Hard Rain Read Free Page B

the narrow opening in the back, twisting her body to shield the child. She unclasped the safety belt, the child kicking against the restraints and Amy. She pulled the girl toward her, clasping her against her chest as she slid out of the tight space. The inside of the car was radiating heat. Strange pop-ping noises came from beneath the hood. She twisted, pressing the splinter of glass deeper into her knee. She passed the child to Jesse. He hugged the child to his chest and held her with one arm. His other arm reached for Amy.
    “Take my hand.”
    “Go,” she screamed.
    He reached in, gripped her arm and yanked her toward him. Her foot had slipped and was caught between the console and the passenger seat. She heard a loud whoosh. Flames leaped from the engine skyward, receded.
    “Go,” she screamed.
    Jesse turned away. Someone else must have arrived at the scene, because when he turned back, the child was gone from his arms. “I’m not leaving you.” Both his hands reached in, grabbed her upper arms. The heat was like a living thing now. Amy felt her head going light. Fresh flames surged, higher, closer. Jesse crawled into the car, the sweat streaking his face.
    “Get out!” she screamed.
    He moved toward her, his hands reaching until they slid around her. She heard him expel a breath, then inhale sharply as he jerked her toward him. Her body lurched forward an inch, then resisted. He twisted her torso toward him and yanked again. She gasped for oxygen, black spots dancing in front of her eyes. She blinked, struggling against the blackness. Jesse’s face came into focus. His hat was gone, she realized. She would buy him a new one. A white one.
    Then the world exploded.

CHAPTER TWO
    S HE LANDED on top of Jesse, their bodies hitting the earth with a thud, a scream dying on her lips. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. For several moments, they did not move, but lay there like two lovers. Amy lifted her head, looked down at the man beneath her. The tip of her tongue moistened her dry lips. The muscles in the man’s throat rippled as he swallowed. Men’s terse voices sounded at the edges of her consciousness. They were not alone.
    “Thank you,” she whispered. Whoever you are, she thought. She rolled off him and sat up, dusting herself off. Trickles of blood from the cut on her knee had already dried on her leg.
    Jesse sat up beside her, looked at her leg with concern. “You cut yourself.” His hand curved around her calf as he leaned over to inspect the injury.
    “Just a small cut.” Her voice trembled at his touch. He raised his gaze to her and their eyes met. She swallowed.
    “You two all right?”
    Jesse drew back from Amy. Mitch Kannon looked down at them. Firemen had extinguished the flames of the burning car before the wind spread the fire. Theirhoses, fed by the pumper truck and fat with pressure, were still aimed at the car, giving it a final wash.
    Jesse looked up at the chief. “I could use a beer.”
    He stood, reached for Amy and pulled her up beside him. “I’m fine, Chief,” she assured Mitch.
    “She cut her knee,” Jesse pointed out.
    “Nothing tweezers, a little disinfectant and a Band-Aid won’t take care of,” Amy insisted. “In fact, I’m going to get my bag now and do exactly that.”
    She walked over and picked up her medical kit, but instead of treating herself, continued to the young mother flat on a stretcher as emergency workers stabilized her leg.
    “She’s a spitfire, that one,” Mitch noted, casting a sidelong glance at Jesse.
    She always was, Jesse thought. “The mother say anything about how they landed upside-down in a ditch?”
    “The child was drinking from her sippy cup—”
    “Her what?”
    “Sippy cup. One of those small plastic cups with a cover and spout so kids don’t spill their juice. You know?”
    Jesse looked blankly at the fire chief.
    “That’s right,” Mitch said. “You don’t have kids. Well, when you do,