11. Landon
11
LANDON
T he rain hasn’t let up in the hour I’ve been walking up to Wildman’s Gully. Despite the cold night, I’m sweating under my rain jacket. Amy is out here alone, and I need to get to her.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out carefully, trying not to get it wet.
It’s a message from Amy.
As I read it, my heart pounds. She’s stuck up here with no light and all on her own. I pick up my pace, cursing the rain that has made the trail turn to mud.
I’m risking my life jogging in the dark on a slippery trail. But I don’t care. I have to make it to Amy.
Twenty minutes later, I reach the crags where she said she was sheltering.
“Amy!” I call into the darkness, but my voice is lost in the pounding rain. I sweep my flashlight around the rocks.
At first I see nothing but boulders and bushes. I move closer to the crags, working my way along the trail.
My flashlight illuminates a small bundle, and at first I don’t recognize it as human.
“Amy?” The bundle moves, and her face lifts toward the light.
Relief floods me at the sight of my girl. She’s alive, and I’ve found her.
I crouch next to her, and she’s shivering badly. Her entire body trembles, and her teeth knock together. I need to get her warm and dry.
“Landon?” She smiles softly, and it’s the sweetest sight I’ve ever seen.
“I’m here now, baby girl. I’m going to get you down this mountain.”
“But the hiker?”
Typical Amy. She’s almost hypothermic, and she’s thinking of someone else.
“He was found twenty minutes ago with a broken ankle. Alex and Ethan are carrying him down on the stretcher.”
She leans her head back against the rock, but her teeth are chattering so hard that her head knocks against it.
“We need to get you down this mountain fast.”
I help her to her feet, and she’s shivering so bad she can barely stand. Her phone falls out of her fingers and drops to the ground.
She tries to pick it up, and her fingers are white with cold.
I take her phone and stuff it in my pocket. She’s in a bad way, and I need to get her warmed up and down the mountain pronto.
The best thing I can offer her is body heat.
I unzip my jacket so it falls open. “We’ll leave your backpack here and someone can get it tomorrow, okay?”
She nods. The rain has plastered her hair to her face, and her skin is pasty white and her lips tinged blue.
“Come on.”
I slip my hands under her legs and lift her off the ground. I pull her close to me, and she nestles her head against my chest. Through my layers, I feel her cold body against me. I only hope my body heat is enough to warm her up.
Without another word, I set off down the mountain.
It’s over an hour later when we arrive at Search and Rescue HQ. I stopped to radio ahead and let everyone know I had her.
Amy must have sent texts out to everyone, because her mom and Izzie are here.
I pause before going in, knowing how Amy isn’t ready to tell people about us. But I don’t care. She’s my woman, and I don’t care who knows about it.
My arms ache, but I keep her pinned against me as I carry her into HQ.
Her mother runs up to us, and Amy lifts her head.
“Hey Mom.”
They’re the first words I’ve heard her speak since we started walking, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Suzie’s waiting with a warm blanket and a hot chocolate. But I don’t want to put Amy down. Instead I head out back to the kitchen and sit down with her on my lap.
She shifts her body to get comfortable and keeps her head resting on my chest.
I take her hands in mine and breathe warmth onto them.
“Are you okay?” Izzie crouches next to us. “I got your text, and I freaked out. I came straight here.”
Amy lifts her head to nod. “Your dad found me.”
Izzie puts a hand on Amy’s arm. “Thank God. Do you need help getting out of your wet things? We need to get you warm.”
Izzie stands up and waits for Amy to do the same. But Amy remains in my lap. “I’m fine right here.”
I rub her hands in mine, breathing on them to warm them up. My gaze scan’s Amy’s face looking for signs of exposure, but the shaking has stopped and color has returned to her cheeks. She looks up at me and smiles, and I can’t help myself. I press my lips to hers.
“What the fuck?” I glance up to find Izzie with her mouth open and her brows knit together in a frown. Behind her Lauren, Amy’s mom, looks just as shocked.
A crowd has formed around us, and Ethan and Suzie share a smug look. “Told ya,” says Ethan as they chuckle to themselves.
“Is he the one who sent you the roses?” Izzie stares accusingly at Amy.
Her face darkens and I hold my breath, waiting for her to deny it. But instead she nods.
“Yeah. We…”
Izzie stands up abruptly with her hands up. “Stop. I don’t want to hear it.” She spins around and storms out of the room.
Amy sags against me. “That didn’t go well.”
Amy’s mom steps forward with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and Amy takes it gratefully. I eye Lauren warily, wondering if we’re going to get it from her as well. But her mom just smiles.
“Take the risk, Amy.”
Amy smiles at her mom, and I wonder what she means.
But her welfare is my concern at the moment, and she needs to get out of her wet clothes.
I usher everyone but her mother out of the room. Amy’s fingers are still too numb, so between the two of us we get her wet layers off and warm layers on.
Ten minutes later, with warm clothes on and a hot drink in her hand, she’s looking more like herself.