Sierra Hearts (Part One) (5 page)

“I know what it means,
Miss MacKenzie
,” he
said, putting an extra emphasis on the
miss
. “I just wanted
to see if you were brave enough to explain it. Well then, I guess I
should be more careful with my French!” Danny laughed. “I don’t
want to be giving you the wrong impression.” On hearing that, a
little bit of Jenn panicked, because she was finally willing to
admit to herself that she very much wanted him to impress her,
using French and, perhaps, other things.

Chapter 3

By now, the falling snow had made it next to
impossible to see anything more than a few feet ahead of you. She
was glad she wasn’t walking home in this, and she felt an
involuntary chill dance along her body at the thought of the cold
outside. Danny had the car going slowly. Jenn saw on his face a mix
of concentration, determination, and confidence. Normally she would
be nervous as all hell driving in these conditions, but yet somehow
she didn’t feel nervous. She believed he knew what he was
doing.

She was replaying his comment about knowing what
la petite mort
meant all along and that he didn’t want to
give her the wrong impression. Her mind raced. What was
that
supposed to mean? Was he actually flirting the whole time, or had
she misread the situation? Was she looking at it the wrong way?
Maybe he was just being friendly and wasn’t interest in her at all.
And why did he want to see if she would actually say the word
sex
? They hadn’t really said anything else since then, but,
then again, maybe he was just concentrating on driving instead of
talking. She struggled to find something, anything, to say to break
the silence.

Danny did it for her. “Why so quiet?” he asked. Jenn
saw the hint of a grin on his exquisite face.

Jenn tried to come up with an answer that didn’t
make her sound like an idiot.

“Oh… just enjoying the snow,” she said.

“Well, there certainly is a lot of it for you to
enjoy,” Danny said. Jenn could feel herself unconsciously start to
blush.

Enjoying the snow? Really? THAT is the best you
can do?
Jenn thought to herself.

Out in front of the car, Jenn saw two dim spots of
light emerge from the white landscape approaching them. Probably
another car coming from the opposite way. The lights quickly got
brighter and brighter. Whoever was driving that car was coming
their way and fast. Jenn turned to Danny. He clearly saw the
lights.

“Whoa,” he said. “Easy there, buddy.” Jenn saw him
flick the Subaru’s high beams on and off. “That guy is in our
lane,” Danny said. His tone was matter of fact and unafraid.

“Uh,” Jenn started to say.

The car coming at them was visible now. Jenn didn’t
know much about cars, but she could tell this was some kind of
luxury sedan, black or some other dark color. Most likely driven by
an out-of-towner up in the mountains to go skiing. The car was
speeding towards them.

“Shit,” he said. He honked the horn in three crisp
beeps.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Jenn felt her heart jump into her throat. In that
instant, the dark luxury sedan came barreling into them, clipping
the back end of the Subaru and sending it into a spin. Jenn
screamed. The Subaru glided off the road, still spinning. Jenn felt
the world go upside down. The whole passenger side of the car fell
out from under her. The car flipped onto its roof and into the
ditch on the side of the road. The body of the car moaned and
groaned as the roof bent under the weight of the car.

The next thing she knew, Danny was yelling, “Out of
the car!” He undid his seat belt. He slipped his arm under Jenn’s
and around her torso. Jenn felt his grip tighten around her and
pull her towards his side of the car. He managed to pry open the
driver’s side door and haul himself out, pulling Jenn behind him.
Jenn felt specks of ice on her face as she emerged from the car and
into the snow surrounding it. He pulled them both up and out of the
ditch away from the car. The world around him was chaos, but Danny
Williams was the epitome of grace under pressure.

Part of her subconscious had taken inventory of her
body and told Jenn that she was safe. Nothing was too badly
injured. The danger had passed. Danny was suddenly over her. His
hands darted across her, starting on her face and jumping across
head, neck, arms, abdomen. Touching, probing, gripping.

“Talk to me Jenn. Are you alright?” he said firmly.
His tone was urgent.

“What’s your birthday?” he asked.

Jenn didn’t even bother wondering why he was asking.
“August… August twenty-ninth,” she said.

