Page 42 of Under an Oklahoma Sky

Gradually, Jenna’s crying subsided, and before long, her small voice joined Sage’s. When they finished the song, she started another of her daughter’s favorites.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but by the middle of the fifth or sixth song, the rumble of the ATV Evan used around the ranch broke through the forest.

Relief rushed through her.

A few moments later, the vehicle appeared through the trees with Adam driving and Matthew sitting behind him, holding on tight. Sage jumped to her feet and waved them toward her. Adam maneuvered as close as the terrain allowed before a fallen tree blocked his path. He killed the engine and climbed off as Evan appeared on Othello behind them.

Sage immediately crouched beside the opening. “Honey, Adam and Evan are here. We’re going to get you out.”

“Hurry!”

Adam rushed over and knelt beside Sage, studying the opening. His racing pulse slowed a little at her relative calm. She was clearly worried, but the panic he’d expected to find wasn’t there. They’d all been through hell these past few months, and he wasn’t sure how much more any of them could take.

He peered into the cave. “How the heck did she get in there?” Not waiting for an answer, he raised his voice. “Hey, Little Bird. How’s my girl doing?”

“I-I’m scared, Adam.”

“I know you are, sweetheart, but we’re here now, and we’re going to get you out as soon as we can. I’m going to drop a flashlight down to you. Step back a little so it doesn’t hit you.”

Turning on the larger, heavy-duty flashlight he’d brought, he reached as far into the opening as he could before letting it fall.

“Pick that up and look around. You’re going to hear some loud noises in a minute, but that’ll just be us making the hole bigger. Can you move away from the opening so nothing falls on you?”

“Uh-huh! It’s big down here. There’s water too.”

“Must be part of the underground spring that feeds the pond,” he said to Sage before turning his attention back to Jenna. “Are you standing in the water, or is it dry where you are?”

“It’s dry… sort of. It’s muddy.”

“Okay. Move away from the opening, but stay out of the water.”

“Okay, Adam. I’m doing it.”

He chuckled at the matter-of-fact tone she now used. The fear was still there, but at least she sounded more like herself. That was more like his Little Bird.

Behind him, Evan and Matthew carried over the tools they’d brought. A sledgehammer, two pickaxes, a crowbar, and a long length of rope would hopefully be enough to get her out of there.

“Jenna, don’t look up. There might be dirt and small pieces of rock coming down, and I don’t want them getting in your eyes.”

“Okay.”

Taking the pickaxe Evan handed him, Adam made sure Sage and Matthew were well out of the way before hoisting the tool and swinging it at the rocks surrounding the opening. Evan worked from the opposite side, the two men taking turns so they didn’t get in each other’s way. Bit by bit, they broke away the smaller stones and loosened the larger ones enough to pry them free.

Nearly twenty minutes later, after putting every tool they’d brought to use, the opening was finally wide enough for Adam to fit through. Sweat soaked his shirt, and his arms burned from the effort. He guzzled the bottle of water Sage handed him while Evan repositioned the ATV and unspooled the cable from the winch mounted on the front.

They’d brought a length of rope to use as a makeshift harness. Adam wrapped it around his chest and under his arms, securing it before Evan attached the winch cable. He gave the connection several hard tugs, making certain everything would hold his weight.

“I’ll lower you nice and slow,” Evan said.

He nodded and sat on the edge of the opening before swinging his legs inside. “How’re you doing, Jenna? I’m coming down now, but stay right where you are until I get to you, okay?”

“Okay.”

Bracing his hands against the rocks, he called over his shoulder, “All right—let me down.”

The winch started to whir, giving him enough slack to ease the rest of his body into the hole. As the winch slowly lowered him to the cave's floor, he held tightly to the rope. When his feet touched the ground, he glanced up. Sage peered down at him from an estimated height of nine or ten feet.

Jenna stood a few feet away from him against a rock wall, holding the flashlight. “Come here, Little Bird.”