But the connection wasn’t entirely severed. He took her hand in his, and silently led her over to the plane.
She almost lost her footing between the plane and the clearing, not because of the icy snow underfoot, but because for a moment, she didn’t think she could go into the plane with Gage. She didn’t think she could sit by him, and lay by him in the confines of the small cabin. But as they neared the plane, he erased that problem.
He let go of her and said, “Go on in and warm up,” before he moved farther away from her. “I need to check a few things with the plane.”
She didn’t argue, but scrambled to get up on the wing, then went to the door and pulled it open and up. When it closed behind her, she took a deep breath and felt the tension in her middle ease a bit. Merry dropped down on the end of the pilot’s seat, kicked off her boots and just enjoyed the warmer air for a long moment until she heard Gage on the wing, getting close to the door. She watched him climb in, lower the door, then sink onto the seat opposite her. “Did you find anything?”
* * *
GAGE LOOKED AT MERRY, cursing the fact that his pathetic excuse to “check out the plane” hadn’t worked. That instant he’d seen her plunging through the trees toward the edge of the drop off, had spun him around emotionally. He’d thought it odd that he’d felt so protective of her before, but just then, it had been life and death, and it had terrified him.
The feel of her in his arms when he grabbed her to save her had been nothing short of wonderful, then that urge to kiss, being short circuited into a peck on her forehead. He’d been off balance ever since and now she had her eyes on him expectantly. What could he tell her? The truth? Hardly. “No, I didn’t find anything,” he said honestly and sat back, managing to remove his boots before making his way to a rear seat.
“What were you looking for?” she asked. He closed his eyes when a headache came out of nowhere, making him wince with discomfort. “Nothing specific,” he admitted.
“As long as you didn’t find anything bad,” she said quickly. “I’m fine with that.”
“Me, too,” he replied and shifted to stretch out, but his ribs flared at the same moment the headache grew stronger. “Whoa,” he breathed, forgetting about everything in an attempt to regroup and figure out what was happening to him.
Merry was close by, climbing onto the seat next to him, looking at him with concern.. “What is it?”
He couldn’t talk for a minute and in that small span of time, Merry reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Gage, please, what’s happening?”
He swallowed hard, before managing to say, “Headache.”
Her look of concern seemed worse. “Oh, I don’t think you can have any more pills yet.”
“No pills,” he said. “No more pills.”
He’d thought the pain had been lessening, but obviously the running, the bending and movement had taken their toll on his ribs. The headache... He lifted a hand to touch the gash on his forehead. It seemed to be centered right behind the bandages. “Sorry,” he mumbled, easing back to rest his head on the seat and close his eyes.
Merry got up, and he felt the blankets being spread out and secured around him. “The heater’s doing fine, and you should be warmer soon. That should help.” Despite everything, he shivered sharply, pain inundating him around his ribs and in his head. He bit his lip hard. Merry touched his forehead, then seemed to jerk back. “You...you need to rest, to not go out again,” she said, but something different was in her voice now, something beyond concern, edging toward fear.
“Did I grow a third eye or something?” he asked, his voice thick from the exhaustion.
She hesitated for so long that he finally opened his eyes enough to see her, so close he could feel her breath touch his skin. “You...you feel kind of hot. I need to check...” Her voice trailed off as she found the first-aid kit off by the front passenger seat.
“Oh, good,” she said with a touch of relief and turned back to him with what he thought was a strip of paper until she reached to lay it on his forehead. “A thermometer,” she explained and stared at it, hard, for a long moment, then picked it up. He didn’t miss how her eyes widened before she looked at him again.
“What is it?” he asked.
“A small fever...” she answered as she tossed the used thermometer into the first-aid kit.
“What is the definition of ‘small,’ just so I know?”
She looked at him as she shook her head. “One hundred and three,” she said, speaking with what he could tell was as much control as she could muster.
How could he have a fever when he was so cold? He was feeling shaky, his hands so unsteady under the blankets that he pressed them to his thighs to stop the trembling. When he tried to speak again, words came at the same time as another shiver coursed through him. “N...n...not super hot, but warm, huh?”
“Hot enough,” she said softly. “It’s weird in this cold to think of someone getting too hot.”
He had to agree with that, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything before he began to shiver uncontrollably. He tried to stop it, but even his teeth were chattering. He didn’t feel hot. He felt as if he’d been plunged into a deep freeze.
He felt Merry climb under the blankets and get up close to him. He was grateful for the extra heat. She carefully placed her hand on his chest. “I wish I knew if ibuprofen is safe to take after the pain pills.”
Gage wanted to tell her, “Just give me some and I’ll take the chance,” but he couldn’t stop shaking long enough to form any coherent words.
Her hand brushed his cheek, then touched his forehead, the contact soothing, despite his discomfort. “I’m going to check the labels, or any booklet in the box. I’ll be right back,” she said.
It seemed forever before she was there again, sliding under the blankets, her hand gentle on his forehead again. “You can take these,” she said and he felt the touch of something against his lips. “Three of them.”
