| A SEASON OF MIRACLES |
Blind Faith December, 2005 BET Books ISBN: 1-58314-652-0 |
 Trapped for days in her car when it careens off an isolated stretch of road outside Buffalo, Andrea Dawson has already said her prayers and fallen asleep. Suddenly, she is awakened by a blinding light-not from the great beyond, but rather a flashlight held by her sexy savior, Mark Potter. With both of them looking for something to believe in, has fate brought them together for a reason? |
PROLOGUE
Andrea Dawson knew she was going to die.
As much as she wanted to deny that truth, as much as she wanted to hang onto hope, she knew she had to face reality. If she hadn't been found already, it was unlikely she ever would be.
The accident had happened in the blink of an eye. One minute she had been driving, the next she had been flying off an overpass somewhere on the outskirts of Buffalo. It had all happened so fast, so fast that she hadn't had time to be scared. Her car had crashed through layers of branches of numerous trees before finally coming to a stop.
She wasn't exactly sure where she was, nor how long she had been out here. She only knew that after screaming until her throat was raw, it had become painfully obvious that no one had witnessed her accident. And if no one had witnessed the accident . . .
God help her, she didn't want to believe that she would never be found-not before it was too late.
It was dark-again. How many nights had come and gone? she wondered. She had been in and out of consciousness since the accident, so she couldn't be sure. Two nights? Three?
More?
Uttering a soft moan, Andrea tried to swallow. Her mouth was so dry, she didn't know how much longer she could last without something to drink. Yesterday-at least she thought it was yesterday-she had been able to stretch her fingers out the window and scoop up the light frosting of snow. Now, she just didn't have the energy.
Something was broken. A rib probably, and maybe her left wrist. She hadn't been able to move her left arm since immediately after the accident.
She angled her head toward the back seat, as if by just looking in that direction, she could will her purse into her hands. With the force of the collision, her purse had somehow ended up in the back seat.
"Why is this happening?" she asked aloud, trying not to despair. Her cell phone was in that purse-and out of her reach. She had tried desperately to move her body, see if she could somehow squeeze herself out from behind the steering wheel, but the front of the car had smashed on impact, trapping her in the front seat.
Terrence . . . She closed her eyes and thought of her four-year-old son. Thought of him and tried with all her might to fight her tears.
"Think of his smile," she told herself. "Think of how much he needs you."
Sighing softly, she thought of the picture she loved most of Terrence-the one where he had his arms wrapped tightly around her, and his face pressed against hers as if he wanted to bond their bodies together. Both were wearing grins as wide as the moon. It had been taken just a few months earlier.
Suddenly, Andrea felt a burst of determination and strength, even as a tear slid down her cheek.
I can't die out here, she told herself. I can't. She had to fight to stay alive. She couldn't die here, cold and alone in the middle of nowhere. Not when she had a son to get back to. A son who was young and needed her desperately.
With all her might, Andrea stretched her body, ignoring the pain that ripped across her ribs. She reached her right hand toward the left-side window. Slipping her fingers through the crack, she felt for drops of moisture.
The window was dry.
Andrea softly cried. She wanted to stay strong, but with each passing moment, it was getting harder and harder.
"Dear God," she silently prayed, "please let someone find me. I don't want to die here like this."
Her stomach grumbled, reminding her just how hungry she was. And she was so cold, she could no longer feel her toes. How could she survive being out here much longer?
"Give me strength, God. Please . . ."
Andrea eyes fluttered shut, and she forced them open. The energy she'd spent trying to move had exhausted her. But God help her, she had to stay awake. If she went to sleep, she didn't know if she would ever wake up.
Maybe if she kept her mind active, that would help her stay up.
For the past how many ever days she had been trapped in her car, Andrea had tried to keep her thoughts on Terrence, her reason for getting out of here.
But now, she finally allowed herself to think about what she had tried so hard to block from her mind. The very reason she had ended up careening over an overpass and into this bushy abyss in the first place.
|
| Return to Previous Page |
