Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
As she stared into the sinkhole at the women who needed help out, Serena wished for just a moment that she had not lied. While she was trained and certified in this kind of rescue, she didn’t have experience running one. And she’d missed the last training rappelling session held two months earlier due to being home sick with the flu.
“You’ll be fine, sugar,” Noah said, “Just remember your training.”
Serena nodded without saying a word. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the edge of the sinkhole before turning around. Recalling everything she could from her three experiences doing this during training, she wrapped the rope around her body and then began to walk backward, slowly letting out the rope as she did.
Once she was out of sight of all the men who were waiting, she stopped for a moment to just breathe. From the appearance of the wall she was scaling down, the sinkhole dropped straight down. Pushing off from the wall, she loosened her hold on the rope and allowed it to slide through her hands. She wanted to move faster, but fear kept her pace a foot or two at a time. To combat her slight fear of heights, she kept her gaze on the clouds in the sky that were beginning to turn a beautiful pinky-peachy-purply color as the sun began to set. She kept going until she felt the ground under her back.
“I did it,” she whispered to herself. Climbing to her feet, she unwound the rope from around her body, leaving the harness Ford had tied around her in place for later. Once she was free, she unclipped the pack and hurried to where Caroline sat with Tori’s head and shoulders in her lap.
“Is she still unconscious?” Serena asked as she knelt and pulled off the leather gloves someone had given her.
“She woke up for a few seconds, said her head hurt, and then faded out again,” Caroline said as tears rolled down her face.
“Tori? Can you open your eyes? Come on, sweetie. Open your eyes and look at me,” Serena gently patted the unconscious woman’s face.
Tori groaned as she opened her eyes and looked up at her. She managed to say, “Head hurts,” before her eyes rolled up and she was out again.
Serena pulled out a small flashlight and checked her pupil responses. She then checked her other vital signs and the rest of her body for injuries, determining that her head appeared to be the only thing that was injured. She then turned her attention to Caroline. The woman’s bottom lip was quivering, but Serena was very proud of her. Caroline might be a Little on the Ranch, but she was also a very brave woman who’d remained at her friend’s side in what was a very frightening situation.
“Where are you hurt?”
“My ankle.”
Caroline extended her legs, showing her that her left ankle was three times the size of the right one. Reaching into the pack, Serena pulled out an elastic wrap and an old magazine Derek had had in his truck. She used the magazine to stabilize Caroline’s foot and wrapped it in place with the bandage.
“All right, Caroline, you’ve done a great job helping your friend. I need you to hang tight and be brave for a couple more minutes and we’re going to get you both out of here.”
“Thank you,” Caroline said, sniffing and wiping away her tears.
Serena gave her a rather awkward hug due to the harness she still wore. “You are most welcome, sweetie.”
Rising, she walked a few steps away and pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Calling Quincy Nelson, one of the Ranch’s doctors, she relayed their injuries, gave him Tori’s vital signs, and then said, “They’re both going to have to be brought up in the litter. Have it sent down, please.”
“You got it. Move back so it doesn’t hit you,” Quincy said. “The last thing we need is another injured person in a hole.”
Serena moved back, then waited. A few moments later, the metal basket flew over the edge. Once it was on the ground, she dragged it to where the women waited and positioned it right beside Tori’s body.
“Caroline, I need your help moving Tori into the basket.”
Caroline’s eyes went wide, but she nodded as she swallowed hard. “I can try.”
It took a bit of work, but with Caroline’s help, Serena slipped a cervical collar around Tori’s neck and a helmet over her head before they lifted her into the metal basket and fastened the straps to hold her secure.
“All right, Tori, you’re going to go for a little ride now,” Serena told the woman who was awake again and ready to be lifted. Once the litter was rising, Serena turned to Caroline and fastened a helmet over her head. “She’s lucky to have a friend like you.” At Caroline’s wavering smile, she added, “You’ve been a Big girl but you can be Little again if you’d like. We’ve got you.”
Caroline’s smile widened and this time, it was she who did the hugging.
* * *
“Tori is ready to be pulled up,” Quincy called, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
Ford moved to the blue rope tied to Derek’s truck and felt like he was helping as Derek eased his truck forward. When they reached the point where the rope split to the two ends of the basket, he yelled for Derek to stop. Then he and Noah lifted the metal basket over the edge and onto the grass. Lawson and Quincy joined them and together the four men carried the basket to where an ambulance was parked and waiting.
After moving the injured woman to the gurney and sliding it into the ambulance, Quincy stayed with Tori while they returned to the hole to repeat the process with the second woman.
Once both Littles were out of the hole and under the doctor’s care, Ford and Noah returned to their places at the edge of the hole. Leaning as far as they could, they watched their woman as the golf cart pulled her out.
Ford didn’t take an easy breath until Serena walked over the edge of the hole. Grabbing her, he lifted her into his arms and hurried to the crest of the hill just as the earth rumbled. Turning back, he watched as the ground where they had been standing just moments before disappeared and the hole grew even larger.
“What the fuck did you just do?” Serena yelled at him once he set her down. “You were supposed to stay away from the edge and be safe, not endanger yourself by standing on unstable ground without a safety line.”
Ford shrugged in silent response. At that moment, he could not speak, could not explain his actions, and didn’t feel the least bit of regret at his spontaneous, unsafe action. At least not until a large hand popped the back of his head.
“If we were at work, you’d be on a week’s suspension for that,” Noah yelled at him.
Ford looked at Noah as if he’d grown another head. “And guess who’d be suspended right along with me? Where’s your safety gear?”
The bigger man shrugged then shoved him aside so he could pull Serena into a bearhug of his own. Ford allowed it, knowing that his partner needed to know their woman was safe and unharmed.
They ended up having to cut Serena out of the rope harness when they could not untie the knots, but she was soon free. They climbed into the back seat of the cart and allowed Lawson to drive them back to the resort’s main building through the deepening twilight.
As he snuggled Serena on his lap, Ford decided the three of them needed to talk to Derek again. They needed to find a way to tie Serena to them forever. He wouldn’t be able to live with anything less than having both Noah and Serena tied to him permanently.
“Thank you,” Lawson said as they climbed from the cart at the front door of the resort. “I’m not sure it would have gone as easily without your help. Miss Serena, I apologize for doubting your abilities.”
“You’re very welcome,” Serena said with a smile. “But please don’t need us again for the next few days, okay?”
Lawson chuckled before he said, “I’ll see what I can do.”