Page 104 of Forever After All

Looking over one shoulder, he risked a big final leap to the bottom and braced for the impact. The ground was slanted, sending him crashing into the rock wall to his right. The pain in his shoulder didn’t stop him as he scrambled toward her.

“Jess,” he said as he crouched beside her, frantically assessing her for any injuries.

She slowly lifted her head and groaned. “Ouch.”

“Don’t move yet. Let me check you out.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, easing her back down to the ground. “Easy, easy.”

He brushed her hair away from her face first, then rubbed his hands over her head. No bumps, and no grunts of pain. After that, he let his hands roam over her shoulders.

“Ow. That’s it,” Jess said, sucking in a breath through gritted teeth.

“Your left shoulder?” he asked. “Anything else?”

She pointed. “My leg.”

Her jeans were torn just below her knee, showcasing a bloody scrape on the outside of her right leg.

Linc pulled his flannel shirt over his head, then pulled off the under shirt before wrapping it around her leg. It didn’t look deep enough to need stitches, but the blood was really flowing.

Jess winced a few times, and he whispered apologies over and over. Why did it have to be her who got injured? Why couldn’t it have been him instead?

When the leg was wrapped, he buttoned his flannel shirt back up. Standing, he looked down the ravine both ways. “It looks like it gets shallower that way. Let me check it out, and I’ll come back for you.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jess said, trying to push up onto her arms.

Linc crouched beside her and rested a hand on her back. “Please just stay here. I can carry you.”

Her left eye squinted as she eased the weight off her left arm. “Okay. You win.”

If Jess was going to let him carry her, the pain had to be bad. “I’ll be right back.”

Linc carefully stepped through the ravine until he found a spot where it was shallow enough that he could reach to lift her out. When he got back to Jess, the color was fading from her cheeks, and her eyes looked dark.

“Stay with me, babe. I’m getting you out of here.”

She didn’t protest as he positioned his arms behind her back and legs, and she held on with her right arm as he stood. She really wasn’t heavy. It would be easier to lift her out than he’d anticipated.

Linc found the shallow spot again and hefted her up. The edge was low enough that he could just rest her on the ground. He climbed out in a few quick movements and lifted her back into his arms.

The walk back to the trail was slow. He focused on keeping his footing while trying not to jostle Jess in his arms. He hugged her tight to his chest until they reached the horses where he sat her down on the path and went to grab the first-aid kit from one of the packs.

They didn’t speak when he returned. He rolled her pants up as high as he could so he could disinfect and bandage the scratch on her leg. Once he was sure the blood wouldn’t soak through the bandage right away, he searched through the kit for something to make a sling for her shoulder.

“This is just great. Now I’m useless,” Jess said.

Linc shook his head as he dug some strapping from the kit. “You’re not useless. We’ll just head back and get you checked out. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“I didn’t hit my head, and we’re not going back. We’ve come too far to turn around now. We won’t have time to get the cabin ready before the season.”

Linc tied the sling together, focusing on anything to keep his hands from shaking. “I don’t care about the cabin. You might need stitches.”

“I don’t need stitches. The scratch is long, but it’s shallow. I’ve healed from worse without stitches.”

“I don’t want it to get infected.”

Jess picked up the bottle of disinfectant and shook it. “Good thing we have something for that.”

Linc wrapped the sling around her neck and fit her elbow into it. No amount of concentration could stop his hands from shaking now. “I think we should go back.”

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