With renewed energy, I ran toward the chaos, hoping to God I wouldn’t just find America, but that I would also find her unscathed. She would be just as worried about me, so the urge to calm her fears was just as strong as the need to find her safe.
Three ambulances were parked along the turnpike, and I ran to the closest one, watching paramedics load up a young woman. Seeing that it wasn’t America, relief washed over me.
The paramedic glanced at me and then did a double take, turning to me. “Whoa. Are you hurt?”
“My shoulder,” I said. “I pulled a splinter out of it the size of a Sharpie.”
I looked around while he assessed my wound.
“Yeah, that’s going to need stitches. Probably staples. You definitely need to get it cleaned up.”
I shook my head. “Have you seen a pretty blonde girl, early twenties, about this tall?” I asked, holding my hand up to my eye.
“I’ve seen a lot of blonde girls today, pal.”
“She’s not just a blonde girl. She’s gorgeous, like epically beautiful.”
He shrugged.
“Her name is America,” I said.
He pressed his lips together in a hard line and then shook his head. “Girlfriend?”
“We slipped off the turnpike and went into a ditch. We took shelter under an overpass, but I’m not sure where I am.”
“Vintage Charger?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Must have been that overpass,” the paramedic said, nodding to the west. “Because your car is three hundred yards in that direction.”
“Did you see a pretty blonde waiting close?”
He shook his head.
“Thanks,” I said, heading toward the overpass.
“No one is over there. Everyone who took shelter at the overpass is either at the hospital or the Red Cross tent.”
I slowly turned around, frustrated.
“You really need to get that cleaned out and sewn up, sir. And we still have weather coming in. Let me give you a ride to the hospital.”
I looked around and then nodded. “Thanks.”
“What’s your name?” He closed the back doors and then knocked one door with the side of his fist twice.
The ambulance pulled forward and turned a one-eighty before heading toward Emporia with its lights and sirens on.
“Uh … that was our ride.”
“No, this is your ride,” he said, showing me to a red-and-white SUV. The door read Fire Chief. “Get in.”
When he climbed behind the wheel, he gave me a once-over. “You got carried off, didn’t ya? How far do you think?”
I shrugged. “To the other side of that gravel plant. There was a body … in the tree.”
He frowned and then nodded. “I’ll call it in. You were flung a little over a quarter of a mile, I bet. You’re lucky you got away with just a scratch.”
“It’s a hell of a scratch,” I said, instinctively stretching my shoulder until I felt a twinge.
“I agree,” he said, slowing as we approached the Charger.
I stared at it as we passed, seeing that it was still submerged. America was gone.
My throat tightened. “If she’s not at the overpass and she’s not at the Charger, she went to the hospital.”
“I agree with that, too,” the Chief said.
“Hopefully, for shelter and not because she’s hurt.”
The Chief sighed. “You’ll find out soon enough. First, you’re going to get that wound cleaned.”
“I don’t have much daylight left.”
“Well, you’re definitely not going to find her at night.”
“That’s why I can’t waste time.”
“I’m not your dad, but I can tell you now, if infection sets in, you’re not going to feel up to looking for her tomorrow. Get yourself taken care of, and then you can look for your girl.”
I sighed and then pounded the door with the side of my fist. It was a lot harder than the Chief had hit on the ambulance door.
He shot me a side-eye.
“Sorry,” I murmured.
“’S’all right. If it were my wife, I’d feel the same.”
I peeked over at him. “Yeah?”
“Twenty-four years. Two grown girls. Are you going to marry this girl?”
I swallowed. “I had a ring in my bag.”
He gave a half smile. “Where is it?”
“I handed it to her before I was blown out.”
“Good thinking. She’s holding on to it for safekeeping, and she doesn’t even know. She’ll get two good surprises when she sees you.”
“I hope so, sir.”
Chief made a face. “Hope? Where were you headed?”
“Her parents’ house.”
“She was introducing you to her parents? Sounds like your chances were pretty good.”
“I’ve met her parents,” I said, staring out the window. I was supposed to be going in the other direction with America, and instead, I was heading back to Emporia to find her. “Several times. And I’ve asked her to marry me—several times.”
“Oh,” Chief said. “You were going to ask her again?”
“I thought I’d try one last time.”
“What if she says no?”
“I haven’t decided. Maybe ask her why. Maybe ask her when. Maybe prepare myself for her leaving me one day.”
“Maybe it’s her turn to ask you.”
My face screwed into disgust. “No.” I laughed once. “She knows I wouldn’t be happy about that. Things were good. Now, it doesn’t really make sense that I was so upset. We were working toward it. We’d just moved in together. She was committed to me. She loves me. I made us both miserable over it.”
Chief shook his head. “Shacked up, huh? That explains it. My wife always says to my daughters, ‘Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free?’ I bet she woulda said yes if you woulda made her wait to share your bed.”
I breathed out a laugh. “Maybe. We practically lived together anyway. Either I was in her dorm room, or she was at my place.”
“Or … if she agreed to move in with you, it’s possible she’s just taking things at her own pace. She didn’t say good-bye. She just said no.”
“If she says no again, I’m pretty sure it’s going to mean good-bye.”
“Sometimes, good-bye is a second chance. Clears your head. Anyway … missing someone makes you remember why you loved that person in the first place.”
I choked and then tried to clear the emotion from my voice. I couldn’t imagine walking away from America.
I wasn’t just in love with her. It was like taking my first breath, then the second, and then every breath after that. America had come into my life, and then she was the reason for it.
“She’s special, you know? She’s a daddy’s girl, but she’ll tell you where to stick it if she doesn’t like what you have to say. She’ll slap a giant to protect the honor of her best friend. She hates good-byes. She wears this little gold cross around her neck and cusses like a sailor. She’s my happily ever after.”
“She sounds like a firecracker. Maybe she said no to make sure you’re not going to leave at the slightest sign of rocky shores. I’m surrounded by girls, and I’ll tell ya … sometimes, they take shots at you to see if you’ll run.”