Finding Destiny by Christa Simpson

red heap of metal. It was without a
doubt Natalie’s truck, with its rear end wrapped right around the
passenger door. She didn’t mean for her voice to croak so loud, but
she couldn’t control the emotions now welling in her throat.
    Skylar
immediately spun around to face her, and glared at her for a
timeless moment. He continued to stare her down as he stomped in
her direction. “I told you to stay at the machine,” he barked.
    She shrunk
considerably beneath his stare, and began to wonder if she even
knew the real him. Then she lifted her chin, not much caring about
that at the moment. “I want to know the truth. Tell me what you
know.”
    She kept her
tears at bay, knowing that there’d be no way he’d share the news
with her if she had shed so much as one tear.
    When he
swallowed, she threw herself into his arms, knowing that it wasn’t
good. “Matty,” he whispered, his voice clipped with emotion. “He
was hit by a passing car, when he was working on your friend’s
truck. I guess he was pinned between the vehicles for hours before
the crews could get to him.”
    “I’m so
sorry,” Destiny whispered, unable to keep the tears away.
    “There was a
lot of blood, and the cop said he’d be surprised if Matty had any
left. They can’t believe he’s still alive.”
    “He told you
that?”
    “I didn’t tell
him I’m related; only that I’m EMS.”
    Destiny’s eyes
scattered all over his face, trying to decipher the look in his
eyes, but she couldn’t read him.
    “Matty was
still conscious when they got here, Destiny. Do you realize how
much pain he must have been in? They had to induce him into a coma.
He was in that much pain.”
    “It can’t be
true. Matty was conscious. That has to be a good sign.”
    “His diaphragm
is crushed. People rarely survive injuries like that.”
    Destiny threw
her arms back over Skylar’s shoulders, with tears still streaming
down her cheeks. “You have to stay optimistic.”
    He pried her
off of him. “They’ve air-lifted him to a hospital a few hours from
here. The medical team doesn’t seem very optimistic.”
    “Oh my God. My
friends?”
    “They’re okay.
A little banged up. But they’ll live. They were taken to the
nearest hospital by ambulance.” He started to pull her closer to
him, but she pushed him away. That was clearly the way he had
wanted it. She wouldn’t confuse him anymore.
    “You should
go.”
    Skylar
shrugged his heavy shoulders. “I don’t know. What can I do for him
now?”
    Destiny looked
him in the eyes, and said the words that she hated to hear on her
lips. “If he died today, and you didn’t go up to see him, would you
regret it?”
    Skylar let a
tear slip, but quickly masked it with an unwarranted frown. “I
guess I should go. Maybe I can catch a ride to town with the crew.
I have to call my parents.”
    He looked so
worried and overwhelmed with responsibility for his brother, and
yet he still cared for her safety. “Will you be okay?”
    And even
though she wasn’t sure, she pasted on a fake smile and nodded her
head. “Go. Matty needs you.”
    Skylar dipped
down and stole the breath from her lips, with a kiss that seared
her frozen nerves.
    When he pulled
back, she smiled softly, even though she knew that they would
probably never see each other again.
    With a single
nod in response, Skylar ran back to the EMS, barking orders at them
to haul ass. Then he leapt into the passenger seat and they took
off with the lights flashing. Another emergency professional
sauntered over to Skylar’s snowmobile and loaded it into the back
of the rescue truck, while a police officer approached Destiny on
foot.
    “I’m told
you’re a friend of the two casualties that were taken in.”
    Destiny’s
stomach dropped together with her mouth. “They’re dead?”
    “No, no, no!”
the officer insisted. “I apologize. You misunderstand. They’re
injured. I can take you to see them.”
    Destiny nodded
and tried to pull out a smile, but