He managed to open his mouth, felt the pills fall inside, then a cold water bottle was pressed to his lips. He almost gagged getting the medicine down, but he finally managed to swallow. He lay back and Merry nestled against him. “They’ll work soon, I promise they will, and you’ll be fine. It’s probably a cold starting or something from this miserable freezing weather.”
She was talking, but not convincingly. He was learning that she wasn’t much of a liar, even for a good cause. Her left hand found his clenched by his thigh. She caught it and held it in her own. “Just rest. Just relax.”
They laid like that for forever or maybe an hour, Gage didn’t know. He wouldn’t judge. But when he opened his eyes later, he was shocked that everything was blurred and he saw double when he tried to focus. He didn’t say a thing about it to Merry, figuring it was a reaction to the fever. Besides, there was enough to worry about without adding impaired vision to their ever lengthening list.
He closed his eyes again and gradually he began to feel as if he was floating while Merry spoke to him. What she said, he didn’t know, but he went with it, letting her voice wash over him. The sound of her words relaxing him more and more. The aching didn’t follow where he was going, and as he went deeper and deeper into her voice, her words, all he really understood was she was the reason the pain stayed at bay.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MERRY HELD ON TO GAGE, willing him to stop shivering. “You know, when we get back to Wolf Lake,” she began, nervously talking so the silence around them wouldn’t suffocate her. It helped and she found herself telling him things she’d barely thought about herself until then.
“I really think I’m going to make Willie G. an offer on that house. I mean, it can’t hurt to try. It’s a great house, even though it needs some work, and it’s within walking distance of the Family Center. Three bedrooms, all upstairs, and what I think is a
library or something downstairs that could be turned into another bedroom if I need it to be. I’ll just make an offer and see what happens...”
She mentioned a money amount, and carried on. “I know Willie G. probably wants someone from the Rez to get it. I mean, he was nice enough to rent it to me, but that’s a short term thing. I’m going to tell him that I’m a native of Wolf Lake, born and bred right there, and I want to get back to my roots.
“Do you think he’d let me get it? I mean, I can’t offer him too much, but it would be a fair price. He owns a few houses around town, a couple of mobile homes, and he seems to be kind of a canny old guy.” She paused just long enough to catch her breath. “So what do you think? Is it a good idea or will he laugh at my offer?”Sometime during her ramblings about the house, Gage’s shivering had stopped and he’d begun to breathe evenly. When he didn’t respond to her question, she shifted to look up at him. His eyes were closed and the lines in his face were being erased by sleep. She raised herself on one elbow, brushed gently at his hair near the bandages and almost cried from relief when she felt a decided cooling to his skin. If things had been different, she would have kissed him, but she didn’t dare do that. That could unleash a whole can of worms for her, and that couldn’t happen.
She drew back a bit, letting go of his hand, and just laid beside him. She’d try to stay awake during the night to check on Gage’s temperature in case he needed more medication.
Be patient, she told herself, they’ll be back tomorrow and they’ll help Gage. She killed the “what if they don’t come back” thoughts as quickly as they came, and she focused on home as the night deepened.
Her plans of staying awake failed sometime after she turned off the heater, checked to find Gage still cool and sleeping. As bitter cold invaded the cabin, she went farther and farther down into the blankets, closer and closer to Gage, until she barely had her nose and mouth exposed for air. The warmth from Gage was so soothing, and with him sleeping so peacefully, she settled in herself. The last thing she remembered thinking before she fell into a deep slumber, with her hand resting over Gage’s heart, was that her feelings for this man were the definition of crazy.
She knew things were out of line, that feelings got heightened where two people were thrown together in a dangerous situation. And that those feelings were seldom real. But hers felt so real. She felt Gage by her side, and something in her heart rejoiced. There was a connection there, at least for her, but the circumstances were throwing things off balance.
This was a temporary reality, a manufactured existence, formed by the crash and the close confinement. That she wanted to just hold on to him had to come from her fear of being alone, the same way her fear of something awful happening to him, all but terrified her. Askew, totally and absolutely askew.
She carefully raised herself on her elbow to look down at Gage, and then kiss his partially parted lips. She felt the heat of his breath, felt his heart under her palm, steady and slow, and then she drew back. With one last glance at the sleeping man, she admitted that if things had been different, if the world had been normal at all when they’d met, there could be more.
She stopped that foolishness in its tracks. No, not with him. There could never be more, no matter what she felt. When they got out of here, he’d leave Wolf Lake, and she’d stay. Simple. There’d be nothing more to their shared time in the wilderness. A memory. But for now, they were here, together, and she’d hold on to him until it was time for them to let go.
* * *
MERRY WAS ENVELOPED in a deep sleep until she became aware of voices off in the distance, a jumble of sounds that seemed to be coming closer and closer. She stirred when there was movement, a shaking feeling, and Merry knew she was waking up into something that she’d dreamed of. Maybe she was still dreaming as a voice called out from close by, “Gage? Gage?” over and over again. Closer, clearer it came and she knew it was no dream when she opened her eyes to the same grayness as yesterday at the same moment the door of the cabin was swung open.
A man ducked inside the cabin, saw Merry struggling to sit up and get free of her blankets.
