Page 49 of Signed With Love

“I’m good.” I won’t slow us down. We have hours of terrain to cover. We start hiking again, putting another half mile behind us.

With the pain radiating through my ribs and my ragged breathing, I almost miss it, but Rylee doesn’t. The bold SAR uniform comes into view, and I nearly collapse. Someone has found us.

“Are you two okay?” I don’t recognize the deeply accented voice, but I’ve never been so thankful for a friendly face. Rylee rushes to his side and hugs him. His lip curls in a grin. That gray mustache lifts in the corner. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Rylee turns my way. “He needs help, though.”

Another guy catches up and comes to where I’ve fallen on a nearby log. The moment I saw the SAR uniform, my body took a moment to recover. The pain is excruciating. Perhaps I’ve let adrenaline take over for too long.

“Drink this.” It’s Thorne. I think the pain has made the world blurry. I hadn’t even recognized my boss. I chug the water, desperate for the cold liquid. It glides down my throat.

“I’m so sorry.” Rylee comes over and kneels beside me. “He seemed okay last night. He’s been going for hours today. I think something is really wrong.”

“Yeah, let’s get you guys on the plane.” Thorne slides under my arm and helps me stand. “Greg, send word that we are bringing them home.”

“Sure thing.” I pinch my eyes shut at Greg’s voice in my ear. “Rylee, I’ll warn you—Ben is with one of the search teams on the west side of the mountain.”

“I figured he would be with you. God, I haven’t seen you in years. How’re the kids?” Rylee asks.

I tune their conversation out and focus on making the journey downhill. I try to pull away from Thorne, but his hold stays firm on my arm. “Did you break a rib? We need to get you checked out at a hospital.”

“I’m fine.” I just need a warm bed and a cold beer. I need Claire wrapped in my arms. I’m going to fix this between us when I get home. Pushing her away was the wrong thing to do. I see that now. She’s too good for me, and I shouldn’t bring her into this messed-up world of mine. But in these hours lost on this mountainside, I’ve realized that I don’t want to be without her. I want to write her letters. To slip away to her place and hide. To make her part of my world forever.

As I make the plan to see her, the 1950s bush plane that Thorne flies comes into view.

“We’ll fly to Kona; they have a hospital there,” Thorne says. He takes the cockpit, and I strap myself in the back. Rylee’s right behind me, still chatting away with this Greg guy.

The engines roar to life, so I use my headset to communicate with Thorne. “Just take us home.” As he lifts off, heading west toward the setting sun, I know he isn’t listening. All my plans have gone out the window. With another shift and sharp stabbing in my side, I suppose I can’t argue anymore.

Thorne reports our heading, completely disregarding my statement. I stare out at the vast expanse of Alaska, and for the first time in all my life, it’s the last place I want to be right now. I want to find my woman and apologize. The last two weeks without her was too much.

My phone was destroyed in the crash, but I have to text Claire. I hope no one told her what happened. I wouldn’t want her to worry. She would worry—that spark between us isn’t lost, despite my shitty fucking behavior. I hope she’ll forgive me quickly, but I’m willing to beg too. I have to believe we’ll be okay and have hope again that she and I will be together. It’s what kept me going on that mountain.

Twenty minutes later we land in Kona. Kona is a small village, nothing more than the few necessities the town needs. The hospital, if you could even call it that, is just on the north edge of town. If I’m getting checked out, I demand that Rylee does the same. Thorne already planned on it. He’s the boss, and he leaves little room for us to issue arguments.

Ten minutes later, we are given a room, which I argue isn’t necessary. The lighting is harsh, and the beeping doesn’t help my headache. I draw the line when the doctor requests I get an IV with fluids started. I continue to drink the water they bring just to keep everyone happy.

Chadwick appears at my door. He doesn’t bother knocking. “Fuck, you look like shit.” He settles into the chair beside me.

I hadn’t looked in a mirror. I needed a few stitches on my forehead, and I have a couple broken ribs and bruising to large areas of my body. Rylee isn’t much better off; not only had she sprained her wrist, which she never mentioned, she also needed a few stitches.

“It’s good to see you, man. I hoped it was you flying. Thank you.” I give Chadwick a small smile.

“Yeah, I saw the smoke from your camp. I kept my rotations going, hoping I’d catch a glimpse depending on how far you could walk. Finn had ground search in every direction.”

I trusted my team, happy it was Finn and Chadwick leading the search.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I’m resting and can’t say I’m not thankful, but I need to get out of here. I need a phone so I can text Claire.

“What happened?” Chadwick asks.

I give my friend a rundown of everything that happened, then ask, “Are all the search and rescue teams back yet?”

“Yeah, most. Some were higher up searching, but they’ve all turned back.” He glances at his phone. “Finn’s team is the last one to report back. They checked in an hour ago, but they were deep in the mountains since they started first.”

“Who’s with Finn this time?” I lift up further on the bed and take a drink of water. I’m following all the doctor’s orders so I can get out of this place. At least this time I don’t wince from my broken ribs.

“Um...” Chadwick glances at his phone, grimacing. My brow hardens. “He was leading the south-side search.” Chadwick clears his throat. “Don’t be pissed. There wasn’t anyone stopping her.”

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