“Whoa, calm down.” This was not good. I didn’t see anything wrong with Bailey, but something had scared him. It must have been pretty bad for him to desert Amy like this. Normally he was pretty loyal. I couldn’t imagine him leaving Jenny.
As I rubbed his neck to calm him down, I glanced up the trail hoping to see Amy coming home, her head down, embarrassed she’d let Bailey get away from her.
No, Amy.
“Come on boy,” I said, as I led him into the barn to remove his tack and give him a bucket of oats. When I was done, I stepped back outside and joined Nellie who sat at the barn entrance staring back up the trail.
My stomach clenched up with worry. She knew as well as I did that this wasn’t good.
I glanced up at the sky and shuddered. It would be dark soon. Should I call someone? Who? No, Amy would kill me if she was just fine and half the county came out looking for her.
“Let’s go,” I told Nellie as I started down the trail Amy had taken earlier.
It was easy to see Bailey’s trail. Both coming and going. His hoof prints in the soft earth was a clear marker. When the trail turned onto the logging road, I stopped a minute to scan the way as it snaked its way back and forth through the mountains.
Still no Amy.
Swallowing a lump of worry I started jogging. It was getting late. I needed to find her before it got dark.
It was Nellie who showed me where they turned off. I backtracked and followed her up the new trail. Where was Amy? This was so much further back than I expected. I should have called someone. If she was this far back, she was in trouble. Every part of me just knew it.
As the trail bent with the stream, Nellie froze and growled deep in her throat. I stopped and examined the ground.
I gasped when I saw the large paw print square in the middle of the trail. A mountain lion. A big one. It was obvious what had happened. The paw print. The lack of hoof prints beyond. Bailey had reared and turned for home.
But where was Amy? As I twisted and turned, my eyes scanned the ground, my heart slammed to a stop. There, on the ground, more paw prints and a muddy patch with specks of red blood. A lot of it, and a scrape on the ground where something had been dragged into the bushes.
“No!” I whispered. No, this wasn’t possible, I thought as my stomach turned over. Not Amy, no. Suddenly our mutual dislike seemed ridiculous.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to start to follow the drag mark.
Nellie barked, pulling my attention back to the bluff. She stood at the edge, looking down at the stream.
I glanced from my dog to the forest and the bushes, then back at Nellie. Sighing, I turned away to see what she had found.
Please, I begged. Please, be okay, Amy.
.o0o.
Amy
Slowly, the blackness was replaced by fuzzy clouds. Then my world became nothing but pain. Everywhere, pain. Sharp, aching, burning, pain. The kind of pain that made me wish for the darkness again.
What had happened? How had … Oh my god. The big cat, Bailey? The sudden awareness pushed the pain to the side as a new fear filled me.
A rustle above me on the trail made me hold my breath. Was that the cougar? Had he come back to finish me.? Was I to be his next meal? My heart raced as I tried to move. I had to get out of there. But, my muscles refused to work.
I had gone over the edge of the bluff and ended up in the long grass next to the steam. Maybe I could hide.
No, the cat would smell my fear from a half mile away.
A soft swish in the grass behind me made my blood turn cold.
A rock. A stick. My hands scraped across the ground as I desperately searched for a weapon. But there was nothing. I would have to face the mountain lion with nothing but my bare hands. Please, I begged. Please go away. Just go away. You don’t want me. I taste terrible.
Again, something moved behind me in the bushes. Then, a long black nose stuck its way through the grass. I took a deep breath ready to scream when Nellie poked her head through and licked my face.
Never, in a million years will anyone be as happy as I was at that moment. Reaching up, I pulled her into a hug as my body screamed in protest. I didn’t care about the pain. I just cared that I wasn’t going to be eaten.
Another noise had me twisting to find Luke looking down at me with a worried frown.
Yes, I thought as I slumped back onto the ground. Of course. Who else.
I smiled up at him, my heart raced with both relief and a touch of hero worship. The man had come for me. I was saved.
“Bailey?” I asked him as he knelt down next to me.
“He’s fine,” he said as his eyes traveled over my body looking for injuries. When he reached my feet, he winced.
“I saw a bunch of blood up there?”
“A deer,” I answered as I winced, the pain was killing me.
He nodded as he brushed my hair back to look into my eyes. Once he had seen what he needed to see, he slowly examined the knot on my forehead and shook his head.
“How long were you out?” he asked me.
“I just woke up,” I said as I tried to get up on my elbows.
“Hold on,” he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. His gentle touch did more to make me feel safe than anything I could ever expect. Luke was here. That was all I needed to know. My body felt as if I’d been run over by our football team, twice, but I was safe. No mountain lion would ever think of taking on someone like Luke. That was all that mattered.
Slowly, his hands traveled over my body. Down my arms, across my ribs. Gently prodding and poking.
I shivered. The least he could do was tell me before he started touching me like that. But not Luke. No, to him I was just another injured animal.
“You know,” I said, “if you just asked, I could have told you where I hurt.”
He stared at me for a moment then turned to focus on my ankle.
Holding my breath, I waited for him to pronounce his finding.
