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Colton? She stared up in amazement. His handsome face, some thirty feet above, blurred from her tears of relief.
“Kendra, answer me! Are you okay?” His voice was rough, as if his throat was coated with sandpaper.
“I-I think so.”
He mumbled something under his breath, then his voice cleared again as he rapidly asked, “Is anything broken? Do you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head in the gathering twilight. “No, I—oh, God! Where’s Robert? Colton—”
“It’s okay. He took off when I shot at him.”
“You? I thought it was him shooting. I thought I was dead for sure.” With that terrifying thought came another. “What if he comes back?”
Renewed alarm had her shoving into a sitting position on the ledge. Pebbles and debris shifted under her, and one foot slipped over the edge. Heart lodged in her throat, she scrambled back to p
ress her spine against the wall of rock.
“Careful!” Colton exclaimed. “Don’t worry about him, I’m watching. Besides, I’m pretty sure I hit him in the shoulder.”
She twisted her head to look up and saw him cast an anxious glance around before focusing back on her.
“You sure you’re okay?”
How did one define okay in this situation? Her brother—stepbrother—had kicked her over the edge of a cliff and now she was trapped on a rock ledge, only a foot or so from plunging to her death a hundred feet below. Was she okay?
No.
On the other hand, the rock ledge had saved her from plunging to her death and Colton was here to rescue her. Was she okay? “Yeah, I think so.”
“Good,” he said briskly. “Now, you’re going to have to climb.”
Kendra leaned forward slightly and stared up. “I’m going to have to what?”
“Climb up. Now. We need to get moving.”
He was nuts. “Colton, I can’t—”
“Yes, you can—you have to.” He glanced around again. A sheer wall of rock rose above her. He was crazy if he thought she could climb it. She’d fall for sure.
“Kendra, look at me,” Colton commanded.
Her gaze met his. Even with dusk descending, his green eyes held her captive with an intensity that was both terrifying, and strengthening.
“There’s no time for me to get help,” he said. “I know you can do this. You’re stronger than you know. Just stand up real slow, keep your body pressed against the rock and use your hands to feel for a secure hold, same with your feet. Don’t transfer your weight until you’re sure. Keep doing that until I can reach and pull you up. And don’t look down,” he added firmly.
She inched to her feet, her stomach churning. This was almost worse than facing Robert. Almost, but not quite, she acknowledged, tentatively reaching above to feel around the face of the cliff until she located a one-inch indent. Brushing it free of pebbles, she reached higher with her right hand. Hand and footholds located, she hesitated.
“What if I fall?” Her voice sounded foreign, high and uncertain…and scared to death.
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Kendra, we’re sitting ducks here. Move. Now.”
He was right. She had to do this because neither of them would be safe until she climbed up, and even then…
Testing the foothold one final time, she pulled up with her arms and shifted her weight off the ledge. It was up to her now—no one else. She swallowed, took a deep breath and felt with her right foot for the next toehold.
