Chapter 46
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
The Mine Shaft
Rain beat down on me as I was pulled to safety in a harness by a three-man search and rescue team. The moment I was on solid ground, Brooks dragged me into his arms.
Cole and his search and rescue team members were standing by, waiting to take care of me, but Brooks was clearly reluctant to let me go.
“Brooks,” I said, touching his hand and looking up at him. “Let them help me.”
His jaw clenched.
“You can stay with me,” I said. “Okay?”
He nodded and his arms dropped from around me.
I was cold and shivering as Cole asked me how long I’d been outside.
“I’m not sure. A few hours at least,” I said in a daze. “Are you going to give me dry clothes?”
“I know it sounds counterintuitive, but no. We’re going to wrap you up and then get you to the hospital. So do me a favor and lay down on the stack of blankets right there, okay?”
Cole stuck heating pads beneath my armpits and then burrito-wrapped me with wool and emergency blankets.
The team placed me into a waiting ambulance in the parking lot. I was immediately transferred to a special gurney and buckled in.
“Anything hurt?” the male EMT asked as he began to shine a light in my eyes and examine me.
“Just my head,” I explained. “I hit it when I fell.”
He gently probed the area I mentioned, and I winced when he discovered the goose egg on the side of my scalp.
“Did you lose consciousness?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” he said. “What else hurts?”
“My side . . .”
The female EMT looked at me and asked, “Is there any chance you might be pregnant?”
I froze.
For a moment, no one said a word.
“Freckles?” Brooks pressed.
I swallowed and kept my eyes trained on him when I said, “I might be pregnant.”
I was suddenly no longer aware of the two EMTs anymore. Not when I had Brooks’ indiscernible gaze riveted on my face.
The female EMT cleared her throat. “All right,” she said, and then looked at Brooks. “Sir, would you like to meet us at the hospital?”
“He’s coming with me,” I blurted out.
The female EMT nodded.
Brooks paused for a moment and then climbed into the cabin.
He held my hand the entire way, not saying a word.
I hadn’t wanted to tell him this way. Not in front of strangers. Now I had no idea what was going on in his head.
When we arrived at the hospital, I was taken care of quickly. They administered a pregnancy test.
Positive.
I was lucky. No internal injuries. Mild concussion. Minor hypothermia and dehydration.
Brooks sat at my bedside in silence. His phone rang, but he didn’t notice.
Because all he did was stare at me.
“You should get that,” I murmured. “It might be important.”
“There’s nothing more important than you.” His eyes dipped to my stomach.
His phone beeped, signaling a voicemail. Then it rang again.
“Brooks,” I pleaded. “Answer it.”
With a sigh, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the name across the screen. “It’s Archer.”
“Talk to him,” I urged. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear. “Yeah.” He paused. “She’s fine. No. Don’t come down—” He sighed. “Alright. See you in a few.”
Brooks hung up. “Archer’s coming.”
“So I gathered.”
“Hadley, Salem, the whole fleet of them are coming with him.”
“Oh . . .”
We fell silent again and then I asked, “How did you know where I was? I lost my phone somewhere.”
“It was next to your car,” he explained. “It must have fallen out of your pocket when you got out. When I got to the trailhead and your phone was there, but you weren’t, I called Cole. The mist was starting to get bad and there was no fucking way I was leaving you out in it alone.”
“I was worried you wouldn’t come looking for a long time. What tipped you off that something was wrong?”
“Hadley found me in the barn late this morning and asked why you hadn’t returned any of her calls or texts.
That made sense, you know? That you might need some alone time.
But I thought for sure you’d turn to your friends at some point and when you didn’t .
. . I drove back to town and bumped into Gracie.
She saw you leave early this morning driving like a bat out of Hell.
I checked your location and headed to the trailhead and found your car and phone.
Cole and the guys met me with the dogs. The dogs scented your car, and we found you less than twenty minutes later.
Crazy that the dogs could track you even through the rain, but they’re bloodhounds, so I guess it shouldn’t be a shock. How did you wind up in the mine shaft?”
I scratched the bridge of my nose, which only reminded me that I’d lost my glasses. Brooks was a bit fuzzy. “I was running away from a mountain lion.”
Brooks stared at me for a moment before rising and stalking out of the hospital room.
I peered after him, wondering what he was doing. After several minutes, he returned and took his seat.
“A mountain lion?” His voice was raspy, like he was trying not to yell.
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
“And you weren’t carrying bear spray or anything, were you?”
“No.”
With a growl, he got up and stalked from the room again.
I bit my thumbnail and waited for him to come back.
When he did, I asked, “You can yell, if you want.”
“I’m not going to yell.”
“Why not? Is it because I’m pregnant and you don’t want to yell at a pregnant woman?” I asked, finally broaching the subject that I’d been too chickenshit to bring up again.
