Page 23 of Found By the Surly Ranger

I get to a point where there doesn't seem to be anywhere for me to hold on. I pause, feeling around with my left foot.

"Stretch just a bit more to the left," Griffin says. "Shift your weight slowly. You've got this, Kara."

I can just feel the piece of rock with the tip of my toe, but would have to shift too much of my weight over there at once, and I don't quite trust it since I can't see it.

"It's okay, baby. I'm right here." Looking down into Jace's deep green eyes, my racing heart calms down a bit. "You're not going to fall," he says matter-of-factly. "But on the off chance you did, there are three of us here to catch you. It's all good."

With a deep breath, I swing to the left, finding the foothold. That gives me enough leverage to scramble down several more feet.

"Just a little more, baby. Then you'll be in my arms."

I make it down a bit further before the rain really kicks in. Whatever kind of rock this is, there's enough dirt on it that the sudden deluge of water makes everything slippery. "I'm going to fall!" I yelp, trying to descend quickly without losing my grip.

"No, you're not. Just reach out to the right, down six inches."

I try to do as instructed, but my fingers slip, making my body swing out at a strange angle. I can see that I'm only eight feet above the ground now, but I'm not sure how I'd jump or land. I can't get my feet under myself from here.

Jace doesn't give me time to ponder any longer. He leaps up, his powerful legs sending him toward me as he grabs me, pulling me away from the rock and allowing us to land safely on flat ground.

He pulls my body tightly against his as I burrow my face into his chest. "I'm sorry," I sniffle. "I should've gone back inside the library. I panicked."

"Shh, it's okay, baby." He strokes my hair with one hand, then stops suddenly, simply holding me with his right arm around my hips. "You're just used to doing everything on your own. But that's over now. Okay?"

"Jace, uh, I don't mean to alarm you, but your hand is bleeding." Barrett sounds serious, making my head jerk up.

"Yeah, I can feel it," Jace grumbles. He sets me down, then looks at the back of his left hand. He must have scraped his knuckles and wrist on the rock as he pulled me away.

"I'm so sorry!" I almost start to cry, but Jace interrupts me with a swift, deep kiss.

"This is not your fault," he insists. "It's just a scratch, anyway."

Griffin steps in, grabbing Jace's arm as he takes a good look. "Dude, it's more than a scratch. Why don't you drive down and get Jonah to patch that up?"

Jace scoffs. "I have at least half the medical training he does."

"Yeah, but it's hard to work on yourself. Just do as I say, will you?" Griffin puts on a stern expression, giving me the impression these guys must be very old friends. "Barrett and I can take Kara to your house."

Jace grumbles, but doesn't argue. By the time we trudge through the darkening forest and get back to the trucks, his hand is dripping blood.

Griffin grabs some paper towel from his glove compartment and wraps it up. "Should I drive you there?"

Jace rolls his eyes. "No. Thanks, though." He pulls me against him, giving me such a fierce, deep kiss in front of his friends that I'm almost embarrassed. He isn't. It feels like he wants them to see he's claiming me. "See you at my place in half an hour, gorgeous."

I hate watching him drive away, but I do want to make sure that he's all right.

Barrett offers me a hand politely to help me up into Griffin's truck. As we start to drive, Griffin says, "We'll swing by and get Barrett's truck at the top of Maple Trail."

"Cool. Thanks."

I'm struck by the way that these guys just automatically jump in to help their friend and me. "I really appreciate your help."

They both turn to smile at me. "Jace Wolfe is one of the finest men we know," Barrett says seriously. "We're just glad he's found a nice girl."

I give them a saucy grin. "You don't even know me. How do you know I'm nice?"

He shrugs. "Sometimes you can just tell. I knew the split second I met my girl."

Griffin chuckles. "If you have any nice friends, feel free to set me up."

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