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sound of metal grinding against metal thundered in her ears. Every muscle locked into place as the rugged terrain along the side of the road jarred her. Their speed decelerated when they hit a patch of level road, but not enough. Then the asphalt descended again down the side of the mountain.
    A hundred things flew through her mind—regrets, wishes. There was so much she hadn’t done yet. She didn’t have anyone who really cared if she died here at the bottom of one of the steep ravines. The loss of her grandfather deluged her all over again.
    Why, Lord? What are You doing?
    Maggie saw the field Zach had mentioned up ahead. She held her breath as the car barreled off the road and over the rutted ground. Even with her grip on the door handle and her other hand on the console, she was tossed about. Her knee hit the dashboard. Her head snapped back. Pain raced up her leg and down her spine as the car slowed its speed, then came to an abrupt halt in a shallow ditch, throwing Maggie forward. Her seat belt cut across her chest and stole her breath.
    Maggie straightened and pried her hand loose from the handle. Her heartbeat raced, and her breath came out in pants. Safe. Alive.
    A moan pervaded the pounding in her ears, and she angled around to see if Zach was all right. Slowly he lifted his head from the steering wheel as he reached up to touch his forehead.
    The growing darkness prevented her from seeing him well. “Are you okay?”
    He didn’t answer.
    She had been trained not to panic in an emergency, but in the back of her mind she realized how close they had come to dying. She wouldn’t let herself think about that now. There would be time later.
    Ignoring the part of herself that would like to fall apart, she shoved her door open a few inches until the light came on. Then she turned to Zach to see how serious his injuries were. Blood trickled down his cheek as he stared at a point beyond the car.
    “Zach,” she whispered, and gently touched his chin to bring his face around for her inspection.
    He blinked, then finally focused his attention on her as she probed the gash above his right eye. Not too deep. She tried to maintain her professional facade, but their brush with death had left her vulnerable, stripped of her usual control. Her fingers on his forehead quivered.
    “Will I live, Doc?” A huskiness edged his voice.
    “Afraid so.” She dropped her hand away from him. The trembling spread to encompass her whole body. “I don’t even think this will require stitches. You should go to the hospital, though, in case you have a concussion.”
    “No. I’ll be fine.” He reached back and pulled a T-shirt from a gym bag and mopped the blood from his face. “Believe me, I’ve suffered a lot worse than a bump on my forehead.”
    The finality in his voice erased all arguments from Maggie’s lips. “Will you at least let me check you out—” she glanced about “—in better conditions?”
    “Sure, later.” He tossed the bloodied shirt into the backseat. “But first, I’d like to get out of here.”
    “Well, just in case you haven’t noticed, your car isn’t going anywhere.”
    Zach withdrew his cell from his pocket and punched in a series of numbers. “Ray, Zach here. Can you pick me and a friend up? We’ve been in an accident.”
    Maggie half listened as Zach gave his friend directions to where they were. Only for a few seconds had she glimpsed any vulnerability in him. He had just saved their lives with some spectacular driving, and now he was calmly taking charge, getting them a ride, calling a tow truck to pick up his car, as if brake failure were an everyday occurrence for him. Did anything get to this man? She watched him as he made his last call to the police. He was very much in control of his emotions, while she shivered from a cold that had nothing to do with the temperature.
    If he ever loved someone, he would demand all of her because he didn’t invest himself easily. Whoa, where in the