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from around Jenny. Turning, he called out, “I’m bringing out the baby. She looks okay. I’m going to bundle her up and we’ll all go to my cruiser. It’s warm in there. Okay?”
    â€œY-yes…I’m so glad she’s all right. What about the mother?”
    â€œDead,” Cade answered, his voice flat.
    â€œOh, no…” she whispered, her hand across her mouth.
    Cade turned and gently eased his large hands down around the well-bundled Jenny. As soon as hepicked her up, she stopped crying, her eyes huge. He cradled her snugly into the crook of his right arm. Opening his jacket, he nestled the three-month-old into the folds for warmth and protection against the falling snow.
    â€œI’m backing out,” he called to the woman over his shoulder. Immediately, she stepped away, keeping the flashlight trained so that he could ease out of the vehicle.
    The woman stood mostly in shadow but he could clearly see the strain on her oval face, her full lips pursed and eyes dark with worry. “Come on,” he urged her, “follow me…”
    Rachel followed and kept the beam of light in front of the deputy. He walked as if he were stepping across eggs, his precious cargo in his arms. The baby was completely protected by his dark brown nylon jacket, but she no longer had a mother. It was beyond tragic. Rachel felt tears jam into her eyes and quickly swallowed them.
    â€œOpen the passenger-side door,” Cade ordered her. They walked on the berm next to the cliff. Cade didn’t want to take a chance of trying to climb into the driver’s side with the baby. If a car came around that corner, it could clip him and kill both of them on a night like this.
    Rachel pulled it open. “Now what?”
    â€œGet in. I’m going to hand you the baby onceyou’re inside. Then, I’ll go to the other side of my cruiser and get in.”
    Rachel climbed into the passenger seat. She left the flashlight on the dashboard so the deputy had light and they both could see. She watched as he tenderly brought out the baby wrapped in a pink, yellow and green quilt. Opening her arms, Rachel received the infant.
    â€œI’ve got her,” she quavered. A baby in her arms for the first time. Images of lying in the hospital dazed and wanting to hold her Sarah flashed through Rachel’s mind. Gently, she adjusted the baby into her arms. The deputy closed the door. She watched him walk around his cruiser.
    Cade climbed in and immediately radioed what had happened. The dispatcher told him help was on the way and it would take at least thirty minutes to get there due to the icy conditions on the highway. He turned up the heater and pressed on console lights. The darkness disappeared. Turning, he looked into the eyes of the woman who had been the first on scene. She held Jenny in her arms and gently rocked her. The infant had closed her eyes. Her tiny hands were visible beneath the sleeves of a crocheted pink sweater that Lily had made for the christening. Cade wanted to cry for the little girl.
    Jenny was now without parents. Cade knew Tom and Lily had both been adopted only children and there was no family to take Jenny. That was why theyhad wanted Cade as the legal guardian for Jenny if the worst happened. The adoptive parents had agreed to Tom and Lily’s request. Legal papers had been signed. Well, it had happened. Mind spinning with the implications, Cade realized he was a father…again.
    â€œLet’s see if Jenny is okay,” he murmured, holding out his hands. “She was strapped in the right way, but I want to make sure nothing’s broken. The ambulance is on its way, but it will take at least thirty minutes under these weather conditions to arrive on scene.”
    â€œOf course,” Rachel said. She managed a nervous smile. “I’m glad you’re trained because I’m not.” She passed Jenny to the deputy.
    Cade carefully began