Brock Conner looked around to see where he could take her. He smelled gas, and she had to be moved, but if his training as a Navy SEAL had taught him anything, it was that you don’t move accident victims unless it was absolutely necessary. The young woman was talking, which was good, but he wondered if moving her would cause more harm than good.

In an effort to keep her calm, he kept talking to her, trying to keep her conscious. Then he heard something leaking. Brock sighed. My god, no, he thought to himself as the pungent scent of gasoline grew stronger. Trying to keep her calm, he casually looked under the car and the leak was coming from the gas tank. A hole must have been punched in it when she hit the tree.

All of a sudden, she fell unconscious.

But Brock talked to her anyway. “Okay, ma’am. If you can hear me, I’m going to move you to some place safe.”

The woman was as light as a feather when he lifted her carefully from the car and hurried to take her to his truck. The snow was coming down, and he had to get her to safety. He quickly slid her into the passenger seat, wishing he could save her luggage. Then he thought about her purse. Maybe he had enough time to save her purse, so she wouldn’t be completely broke.

Brock thought for a moment and sighed. “The hell with it.”

He ran back to her car and fished around in the front seat for her purse. Luckily, he found it right away, and her suitcase was right behind the seat, so he flipped it up and quickly pulled it out. Then he ran back to the truck as quickly as he could, threw her things into the bed of the truck, and pulled away just as her car exploded, sending shoots of red, orange, and yellow flames into the air and across the car, piercing the quiet December night.

He hurried to stop the truck, his body shaking as memories of his time in Afghanistan rushed into his brain. He and his best friend, Caden, had each other’s six while he was in the military. But three years ago, Caden’s enlistment was up and he had deserted Brock, opting for life in the trenches as a married man. Now, he was having a baby with his gorgeous wife and living the good life.

But now, Brock’s enlistment was up, too, and he had no idea what he was going to do. Over the years, the military had been all he had ever known. What would he be when it ended? Who he would be, he had no idea.

Since he came back from Afghanistan, he had been stationed in California. He had been happy, at first. Going from Afghanistan to California was going from one extreme to the other. Going from living in Hell to living the good life. But it had been anything but. The women he met were gorgeous, but most were self-centered and played on the sympathies of men to get what they wanted.

But gorgeous women had always been his weakness.

Brock smirked, shaking his head, watching the fire burn her car, feeling the heat through the cold night, even though he was a good distance away. He let out a deep breath, placing his hands on his hips as he watched. Now that he had stopped shaking, he looked around to assess the surroundings. From what he could tell, there was nothing around for miles. You might know, they’d be out in the middle of nowhere. It looked like the only thing visible was an old, two-story farmhouse, white with a red roof, a short distance away. When Brock saw Caden, he planned to give him a ration for living out in the middle of nowhere like this.

The snow was coming down harder than before and there was no way he should be driving in it, especially not with an injured woman. At the time when he left, he had no idea why he had felt so compelled to leave at night and not wait until morning. But now he knew. He never believed in fate, but this was too much of a coincidence for him not to. Brock believed in destiny and purpose. He had to. Or else, what was his time in Afghanistan for?

Now to get her to a hospital. He took out his cell phone but there was no reception. “Figures,” he said aloud. “Caden, man! You’re getting an earful when I see you!” Brock laughed. He knew Caden had moved into the boondocks to some Christmas town, but he had no idea it was this far out in the middle of nowhere.

Brock stood and watched the fire engulf the car, and now it was rapidly moving up the tree. But luckily, there was snow all around and nothing that could cause any more damage. He just hoped the young woman had insurance. Then the snow started falling so hard that he couldn’t see two feet in front of him, especially since it was night. At least the massive fire provided some light, so he wouldn’t drive into a ditch.

Brock thought of the farmhouse and eased the truck in, hoping that someone was there who could help... or at least give them shelter until the snowstorm eased.

The headlights of the truck shone on the house, and it looked abandoned. But it was their only shot at survival. There was no way he could drive in this mess this late at night.

He looked over at the young woman lying lifeless beside him and checked her pulse on her neck. Luckily, she was still alive, but was probably in shock. He had seen plenty of cases of shock during his time in the military, and what she needed right now was rest. But he vowed to look her over when they got inside to see if there was any real damage.

Leaving the truck running, Brock climbed out as a rush of cold wind blew through his coat. He pulled it around him and headed toward the farmhouse. “Hello?” Even though it looked abandoned, he didn’t want to take any chances. “Is anyone home?”

Brock tried the front door, but it was locked. So, he jimmied the door and a few moments later, he was inside. He felt for a light switch and flipped it on.

Nothing.

He looked around and there was a huge, stone fireplace in the living room. “Well, at least it’ll keep us warm and out of the weather until morning.”

So, he headed back outside, slowly opened the passenger side door, and lifted her gently in his arms. It still amazed him that she weighed next to nothing in his arms. For a moment, he wondered if she was a Hollywood starlet, too. But what were the chances way out here in the middle of nowhere?