Then the tears start, but she’s quick to wipe them away. “Sorry. It justfucking hurts.”
“Give me your hand,” I say, offering mine to her, and she takes it hesitantly with a questioning look. “When it gets to be too much, squeeze my hand as hard as you need to. I can take it.”
No sooner do I say that than Mackenzie clutches my hand so tightly my breath catches in my throat. I wasn’t expecting her to take me up on the offer so soon or with so much vigor.
She’s fucking strong.
“Did you know that while men are typically stronger, women have much better stamina, and can exercise for around seventy-five percent longer?” I ask, trying to distract her from the pain that’s radiating through her. It’s completely random and should throw her off.
“What the fuck?” she asks, her grip on my hand lessening. “Where did that come from? Actually, what are you doing here? I didn’t know any execs from Blackmore were going to be here.Ahhh,” she hisses, pulling in air through her teeth as a wave of pain hits.
At least my tactic worked, and she doesn’t look like she’s going to fold within herself any longer.
“Oh, so you didn’t hear that I’ve been ‘volunteered’ to manage Chaos Fuel, then?”
She scoffs, but then winces and sucks in another breath. The vice around my hand tightens again. “Volunteered?” she chokes out.
“Yeah. Lucky me, eh?” I can’t help but chuckle, even though the snowstorm around us seems to be increasing by the minute, making me worry about more than just Mackenzie’s leg.
“To be fair, Ron was kind of a dick. He was a half-ass manager too.”
I nod my head to the side. She’s not wrong. Still, I had no intentions of getting into band management.
“Too true,” I say. “But that left things in a bad spot. So, here I am.”
“Lucky me,” she whispers, and I’m not sure she meant for me to hear her. Or, whether it was a good or bad thing.
Just then, the sound of a motor of some kind comes from behind me. I turn to see the ski patrol snowmobile and stand to wave them over.
“Shit. Skyler’s going to freak out when she sees I’m not behind her,” Mackenzie says, anxiety now rising again.
I immediately go back into rescue mode and kneel beside her, taking her hand again. “I’ll call her and let her know.”
“Wait, aren’t you going to come with me?” The worry in her eyes edged with her pain, tugs at me. I can’tnotgo with her.
“Of course. I’ll go with you.” I give her a reassuring smile. “But they’re going to tend to you for a bit before we get moving, so I can call her now.”
Mackenzie Roberts is not one to ask for help or assistance of any kind. Not unless she really needs it. So, for her to ask me to go with her for medical treatment means she’sreallyhurting.
She gives me her phone, and I start calling people as she directs me and leave messages for others while the rescuers administer first aid and get her secured for transport down the mountain.
“We’ve actually closed the mountain,” one of the rescue crew says, squinting up into the squall surrounding us. “This snow came in way quicker than it was supposed to.”
“Oh?” I ask. Surprised that the weather here can be this unpredictable.
“Yup. We can figure out a lot of things pretty accurately. I mean, itisscience. But Mother Nature has a mind of her own sometimes.”
“How bad is it going to get?” I ask, now worried about our current situation, and if we’ll be able to get down the mountain safely.
“Pretty bad.”
Great.
I scan the slope around us, taking in the whiteout conditions. The wind lashes at us now, biting any exposed skin. It’d be all too easy to lose your way in this, for the cold to leach away body heat distressingly fast.
My gaze settles on Mackenzie, taking in her pale, drawn face. If transporting her was risky before, it’s infinitely more precarious now. And that’s not even considering how we’ll make it back to our lodgings in this blizzard.
My stomach sinks, scenarios flashing. If we get stranded out here, Mackenzie’s leg break could turn life-threatening fast. I force myself to exhale, nodding to the squad.