“Who are you?” he demanded, but didn’t wait for her to answer when he looked to her left. All of a sudden, his face broke into a huge smile, and Merry thought she saw tears well in his eyes. Then he turned to yell, “It’s Gage! He’s in here!”
Gage’s brother Jack Carson barged inside, pulling the other man out of the way. She’d recognized Jack immediately—a man with the same skin tone, body type, dark eyes and hair of his brother, not to mention that single dimple near his mouth when he smiled. He was a Carson through and through.
Then he was scrambling to get in past the front seats to reach his brother. “He’s got a fever and he was hurt during the landing. His ribs. His head,” Merry was saying as she moved back to let Jack get closer.
Then Dr. Blackstar was there, looking in, first over at Gage, then he glanced at Merry, his mouth dropping open with surprise. “Merry,” he said and held out his hand, motioning for her to get out of the plane with him.
She fumbled for her boots and jacket and climbed over the seat to the door. Pushing her arms into the heavy jacket, she turned to leave and almost fell into the doctor before she could actually make contact with the wing.
The cold was bitter and a wind swirled all around, backed by that ever present pulsating roar that she knew now had to be a nearby helicopter. Moses helped her down off the wing, then stood to look at her closely. “How did you end up here with Gage?” he asked.
“I was stuck in Pueblo, and he was there with his plane. He gave me a ride, so we could both get back.”
Moses nodded. “Okay, now how are you? Any injuries?”
She shook her head. “No, but Gage hit the door or something and the restraints really bruised him up. But he got us down in that storm.” She had to stop and clear her throat, then hugged her arms tightly around herself while the doctor waited patiently for her to continue. “He was unconscious for a short time afterward, and he got a gash on his forehead. He’s had headaches, and his ribs are really bothering him. He can’t move very quickly unless he has the pain medication that was in the first-aid kit.”
“Why isn’t he up and awake like you are?” Moses asked with a deep frown. She could feel his need to get back in the plane to his friend.
“Last night, he spiked a sudden fever. He was really cold, then he was shivering, and he felt hot. I gave him some medicine, and he’s been sleeping for hours.”
He motioned past her to a man in a jumpsuit who was approaching them from the trees, carrying a heavy box in each hand. “Tell Lester to take care of Miss Brenner, get her warm and check out her vitals. I’m going to see about Gage.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said. After setting the cases down by Dr. Blackstar, he motioned with his head for Merry to follow him back the way he’d just come. She was reluctant, needing to be there to find out about Gage, but knew that this was the beginning of the end for them. Their time together was all but over, and any feelings that had begun to develop between them, wouldn’t be going any further.
And as wonderful as it was to finally be going home to Wolf Lake, it was also tinged with a sense of bittersweet sadness. Swallowing hard, she silently followed the short, compact man who was wearing Search and Rescue badges on his clothes. “Name’s Patrick,” he called over his shoulder.
She just kept following him. At the clearing, the space had been transformed from an empty expanse with a crude arrow in the snow to a landing area for a huge helicopter. The air current from the sweeping blades blew snow off the trees close by and even the thinning clouds were being spun up and out by the pulsating swings of the rotors. She paused, hesitant about getting into a machine that looked so fierce, especially without Gage. If she could have, she would have waited right there for him and the others to come, but another man jumped out o
f the door of the copter and hurried to her.
“Come on. Let’s make sure you’re okay.” The new man introduced himself as Lester and said quickly, “Let’s get this nightmare over for you.”
She felt something in her crumble. Nightmare? Yes, it may have started that way, but it had ended in something she couldn’t define. Lester had his hand on her arm, urging her up and into the beast. Turning her back to what was behind her, she got on board.
* * *
GAGE COULDN’T FIGURE OUT what was going on at first. Merry had disappeared, replaced by Jack, of all people—two Jacks, actually, since his eyes still seemed to be blurred. What was his brother doing here, talking nonstop, asking questions he couldn’t even try to reply to? Then Moses was taking Jack’s place, playing doctor with his stethoscope and thermometer and more questions.
Gage was able to sit up, moisten his dry lips with offered water, then croaked out, “Where’s Merry?”
Moses motioned behind them. “On the rescue helicopter. She’s being checked out by the EMT. She told me what happened. Now, we’re going to get you out of here, and you can fill in the blanks for me.” Moses moved back to let another man into the plane. Lester Waylon. Gage had known him for years.
Instead of getting out of there on a stretcher, Gage was able to get out on his own two feet, all the way to the clearing with Moses supporting him on one side, and Jack on the other. Thankfully, he made it there in one piece, and with their help managed to navigate the step up into the helicopter.
The first thing he noticed was Merry, and relief flooded through him. Then he realized he wasn’t seeing double anymore, and he marveled at how stunning she looked. She saw him right away and a smile spread across her face, making her green eyes glow. Actually, stunning didn’t begin to describe her at that moment.
Then hands behind him eased him into the nearest chair. He almost fell into it, his legs finally giving out. Moses and Jack were right beside him now, his brother crossing to sit by Merry, and Moses taking a seat where he could be directly across from Gage. Lester climbed in, headed up to the front, then the doors were closed and the rotation of the overhead blades increased along with the volume of noise all around them.
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