Page 118 of Forever After All

Chapter37

Linc

Jess swayed in the saddle again, and Linc gripped the reins. He’d held with his tight fists long enough that his fingers were numb, and there wasn’t any sign of letting up his grip.

Thunder kept nervously stepping out of line. The horse could probably sense the storm in Linc’s head. Whatever Jess had was severe, and he didn’t like the helplessness that taunted him.

Was this what it was like to love someone? The worse Jess got, the worse he felt, but his ailment wasn’t a sick fever. It was an echo of her pain in his bones like someone had tied him up and made him watch her suffering.

The clearing for the campsite opened through the trees, and he’d never been so happy to see a patch of dirt in his life. He pulled Thunder to a stop and dismounted in one swift movement. Rushing to Jess’s side, he coaxed Liberty to a stop. “How do you feel?”

A low groan released from Jess’s chest as she stretched her back to one side. “Really glad we’re here,” she said heavily.

“I know.” Linc reached for her waist and lifted her off. Liberty was a smaller horse, and Jess didn’t give him any push-back as she rested one boot in the stirrup. When her feet were on the ground, he turned her toward him. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and the hair at the nape of her neck was damp.

Linc pressed his hand to her forehead, and the heat surged the fire in his middle. Her skin burned, despite the cold sweat on her brow.

He pulled her to him and pushed past the panic, willing his stupid head to stop spinning enough to think.

Jess raised her head and pushed stray hairs away from her face. “I hate this,” she groaned.

“That makes two of us,” he said, cupping the side of her face in his hand. Now that he was free to touch her, he didn’t want to stop. His hands tingled constantly, begging to brush against the softness.

“Let me get you some more medicine. Stay right here.” He lifted her hand and placed it on Thunder’s side. “Don’t move.”

He jogged to the mule that carried the first-aid kit and unstrapped it, pulling out another pack of the pills she’d taken earlier.

She stood where he’d left her with her hand on Thunder and her head hanging low. She lifted her chin as he approached, but her eyes barely opened. “I’m so tired,” she whispered.

“I know, babe. Take this, and I’ll put up the tents.” He handed her the pills and the canteen of water.

Jess took a few sips and looked around before sitting down on the ground right where she’d been standing “Okay. I’ll be right here.”

Linc untied one of the packs and laid it on the ground beside her. With his hands on her shoulders, he slowly led her to lie down and use the pack as a pillow. Her eyes closed immediately, and he felt her head again. Still hot.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic. She just has a fever. It could be the flu. It could be altitude sickness.

Pulling out his phone, he called Jameson. He rested it between his shoulder and ear as he found a rag and drenched it with water from the canteen.

Jameson answered on the fourth ring, giving Linc plenty of time to sweat. “Hello.”

“I know you have a lot going on, but I need some help. It’s Jess.”

“What’s wrong?” Jameson sounded tired but eager to help.

“We’re still on the mountain, and she’s got a fever.” Linc glanced over to where he’d left her. She’d rolled onto her side and tucked her knees to her chest. “It’s bad.”

“How long has she had it? How high is it? Is she drinking enough? How far are you from the main house?”

Apparently, Jameson’s mind was firing on all cylinders just like Linc’s. “Since this morning. A hundred and three. Drinking a lot of water. We’re at least half a day’s ride away, but she can’t go any further right now.”

Jameson huffed and didn’t speak for a minute. Linc knelt beside her and rested the rag above her brow while he waited for some kind of hope from the other end of the call.

“I’ll send someone to meet you with meds for her. Have you given her anything?”

“The fever reducers in the first-aid kit. We don’t have many more.”

“Anything else you need while I’m sending help?” Jameson asked.

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