“And where are you now?” he asked, the same urgency
in his voice.

“Uh, Bear Lake?”

“What’s your favorite color?” His questions were
getting ridiculous now.

“Huh? What?” Jenn said.

“Your favorite color. What is it? Tell me,” he said.
His eyes were looking into hers, but somehow passed them like he
was trying to see what was behind them.

“Blue.” Jenn stammered. “Blue. That’s my favorite
color.”

“What is my name?” he asked. His tone still had the
same urgency.

“Danny… Danny Williams,” Jenn mumbled.

What was with all of the questions?

“OK. Good… Good,” he said. “I don’t see any signs of
trauma on you. I think you will be alright.”

“Huh?” Jenn said, confused.

“I was a medic in the army. I just gave you a good
pat down. I didn’t feel any broken bones. I was asking you all
those questions to see if you were all there.”

“And the part about my favorite color?”

“Just curious.”

Jenn looked around. Despite everything that had
happened, they were still relatively close to the toppled
Subaru.

“Shouldn’t we move farther away? Isn’t the car going
to explode or something?” Jenn asked nervously.

Danny relaxed. That beautiful smile of his
reappeared on his face.

“You’ve seen too many movies. Cars don’t just
explode like that,” he said. Jenn chastised herself for asking such
a dumb question. Of course cars don’t just explode like that.

“Are you OK?” Jenn asked.

“Probably have a concussion. Don’t let me fall
asleep,” he said. He slouched down next to her. They were both on
the side of the road now. There was no sign of the luxury
sedan.

“Asleep? Are you joking?! After what just happened?”
Jenn was incredulous.

He looked at her like she was speaking a different
language.

“No,” he said. “I’m not joking. Keep talking to me.
Keep me focused. We are stuck here until someone comes driving
along. And if I fall asleep,” he paused. “Don’t let me fall
asleep.”

Jenn’s mind raced. How was she going to keep him
focused? She racked her brain to come up with something.

“
How did you end up being a
medic?” she asked.

“The same way anyone ends up being anything in the
army. I took a test and the test said I was a good candidate for
medic training,” Danny said. “Believe it or not, you aren’t the
first person I’ve had to pull out of a crashed car.”

“Did you have to do that in the army?” Jenn
asked.

“Yes,” he said, flatly. He didn’t elaborate but Jenn
could tell there was a hell of a lot more to it than a simple
yes
.

“Did you ever save someone’s life?” she asked.

“Yes. Yes, I did.” Danny said it the same way that
made Jenn know there was obviously a lot more there, but he wasn’t
going to talk about it. “I’m feeling a little drowsy.”

Jenn struggled to come up with another question,
pronto. She blurted out as many as she could think of, in any order
she could think of them. She found out that he liked hamburgers
more than hot dogs. He liked chocolate more than vanilla. He loved
movies, but in a shock to her he liked more than just the average
superhero or action thriller. He said he liked comedies and
mysteries, too. He said he liked most types of movies, really. He
even listed some that Jenn would categorize as undeniably rom-com,
but she said nothing. When he had gotten out of the army, had moved
back in with his mom. She liked having him home because he could do
things around the house. He could chop firewood for the stove, or
he could shovel the driveway for her. He had been hanging around
the general store more and more. He liked talking sports with her
dad.

“Did you like your time in the army?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Danny asked.

“Well, uh, the last time I saw you, you looked so…”
Jenn searched for the right word, “…
different
. I mean look
at you now!” Jenn gestured with her arm towards him.

“I was tired of being the scrawny kid,” Danny said.
“But you are one to talk. I remember shy Miss MacKenzie with her
braces. Now you live in LA.”

Before she could stop herself, Jenn mumbled, “I used
to live in LA. I don’t live there anymore.” She instantly regretted
it.

“What? What do you mean
used to
?” he
asked.

“I was living with a guy. He… we ended it. So I came
back home for a little while,” she said. She braced herself for
whatever Danny was going to do next.

“That sucks,” he said. Jenn couldn’t believe it.

That sucks?

