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Sassy and I are one and the same. She reminded herself of Dean’s words. She didn’t need to channel the fictional character’s bravery, she just had to dig deep for her own.
She leaned her head against the horse’s neck as she reached for the saddle-horn. “I don’t want to do this any more than you do, but I need you to take me to Luke.” Taking a deep breath, she put her foot in the stirrup and hauled herself up into the saddle.
The horse stamped his feet, and Kaylee let out a yelp as she leaned forward and clutched his neck. But he didn’t rear back or try to buck her off. Her hands were shaking as she pushed herself up and gathered the reins.
“I can do this.” Her voice also shook as she spoke the words out loud. She couldn’t quite reach Luke’s stirrups with her feet, so she turned the horse around and nudged him with her legs. “Come on boy. Let’s go find Luke.”
Cooper barked again and raced back through the trees and up the path. Max broke into a trot as he followed the dog.
“Please God, let Luke be okay,” she whispered as she clung to the saddle horn. “And as much as I want to meet you someday, please Lord, don’t let it be today.”
Kaylee leaned forward, alternately searching the ground among the trees for Luke’s body and the path ahead as she prayed she’d see him walking down it.
“Luke!” she called out, but the breeze rippling the leaves of the trees was the only sound she heard in reply.
Cooper’s barking got louder as they neared an outcropping of rocks ahead, and she thought she saw a spot of color near the base of the boulders.
Then she nearly wept as she heard his voice. “It’s about time you came back, you jerks. Thanks for leaving me. I hope you brought back a pizza. Or a phone. Or at least something to help with this stupid tree.”
“Luke,” she cried, urging the horse forward with her legs.
“Kaylee?” His head popped up over some bushes up ahead of her—he must have been lying down before. He stared at her as if she were a mirage. “Kaylee? Is that really you?”
“Yes, it’s me.” The horse stopped when it got closer, and she could see that Luke’s leg was pinned under a fallen tree. “I’m coming to help. Oh my gosh, Luke. Are you okay?”
He stared up at her. “Are you riding my horse?”
Okay, that was an odd question, since he could clearly see her sitting in the saddle. “Did you hit your head? Are you delirious?” she asked as she slid sideways until her foot found the stirrup, then swung her leg over and dropped less than gracefully to the ground.
“Maybe,” he said, holding back the dog who was desperately trying to lick the smudge of whiskers off his face. “Because I can’t quite imagine how the woman who was afraid to get on a small mare this morning just rode up the side of a mountain onmyhorse.”
“I seem to be braver than I thought I was.” Stumbling forward, she got her legs under her and hurried toward him. Dropping to her knees, she threw her arms around him in a hug. “Are you really okay?”
He squeezed her tightly to him. “Define okay.”
She let out a relieved laugh against his chest then pulled back to search his face. “Are you hurt?”
He shook his head. “It’s hard to tell. My leg might be busted up under that log. But it’s nothing compared to the ache in my chest at the thought of you leaving and me not being able to stop you.”
Her gaze had been traveling over the damage of his leg under the fallen tree, but she froze then returned it to his. “Stopme?”
“Yeah. Why do you think I’m stuck up on here on this mountain? I was racing down to tell you that I didn’t want you to leave. But the bear and my horse had other plans.”
“Thebear?” Her head jerked up, and she wildly searched the trees around them. “What bear? Is it still here?”
“Nah, don’t worry. It’s long gone. And really, it’s my own fault I’m in this mess. If I would have been paying attention, I could have warned it we were coming and not snuck up on it. I can’t blame the bear—we startled him, and he was just trying to protect his food source.” He nodded to a nearby set of bushes. “He was working his way through those huckleberries. Which, by the way, I was planning to eat to save myself if you left and I had to spend the winter up here trapped under this log.”
She eyed the bush. “It doesn’t look like there’s very many berries left, so I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t leave.”
He took her hand. “It’s a really good thing.”
A warmth spread through her that felt a lot like hope. She squeezed his hand. “Let’s move this log off your leg and get you home.” She stood, trying to focus on the task and praying she still had a chance at making a home with him, as she peered around at what she had to work with. “There,” she said, pointing to a large, downed branch. “That oughta do it.”
Cooper ran with her and bit into an errant bough, pulling alongside her as she dragged the tree branch over and wedged it under the log. “Good dog,” she told him, scratching his ears. It seemed like he was really trying to help, but it was also possible he thought she was starting a game of fetch with a giant-sized stick.
“Good thinking,” Luke said, leaning forward and trying to shove the branch into a better position. “Did you learn how to do this for one of your books?”
“No,” she said, tossing him a grin over her shoulder. “I saw it on an old episode ofMacGyver.”
