about safety.

Opening the car door, he noticed the car was still warm inside, but Sara didn’t stir. Reaching inside, he placed his hand on her head, and then on her neck, looking for a pulse. Her forehead was clammy and even though she was shivering, she was sweating profusely. Her pulse was strong, but as another cough wracked her body, he could see that she was unconscious. Whether by exhaustion or illness, Sara Brownell was a danger to herself as well as others as long as she remained behind the wheel of a car.

Carefully lifting her into his arms, he tucked the blanket around her, carried her to his jeep, and buckled her into the passenger seat. Returning to her vehicle, he grabbed her purse and the small duffel bag from the back seat and then turned on the car’s emergency flashers. Sprinting back to the driver’s side, he jumped in and headed back to town. Getting on the radio, he contacted Becky, “Get in touch with Dr. Baker and tell him I’m bringing over a young woman. She’s been coughing for several days and appears to be running a fever. She’s passed out cold. Tell him I’ll be at his clinic in 15 minutes.”

“Will do. Is there anything else I can do?”

“Yeah, will you get a hold of Jim over at the filling station and have him come tow her care back to town. It’s pulled off the road about a mile from the highway entrance. Silver Camry with California plates. I turned the flashers on and the key is under the floor mat.”

“I’ve got it. Where do you want him to tow it?”

“Have him park it over at his place for now. I’ll call him later and give him further instructions.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

Trent looked over at his passenger, still passed out cold and a wave of tenderness passed over him. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but he felt a need to protect her. Seeing her start to stir, he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sara, can you hear me?”

Sara felt warmth and for the first time in days, she didn’t feel the urge to cough as she took in a slow, deep breath. Her ribs still felt tender, but the agonizing pain was gone. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw that she was in a moving vehicle and immediately tried to sit up as panic assailed her.