Peril at the Peak by Jennifer Brown

Author:Jennifer Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-07-26T18:12:07+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Their trek to the safety of the cave was very slow. Jeremy’s weight was overwhelming, and even though Sam took the backpack to lighten Whitney’s load, the rain and sweat had made their skin slick, forcing Whitney to cling to Jeremy with everything she had to keep him from falling away. He leaned heavily on her, stopping and clutching his stomach every few feet, swaying from dizziness and nausea. Twice he lurched away to be sick, knocking Whitney to her knees with the sudden motion. Her muscles ached and her ankle screamed, and the cave seemed an impossible distance away.

The mountain seemed so steep—even steeper than it had seemed the night before when she was the one who needed help. Whitney was well aware the last several feet leading to the cave entrance were rocky and unstable. She wasn’t sure how she was going to traverse the distance herself, much less get him up there.

She was so tired.

Empty. And tired.

But Jeremy hadn’t stopped, and he certainly hadn’t given up on her, so Whitney refused to give up or stop on him. She tried to tell herself it was a matter of repayment, but deep inside she knew it was something more. She understood him now. And with that understanding came an even stronger desire to get through this with him.

Whitney and Jeremy were both scratched and bruised from being unable to shield themselves from the slap of limbs and grasp of weeds. Whitney’s palms were scraped from falling on them. And both of them were limping greatly. They must have made for an unsightly pair.

The temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up, rushing down the mountain in gusts and gales, driving the raindrops into their eyes, their ears, their skin. Sam’s entire body quaked and shivered as she caught up with Whitney. Her knees looked ready to buckle.

No, not an unsightly pair. They made for an unsightly trio.

Whitney paused at the bottom of the final incline to the cave entrance. “Can you take the bag up?” Sam nodded and scrambled up the rocks, her shoes only slipping once or twice as they knocked gravel loose. She crawled into the tiny opening, then turned around and poked her head out. “Good!” Whitney called.

She chewed her lip, assessing the situation. How was she going to get Jeremy up this last hill? Sam had only slipped a couple of times, but if Jeremy started to slide, Whitney wouldn’t physically be able to stop him, would she? They would both tumble down, and they couldn’t afford any more injuries.

“Jeremy?” she asked, talking loudly, even though she was right in his ear. The noise of the storm was picking up. He lifted his head. “We’ve got to work together. It’s just...it’s just a few feet. I need you to use all of your strength, okay? Everything you’ve got. For Sam.”

She said the last, knowing that if anything would muster Jeremy’s strength, it would be the thought of his daughter. It worked. He nodded, and she felt some of his weight lift off of her as he straightened to full standing.

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