“Look at me,” the woman ordered.
Chris didn’t want to open his eyes because then he’d see the spider-webbed windshield in front of him—which threw him right back to the prison on that fateful day—and the way he was trapped inside the stupid piece-of-shit car he’d been forced to drive.
Her voice gentled as she said, “My name is Sienna. I’m a paramedic. I’m not some crazy woman who decided on a whim to climb into a wrecked car.”
Chris heard the humor in her voice and wanted to respond to it, but he was having a hard time getting the violent images of the prison riot out of his head. “I’m Chris,” he finally said between pants. “Chris King.”
“Do you live around here?”
He knew she was trying to distract him, but it wasn’t working. “No. I’m from Tennessee.”
“Really? Me too. I live in Nashville. What about you?”
That made him open his eyes in surprise. He couldn’t turn his head because she was holding him still, but he moved his eyes in her direction. “Me too.” She grinned, and the thoughts of the riot he’d lived through suddenly faded from the forefront of his mind. “You’re really from Nashville? You aren’t just saying that to try to keep me calm?” he asked.
Sienna smiled. “Nope. I really live there. Have for twenty-five years or so.”
“Since you were little?” he asked.
She chuckled, and the low sound echoed around the small space they were occupying. It felt as if she’d wrapped a warm blanket around his shoulders. It was that comforting. He kept his eyes on her face, thankful that she was able to keep his mind occupied.
“Bless you. No. I moved there after I graduated from the University of Tennessee.”
“There’s no way,” Chris said.
“No way, what?” Sienna asked.
“That you’re in your forties. Thirty-five, tops.”
She laughed again, and once more, where he was and what was happening faded, and all he could see were her beautiful brown eyes. “Thanks. It’s my size. Being five-two makes me look younger.”
Chris tried to shake his head, but she had too firm a grip on him for him to move even an inch. “No. It’s you. You’re beautiful.”
She blushed, and he had the thought that it was a shame. A woman who looked like Sienna should be used to compliments. Should take them in stride. She had pretty light brown hair with blonde highlights. It was tumbled around her shoulders at the moment and she had a black streak smudged on one cheek. He frowned, wondering if she’d hurt herself climbing into this deathtrap with him.
Just as the thought hit him, he remembered where he was and that he was stuck. He tried to shift in the seat, but his legs were pinned under the steering wheel and dashboard. He felt the pressure of the wheel against his thighs.
Closing his eyes again, Chris felt the terror clawing its way up his throat once again.
“So if you’re from Tennessee, what are you doing in Texas? Are you lost?”
Chris desperately wanted her to be able to distract him with her questions. He was still holding on to her wrist and he could feel the steady pulse under his hand. He forced his eyes open once more and found that she’d shifted until she was practically sitting in his lap. The steering wheel was preventing her from actually doing so, but she’d done her best to put her face directly in his line of vision. He vaguely heard people talking from outside the car, but he concentrated on Sienna. She was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind.
“My son is coming home from deployment today.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Mine is too. Well, it’s my daughter, not my son.”
Chris stared at her in disbelief. The thought crossed his mind that everything she was saying was a lie, just to keep him calm, but he doubted she’d lie about something like having a kid. “What are the odds?” he asked.
“Astrominical,” she replied dryly. “We’ve lived in the same city for years. We have kids who are probably around the same age. They’re both in the Army. They’re probably in the same unit and have been stationed together overseas. Then we were traveling at the same place, at the same time. I’m a paramedic and small and…here we are. It’s a Christmas miracle.”
When she put it like that, it seemed even more improbable, but he liked the thought of her being his Christmas miracle. She was a gift just for him.
It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed a gift as much as he enjoyed the thought of her being his.
“Guess that means when I get out of here, you have no choice but to let me take you out for lunch or coffee or something,” Chris said. His words were teasing and flippant, but he meant them. For some reason, he felt as if they were meant to find each other.