The corners of Rhea’s mouth curled up into a smile as she watched Diego struggle to unlock and open the door to the M-Trak offices while balancing a low, flat box in one hand and a carrier holding six cups of coffee in the other. She stepped out from behind her desk to help him inside.

“What’s the occasion?”

Diego grinned. “Three of our drivers are stopping in this morning. It’s Thomas, Ron, and Eric.”

“Oh, that’s three of our best. Are the drivers receiving some sort of promotion?”

Diego set the coffee holder on a small table in the corner of the office. He pulled a short stack of magazines off the surface and laid the box in the empty space. As he placed the stack of magazines on an empty corner of Rhea’s desk, he said, “They are the three that I want to drive the first shipments for Tar-Mor.”

Diego turned back to the table and pulled open the lid of the box. “I thought about stopping for pan dulces, but I’ve heard so many gringos complain that it’s not what they’re used to in pastries, so I bought donuts instead. Those big, heavy, doughy fried rings.”

“In other words, delicious. I think those will be welcome,” said Rhea. “When are they supposed to be here? Will the coffee still be hot?”

Looking at his watch, Diego said, “In about ten minutes. You can hold down the fort while we’re in my office. There is plenty of coffee. One of those is for you if you would like it.”

“Are they all lattes?”

“Four are lattes, and two are black. I remembered that you drink yours black, so make sure you take the right one. I think they’re labeled.”

Rhea stepped out from behind her desk and examined the display of donuts. She picked up a chocolate ring with chocolate frosting and gingerly placed it on a napkin. “How was your visit to Tar-Mor? All that you told me was we received the contract. Was he pleased with the toy truck?”

Diego sighed. “It’s not a toy. It’s a promotional device.”

Rhea rolled her head back laughing. As she attempted to stop her laughter, she asked, “Men have all sorts of special names to hide the fact that they’re still boys playing with toys. Did he enjoy his promotional device?”

“I think he did. I’ve visited shipping offices before that are decorated with scale models of trucks all around. Alan had none. His office is depressing. I should send him flowers or something. He might be more cheerful toward me.”

Thomas appeared at the door. The office wasn’t officially open yet, so the door was still locked. Rhea set her donut on the corner of her desk and let him in. She offered Thomas a hug followed by a handshake and a hearty, “Good morning!” from Diego.

As Diego directed him toward the donuts and coffee, Rhea’s office phone rang. She said, “That’s unusual,” as she stepped behind her desk to answer the call.

Diego glanced in her direction and saw the color drain from her face. He couldn’t quite hear the words she said. She reached an arm forward and gestured for Diego to come to the phone. He asked, “Is it for me?”

Rhea held a hand over the receiver and whispered, “It’s an accident.”

Diego took the receiver in his hand. He waved in the direction of Thomas while whispering, “Let the other drivers in, and don’t say anything about this. As far as you know, it was a long-lost friend seeking me out.”

Rhea nodded and whispered back in Diego’s direction, “Send my prayers.” She returned to Thomas’ side and attempted to strike up a chatty conversation.

Diego watched Rhea pick up her donut and her coffee. She took a long sip of the coffee, and then he heard them begin speaking in a light, cheerful, everyday tone. Rhea was a real gem. She knew how to handle any situation in the most professional manner.

“What’s going on?” asked Diego as he spoke softly into the receiver.

It only took minutes for him to find out that one of his trucks was in a collision with a passenger van. The policeman calling indicated that there were no fatalities as far as he could ascertain. He said there were injuries, and they transported three people to the hospital.

Diego realized he didn’t know where the accident occurred. He assumed that the policeman told Rhea. He asked the officer, “Where are they in the hospital? My secretary didn’t tell me where the accident occurred.”

“They were all three taken to the Mayo Hospital here in Red Wing. I don’t believe any of them are critical, but they may have serious injuries. I am afraid that I don’t have verified names of any of them, but I can share some information.”

Diego grabbed a small pad of paper from Rhea’s desk and took down information on the truck number and the accident reference number. It would only take minutes for him to find the name of the driver on the computer.

After hanging up the phone, Diego took three deep breaths. Thomas, Ron, and Eric were all now hanging out in the entrance lobby with Rhea. She was laughing softly as Eric held the attention of everyone with a story.

Diego said, “I don’t want to interrupt. Eric is a good storyteller, but I will have to make our meeting a quick one this morning. There is an emergency with one of our trucks, and I need to make an appearance at the scene.”

Eric furrowed his brow. “What type of emergency? Is it an accident?”

Diego glanced at Rhea and said, “I don’t want to speculate about details until I find out more, but I do have good news before I go.”

“Good news?” asked Thomas.

