Page 15 of No Bed Of Roses

“Isla? Where are you?”

A rustling to his left had him turning that way, and then he heard her voice mumble something. Relief roared through him. He wasn’t going to see someone else he cared about die.

“Isla. Talk to me.”

She groaned. “I’m here. I’m fine.”

Like hell.

Levi pulled out his phone and flipped on the flashlight app. “Keep talking. Help me find you.”

“I’m okay.” Her voice was thin. “I just had the wind knocked out of me.”

No shit. “If you fell off that ladder, you’re lucky that’s the only thing that happened. You know better.” He didn’t know her well, but everyone knew not to climb a tall ladder alone, especially in an unknown space.

A strangled laugh was his answer to that. “I know, and I’m regretting my decision.”

“Not sure what’s under the tarp. Stay where you are while I check it out.”

It took her a couple of heartbeats before she agreed. He’d bet his good boots she’d been about to argue but thought better of it. Smart girl. Getting winded was painful and took more than a minute to get over.

“I’m going to see if I can open the door wider and get more light.”

The door was heavy, and didn’t want to move much. He was impressed Isla had got it open as far as she had. After a few shoves, he moved back into the barn.

“Looks like it might be a tractor that broke your fall.”

He heard her choke out a laugh. “That would be nice. I could use a tractor.”

He shook his head. “You’re lucky you didn’t break your back or your neck.”

“I know.”

Levi shoved back the tarp as he moved. There were a few barrels stacked beside the machine. It didn’t take long to realize it was indeed a tractor. An older one, but with an aerator attachment on the front. He climbed up the side until he could finally see Isla. She was on her side, facing him and using her hands to press herself to a sitting position.

“Better not to move. Let me check you over.”

She smiled. “Didn’t realize you’d been to med school.”

He rolled his eyes but was glad her sarcasm was alive and well, right along with the rest of her. “We all get trained in field medicine in the Army.”

“I’m fine. Lucky, too.”

“No kidding. What the hell were you doing up on that ladder by yourself?”

“Sorry I scared you. I decided to explore the barn and I couldn’t resist the hayloft. I’ve always had a thing for haylofts.”

That sent Levi’s imagination spinning in all kinds of fun directions. Although hay was itchy as hell, he was sure a few quilts or sleeping bags would solve that problem.

He climbed onto the tractor’s roof and helped ease her into a sitting position beside him. “You could have been seriously hurt.”

She sighed. “I know. I checked the ladder from the bottom, and it seemed sturdy. I was just going to have a peek. When I could see over the top, I reached into my pocket for my phone. I wanted the light to see what was up there. The rung collapsed out from under me, and down I went.”

Hell. She was damn lucky the ladder had tipped sideways and not backward. Having only one hand on the ladder had probably shifted the balance and saved her. “Mind if I check you over?”

“I’m fine.”

Instead of replying that she was indeed fine, he waited her out. Sure enough, she sighed again, and shrugged. “If it’ll help you feel better, but I didn’t break anything or hit my head. Just winded myself because I’m a dingbat.”

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