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Soon, the morning light broke through, replacing the dark skies with a gray veil. Jasmin rooted around for their stash of goodies and after eating another quick snack, she heated the car, and they settled down for another nap.
No sooner had they dropped off, they were brutally forced awake from the thud of something heavy smashing into theirrear side. Jerking out of her dream, fear overriding the earlier peaceful feeling of safety, Jasmin used her body to cover the dog protectively.
But the animal reacted to the shock too. Growling, she tried to force her feet to work only to fall over with a scream of pain. Loud warning barks continued all the same, her protective instinct clear to Jasmin.
Shaking herself from the horrifying moment, she shushed the upset dog. “It’s okay baby. We’re fine.”
Then her brain began to kick in, and Jasmin knew another vehicle had obviously smashed into her car. Because she had come to a stop sideways across the road, she knew that the other driver would have had no chance of seeing her emergency lights. And with the snow buildup making her look like a mountain of white, it was possible they’d had no chance to stop in time.
Scrambling into her boots, she quickly zipped up her jacket and made her way to her driver’s door. Opening it, she could see a man struggling through the snow, coming towards her, blood pouring from a wound on his forehead.
Jasmin called out; desperation revealed in her panic. “Oh, my God, are you okay? Is there anyone else hurt?”
The dazed man looked at her, grinned in relief to see her appearing unharmed, and then slithered to the snowy ground as if too weak to stand. Rushing as much as possible, Jasmin reached his side. “You’re bleeding.” She took the scarf off of her neck and used it to wipe away the blood only to see the injury was shallow and wouldn’t create a problem. But he still must have banged his head hard enough for it to bleed.
“It’s old. The injury. From earlier… when I fell. Airbag must have reopened it.” He panted out each phrase which worried her more than the wound. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Sorry, give me a minute.” He winced but still forced himself to his knees, the snow making it extremely difficult. “One minuteI’m driving on a road I’ve traveled on since I was a kid, and the next thing I know, I hit a wall of white that’s never been there before.”
“I’m so sorry. My car spun out of control and came to a stop sideways. It churned up so much snow, I couldn’t move it at all. I suppose my emergency lights weren’t obvious.”
“Nope. They’re under a foot of snow. With the wall of white still falling, your blockage is invisible. I didn’t know you were there until I’d basically hit you. Is there anyone else in the car who might be injured? I can hear your dog barking.”
“Oh, she’s not mine. That beast is actually the reason I spun out in the first place. The beauty jumped in front of my hood, and I couldn’t stop. Sadly, I ran into her. Seems she was being chased by a wolf and probably didn’t see me coming. Anyway, I don’t think her wounds are life threatening… just her left side, mostly her hind quarters look to be affected. I can’t tell if anything is broken.”
Grinning hopefully, yet appearing self-conscious, the man asked, “She wouldn’t happen to be a Samoyed, would she?”
“Yes. If that’s the breed that’s all-white fur and has a big smile?”
Now he laughed; his face wreathed in happiness. “I believe you found my dog. She’s actually the reason I’m on this road. I left her behind at the gas station about twenty miles that way.” He pointed toward the highway. “Being in a hurry, I took off without knowing she’d gotten out of the car. By the time I discovered her missing, I was miles further on the I-5, halfway to Seattle.”
“And you turned around?” The words popped out before Jasmin knew she would say anything.
“Had to. Pretty Girl’s my pet. Couldn’t leave her to wander around in this storm, scared and alone, now could I?”
“I wouldn’t, but many would. Look, can you make it to my car? Yours looks like it’s half in the ditch and leaning over. At least mine is level. And you can meet up with your pet.”
Helping him to his feet, she pushed the latch on the back door and as it lifted, the ecstatic animal almost heaved herself into the man’s open arms. Though she struggled from her injuries, it was clear to Jasmin that finding her owner had made the dog’s world perfect. Breaking out in happy cries of welcome, she stuck her nose to the man’s face and began licking.
“Pretty Girl. You’re hurt, baby. Settle down now. I’m here.” In between hugs, loving squeezes, face washes, wild tail circling, and whining joy, they greeted each other. Jasmin stood by watching, her face wreathed in smiles while the two in front of her shared their hellos.
Before she’d began her journey in the SUV from Seattle, she’d lowered both back seats to make storing her suitcases easier and was thankful for having the space when they’d settled in for the night. Now, she helped the big man into the driver’s side and by rearranging some of the back clutter, she was able to pull up the small back seat behind him for herself, while still leaving plenty of room for the dog and the packages.
Once settled, she laughingly joked. “You call your dog Pretty Girl but what’s her real name?”
Clearing her purse and some other bags from the passenger seat to the floor, he nimbly slid his body over, so they’d be facing each other. With daylight completely lighting up the interior, she saw the twinkle in his warm brown eyes clearly. The brown hair that curled tightly to his head had her wishing for a natural curl in her own long mass. His lightly tanned skin won her envy as did the perfectly shaped lips. This stranger’s good looks made her uncomfortable of her own disarray. After all, nobody could look like a model after sleeping in a car all night.
A cheeky grin split his lightly beard-stubbled face and brought her attention back to the conversation. “That is her name.”
“Her name? Excuse me?”
“You asked about my dog’s name. When my secretary, who volunteer’s for the SPCA, first rescued her from a puppy mill, she’d brought her to the office, promising to find a new owner as quickly as possible. I guess we bonded immediately. Because Vera expected to find her a new home, we just called her Pretty Girl, thinking her future owners might want to name her. Except, it never happened. Vera got called back to Canada to look after her mother and had to leave. And I, of course, just kept Pretty Girl with me and never did bother to change her name.”
Jasmin loved his laugh as he told the story, and it tickled her to hear Pretty Girl’s barking agreement with his admission that he’d basically succumbed to the dog’s love. In her heart she had no doubt they were meant to be together. Seriously, what person would drive all those miles in a furious storm to find his dog?
“Guess we should introduce ourselves since it looks like we might be stuck here for some time. “I’m Dextor Hall, Dex to my friends… and storm saviors… owner of that huge mutt in the back, and resident of Carlton Grove.”
Grinning at his manner of introduction, she answered in the same way. “I’m Jasmin Burns, Jassy only to my mother, and a girl who hopes to be a resident of Carlton Grove as soon as I can find work.” Noticing his sudden shivers and realizing she felt the cold herself, Jasmin suggested, “Dex, if you turn on the car’s heater, we can warm it up in here.”
