22. Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
“Happy, singing, fine.”
Cassandra didn’t expect Wes to show up for dinner, but when the campers all gathered around the fire pit and he still wasn’t there, she began to worry. Lester sat down next to her.
“So, where’s the boss?”
“He’s not back yet.” She glanced toward the cabin to see if the lights were on. Maybe he’d returned without stopping at the fire.
“It’s not like him to miss the final campfire. Is something going on that I should know about?”
She turned to him. “We had a discussion earlier about…he was upset, but not at me. He needed to process. At least that’s what I thought.”
“You two are alright?”
“Yes. I thought so. Now I don’t know.”
“Where did he go?”
“He was following the lake trail. I left him there before dinner.”
“Well, he’s been on that trail plenty over the years. It’s about as safe a trail as any around here.”
“Exactly. I don’t think something happened. I just…” She smiled. “I’m sure he’s fine and will come wandering in any second now.”
“He probably lost track of time and went further than he thought.” He looked at the campers. “I guess I need to get things started.” He stood and whistled. “Tonight is our final campfire. The week went fast.”
Lester’s voice faded into the background, and Cassandra’s thoughts returned to the conversation she and Wes had.
Where the hell are you? When the marshmallows came out and the music started, Cassandra tuned back into her surroundings.
Bailey was headed toward her, and she smiled when her daughter sat down.
“Hi, honey.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s Mr. B?”
“Um…he took a walk, and I guess he lost track of time.”
“That doesn’t sound like him. He wouldn’t miss the last campfire.”
Cassandra patted Bailey’s hand. “Honestly, I’m a bit worried about him.”
“Maybe he’s at the cabin.” She glanced at the dark cabin. “Did you guys have a fight?”
“No.”
“Mom, we can’t just sit here and pretend like everything is okay.”
“I also can’t go look for him and leave Lester here alone.”
“Everyone is fine, Mom. Happy, singing, fine.”
When Lester walked over to them, he smiled at Bailey. “Can you give us a minute, Bailey?”
“Sure.” She got up and left.
Lester sat in the chair. “Something is up, Cassandra.”
“I know. What can we do?”
“I don’t want to worry the kids, but I don’t want to wait until ten to act. If you can keep everyone happy here, I’ll take Robby and Perry and head down the lake trail. Hell, we’ll probably run into him coming back and piss him off for panicking.”
“Okay. I’ve got this.”
“I’m going to try to sneak out of here unnoticed, but if they start asking questions, you’ll need to tell them something.”
“I'll figure it out. Just go find him.”
He nodded, then stood and walked over to Robby. They talked for a moment before making their way to Perry. Cassandra lost sight of them as they left the circle of light cast by the campfire.
After a few failed attempts to stand, Wes knew he wasn’t walking out of there on his own.
He slowly and painfully scooted backward, pulling his legs out of the water.
He then continued across the path to a nearby tree.
He leaned against it until his breathing returned to normal, then took a moment to assess his situation.
It wasn’t good. What was good was that he’d stayed on the trail, and when someone, sooner or later, came looking for him, they’d find him.
He was wet from his thighs to his boots, and the shivering started not long after the adrenaline wore off. His jacket wasn’t enough to keep him warm with just a T-shirt underneath, but he pulled the hood up, in case it might make a difference.
He thought about the trout. “I hope you don’t end up on someone's dinner plate, buddy, not after what I’m going through for saving your ass.
” He rubbed his knee. It was a familiar pain.
A few years ago, he’d torn his meniscus while chasing Abe and Gentry around the family paintball course.
It had taken him six weeks to recover. But he could bear weight right away. This time he couldn’t.
He felt his knee. It was starting to swell, and he didn’t know whether his tight, wet jeans would help or hinder. Not much he could do about it, though. He didn’t have a knife or a handy pair of scissors.
He’d grown tired of counting stars, listening for splashes on the lake, and being serenaded by crickets.
He was cold and quickly losing hope of being found.
He thought about Nick, who was probably comfortably stashed in some pretentious house in Seattle, most likely making his new girlfriend miserable and trying to control Bailey’s life from six hundred miles away.
“Bastard.”
The voices were so faint at first that he didn’t quite trust he’d heard them. Then they got closer, and he knew someone had found him.
“Wes?”
“Over here! I’m here!
Lester, Robby, and Perry were a wonderful sight when they came around the corner and shone a light on him. Lester jogged to him and knelt.
