Accidentally His

by Brooks, Sarah J.

  “Just reach your hand down, and I’ll grab onto it,” Jordan said sternly.

  “It’s not that easy. If I don’t have a good footing, you are likely to pull me right over with you. And I’m not likely to land on the ledge.”

  “Right, so my idea is a stupid one already. I got it,” she quipped.

  “I don’t have time for this, Jordan. Are you going to let me help you, or should I just leave you there to fend for yourself?”

  “Yes, Caleb. I want you to leave me here on the ledge.”

  Her sarcasm wasn’t amusing me at all. As much as I wanted to save her, I knew that leaning over the edge of a mountain with this much snow on it wasn’t secure at all. It was a stupid plan, and I wasn’t about to let her talk me into doing something stupid. Since she was secure on the ledge, I could take a minute to figure this out. If that meant she was going to be angry with me, then that was just what was going to have to happen. I ignored her comment and turned back toward the cabin. I had a decent amount of rope I could use. I could tie myself to the tree and then use another bit of rope to throw down to Jordan. Then I’d simply pull her up.

  “You’re really leaving me here?” she yelled up from the ledge. “I was being sarcastic.”

  “I’m going to get a rope. You said you were okay there, right? So give me a minute, and I’ll be right back,” I yelled.

  “Fine,” she yelled back, “just don’t leave me here.” Her voice was soft again, and I heard the tears welling up behind her words. I didn’t turn back to comfort her, though, there wasn’t time for that. Although she felt safe on that ledge, the rest of the snow from the hill could easily slide off and force Jordan over the ledge and down to her death. We had time, but not much of it.

  The snow was too deep to run through, but I did my best to hike quickly back up to the cabin. After rummaging through the shed for my rope, I finally found it and was grossly disappointed that I had only two twenty-foot ropes. I really thought I had bought much more.

  I headed back down the mountain toward Jordan. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this work at all. The nearest tree was at least twenty feet away, and there was no way I could secure myself to it and still reach over and help Jordan up.

  Living on the mountain had made me acutely aware of the need to make the best of situations, though. There wasn’t time to run and grab a new rope at the store. There wasn’t time for me to worry or complain about what I did have available. This was it; I had to figure out how to make this work because there were no other options.

  “Caleb, is that you?” Jordan said through her tears.

  “Yes, I’m back.”

  “I’m sorry I was rude,” she continued to cry. “I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have been rude. Please just help me.”

  I laid down on my stomach and slid to the edge so I could see Jordan clearly. She was huddled up against the mountain with her legs pulled up to her chest as she looked up at me. Her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m going to get you up here. Take a few breaths; you’re going to be just fine,” I said in my calmest voice. “I need a second to set up, but then I’m going to throw a rope down to you. Wrap it around your waist and tie it tight. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Rescuing people certainly wasn’t my specialty. But I wasn’t about to let Jordan or anyone else just die up on this mountain. It was dangerous up here—much more dangerous than people believed when they made plans to come play in the mountains. So many of the hikers that came through this winter had seemed unprepared for a sudden snowstorm; it was ridiculous how people took their lives into their own hands so carelessly.

  Since I couldn’t tie myself to the tree, I took some time to clear the snow off from the ledge that overlooked Jordan. Of course, I wished I had grabbed my shovel and wished I also had grabbed my gloves, but it was too late to run back up there for convenience items like that. With my bare hands, I scooped as much of the snow out of the way as possible, so I could lie down again and look over the edge. I even tried reaching my hand over to see how steady I felt, and it was much better than I had felt with the snow there.

  “Here’s the rope,” I said and threw one end down to Jordan.

  She tied the end around her waist and then looked up at me helplessly. We were so close, yet so far apart. Suddenly, fear took over in Jordan, though, as she looked down the mountain at the impending danger of a fall.

  “I can’t climb up.” She shook her head and sat back down.

  “You can. I’ve got the rope to help support you. I’ll pull while you climb, and it will be easy.”

