Page 71 of Clearly Charmed

At least fifteen feet below was a ledge covered in a clump of trees. A flash of something silver, a dog collar, made me jump to my feet, but as soon as I was upright, I calculated my mistake. Loose gravel and dirt slid out from under me as a portion of the ground gave way, taking me straight down with it.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Your Sister is a Badass

Sharp rocks and pieces of old branches clawed into my back. I careened down the side of the ridge, digging my fingers into the dirt but couldn’t stop my forward momentum. The farther I slid, the deeper the branches cut into the coveralls, tearing straight through to the skin on my arms and back. The slick bottoms of my tennis shoes made me sail down faster. My only saving grace was that I was headed straight for the ledge and a small copse of trees that would break my fall.

After a few more bumps, and the unsettling tearing of cloth, I landed with a painful thud against a tree. Stars swam across my vision, but I was safe. Alive. My breaths came in rapid bursts until the sound of a tiny steel jingle made me sit up.

I moved to my hands and knees and crawled around the side of a tree. Mara sat with her back against the trunk, eyes closed, her breathing even like she was asleep. An angry red cut sliced across her forehead, and she held a hand against her right shoulder. Her beagle, Banjo, lay across her lap. When he saw me, he limped in my direction. The moment his right front paw touched my hand, a familiar shock vibrated through me. Both of them were in rough shape, and I had to steady my breathing before I spoke. The last thing I wanted to do was scare an already terrified child.

‘Mara, I’m here to help,’ I said in a soft voice.

Her eyes slid open and tears immediately spilled down her dirty cheeks. ‘Dr McGuire? How did you find me? Is my dad here?’

Her dark hair swung across her shoulders as she tried to inch forward. The slight movement made her let out a heartbreaking cry.

‘Try not to move, sweetheart.’

‘My shoulder. It really hurts.’ More tears wet her cheeks while she watched me gingerly examine Banjo’s body. He whined under my touch but remained still. From the way he was favoring his right paw, I was convinced he’d broken a bone or two.

‘Is he hurt?’ Mara whimpered.

‘Maybe his paw, but I won’t know until I can get an X-ray.’

She started to sob again, and I squeezed her hand. ‘I’m going to call for help. Hang on.’

Thankfully my phone was still lodged deep in my pocket. I held it up for a signal, but nothing registered. My sisters and Bryce had to realize I wasn’t behind them, but that link between us was fading.

I shouted at the top of my lungs for my sisters. For Bryce.

‘It won’t work,’ Mara said quietly. ‘The river below is too loud.’

Think, Dani.

I inched farther out on the ledge and held my phone up again.

‘Your phone won’t work either?’ Mara said with a tremble. ‘How will anyone find us?’

I cursed under my breath. The thing was basically a useless brick down here.

I took a moment. Listened to the wind sing through the trees until an idea hit me. I pressed the button for my music app. Last week, Jessa had downloaded a few of my favorite playlists to use in the office so I didn’t need a Wi-Fi signal.

After a few taps, and raising the volume up as high as possible, Van Morrison’s ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’ echoed across the forest. I scooted closer to Mara and held her hand. Halfway into the second chorus, the shouts came. First Bryce’s low voice, followed by Aster’s strangled call of my name.

I silenced my phone and crawled my way to the back of the tree. Above me, Bryce, Lia and Aster teetered at the edge of the ridge.

‘Are you hurt?’ A painful hitch colored Lia’s voice.

‘I’m okay. Mara’s with me and she needs medical attention.’

‘Is that Lia?’ Mara said.

I crept back to her. ‘Yes. There are a lot of us out here looking for you and Banjo.’

‘Your sister is a badass.’ Her cheeks pinked up. ‘Don’t tell my dad I said that. I’m not supposed to curse.’

I gave her a smile. ‘It’s our secret, and I agree. Lia is a badass.’