Author's note: I'd like to encourage anyone who's reading to leave reviews. It's hard to tell if anyone is reading this story without them or whether it's just Scott, Alan and I in that snow storm!

Reasons-Chapter 3

JEFF TRACY

I pulled in at about 3 a.m. It was pitch dark and snowy out but the sky had cleared. The road had been plowed but our long driveway was still under deep snow, so I parked the rental and walked the rest of the way in. Expecting this, I had bought some snow shoes in Houston before I left.

The house was dark and I hadn't been able to call since the phones were still out. I got the front door open and found my mother stretched out on the couch with three little boys snuggled around her and an afghan tucked around them all. The dying fire in the fireplace lit the room, but the stove was still roaring and it was warm.

I stopped to look at what might be the only family I had left, then shook myself. Don't give up. Never give up, I reminded myself. I'd mourn later, if I had to, but for now I was going to focus on finding my Emily with Scott and Alan alive.

I must have made a noise, because my mother woke up. Dislodging herself from my sons, she sat up. "Jeff? Oh, I'm so glad you're home." She gently got up and tucked the afghan around the boys, then pulled me into the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee? I put a kettle on the old woodstove earlier."

"I'd love some, Mom," I said and sat down at the old wooden table. "Have you heard anything?"

She snorted. "Not a word. You'd think they could make a phone system that doesn't go down with every change in the weather." She brought a cup over to me and I sipped it, then grimaced.

She gave me a wise look. "I put extra sugar in. You've been on the road, goodness knows how long and you've had a shock. Now drink up. And when was the last time you slept?"

Never could put anything over on my Mom. "Not since I heard..." I replied. "I don't think I could sleep now, either."

"Well, there's nothing else you can do for them right now," she answered reasonably. "At least when the sun's up, you can drive over to the Sheriff's office and get them out searching. Go on, give it a try. You need to be rested for tomorrow."

I just looked at her, the worry eating away inside. It wasn't right, my sleeping in a warm and comfortable bed when Emily was...where? Out there in the snow, with Scotty and Allie. Mom stared right back and I knew this was one battle I wasn't going to win.

"All right," I said, finishing the coffee. "But wake me at sunrise or earlier if the phones come back on line."

She nodded and put my cup in the sink. "I'll do that."

As I got up, I saw that she wasn't moving to leave the kitchen. "Aren't you going to get some sleep?"

"No," she said, rinsing out the cup. "I've had my sleep. I'll stay up and wait for word. Think I'll make a pie, that way it'll be fresh when they come home. You know how Scotty loves my apple pie."

She gave me a half-smile. I nodded and left the kitchen.

SCOTT TRACY

I stayed by my mom and didn't move until I heard Alan start crying. He'd found a piece of glass and managed to cut his hand with it. That shook me. Mom was gone, so it was up to me to take care of my brother. I scrubbed at my eyes with my arm, then picked him up and hauled him over to the first aid kit. After I cleaned and bandaged his hand, we went over to the leftover spaghetti from last night and I fed him. I didn't eat anything, I wasn't hungry and didn't think I would be any time soon.

It was up to me to get us out of this. What had Mom said? Call on the cell phone and use the flares when somebody could see it. I dug out the cell phone and tried 911 again. This time, there was an answer.

"Marion County Sheriff's office, what is your emergency?" said a female voice.

For a moment, I was so surprised to get an answer I couldn't talk. Then I said, "My plane crashed and I need help. My mom's d..dead and it's just me and my little brother..." I could hear my voice wavering, so I stopped talking and took a deep breath. "Please, can you come get us?"

The voice softened. "What's your name, honey and how old are you?"

"My name is Scott Tracy and I'm eleven," I replied, clutching the phone close. The last thing I wanted was to drop it.

"Are either of you hurt? How old is your little brother?" she asked. I could hear typing noises in the background.

"We're fine. Alan's about a year old," I said. "Please, can you send somebody fast? My mom needs help. Maybe...maybe I was wrong and she's just real sick..." I hoped, oh how I hoped, I'd been wrong. Maybe I was just a stupid kid and Mom would be okay.

"Why do you think she died, Scott?" the voice asked.

"She's not breathing and she's...her body's cold," I answered.

"Do you know where you are, Scott?" she asked. "Can you see anything near you? Buildings?"

"No, ma'am," I answered. "Nothing but open space and snow, but I can go out and look again."

"No need, Scott, I'll keep your phone line open and we'll trace you with that. I'll send somebody as fast as I can, Scott. Because of the snow, we've got a lot of people we're helping. Until then, do you have any family I can call?"

"Yeah," I said. "Call my Dad and my Grandma." I gave her the number.

