Chapter 3 - The Shoulder of the Road
On the shoulder of Interstate 75, the amber hazard lights of Daniel Whitmore's car reflected off the wet asphalt in slow, rhythmic pulses.
Lily walked slowly. Every step barefoot on the cold, sharp gravel sent a jolt of pain up her small leg, but she didn't stop. Her left arm was bound tight against her ribs inside the dirty dish towel, her fractured collarbone screaming with every breath. But her right arm remained locked around seven-month-old Maddie, who was wrapped tightly in the pink fleece blanket.
When Lily reached the orange reflective triangle Daniel had set on the ground, she paused.
She looked at the tall man standing fifty feet away by his car. He wasn't moving toward her. His hands were spread open, palms forward, down by his sides where she could clearly see them.
"Hi," Daniel said gently, his voice low and calm, cutting through the heavy roar of a passing semi-truck. "My name is Daniel. You're safe right here. I'm not going to come closer until you tell me it's okay."
Lily swallowed hard. Tears had streaked path through the black soot covering her face. Her lips were blue from the cold.
"My sister is cold," Lily whispered. Her voice was tiny, almost swallowed by the diesel wind.
"I have a heater in my car," Daniel said softly, keeping his phone on speaker so the 911 dispatcher could hear every word. "And I have a warm coat. May I bring you the coat?"
Lily nodded slowly.
Daniel reached inside his car, pulled his heavy cashmere overcoat off the back seat, and took three slow, deliberate steps forward. He stopped five feet away and knelt on the wet asphalt, bringing himself down to her eye level.
"You did an amazing job bringing her this far," Daniel said, looking at the bundle in her arm. "What's your sister's name?"
"Maddie," Lily choked out. "And I'm Lily."
"It's nice to meet you, Lily," Daniel said. "Is it okay if I put this coat around both of you?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Very carefully, without touching her injured left shoulder, Daniel draped his large black coat over Lily’s back, wrapping it around her small body and enclosing both her and the baby inside the heavy wool.
Maddie let out a small, weak whimper under the pink blanket.
"She's breathing," Daniel reported into his phone, his voice steady for the dispatcher. "Dispatch, the infant is alive and responsive. The older child is shivering severely and shows signs of physical trauma and smoke inhalation. Where is that medic unit?"
"Units are two minutes out, sir," the dispatcher replied. "Stay on the line."
Daniel looked closely at Lily’s face in the strobe of his hazard lights. He saw the black smudge of smoke residue along her jawline. He saw the sharp, jagged tear in her sleeve, stained with dried blood where the glass had cut her arm as she squeezed through the basement window.
"Lily," Daniel asked gently. "Where is your mom?"
Lily’s breath hitched. A fresh tear cut through the soot on her cheek.
"A man locked Mom in the big building," Lily said, her small voice trembling violently. "Uncle Marcus said Mom had to do work. Then Uncle Marcus took us to the house with the big trees. But the house caught fire... and the doors were locked."
Daniel felt a sudden, cold knot tighten in his chest.
Marcus.
He knew that name.
Marcus Vance was the Executive Director of Mercy Horizon Services—the flagship charitable organization that Daniel’s family trust had contributed over two million dollars to over the last three years.
Before Daniel could process the thought, red and blue strobe lights flashed against the wet highway trees as a State Highway Patrol cruiser and an Ohio State Health EMS ambulance pulled onto the shoulder behind his car.
Paramedics stepped out, carrying heavy gear bags.
When Lily saw the flashing lights and the uniform coats, her body stiffened with panic. She backed away toward the guardrail, clutching Maddie tighter.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Daniel said quickly, placing himself between the approaching first responders and the frightened girl, holding his hand up to stop the paramedics. "Give her a second. She's terrified."
Daniel turned back to Lily, dropping down onto one knee again on the cold gravel.
"Lily, look at me," Daniel said, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. "These people are here to help us. They are going to fix your arm and make sure Maddie is warm. I promise you, I will stay right next to you. I won't leave."
Lily looked at the paramedics, then looked back into Daniel’s eyes.
May you like
Slowly, her small shoulders relaxed half an inch.
"Okay," she whispered.
