The black asphalt slipped beneath the tires of Ethan’s truck as we drove down the highway. The sun slowly crept skyward and as I settled back into my seat, the truck tires suddenly lost their grip on the road and we slid into the other lane.
“Whoa,” Ethan said, and just as quickly as we slid across the road, he had control of the truck again and guided it back. He glanced at me. “Black ice.”
I nodded and swallowed, my heart pounding in my chest. That was one of the reasons I hated driving in the snow. Particularly out on the highway as we were. “Thank goodness that wasn’t worse than it was.”
He nodded, both hands on the steering wheel. “It’s not one of my favorite things to have happen.” The highway curved around and as we came out of the curve, I gasped.
A car had gone off the highway and hit a tree by the side of the road.
“Uh-oh,” Ethan said and gently slowed the truck, and eased onto the shoulder. He pulled to a stop next to the car, and we both looked at it. The driver could be seen in Ethan’s headlights, slumped over the steering wheel. “Call 911, Mia.”
He jumped out of the truck and hurried over to the car. I dialed 911 and watched as Ethan grabbed hold of the door handle and pulled on it, but it didn’t give. He tried again, putting all of his weight into it, and this time the door opened. I looked away as he leaned into the car.
When the emergency operator answered the phone, I filled her in on what we’d found and asked for an ambulance.
“Is the driver breathing?” she asked me.
I got out of the truck. “Is he alive?” I called to Ethan.
Ethan was crouched beside the car with his hand on the driver’s neck, and after a moment, he turned and looked at me and shook his head. “He’s dead.”
I let my breath out. “No, he’s dead.”
I stayed on the phone with the operator for a moment and she promised to send the police out. I hit end on my phone and turned to Ethan, trying not to focus on the driver. “Do you know who it is?”
He turned toward me, an odd look on his face. “Logan Michaels.”
I inhaled. “Oh no. That’s a shame, I’m sorry.”
Logan Michaels was Ethan’s barber and friend. In Pumpkin Hollow, we had hair salons, but we also had an old-fashioned men’s barbershop. Logan’s grandfather had opened the barber shop and his father had also worked there in years past. There was an old-fashioned red and white striped barber pole on the front of the shop, and a man could go in and get a haircut for a reasonable price. Logan also did more modern cuts, and he had been proud of that. I knew he had a large clientele, and my dad was also a regular there at the barbershop. The old-fashioned barber’s chairs were still there, and for the older men of the Pumpkin Hollow community, it was a sort of meeting place. Logan always kept a full coffee pot and there was a hot cup of coffee, free of charge for his customers or anyone else that stopped by.
Ethan nodded. “This is kind of a shock.”
Ethan had been good friends with Logan, even though Logan was ten years older. Back in the fall Logan had come to Ethan’s house twice to watch football games. I wasn’t big on football, so I had stayed home on those evenings, but now I was a little sorry I hadn’t joined them. Logan was a nice guy, and I enjoyed his company.
“I’m sorry, Ethan.”
He took a deep breath and stepped away from the car. “Me too.”
“Is he married?” I asked, coming to stand next to him.
He shook his head. “No, he’s been dating Mariah Anderson for a few years. I forget exactly how long it’s been, but I would bet it’s been at least five or six years.”
I nodded, crossing my arms in front of myself. I could see Logan’s forehead resting on the steering wheel. I hoped he died quickly and hadn’t suffered out here in the cold by himself. “Do you think he hit black ice?”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Probably so. He may have been going too fast around that curve and hit some ice, or a deer could have jumped out in front of him and he tried to avoid hitting it.” Ethan turned and looked into the woods and then around at the area where the car had stopped against the tree. “I can’t believe it. Logan’s dead.”
My eyes widened, and I wrapped my arms around him. “I’m sorry Ethan,” I said into his chest as I hugged him tight.
He looked down at me and nodded, and I could see the emotion in his eyes. “I just had my haircut two days ago. We talked about basketball. We were going to get together and watch a game in the next couple of weeks. We hadn’t set a date, just promised we would do it.”
The loss in Ethan’s eyes broke my heart. “I’m sorry,” I repeated.
He absently ran his hand over my back as I held onto him. “His parents will be devastated.”
“And Mariah, too,” I added.
We could hear sirens in the distance and Ethan took a deep breath. I looked at him, deep lines creased his brow. I was sad he had lost a friend.
Chapter Three
I stayed with Ethan at the accident site for another hour, in spite