“I recently signed a contract for M-Trak to be the primary shipping agent for Tar-Mor in this region. The three of you will be my first drivers under the new arrangement, and there’s a sizable bonus in it for each of you.”

* * *

By the time Diego reached the hospital, one of the van passengers was already settled into a hospital room. He received word that his driver was still in the emergency room, and the second van passenger was already released.

Diego purchased two blooming houseplants at the hospital gift shop on his way up to see the injured parties. He stopped first to see the passenger. It was a woman named Sandy, and she was lying in her bed with her husband at her side. Both appeared to be approximately age thirty. They looked up as Diego approached bearing a flowering plant.

When Diego got closer, he noticed that Sandy’s face was deeply discolored black and blue in many places, and she had a bandage on the lower part of one of her cheeks. Her husband asked, “Do you have the wrong room?”

Diego shook his head. “I’m the owner of the M-Trak trucking company, and I came as soon as I could to offer my regrets.” He placed the plant on the room’s windowsill and stood at the foot of the bed.

Sandy frowned and said, “I think my friend who was driving the van is the one who owes an apology. I have no idea what she was thinking. She ran a stop sign, and your driver did her very best to try and stop. Thank God she hit us with a glancing blow. I don’t want to think where I would be if we suffered the full impact from a truck like that.”

Sandy’s husband turned toward Diego and said, “That’s very kind of you to stop by, and so quickly. I was in an accident with a florist’s van, and I never heard a word from them. We eventually collected a small settlement, but an apology would’ve been welcome, too.”

“And how are you?” asked Diego.

Sandy said, “I feel amazing considering what happened. I don’t have any broken bones. They want me to stay overnight for fear that I might have a concussion. I could have just as easily been dead. I’m thanking my lucky stars.”

Her husband added, “I feared the worst when I received the phone call.”

Sandy asked, “How is your driver? The truck careened hard into the ditch. They were still trying to get her out of the cab as they rolled me into the ambulance.”

Sandy’s husband reached out to hold her hand. Diego saw that it was mercifully free of cuts or bruises. She smiled affectionately at him as he asked Diego, “Are you from here in Minnesota? So many of the trucking firms have owners from out of state.”

“I live here in Red Wing,” said Diego. “I’m trying to grow my firm, so that we bring the jobs back here to Minnesota. We operate as a hub and hire local drivers.”

Sandy smiled in his direction. “I’m happy to meet you even if it’s under these circumstances. I’m sorry, though, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Diego Flores. I will leave the two of you alone for now. I need to see about my driver, and I’m certain that you need your rest.”

Sandy said, “Please, send her my condolences. I don’t know if you saw Lynn earlier. She was driving the van and only had a few bumps and bruises. They let her go home.”

Diego shook his head. “I haven’t seen her. The details here are for the insurance companies to sort out. I just want to make sure everyone is okay.”

Diego had to wait for three hours before his driver, Lexie, was finally moved to a private room. Her injuries were more severe and involved broken bones that had to be set. However, the doctors were upbeat about a full recovery.

As Diego entered the hospital room, Lexie was upbeat, and her husband, Steve, sat by the side of the bed. She called, “Hey, it’s the big boss! Look at me here. I’m not getting back in the rig for a little while.”

Diego grinned. “A few weeks at least.” He handed Steve the plant, and he set it on a table beside the bed.

Steve said, “We heard that the police decided it was the other driver’s fault, and one of the passengers is here in the hospital. Is she okay?”

“I just visited her,” said Diego. “She will be fine. Lexie took the brunt of the accident.” He stepped up on the opposite side of the bed from Steve and asked Lexie, “How are you feeling? Is there a lot of pain?”

She shook her head. “Not much pain, but that sign across the room wobbles and wiggles on the wall every minute or so.”

Steve laughed softly. “It’s good that it took me twenty minutes to get to the hospital. They told me she was screaming in the emergency room. One of the bones was exposed, but they had her quieted down by the time I arrived.”

Lexie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t remember any of it. All that I remember from the accident is seeing the van. I swerved and engaged the brakes. The next thing I remember is staring up into the doc’s face in the emergency room.” He said, ‘The good news is you’ll walk again.’ I’m tough. I’ve been through worse in my life.”

Diego said, “They told me that someone stopped immediately and called 911 from their cell phone. The paramedics were there in minutes, stopped Lexie’s bleeding, and then they got her out of the cab. If they had been fifteen minutes later, we could have lost her. We live in good times. Neighbors help their neighbors.”

Steve smiled. He said, “Yep, we’re raised to help out regardless of who it is. An emergency is an emergency, and we all pitch in. That’s the Midwestern way. We take care of each other.”