Jake Wilson balanced his coffee mug in one hand and flipped the blinker to merge onto the highway with the other. His four-wheel drive truck didn't have any trouble with the hard packed snow of the on-ramp. The highway was mostly empty, as he had expected. He settled in for the short trip to town and the breakfast he knew his mom would have waiting for him.

Four years earlier, he'd bought the family farm after graduating college. It would be a while before he had it paid off, even though he got it for a great deal. It was everything he'd ever wanted. Too bad he was running away from it again, but the house had felt quieter than usual lately.

I know something's missing, God. Open my eyes so I can figure out what it is. That silent prayer had become more of a plea the last few months. Maybe I wasn't ready for the answer before, but I'm listening now.

With a sigh, he let his mind drift to the various projects his family had planned for him. After inheriting a large Victorian near Saratoga, Wyoming, his mom decided to turn it into a hotel. Since Jake's workload was lighter in the winter, he was the designated strongarm. He didn't mind. Hanging out in town with family was better than sitting alone in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe it's time to let Mom set me up. For the first time in years, the thought of dating didn't terrify him. Perhaps he'd finally been alone long enough.

A semi barreled up behind him and flew past, blowing up a whirlwind of snow.

"Slow down, buddy." Jake muttered. He coasted for the few seconds it took the powder to settle and reveal the road once again.

He shook his head at the other driver's recklessness, then noticed a car inching along ahead of them. The semi closed the distance and the car disappeared in the backlash. Everything seemed to pause while Jake waited for the car to emerge from the cloud. He finally saw it drift into the left-hand lane. The driver must have panicked because they overcorrected and plowed into the snowbank crowding the right-hand side of the road.

Jake pulled off the road a little past the car. He could hear the hiss of steam. The driver cut the engine, and the motor clicked a few times before the road fell silent once more. The front of the car was buried in the snow and it listed toward the passenger side which had slid off the shoulder. He could see motion through the partially covered window. His momentary relief faded when he heard a pitiful cry that turned into the all out wail of a young child.

He rushed to the back door and yanked it open, noticing several things at once. A little girl, maybe two or three years old, strapped safely in her car seat. Although red-faced from screaming, she seemed fine otherwise. The other point of interest was the woman twisting around from the front seat in an effort to reach her child. Her big blue eyes stared up at him. She too had tears running down her face.

"Is she okay?"

The heartfelt plea moved Jake back to action. He crawled in at the same time the car shook from another passing semi. As soon as the girl noticed him, she stopped crying and held up her little arms. Jake unbuckled her.

"Dadda!"

The woman let out a hysterical laugh combined with a sob. She returned to the front and tried to get her door open, but she couldn't push through the weight of snow.

"Hold on, let me help." Jake put the girl on the seat. "Sit still while I help your momma."

"Hungy." She whimpered, but didn't move.

Jake doubted the little one would stay put for long. He kicked and clawed away snow until he could drag the front door open. As soon as he did, the woman rushed past him and grabbed her daughter. He watched as she touched the child's head, arms, legs, face. Her tears flowed faster, but she didn't make a sound. Her daughter however started to squirm.

"Want Dadda. Hungy." She wiggled while her mom squeezed her close, rocking her back and forth.

"That's not daddy, sweetie." The woman glanced at Jake for a moment before turning her attention back to her daughter. “Sorry about that.”

He waved her concern away, but he was curious why the little one didn't recognize he wasn't her dad.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jake could see the ugly red abrasion across the woman's neck. Probably from the seatbelt. Her face was also pink from the airbag as if she'd been slapped. "Does that hurt?"

Apparently satisfied her daughter was okay, she finally looked up at him. "I'm fine. Thank you for your help though."

Her eyes looked haunted, her blonde hair a little on the dirty side. He glanced around the car and noticed 5-hour shot bottles strewn on the floor, but no other signs of food or drink. Jake looked closer at her hands. They shook, even though she tried to hide it.

"Let's get you to town." He waved toward his truck.

"We'll be fine, really. Thank you though." A flash of fear moved across her face.

"Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I can't leave you here. It's only two degrees, and even the igloo you've created won't be much help. Can I at least call someone for you?" Jake pulled out his cell phone.

"Um, a local tow truck?"

"You're in luck. I know the best." He held out his arms to take the toddler. "In the meantime, let's get you in my truck where it's warmer."

He could see the struggle in her eyes. She clung to the child a moment longer, even though the little girl had turned to reach for him.

"I just want to help." He spoke as softly as he could. "It will be a while before TJ can get out here for your car. Let me take you to town."

"Okay." She reluctantly passed over her daughter and proceeded to unbuckle the car seat. "Her name is Katie."

"Hi there, Katie." The little girl was a warm and wiggly mass in his arms. He chuckled when she patted his face with both her hands.

"Hungy, dadda."

"I'm so sorry she keeps calling you that, and she has a one track mind when it comes to food." The mom backed out of the car, dragging the carseat with her. "We were hoping the next town wasn't too far down the road."

"Saratoga is just ten minutes away, and my mom will have a smash bang breakfast ready." Jake couldn't help but like the way Katie wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. It sparked something he never thought he'd feel. He knew he'd think about it for a long time. "Katie's sweet. What's your name?"

"Lindsey." She glanced up at him, then back at the ground for just a second. He could almost see the struggle as she forced herself to meet his gaze.

"Nice to meet you, Lindsey. I'm Jake." He held out his hand. She shook it cautiously. He noticed her hands still trembled, and he didn't think it was all from the shock of the accident. He recognized the caffeine jitters from his late night study sessions at college. "Come on, let's get you warmed up. Do you have a bigger coat?"

"Yes, I'll get Katie's too." She dove back inside and came up with the coats, a purse, and a diaper bag.

He didn't know how she carried it all and the car seat. "Need help with that?"

"Nope, mom skills. Normally, I'd have to hold Katie too." She tried to give him a smile, but her obvious weariness washed it off too quickly.

"Okay." Jake rushed to open his truck door.

Lindsey dumped the coats and bags on the floor, crawled into the backseat and went through several contortions to get the car seat latched down. The whole time she worked inside, little Katie talked his ear off. He didn't understand half the words she said, but he got dadda, hungry, cookie, and church. For the life of him he didn't know how the last one fit in with everything else, but he nodded and smiled. It was all Katie needed to keep talking and patting his face.

"Okay, hand her to me." Lindsey reached for her daughter. She strapped her into the car seat, wrapping a blanket from the bag around her little body.

Katie didn't like going back in. She squirmed and kicked at the blanket, her little eyes threatening to tear up again. "No car!"

"Hey, little one, how about we get something to eat?" Jake reached across Lindsey to grab Katie's hand. It had turned cold in the few minutes outside. He gave it a little squeeze. "Do you like pancakes?"

"Yes, pease!"

"Okay, then sit tight and let's get going. I promise all the pancakes you can eat when we get there."