Danny said it the same way that someone would after
watching someone spill ketchup on their shirt. Was he mocking
her?

“Guy sounds like an asshole,” he added.

Despite herself, Jenn laughed. “Yes. He is an
asshole.” Jenn laughed again, taking note of how good it feel to
laugh mere moments away from thinking she was going to die.

After a while, Danny asked Jenn a question.

“Do you want to move back to LA?” he asked.

Jenn wasn’t sure how to respond to that one. She
missed LA. But right now LA meant no job and nowhere to live.

“I’m not sure,” she finally said.

They were still sitting in the snow by the wreck of
the Subaru. It didn’t make sense to risk walking along the side of
the road when it was so hard to see. They had already been in one
car accident today, and neither of them wanted to take the chance
on another car hitting them. They hadn’t seen another car go by,
which wasn’t unusual for the small town. But it was starting to get
dark, and with the sun going down, it was going to get colder.

Jenn could see her breath. She hoped someone would
come along soon. She could feel the frosty air on the tip of her
nose. Danny stood up and looked down the road into the distance.
She instinctively stood up behind him. She could barely make out
headlights coming down the road.

“There,” he said. “A car’s coming this way.” He
started to wave his arms to signal the car.

Jenn, unsure of what to do, did the same. After a
few seconds Jenn recognized the vehicle. It was her dad. She felt a
mixture of intense relief and of embarrassment. Mick MacKenzie
probably got nervous that his daughter had taken so long to get
home, so he got in the car and headed towards Danny’s house. He
would probably want to make sure that everything was alright, and
then probably make a groan inducing joke at Jenn’s expense.

Mick pulled up to them and rolled down the window.
He looked first at Danny, then Jenn, before finally settling on
Danny.

“What happened?” he said, gravely.

“Some tourist shithead ran us off the road,” he
said. “Flipped the Subaru. Jenn is alright.”

Mick nodded. “You OK?” he said to Jenn.

Jenn nodded, unable to speak.

“Are you OK, Danny?” Mick asked.

“Got knocked out. Should probably get it checked
out,” he said, matter-of-factly.

“What kind of car was it that ran you off the road?”
Mick asked.

Jenn perked up. “Dark colored luxury sedan,” she
said. “It was speeding,” she added.

“Black Lexus,” Danny said. “Last three numbers of
the plate were 719.”

Of course Danny knew what kind of car it was and got
some of the license plate.

Somewhere deep inside of Mick Mackenzie a mission
started. His eyes narrowed. He grunted. He was going to make it a
point of letting everyone know to be on the lookout for the car
that almost killed his daughter.

“OK, climb in,” he said. Jenn recognized the look.
Mick was overall a soft and gentle family man, a good neighbor, and
a friendly bartender. But when it came to his family he was a
deeply protective force to be reckoned with. And this was a small
town. The driver of the black Lexus would be found.

Luckily, it was a short drive, only a few miles
away, to the medical clinic. Danny insisted they did not need to
stay once he was checked in. Her father and Danny shared a brief
look. Her father nodded. Danny nodded. Some kind of unspoken
communication had passed between them, and she was unable to
decipher it.

Out in the parking lot, her dad asked, “Are you sure
you’re OK sweetheart?”

She said, exasperated, “Yes, Dad.”

I’m tired of being treated like a little
girl
, she thought.

“
Come on,” he said. “Let’s go
home.”

The ride home was similarly quiet. As they were
pulling in to the driveway, she asked, “Dad, how come you had me
deliver groceries to the Williams house?”

“Huh? What do you mean sweetie?” he said.

“I don’t think anyone there is sick. Plus, Danny had
a car so he could have just as easily driven to the store to pick
up what he needed,” Jenn said. “Usually you don’t deliver groceries
to anyone who can’t otherwise make it to the store.”

The statement hung there for a moment. Neither of
them spoke. Finally her dad was the one who spoke.

“I thought it would be good for you to see Danny,”
he said.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was her
dad seriously playing matchmaker? She wanted to pull her hair
out.

“Dad!” Jenn bellowed. “Why would you do that?”