Cowboy Secrets by Alice Sharpe

Author:Alice Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Pike shook off momentary despair and went to work. As kids they had once rigged a harness and lowered danger-loving Frankie into this pit. He’d reported that the ledge ate its way back into the earth, creating a sort of overhang about fifteen feet down. Pike uncoiled the rope from his shoulder and looped one end around an abandoned mining cart that was wedged against an outcropping of rocks. He quickly moved to the crevice and slipped over the side. Hand over hand, one foot wrapped around the rope, he made his way down until he landed a foot or so from Sierra’s still form.

He took off his gloves and kneeled beside her, resting two fingers against her throat. The world realigned itself as her heartbeat leaped to his touch. He had no way of knowing if anything was broken. The inadequate light didn’t reveal any obvious issues, but he wasn’t sure.

As a precaution, he moved her a few more inches away from the edge, but he couldn’t take her far as headroom tapered off quickly. Moving her revealed she’d been resting atop Tess’s other pink shoe. Using the flashlight, he scanned for any sign of her.

Way back, deep under the overhang, a shape caught his eye. He stared at it until he was able to discern human features: dirt-matted hair, arms and legs all squeezed into a cranny. Tess had to have wiggled herself into this position, which meant she’d been alive after the fall. He got down on his stomach and dragged himself toward her. It was a tight fit and a huge relief when he was finally able to reach out and touch her arm. The light revealed cracked fingernails and rocks imbedded in her scratched hands.

“Tess,” he called softly.

Her eyes fluttered open. He could barely see her features, but he could tell her expression went from frightened to relieved and back again in a single breath. “Pike!” she spluttered.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“Are they gone?”

“Who?”

“Two guys. They...they threw me down here. They must have thought I went all the way to the bottom but my foot hit this ledge and I grabbed on. I don’t know how I managed to climb up here. I just kept picturing that black hole...”

“They’re gone,” he assured her, though he had no way of knowing if they would come back or even if both of them had left. “Can you shift yourself so I can help get you out of there?”

“I’ll try,” she said.

A moment later, he was able to grasp her shoulders and pull her farther toward the edge. Her coat was torn, her hair knotted. Her runny nose had smeared dirt across her cheeks. He handed her his bandanna. “Did all this happen when you fell?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said as she mopped her face. She looked down at her left foot and he directed the light. Her sock was torn and her foot was swollen. Tears appeared in her eyes. “It hurts.”

He felt it gingerly, stopping when she cried out, but then her gaze traveled past him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.