  “No, I almost fell off this ledge when I tried before.”

  She was curled back up in a ball again and not even looking up at me. This was no time for her to panic, and I wanted to yell at her to toughen up, but I suspected that wasn’t going to go over very well either.

  “Jordan,” I said softly. “Jordan, look up at me.” Reluctantly, she complied. She wasn’t crying, but fear was written all over her face. “I’ve got this end of the rope, and I have my body tied to a tree. There is nothing to worry about,” I lied to her.

  Sometimes lying was the only way to save someone. I did not have myself secured to a tree. There wasn’t enough rope to make that happen, but I needed Jordan to trust me at that moment. I had to have her climb up the cliff because I couldn’t pull her up without her help, especially since I was not secured. This was dangerous. This whole thing was extremely dangerous. One wrong move, and I could tumble over the edge and would likely take Jordan right with me. Every detail had to be just right. We both had to have confidence in each other and work together to make this happen.

  “So I just hold onto the rope and try to climb up it?”

  “No, I’ll pull up on the rope, and you climb the cliff. I’ll hold some of your weight, and I promise I won’t let you fall. But no matter what you do, don’t let go and just grab the rope, I won’t be able to pull you up that way.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  Jordan stood up and looked over the edge briefly before turning toward the edge of the mountain. It looked like there were a few places she could grab onto as she tried to climb up. Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy, but she seemed like a fit girl, and I hoped she could manage. I definitely couldn’t hold onto her if she just grabbed the rope. I only had about two feet of rope in my hands and had it wrapped around my wrist to try and secure it. If Jordan let go of the mountain and grabbed the rope with her full weight, I was likely to lose my hand.

  The rope was tied tightly around her waist as she gingerly found a place to grab while she took her first step up toward me. She was focused like I would have wanted her to be, her eyes looking only at what was right ahead of her and where she could hold onto.

  “Take your time; we aren’t in a hurry,” I said calmly.

  I pulled the rope taut to give her some support. I wrapped the additional rope around my other hand to ensure I could hold onto Jordan if the worst were to happen. My breathing was controlled, and my sight focused on each move that Jordan was making.

  Her fingers were barely gripping onto a small rock as she tried to find a place to put her foot to continue moving upward. She moved her right foot onto a small dirt area, but as soon as she tried to transfer her weight to take a step, her foot slipped.

  “I can’t do it,” she said regaining her balance. “There is no place for me to step.”

  “You can do it. You have to do it. Look up here. If you move quickly, you can use that small dirt area to give you momentum to grab this branch.”

  “I can’t do it,” she said looking at me.

  “Yes, you can,” I affirmed for her. “I’m going to count to three, and then you need to move fast. Once you get to the branch, you’ll almost be done. You can take a minute and rest once you have your hands on that branch. Okay?”

  Jordan looked at me, and instead of fear, I saw determination brewing. She glanced at the small place where
her foot would go and then up at the branch that she was going to grab onto. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she could do it. I was sure of it.

  “So just push off and then lunge for the branch?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if I miss?”

  “I’ve got you,” I said and held my hands out with the rope wrapped around them. “There is nothing to worry about.”

  “Okay, count for me, and I’ll go.”

  “One,” I said and tightened my grip on the rope. “Two,” I dug my boots into their spot. “And three. Go!” I yelled as Jordan moved elegantly and quickly up to the branch.

  She grabbed the small branch and looked around for places to put her feet.

  Chapter 11

  Jordan

  For a brief blissful moment, I held onto the branch and looked up at Caleb. I was only moments away from being able to reach up and grab onto him. Pride swelled up in my chest as I stood there on the edge of the mountain overconfident of myself for making it as far as I had.

  “I did it,” I screeched with excitement.