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Twisted my knee.”
The two young men joined them and knelt too. “Whoa, Mr. B.”
“I’m really glad to see you guys.”
Perry smiled. “Glad enough to let that C in Chemistry not kick me off the team?”
“We’ll discuss that next week at school.”
Lester looked at Perry. “We sure will.” He turned back to Wes. “Let’s get you up.”
The three of them stood and pulled Wes to his feet. It didn’t hurt as much as it should’ve. His pants were cutting off circulation to his knee and everything below. Lester handed the flashlight to Robby.
“You light the path for us. Perry and I will help Mr. Buchanan.”
“Yes, sir.”
After standing upright and taking a few supported steps, the pain returned, and Wes tried to suppress the groan he wanted to make with each step. Lester and Perry were on either side of him, bearing most of his weight, but every step still hurt.
The trip back became one long, painful nightmare, and by the time they could see the camp’s lights, Wes wished they’d drop him into a pile of misery and leave him alone.
They didn’t. As they came off the trail and headed for the glowing embers of the fire, Cassandra ran toward them with Bailey following behind on her crutches.
It must’ve been after ten, because everyone else was gone.
Cassandra came up to him. “Oh my gosh, what happened?”
Lester and Perry kept moving. “Let’s get him to the cabin.” He glanced at Robby. “Will you see that Bailey makes it to her cabin safely?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want to help.”
Cassandra hugged her. “You’ve been a great help staying here with me. Go to bed.”
“Mom.”
“Please, honey.”
Wes raised his hand, slung around Lester’s shoulder. “I’m good, Bailey.”
“Okay.” She and Robby left for the cabins.
Lester and Perry kept moving. “Almost there, boss.”
The double cabin looked impossibly far away, but Wes kept an eye on the lit window, and it slowly got closer. When they got to the door, Lester looked at Perry.
“Thanks, son. We’ve got it from here.”
“Yes, sir. Hope you feel better in the morning, Mr. B.”
“Thanks.”
He left, and Cassandra helped Lester bring Wes inside to the bed. He leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes. “Thanks, Coach.”
“Glad you’re safe.” He turned to Cassandra. “What can I do to help?”
“Can you get some ice? Then we should be okay.”
“I’ll be right back.” He went out the door, and Cassandra hugged Wes.
“I was so scared.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” She straightened up and looked at him. “What happened?”
“I was saving a damn trout and…” He rubbed his thigh.
She smiled. “Of course you were saving a trout.”
“Being a nice guy hasn’t really worked out for me lately.”
“I’m sure the trout would say otherwise.” She removed his boots and socks, then looked at his jeans. “How are we going to get those off without causing you a lot of pain?”
“You need to cut up the leg past the swelling.”
“I’ll get my scissors.”
“You have scissors?”
“Of course.”
She went to the bathroom and came out a moment later with a tiny pair of manicure scissors.
“I um…I don’t think that’s going to work.”
She looked at the scissors. “Hmm.”
Lester knocked on the door, and she went to open it. He had a bag of ice and a small bucket with more.
She took the bag from him. “Do you have a knife, by chance?”
Lester pulled a knife from his pocket. “Sure do.”
“Will you help me cut up the leg of his jeans?”
Lester went to the bed. “It will probably hurt more once the pressure is off.”
“I figured.”
Cassandra took an Ace bandage from the first aid kit. “I’ll get it wrapped up once his pants are off.”
Lester began cutting from the ankle, working along the outside of the pant leg. When he reached the tight part, he slowed and continued carefully until he was past the knee and halfway up Wes’ thigh.
“That should do it.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you want me to…”
Wes smiled. “I think we got it from here.”
Lester backed away from the bed. “Okay. If you need anything, come get me.”
Cassandra walked him to the door. “Thank you, Lester.”
“Sure thing.” He waved at Wes, then went out the door.
Cassandra returned to the bed. “So, let’s get you out of those wet pants.”
He shook his head. “Funny how those words can bring such different emotions depending on the situation.”
She looked down at him. “While you’re completely immobile and unable to make a run for it, I’ve got something to say.”
“Okay.”
“I love you, Weston. I’ve always loved you. Never stopped.”
“What makes you think those words would make me want to run?”
“Um…”
“Never mind.” He took her hand. “I feel the same.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then.”
“Yep.”
“We still need to get you out of these pants.”