Free A Matter of Trust: Follow Your Heart by Marcia Dickson

Chapter 1
     
    Allison was in a hurry. She’d left Lonoke later than
she should have, and would miss the beginning of the fashion show if she didn’t
make up for lost time.  She was normally a cautious driver and kept to the
speed limits, but really didn’t want to be late. Even the countryside decked
out in its spring finery didn’t distract her.   It was a business matter; she
needed to stock up on casual wear for next Fall, and wanted to be right on the
walkway to get a close look at the models as they went by. So she swallowed her
scruples and floored the gas pedal. 
    She was tensed up at the speed she was going, so when
she heard the sound like a shot, she panicked and hit the brake hard – just the
wrong thing to do, since the “shot” was the sound of her left front tire
blowing. Almost immediately, the car was out of control, careening across the
highway, off the shoulder, through a couple of rhododendron bushes and into a
tree. The bushes slowed the car down enough to prevent total disaster, but
nevertheless, if I hadn’t been for the airbag, she probably would have been
killed.  As it was she wasn’t badly hurt, just stunned and trapped. 
    As she came to, the first thing she was aware of a
terrible agonizing noise in her head – not in her head, she realized after a
moment- just the car’s horn blaring,  no less agonizing, but at least her head
was OK.  She struggled to get out of the car, but when she realized it was
hopeless she had a moment of panic.  What if the car caught fire?  Or even
exploded.  She was fighting off hysteria when she heard a car door slam and a
man’s voice shouting, “Are you OK?”
    Just like a man ,
she thought, do I look like I’m OK ?  “Sure, I’m just peachy
keen.”
    “Sorry! That was a stupid question. Of course you’re
not OK.  But at least you’re conscious. Let me help you out.”
    Allison started to refuse. The last thing she wanted
was help from a strange man on a deserted road. She didn’t even want him to
touch her, let alone help her. But after a moment, she knew she had no choice. 
“Thanks! If you can just stop that noise before it drives me crazy and then
just help me get out of the car, I’ll be OK.”
    Without bothering to reply, he went around to the
hood, which fortunately the impact had sprung, and disconnected the battery.
The sudden silence was blessed beyond belief, but when he reached in to put his
arm around her to help her out, she froze and gritted her teeth.
    “Sorry! Am I hurting you?”
    “Just a bit, but it can’t be helped.”  She struggled
for control as he lifted her in his arms and eased her out of the car.”
    “Can you stand?”
    “Yes. Thanks very much. I’ll be OK, now, if you’ll
just put me down.” But in fact, when he did put her down, she had to
hold on to the car with both hands to stay upright.
    “Look, you need to get to a doctor.  Let me drive you
to the hospital.”
    What Allison really wanted was for him to go away and
leave her to figure out what to do.  She preferred to solve her own problems –
much better than being dependent, especially on a strange male. But when she
tried to collect her thoughts, she found she couldn’t.  “Could you just call
the police?”
    “I could, but this is Arkansas; they’ll take hours to
get here and you could bleed to death internally.  I can’t leave you alone
here, that’s for sure, and frankly, I’d rather get you into the hands of
professionals than be faced with dealing with you on my own.”
    Allison was clear headed enough to see the sense in
what he was saying, and also that there was no help for it. Besides, the sooner
she could get him off her hands, the better.  “OK, you’re right. Give me a lift
to the hospital and then you can be on your way.”   That she needed his support
to get to his car was galling and frightening, and even worse, hewas
the one who remembered to retrieve her purse and keys from the car.  But
finally she