“It might be broken,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I don’t know if I can get that boot off without cutting it up. It seems…”
“Just cut it off,” I snapped, before I could stop myself.
He frowned. “They look expensive.”
I sighed heavily. “Does it really matter?”
He nodded slowly, as he used his pocket knife to slowly cut my boot away.
My stomach fell. The pain that continually shot through me had been a warning. But still, the new pain sent a cold chill through me. I so didn’t need this just now.
He winced when he cut away my sock. Not a reassuring sound. “This is going to hurt.”
I slumped back down and nodded. There was no use arguing with him. I could tell by his voice that he knew what he was doing. Of course, growing up on a farm he had dealt with tons of injured animals.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he got up. Once standing, he pulled off his denim jacket and draped it over me.
“No,” I said as I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Don’t leave me. There was a mountain lion.”
“I saw the tracks,” he said. “Nellie will stay with you.” Then, turning to the dog, he pointed to my side and told her to lay down.
Nellie followed his instructions to the letter, curling up next to me, her eyes searching mine, silently begging me to be okay. I smiled at the dog as I petted her neck.
I looked back up, but Luke was gone. Gone like a breeze in a storm.
An empty, worried feeling filled me. Life had seemed so much safer with him there next to me.
Laying my head back I fought to hold off the pain as I conducted an inventory. My head hurt. Reaching up, I felt an egg-sized bump over my right eye. The back of my left hand had a nasty scratch. And my ribs felt like someone had used them for boxing practice. But it was my right ankle that was killing me. Sending throbbing waves of pain through my entire body.
Oh, Amy, I thought. I had really done it this time. Dad was going to worry all nig
ht when he didn’t get my text telling him I was home safe.
A scuff behind me made my heart jump. I quickly checked Nellie but she hadn’t moved. I relaxed, it must be Luke. Nellie would never let anything happen to me.
When Luke stepped back through the brush, Nellie looked up at him then laid her head on my thigh, her eyes never leaving his while she waited for another command.
Luke kneeled down by my feet and shot me a quick glance while he raised his eyebrow. Silently asking if I was ready for this.
My stomach turned over as I nodded back for him to go ahead.
He smiled gently then used his knife to cut away both of his sleeves on his flannel shirt. His large arms sent a comforting feeling through me as I realized how nice it was to have a strong man there at a moment like that. I know, not how girls were supposed to think. But mountain lions didn’t worry about political correctness.
Tearing the cut sleeves into strips, he laid them across my thighs then measured the sticks against my feet.
His large body moved smoothly as he worked to get ready. He knows what he is doing I reminded myself. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth while I stared up at a pine tree overhanging the bluff.
Luke paused for a moment then started tying the splints in place, jostling my foot. I gasped as I instinctively pulled back.
“Sorry,” he said as he stared at me. “But I’ve got to do this before you make it worse.”
All I could do was nod as I let him get back to work. Once he was done, he leaned back and gently touched my calf.
“Impressive,” he said. “I would have screamed my head off.”
I looked at him through the tears in my eyes. I knew he was lying, but I also knew he was trying to make me feel better.
Turning away from me, he looked up at the sky and shook his head. I followed his gaze and shuddered. The sun was behind the mountains and the day had turned to darkening shadows.
“Where’s your phone?” he asked me.
He didn’t have a phone? Of course not.
Wincing a little, I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket. My heart fell. A spiderweb of cracked glass stretched across the screen.
It was dead. Of course, what else could go wrong with my life.
Luke shook his head. “Now we know why your ribs hurt.”
He sighed heavily and turned away. “I’ll get a fire going before I go get help.”
“No, you don’t,” I said. “You are not leaving me here. Didn’t you hear me, there was a mountain lion. No way are you leaving me here all alone.”
He turned back, then glanced up at the sky again as he slowly shook his head. “I can make a travois and drag you out. But there’s no moon tonight. That trail can get a little hairy. Besides, between the lion and the bears. I’m not happy about the two of us being away from a fire.”
My insides curled up into a tight ball. The thought of being dragged through a forest on a dark night. No. that was not happening.
“Okay,” he said as he looked at the sky again. “I think we should stay until morning. Between the fire and Nellie, we will be fine. I promise.”
I knew I was probably being unrealistic. But I was glad. It was nice having someone else make the decisions. My head felt too foggy to think straight. Closing my eyes for a moment. My insides relaxed. I was glad I wasn’t going to be left there alone, glorified cougar bait.
No, he was right. Staying was the smart move. Besides, I knew that as long as Luke was there things would work out. Or at least I hoped so.
Chapter Five
Luke
The girl was impressive. She had barely whimpered when I splinted that foot. And deep down I knew I’d made the right decision. It was better that we waited out the darkness and left in the morning.
“If we’re staying the night,” I told her, “then I’m going to move you over by the bluff. It will act as a reflector for the fire and keep us warm enough. Besides, the ground is softer over there.”
She gritted her teeth as she nodded. God, she must be racked with pain. My heart went out to her. She reminded me of an injured calf. All big eyes and soul tearing innocence.
