He dropped the mail and broke into a sprint. The Thomases’ driveway was only twenty feet away, and he prayed he’d started running in time.

A woman’s screams assaulted his ears, but he blocked it out, focusing on his objective—the girl.

The Amazon van kept coming, its driver distracted by the boys on bicycles. Zack ran straight toward it, engaged in a game of chicken, man versus vehicle, with Chloe Thomas stuck in the middle.

Chloe shot out into the street as the driver finally spotted her, and he slammed on his brakes.

Zack reached her a split-second before the skidding van and hooked her with his right arm around her waist as he turned toward the curve. With the van looming like a monster right next to him, he wrapped Chloe in his arms as she shrieked, and launched the two of them into the air. As they sailed over the curb and toward the Thomases’ lawn, Zack rotated his body so that his back was to the ground. His feet cleared the curb as he watched the Amazon van slide across the space he and Chloe had occupied a moment ago. He smiled to himself in relief, at least until his back slammed onto the grass, expelling his breath, and slid to a stop, Chloe secure in his arms.

He looked down at the adorable girl, who seemed to be taking it all in stride, and he felt his breath come back, inhaling deeply, which seemed to amuse Chloe, who smiled up at him.

Sherry Thomas was screaming, even as Zack asked Chloe, “Are you okay? Sorry about that.”

“Can we do that again?”

Zack sat up and placed Chloe on the ground next to him. “Maybe another time. That was exciting enough for one day.”

Sherry Thomas reached her daughter and wrapped her up with both arms, shouting at the African American Amazon driver, who now stood on the street, concern written all over his face. “How could you not see her? She was on the driveway!”

“It was the boys on the bikes. He got distracted by them as they approached him. I’m sure he was just being careful,” Zack stated, intentionally calm, momentarily ignoring the driver. He stood up, ignoring also the dull pain in his lower back.

Zack’s presence seemed to calm her, and she shifted her eyes from the driver to him. Sherry paused, exhaled, and said, “Thank you, Zack. Thank God you were there.”

“Thank the Postal Service. I was bringing you some mail that got delivered to us by accident.” Zack turned to the driver, whom he found staring at him in an unusual way, as if assessing him with a purpose. The driver was no older than thirty, clean cut, light-skinned, with a short, faded haircut. His deep brown eyes shone with alertness and intelligence, more so than the last Amazon guy we had in here.