  “Hold on tight, we aren’t …” Caleb continued talking, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

  My right foot was the first to slip off the ledge, followed quickly by my left foot. I held onto the small branch for dear life. Even though the ledge was only a few feet below me, I was terrified if I fell onto the ledge I wouldn’t be able to contain my momentum and would slip right over and down into the ravine.

  “Help,” I screeched as my feet dangled and I tried to hold onto the branch long enough to get my footing again.

  “I’ve got you Jordan,” Caleb said.

  I could see the rope was tied tightly around both of his wrists and his hands were turning purple from lack of blood supply. Frantically, I looked around below me, desperate to find anything for my feet to hold onto. I couldn’t move fast enough, though, and I felt my fingers sliding off of the branch. I wasn’t going to be able to hold on. I was falling.

  Even with the rope tied around my waist, I still fell hard onto the landing. My feet were near the edge as I scrambled back to safety and looked up at Caleb. The rope had cut his right wrist terribly, and it was bleeding all over the pearly white snow. With his left hand he was barely holding the tip of the rope.

  “Are you okay?” I yelled up at him.

  “Me? You’re the one who fell.” He laughed.

  “I’m okay. You’re the one bleeding.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s just get you up there. I’m going to pull the rope tight again, and you’re going to have to climb back up. I’ll pull hard, and we are going to do this all in one movement. No stopping this time, okay?”

  “But Caleb, you’re bleeding.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s go,” he yelled down at me. He looked a little agitated at me for continuing to worry about him, but I couldn’t help it. “Get going,” he ordered.

  I did as he asked and found a spot to grab onto the mountain so I could start climbing. Without much confidence in my abilities, I placed my hands and then my feet. I moved slowly but felt Caleb pulling on me with the rope and urging me on.

  We didn’t talk this time. Instead, I concentrated on grabbing anything I could so I could make it to the top. When I reached the branch, I used what little strength I had left combined with Caleb pulling on the rope, and this time I moved up another few inches. I found a rock near the top and grabbed onto that while hiking up one of my feet to a new spot. This was it; I was going to make it.

  I felt Caleb’s hand wrap around mine as he pulled me with both the rope and his body. Soon I was able to put my feet on the branch and that gave me the last bit of momentum I needed to get to the top.

  As I fell into the snow, my lungs filled with the cold air of that winter day. I was safe. Caleb had saved me. My breathing was labored, and so was his. We were both lying in the snow just looking up at the clear sky and thankful the whole situation was over.

  “I could kill you right now,” he growled at me.

  “If you wanted to kill me, you could have just left me down there.” I laughed.

  “I told you not to leave,” he said angrily.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” I sat up and looked around at the large amount of blood around us. Caleb was bleeding much more profusely than I had realized. It was all over me and all over him; it was like a bloody crime scene. “Caleb, we need to get that cleaned up.”

  “I know. Let’s get back to the cabin. It will be alright, but I should get something on it to apply pressure.”

  “Here,” I said as I maneuvered my hands under my shirt. “Let me wrap this around it.”

  I pulled my sports bra off and held it out. It was the least I could do after causing so much trouble. He was hurt all because of my stupid mistake.

  “Hmmm, okay.” He laughed and held his wrist out for me to wrap up. “Not exactly the bandage I was thinking of, but it will do.”

  The rope had caused some major damage to Caleb’s wrist. I couldn’t even get a good look at the wound because the blood was still pouring out. This was bad, really bad. We were stuck up in the mountains, there wasn’t a way to get to a doctor, and if this bleeding didn’t stop, Caleb would die.

  “Did it cut your vein or something? This is a lot of blood.”

  “I think with some pressure we can stop it. I’ll clean it up and take a look when we get back to the cabin.”

  He jumped up and pulled me up with him. Without pausing at all, Caleb started hiking back up the hill toward his place. I followed shortly behind him. The thought of what I had just gone through was still fresh in my mind. I could have died, Caleb still could die, all of this was my fault. I felt terrible.