The door of the hospital room opened, and a nurse entered with a cheery smile. “You’ve got some visitors waiting to see you out in the lobby. You up to seeing them?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t. Brooks and I were right in the middle of a conversation, and I didn’t know how he felt about me being pregnant.
Archer came in first, followed by Salem, Hadley, and their husbands. Hadley burst into tears the moment she saw me. Declan pulled her to him and patted her on the back.
“What the hell were you doing out at Prospector’s Peak so early in the morning?” Salem demanded. “And alone, no less? And with terrible weather rolling in?”
“Not to mention a mountain lion that was stalking her,” Brooks added.
I glared at Brooks.
“Mountain lion!” Hadley screeched. “There was a mountain lion!”
“You outran a mountain lion?” Salem yelled.
“Technically, I fell into a mine shaft to get away from it. I didn’t outrun it.”
“This isn’t funny,” Hadley snapped. “You could’ve died.”
“I know that,” I said tiredly. “Believe me, I know that.”
“Did you have bear spray?” Salem asked.
I winced. “No.”
“Have you learned nothing from Hadley’s bear experience?” Salem demanded.
“It slipped my mind,” I muttered.
As in, I hadn’t been in my right mind at all.
“All right, you’ve said your piece,” Brooks announced. “Lecturing her isn’t going to change the past. If I thought it would, I’d still be on a tirade. Let’s move on.”
Archer’s gaze bounced between me and Brooks, but he remained silent.
“You’re right,” Hadley said with a sigh. “We’ll let it go, won’t we, Salem?”
“Like hell I will,” Salem stated.
“Salem,” Cas said.
She collapsed against his side. “Fine. I’ll bite my tongue.”
“There’s a first,” I quipped, reaching a hand out to my friend who took it immediately.
“Muddy, Dad and Jane wanted to come, but they thought you’d be overwhelmed,” Salem said.
“I don’t know why they’d think that,” I joked. I dropped Salem’s hand and leaned back against the pillows. “I’m sorry I scared everyone.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Hadley said, moving out of Declan’s arms to come closer to my bedside.
I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Someone call Wyn. She’s probably worried sick.”
“I already called her,” Brooks said.
I frowned. “When?”
“When they were taking care of you after you got admitted,” he explained.
“Oh, well, thank you for that,” I said.
“When do you get out of here?” Cas asked.
“I don’t know. Soon, I hope,” I said.
“I don’t have my truck to drive us back,” Brooks stated. “I rode with you in the ambulance.”
“I can wait around,” Archer announced. “I can drive you both back to town.”
“What about my car?” I asked. “It’s still on the forest road, right?”
“We can take care of that,” Declan said. “And Brooks’ truck. Right, Cas?”
“Yeah, we got it covered.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Brooks rose from his seat and fished around in his pocket. He handed two sets of keys to Declan. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Cas slapped him on the back. “That’s what family’s for.”
I lowered my head toward my chest and closed my eyes, hoping the tears wouldn’t fall.
Hadley and Salem gently hugged me, enveloping me in their arms.
The four of them left and it was just Archer who remained with Brooks and I. It wasn’t long until the nurse came to discharge me with instructions about monitoring my concussion.
“You’ll have someone spend the night with you, yes?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Good. And remember, if anything changes, like if your headache gets worse instead of better, you come back immediately. And when I say if anything changes, I mean anything, understand?”
“I promise,” I said.
She unhooked me from the IV and after she cleaned up my arm, I climbed out of bed. Archer stood back while Brooks helped me into my shoes, keeping his arm around me. After I was dressed, we made our way to the hospital lobby.
“I’ll get the truck and swing around,” Archer said as he jogged out of the hospital and into the afternoon rain.
I was suddenly exhausted, and I sank against Brooks’ side. He brushed a kiss to my forehead, and I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.
He held me tight as I cried in public. But I couldn’t stop it. The tears came on their own time in their own way.
When a few minutes had passed, I pulled back.
“You gonna be okay?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Archer’s waiting,” he said. “Let’s get you home.”
I grabbed his shirt and peered up at him. “You’ll stay with me, right? You won’t leave me?”
He cradled my cheeks in his large hands. “I won’t leave you.”
I swallowed another bout of fresh tears and nodded. Brooks helped me into the back seat of the truck and then folded his long body into the spot next to me.
Archer leaned over and adjusted the front passenger seat to give Brooks more leg room.
“Thanks,” Brooks said.
“No problem. You guys buckled in?”
Brooks grabbed my seat belt and gingerly clipped it in and then did the same for himself. “We’re good.”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep, but I was told to wait a few more hours before conking out.
At least I was warm.
Archer turned on the radio and adjusted the station to classic country. I didn’t complain. I was just glad that no one had the inclination to speak.
I pressed my ear to Brooks’ chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.
It reminded me that he was alive. We both were.
And it was time to face the truth.