"Okay, I want you to wait on hold while I talk to your father," she said. "Now don't go anywhere; he'll probably want to talk to you. Okay?"

"Okay," I said and waited in the silence. She came back on the line and told me that the phones were still out at home but she'd stay with me on the phone until somebody came to get me. I didn't feel so alone, then.

An hour went by and I'd told Theresa all about school, my mom and dad, my brothers and the accident. I noticed it was getting colder, so I got up and looked at the sky outside. It had clouded up and was starting to snow again.

"Theresa, there's snow falling outside," I told her. "When are they going to get here?"

"I don't know, Scott," she said. "Most of our snow equipment has been out on rescues since these storms began. I'll try to find out how much longer this will take. For the time being, do you have some way to start a fire?"

"I've got matches," I said doubtfully. "And we landed in a grove of trees, but the wood will be wet."

"Go pick up some anyway and see if you can start a fire there, then wrap yourself and your brother up in those blankets," she said. "Keep the phone and tell me what you're doing."

I put Alan in his baby seat, even though he didn't like it and yelled. Then I went outside, found some broken branches and carried them back into the wreckage of the plane. I used the tissue paper and shoe box from my new shoes as kindling and got the wood burning. It was wet and very smoky, but we go a little heat from it. I wrapped Alan up in the blanket and put the silver blanket around both of us, still holding on the phone with Theresa.

"Why aren't they coming?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Scott. The weight of the snow collapsed the roof on one of the hospitals. They've been working all morning, trying to get the patients out. This county only owns a helicopter and a snow-cat and they're both busy trying to get the people out. Then, they'll go to get you."

"Oh," I said, gnawing at my thumbnail. I guessed that a hospital full of sick people had to come before two kids. I heard the wind pick up outside. It was almost full dark, even though it wasn't noon yet. The snow had gotten heavier and was coming down hard.

JEFF TRACY

The sound of pounding on our front door woke me that morning. I grabbed my robe and wrapped myself in it and staggered into the livingroom before I was fully awake.

My mother had the door open and the local county sheriff stood in the doorway with a serious look on his face. "Jeff? Can I come in?" he said.

"Sam, come in out of the cold," I said and motioned him to take a seat near the fire. I sat down across from him.

"I'll get some coffee," Mom said and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Jeff, I have some news for you," Sam said uneasily. "We've located the plane your wife was flying. It went down in a remote part of Marion County. We've made contact with your son, Scott, by cell phone and have a good idea of where they are."

I brightened. "You found them! How are they? Are they okay? When are you bringing Emily and the boys back?" I couldn't control the grin of relief that spread across my face.

Mom returned with coffee and handed a cup to Sam. He thanked her and took a cautious sip, then held the mug in both hands. He couldn't meet my eyes. "Jeff, the dispatcher talked to your son, Scott. He and the baby are okay but it sounds like your wife didn't make it."

I felt the blood leave my face and heard a high pitched ringing sound in my ears. "What?" I asked dully.

Sam finally met my gaze. "I'm so sorry, Jeff, but from what Scott describes, it sounds like Emily passed away in her sleep a few hours after the crash."

I felt, rather than heard Mom sit down on the couch next to me and take my hand. "But the boys are all right?" she asked softly.

"Your son is a very self-reliant young man," Sam said. "He's taking care of his little brother like a master, has built a fire and wrapped them both up in blankets. They're camping out in the wreckage until we can pick them up."

That roused me. Scotty and Alan alone out there in a major snowstorm. "Why are they still out there? That plane went down yesterday!" I rasped, glad to be able to let out some of the anger at someone.

Sam sighed. "Jeff, we're all doing the best we can in these storms. Marion County barely has two pennies to rub together; you know the budget for manpower has been cut and all their equipment is out of date. Add to that the fact that St. Lawrence Hospital's roof fell in last night from the weight of the snow. They've been ferrying patients out for the past eight hours."

"Sam," I said, barely controlling the urge to punch him. "My two young sons are out there in that storm. Children. Why is nobody trying to rescue them?"

"Marion County has called FEMA for aid, but again, the entire Midwest has been hit by this weather and we're in line for whatever they have to share, just like this county. We all live in a rural area and there isn't much money. I know that the plan was to send a helicopter out after them once the hospital evacuation started to wind down." He picked up his radio. "I'll check on their progress." He spoke briefly into the radio and then listened for some time. His face fell and he replied, "All right, I'll tell him. Jeff," he looked up at me with sorrow and frustration on his face. "They sent a 'copter out but it had to come back in. The weather's turned again. Nobody's going out until this storm clears, probably not for a day or so."