Ryder leaned over and grabbed the remote to turn down the volume. “It must have shifted. If they’re broadcasting alerts like that, it’s going to be a bad one.”
Lucas reached for the blanket, suddenly chilled again despite the body heat in the room. “Will you have to go out in it?”
“Probably,” Ryder said quietly. “There are always idiots who don’t heed the warnings and decide to go shopping for snowshovels and milk. Or course, some employers are assholes about closing down even in states of emergency, too. We’ll have plenty to do, and I’ll probably be on call for the next several days, too.”
Lucas bit his lip, then looked up. “Be careful. Please.”
Ryder leaned down and kissed his temple. “Always.” They held each other for a long, quiet moment before practical matters set in. “We have to get cleaned up.”
“Shower?” Lucas’s eyes gleamed with hope. The thought of getting to soap up that big body had his dick taking interest again.
Laughing, Ry shook his head. “I’ve seen your shower, baby. There’s no way we’d fit.” He took Luc’s hand and led him to the bathroom anyway, where they made do with hot water and washcloths between kisses.
They finished the movie, cleaned up the wrappers from their food, and even shared a cup of cocoa before Ryder headed out. Lucas headed to bed feeling warmer and happier than he had in a very long time. Something in his chest sparked to life and wouldn’t let him sleep until much longer. That night wouldn’t be the best one he ever had, because he knew they’d just keep getting better with Ryder in his life.
Chapter 12
Ryder
Snow blanketed the windshield in thick sheets, the wipers barely keeping up as Ryder squinted through the blurred chaos ahead. The ambulance rocked slightly with the wind, and his gloved fingers tightened on the dashboard rail as Eva drove carefully down the icy stretch of highway.
The call had come in twenty minutes ago, a multi-vehicle collision on the highway. There were at least a dozen cars involved, and he knew from experience of past snow and ice storms, there’d be more before the crew arrived. Visibility was near zero, and they had to slow down to a crawl to avoid becoming part of the problem.
He and Eva were the second unit on scene after a single patrol car. It parked at an angle on the shoulder of the highway right before the trouble started. Ryder’s stomach churned with adrenaline as the flashing lights came into view, blue and red strobes barely visible through the swirling storm. The mess didn’t rattle him. It focused him. Ryder’s mind clicked into the rhythm honed by years as an EMT. See, assess, move.
Eva eased their rig up the shoulder past the other vehicles coming onto the scene. Most stopped, but even as they parked, a delivery truck lost traction and slid sideways into the back of a sedan. The crunch of metal sounded loud even over the chatter on the radio.
The blizzard was still coming down, thick as cotton, wind howling across the open highway and stealing the warmth from his skin before Ryder even stepped out of the truck. He adjusted his hat, pulled up the collar of his coat, and jogged toward the wreckage with his trauma bag slung across his shoulder. He passed the cop busy with his own radio as he jogged back down the shoulder, hopefully to stop traffic so things didn’t get worse.
The snow crunched and slid beneath Ryder’s boots. People shouted through the noise, distorted and half-swallowed by the wind. He could hear the distant wail of sirens still approaching, the sharp bark of radios calling for backup, fire, and even plows.
It was worse than he expected. A jackknifed semi sprawled across three lanes, its trailer crushed against the guardrail. Compacts, SUVs, a pickup truck, even a small bus jumbled together in a mess of broken glass and twisted metal. Smoke drifted from several of them, and cries and shouts rose in the distance, loud and raw.
Ryder’s radio buzzed to life, and some of the tension inside him unwound when he heard the fire crew and another ambulance team had arrived. The moment the call cut off,another loud crunch and shatter sounded as more cars plowed into the pileup.
He didn’t let himself freeze. He moved on instinct. An older man sat in the open door of his car, conscious and bleeding from the scalp. Ryder checked his vitals, applied gauze, and then escorted him to the side of the road with instructions to walk back toward the waiting emergency vehicles. His next patient was a woman with a broken arm. She nodded grimly but insisted she could follow the man toward help.
“Two walking up the shoulder.” Ryder conveyed his quick diagnosis of both before directing other people to follow them. Usually, it was safer to stay in the vehicles in a crash, but if more slammed into the wrecks from behind, it could get a lot worse really fast.
“Over there,” one limping young man said as he pointed toward a dented SUV. “There’s a lady with a baby.” A trickle of blood ran down his cheek. “Do you need help? I could…”
Ryder shook his head and tried a reassuring smile. “I’ll get them. You head right to the ambulance and get checked out.” When the man trudged off through the snow, Ryder hurried around a crumpled hatchback, slid over a sedan’s hood, and rounded the SUV carefully.
The woman in the driver’s seat had blood on her forehead, but the terror in her eyes struck Ryder’s mind more. The tiny figure in a red jacket kicking its legs and screaming made him even more desperate to help. As he worked to open the dented door, her eyes rolled back, and she slumped against the seat again.
Ryder ducked and crawled into the vehicle through the passenger side door. The snow had already drifted through the shattered windows, coating the floor and seats with fine powder.
“Hi. Ma’am. Can you hear me? You’re going to be okay.” He sat as best as he could on the seat to get a better look at thewailing baby in the back. “I’m an EMT, and I’m going to help you two get out of here.”
She flinched and focused on him more clearly. “Rachel.” She fumbled with the seatbelt before scrambling around to reach for her child. “Rachel, baby. It’s okay. Momma’s here. Oh my god. Oh my god. Is she?”
From Ryder’s perspective, the baby looked alright, but he’d need a closer look to be sure. She was strapped properly in the car seat, and there were no visible injuries. Still, the poor little thing wailed in a way that sent shards of emotion through his own heart. “It’s going to be okay, Ma’am. I’m going to make sure she’s taken care of safely.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Ryder said, forcing calm into his voice. “You’re safe. I see you.”
The baby’s cry spiked, then settled into hiccupping sobs as she turned her gaze to her mother. Tiny arms reached out, begging to be held.
He couldn’t reach the car seat fully, but he kept talking as he checked the mom’s head wound and eyes. Soft, steady words. Something soothing. Nonsense, really. “You’re a tough one, huh? Just like your mom. I know it’s scary and cold, but we’re going to get out of here soon.” He reached back again, fingers brushing the side of the seat. The baby saw him and grabbed for his glove with tiny fingers, more startled than afraid now. The contact seemed to help.
