Love and Other Crazy Plans by Jo Noelle

Author:Jo Noelle [Noelle, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Box Press LLC
Published: 2018-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

11

Kade Nance

Kade didn’t often look at the engagement ring he carried, but that morning, he pulled it from the coins in his pocket and held it, pinched between two fingers. A year ago, it represented his future. Now, it was his past. He didn’t love Cara less, but he wanted to love Adelle, and this had held him back. What about the promise he made?

He and Cara had gone hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park as they had so many times before. It had been a full-moon hike—start at midnight and reach the peak in time to watch the sunrise. That’s when he would propose.

That night had been cloudy, but no rain in the forecast. The route they’d chosen was a moderate level—there would be some spots with long stretches of incline. Three hours into the hike they realized they’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. The trail had been narrowing until their feet had little margin for error. They hugged the rock face on one side to keep from falling into the canyon on the other side. They had finally stopped when only half their feet were on the little rock ledge while their heels hung off.

Cara had reached for his hand. “Let’s head back and pick up the trail again,” she had said as she started moving back the way they’d come. Kade remembered the laugh in her voice and the heavy twilight shadows across her face that still didn’t conceal her smile. He knew she loved a challenge and hadn’t wanted to quit this one, but was enjoying herself even then. Two steps later, the rock crumbled from beneath her left foot and his right, sending them both down the hundred-fifty-foot drop.

With the sun above the mountains, he’d woken up on an outcropping that had kept them from falling three hundred more feet. His head throbbed, as did his foot. Something sticky clung to his face and neck—blood. His mind woke enough that panic propelled him to move. Kade found Cara a few feet away. She wasn’t moving, but her chest rose with shallow breaths. With each breath she took, hope grew in his chest.

He dragged himself nearer to her. The mud under her head pooled with dark blood. Dread filled him. He didn’t know how to help. A leg and arm were obviously broken, laying at odd angles. She needed help. He pulled his satellite phone from the pack at her waist to call for search and rescue.

She said something. He leaned closer to her face. “I can’t feel all of me. It’s like a large part of me is missing.” Tears poured from her eyes. “I’m dying. I think I’m dying.”

He was afraid to touch her. There were so many cuts and bruises. A small area on one cheek was without injury. His trembling fingers caressed her there. “Shh.” His voice cracked with the pain of his heart breaking. “You’re going to live, Cara,” he whispered, not able to push out enough breath to speak. Please let her live.

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