  “Let me help,” I said as we climbed the steps to the cabin and Caleb went and opened the door.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got this.” He ignored me and went straight to the bathroom and shut the door. I wasn’t sure if he was angry with me or if he was in so much pain that he couldn’t wait to take a look at the injury and figure it out.

  “I can help, Caleb. You can’t do it yourself. Let me help,” I said as I stood outside the door. He was silent, but I heard him moving around the bathroom and pulling things out of the cabinet. The clattering of items falling to the floor was loud, and I wanted to just open the door and insist on helping him but decided against it. “I’ll be out here if you need anything,” I added before going into the kitchen.

  The empty kitchen wasn’t comforting to me at all. The guilt over what I’d done was eating me alive. Despite being freezing cold, all I could think about was trying to do something useful. I put some wood into the stove and got it going before I started looking around the cabinets for some food to make.

  The very least I could do was feed the man after he’d nearly had his hand cut off because of me. I pillaged the cabinets and found a bag of flour that happened to have a recipe for cinnamon rolls on it. Cooking had never been my strong suit, but I decided to give it a try.

  After gathering all the ingredients I could find, I began the process of making the dough. It was going to have to sit for a little bit before I could roll it out into the cinnamon rolls.

  “Okay, I need help,” Caleb yelled from the bathroom.

  Of course, when I had my hands covered in sticky dough was when he decided he wanted help, finally.

  “I’ll be there in a second, kind of tied up right now.”

  “Now you don’t want to help?”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want to help. I’m literally covered in dough right now. Give me a second. The last thing you need is this mess anywhere near your open wound.”

  “Fine,” he pouted and shut the bathroom door.

  It was like I couldn’t do anything right with Caleb. Sure, I’d gone against his orders and taken off, but I was trying to help out now. I was trying to make it up to him. I was trying to do whatever I needed to fix things. He had a chip on his shoulder, though, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be
able to knock it off.

  When I finally finished cleaning my hands, I went to the bathroom door and knocked. He opened it and then went back to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He had a towel wrapped around him and looked pitifully up at me. Bandages and cleaning solutions were opened all around him, but none were on his cut.

  “I cleaned it up, but you should probably give it another once over,” Caleb said. He was much calmer than he had been before. Defeat washed over his face, and he looked up at me with a bit of a blank stare.

  It was possible he had lost so much blood that he was getting tired now. At least the bleeding seemed to have calmed down, and I hoped once I had the wrist bandaged up, he would be able to get some rest.

  “Okay, let me take care of it,” I said softly as I sat next to him and pulled the towel from his wrist.

  I dabbed some of the antiseptic solution over the cut and then added some antibiotic cream to it. I used a roll of gauze to wrap around and secured it firmly around the wound. It wasn’t the best job in the world, but it looked like it would hold.

  “Thank you,” he said. His voice was soft and flat with no emotion. Caleb wasn’t looking well at all. He was pale and still staring off into space. I needed to get him to his bed to sleep for a bit. Although I suspected he wasn’t going to take well to any of my suggestions. Caleb didn’t strike me as the sort of guy who liked to listen to others tell him what he needed to do.

  “Let’s get you to bed. I’ll take care of things out here. I promise I won’t go anywhere except to get some wood,” I said, hopeful he would agree.

  “I’ll go with you. I don’t want you out there alone. The bears and mountain lions are going to be roaming now that the sun is out.”

  “Okay.” I knew I couldn’t fight him about this after what had just happened. Arguing with a stubborn man was never a good idea.

  I grabbed his hands and pulled him up. They were cold to the touch, and I wasn’t confident he could stay standing at all. He swayed back and forth and held onto me tightly as he steadied himself.

  The touch of his hands in mine was a welcome feeling. His guard was down if only a little bit, but it was enough for me to see through him. He wasn’t the big tough guy he pretended to be. I could see a softer side of him just under that rough exterior. A side that he clearly didn’t like showing people. Caleb had a huge wall up around him, a proverbial wall that he made sure no one could get through.