“I’m sorry if this hurts,” I said as I slipped an arm under her knees and another beneath her shoulders. She shook her head, but I could tell by the set of her jaw that she was fighting back a scream of pain.
Lifting her up, I pulled her to my chest. The girl was all soft curves and weighed less than a breath of air. Her arms wrapped themselves around my neck as she buried her head in my shoulder. I held her there for a moment, letting her rest. A protectiveness flashed through me. Nothing would be allowed to hurt this girl ever again.
Suddenly I realized what I had really missed over the last two years. Before, it had all been a hazy need. Now, here it was, live and real in my arms. Connectedness.
As I settled her down with her back to the sandy bluff, I made sure to be gentle with her leg. When I pulled back, her arms continued to hold me around my neck. For just the briefest of seconds, our eyes locked and we became lost as our world disappeared.
Blushing, she let go and looked away. I swallowed hard and told her I needed to get some firewood before it got dark. That was my excuse. But deep down I knew I was running away. Amy Jensen was not in my future. She deserved so much more.
Shaking my head at stupid thoughts, I set off.
One of the beautiful things about a Northwest forest is that there is a ton of wood within a few steps so I didn’t have to leave Amy alone for long. It only took a few minutes and I had more than enough to last us the night.
Once I had it all set up, I removed a storm match from a secret compartment of my pocket knife. A memory of Dad giving me the knife for my tenth birthday flashed through my mind. He had shown me the secret compartment that kept the wooden match.
“Anyone who can’t start a fire with only one match doesn’t know what they are doing,” he had told me on one of our camping trips. And since then, it had always been a point of pride with me.
In no time, I had a nice blaze going. I glanced over at Amy. She smiled back at me through her pain.
“Aren’t you cold?” she said nodding at my now sleeveless shirt and holding up my jacket.
“I’m fine,” I told her as a strange feeling filled me. I wasn’t used to having people worry about me. Mom and Jenny, sure. But, anyone else. No, not in a long time.
Amy shrugged as she snuggled back down under my jacket.
Nellie laid next to her good leg, helping to keep her warm. I smile and nodded to my dog, silently thanking her and letting her know she was doing good. Nellie cocked an eyebrow at me, telling me that of course, she was taking care of Amy. Amy was family.
My insides turned over as I thought of just how true that was. The feel of her in my arms wouldn’t go away though. Those curves. That softness and the way she looked at me. As if she trusted me. As if she believed in me. It was enough to make a guy’s guts twist themselves into knots.
What now? I wondered as I squatted down next to the fire to feed it some larger sticks and give it a quick stir.
“Will we be okay?” Amy asked through gritted teeth. “I mean the cougar and stuff.”
I nodded, “Between the fire and Nellie. We’ll be fine.”
Amy tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace. Her face was white even in the glow of the yellow firelight. Was she going into shock? For the thousandth time, I second-guessed the decision to stay the night.
Between her leg and that bump on her head, she needed to be in a hospital. Not sitting next to a stream in the forest.
“Thank you,” she said. “For coming to get me.”
All I could do was nod. “Jenny would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”
She laughed then quickly grimaced again when another wave of pain shot through her.
“I’m thirsty,” she said as she licked her lips.
I swallowed hard and shook my head. “I’m sorry Amy. But the streams around here are f
illed with giardia. The last thing you need right now is a bad stomach bug.” A wave of guilt washed over me. I knew technically it wasn’t my fault but still, I hated not being able to solve her problems.
She frowned as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
I studied her in the firelight. She really was pretty. Even now, with tangled hair, grime and blood on her forehead, and a brow knotted in pain. Even then, she was beautiful.
Sighing, I turned to focus on the fire.
“I was driving a car a few hours ago,” she said with a shake of her head. “Listening to satellite radio. I had a device in my pocket that gave me access to all the knowledge of the human race.”
She paused for a moment. “Now, we are no better than cavemen. Sitting around a fire, scared of the wild animals in the night. We can’t even boil water.”
I nodded as I continued to stare into the fire.
“I never realized,” she continued, “just how close we were to losing it all.”
She was right. The difference was, I had always known just how close to the edge we were.
A small whimper that she quickly shut down caught my attention. I studied her for a moment and saw her shiver. Keeping her warm was going to be the challenge I realized. The fire helped, but it wasn’t enough.
“Here,” I said as I arranged branched that could be fed into the fire. “Scoot forward.”
She frowned up at me, her eyes examining me for a moment.
I ignored her as I restacked the firewood closer to her then moved to get behind her. She looked up, her neck craning to figure out what I was doing.
“I’m freezing,” I told her hoping she’d believe me and let me keep her warm.
A quick look of guilt passed behind her eyes before she wiggled away from the bluff, giving me room to slip in behind her. Nellie got out of the way as my legs nestled in next to Amy’s.
I felt her body tense up as I sat down behind her and put my arms around her, pulling her back to me.
“Relax Amy,” I said with a small laugh. “I promise to keep my hands where they belong.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You just got out of jail. It’s dark. We are alone in the woods. Every book I have ever read tells me this is not a smart idea.”
My Best Friend's Brother (Hometown Heroes Book 3) Page 3
