Page 21 of A Little Discovery

I hear the sound of someone crashing through the bushes on the eastern side and call out a warning.

“You’re coming up on the canyon! Slow the fuck down!”

“Sorry, Sir,” Jace and Shiloh call out in unison as they break through the tree line. I pause to watch as they come to a stop, Shiloh perched on the back of the bigger man. The last thing we need is more people falling into the Canyon. Their flashlight sweeps the edge of the trees, and I realize they can be of some help.

“If you are okay with seeing it,” I call out to them. “Shine your light down below the northern drop to keep an eye on Luckyuntil I can get him out. It looks like he fell.”

Shiloh surprises me by climbing down and shining his light into the bowl of the canyon, sweeping slowly to find the man below. Jace hunches in on himself and backs away from the edge to lean against a tree. The big man doesn’t have Lucky’s blood phobia, but he isn’t good with seeing people hurt. Our teddy man is going to need a lot of cuddles tonight.

I watch the beam roaming the Canyon floor while I go back to pulling Avery along the nearly invisible trail. The beam from Shiloh’s flashlight is finally stationary as I enter from the southern end.

Lucky’s broken body is under the spotlight, and it is obvious why Avery couldn’t tell if he was alive or not. He is completely covered in blood. My hesitation lasts barely a second before I race over to him. I cannot lose him, not when I just found him again. My knees crash to the ground on his right side and I cautiously lift his wrist to check for his pulse.

He lets out a groan with the small movement. It’s the most amazing sound in the world to me, but I still feel for his pulse. It’s weak, but I can feel it. He’s alive.

“Should we move him?” I ask Avery without taking my eyes off Lucky. “I mean you’re not supposed to move a spinal injury, right?”

She’s the one with the full CPR and trauma response training. Since our original plan since middle school was she was to be the field reporter to my photojournalist, she went full in on everything. We were going to be our own dynamic duo, but then life happened.

“Didn’t hurt my back or neck,” the man on the ground mumblesand I feel like I can breathe again.

LUCKY

The first sign that I have regained consciousness is the light beyond my eyelids. I kind of wish it wasn’t there because the feeling of an ice pick being jammed into my brain reminds me that I have a head injury. I’ve taken enough spills from my horse as a kid to know it will hurt even worse to move at this point, so I don’t even try.

The second sign that I’m back in the land of the living is hearing the panicked voice of Spencer and a woman. It takes me a minute to recognize her voice as that of the field reporter from Channel Eight. If I was dreaming, this would be a nightmare having the only person I’ve ever crushed on with a woman in front of me. However, them wondering if it was safe to move me disavowed me of the notion of a nightmare. They are both apparently here to rescue me from my own stupidity.

I was dumb for running in the woods at night. I know better.

“Little one, are you hurt anywhere else?” Spencer’s voice is right next to me, and I feel his hands roaming over my body, checking for injuries. “Open your eyes, baby. Let me check for a concussion.”

A concussion would definitely explain the jackhammer that has started demolition in my head. Hell, it might be an entire construction crew at this point. Maybe my father-in-law put out a hit on me and…

“Lucas Holloway, open your eyes right now!” Spencer demands, and I have no choice but to comply. I don’t want him angry with me.

The light from above makes the pain worse and I try to turn away from it. A firm grip on my chin forces my head back to the pain inducing light. The whimpers falling from my lips are completely involuntary at this point, but I won’t close my eyes and disappoint Spencer. Even with so much fucking pain...

“Shhh, Lucky,” he whispers softly. “You’re doing so well, baby. You can rest now.”

The hand on my chin goes from forceful to a caress, but I’m starting to feel the pain elsewhere in my body now. Why am I hurting so much? I only bumped my head…

It feels like fire is engulfing my left arm as someone lifts me off the ground. Oh, yeah. I hurt my arm. That’s where I first noticed the blood. The… blood…

“You’re okay, Lucky,” Shiloh’s voice comes from nearby. The relief is undeniable in his tone, but I also hear the fear. “Daddy Spencer will take good care of you.”

Daddy Spencer?I know I am not the most knowledgeable out there, but I am fairly certain that Spencer isn’t married to Shiloh’s mother. And there is definitely not a biological component going on…

“Kitty, don’t confuse him right now,” Spencer’s voice comes from the pillow I’m resting on. “You two, go ahead and get my car started. We’re going to the emergency room to get him checked out by a doctor.”

I start to shake my head, but it hurts too much. I can’t afford a trip to the hospital. Sabrina would never pay for it, and her father would withhold my pay. That means no more pizza.

“I don’t want to lose my pizza,” I whine into the pillow.

The pillow laughs at me, shaking and making my head hurt even worse.

“Pillows don’t laugh,” I say as my fist makes contact with the cotton under my cheek. “My head hurts more.”

The laughter stops abruptly, and I settle in to try and get back to sleep. Maybe I can get back to the dreams where I am free of Sabrina and her family… the dreams with the big house and crazy men, especially the one that makes my heart race in a good way. He’s the only one who has ever done that.

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