Page 60 of Fall or Nothing

“Come here.” I took her into my arms, across my lap, pressing my lips to hers, soft, lingering kisses that tasted like goodbye. The sleigh glided over the snow, the ranch fading behind us as we went farther than I’d driven all day.

I stopped the sleigh in a quiet clearing. Sage shifted, straddling me under the blanket. Our kisses turned deeper, hungrier, hands roaming under coats and sweaters, heating each other up. For a few blissful minutes, all I wanted in the world was her. Everything else disappeared, but her warmth, her taste, the moans she made against my mouth.

Then the sound of a snowmobile came closer behind us, engine roaring. I glanced sharply at it, counting two people on it. They didn’t back off, passing by with inches to spare. The horses spooked. Sage quickly got back into the seat. I took up the reins, pulling the horses back hard, butthe snowmobile doubled back around, charging toward us again.

“Who are those people?” Sage cried.

“I don’t know, but I need to stop these horses.” Nothing I tried would control their sprint, the sleigh bumping over everything in its path.

Sage held onto my bicep tightly. I freaked out as the snowmobile closed in on us again, and urged the horses faster, trying to outrun it, but that only forced us deeper into the ranch, far away from safety. Up ahead, it was like the ground opened up. We were about to go over.

Thank God Jake had shown me the emergency latch earlier, one that would release the horses from the rigging. I hit it just in time, seeing them gallop away. The sleigh toppled right over into a ravine, Sage and I with it.

I was conscious, but with the wind knocked out of me. Everything hurt too much to move at first. Above me, I heard the snowmobile stop on the ridge, engine cutting. They must have been looking down into the ravine at the accident.

“Think they’re alive?”One said.

“Don’t know, don’t care. That shithead Carter got what he deserves for blowing the whistle on us.”

My body turned icy at the sound of Red’s voice, his brother’s too.

“Let’s get out of here and pay off Trig before someone comes along looking for them.”

Trig? What the hell did he do?

The snowmobile started up again and took off.

“Sage? Sage!” I forced myself up, looking around, calling for her. When I spotted her, she was ten feet furtherdown the ravine from me. I scrambled down, but she wasn’t responding. She was unconscious, a gash on her forehead bleeding. Panic set in. I peered up; daylight faded fast.

If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. And then I’d hunt that bastard Red down.

Adrenaline kicked in. I tore the hem of my henley off and used some snow to clean the wound as best I could, then packed more snow around it, wrapping it to slow the bleeding.

Back up at the sleigh, I took the boards that had broken off and tied them together with my scarf and some rope that had been inside. I brought it and the blanket Sage had been sitting under all back down to her. Once I lifted her onto the boards, I wrapped the blanket around her and. As a last piece of protection, I took off her dad’s coat, spreading it on top of her for extra warmth.

“If ever your coat was needed, Mr. Wylde, right now is it. Don’t worry. I’m going to save your daughter.”

With the ends of the rope tied at my waist, with all my might, I somehow pulled Sage up the ravine to flat land. By this point it was dark, the temperature dropping. I knew I had little time before my muscles would cramp up and freeze, so I had to get her to safety.

I devoured snow to hydrate and knelt beside her, kissing her, warming her blue lips. My body shivered, but I powered on, thinking only how she’d saved me that fateful night at the beginning. Now I must save her.

I got almost halfway to the ranch, seeing the barn in the distance all lit up as my beacon. Lights and sounds from half a dozen snowmobiles came toward us from that direction.Somehow I knew these were the cowboys of the ODRR out searching for us. They would never leave one of their own behind.

Ash and Jake jumped off and ran to me as soon as they saw us. They threw their coats over me. Jake and some of the other men took over, getting Sage to safety.

“C-call the sheriff,” I begged Ash through chattering teeth as I got on the mobile behind him and hung on. “The Amos brothers caused our accident on snowmobiles. They somehow knew it was me who told on them, and knew where to find me, as if they’d been waiting for me all day. They mentioned paying off Trig, like he had something to do with it, not sure what.”

At the barn, I was on the verge of collapsing, but I crawled over to Sage and refused to let go of her hand.

“Please, Sage, come back to me,” I prayed.

Ash pulled out his phone, calling it all in to the sheriff.

Her sisters showed up, crowding me out and away from her, like they were upset at me for getting her into danger. I gave them room. But Sage woke up.

“Carter? Where is he?” she reached a hand.

“I’m here, sweetheart.” I took her hand again.