AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jon finished bandaging Bree’s ankle and stood. “You’ll need to stay off it for a few days. And an X-ray would be a good idea just to make sure there’s no chip in the bone.” He dug into her first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of pain reliever, then shook out some pills and handed them to her with a bottle of water.
She popped the pills in her mouth and recapped the bottle. “It’s a little hard to stay off of it right now. I need to find Kylie.” Bree reached for Jon to help her up.
He stepped back and shook his head. “No, you lie there for now. Elevate your foot on your backpack or a log. We cancontinue the search and come back for you when we’re on our way out. We’ll need some rescue personnel to help us transport you.”
When Bree’s nod came, it was with obvious reluctance. “Samson will listen to Naomi.” She looked over at her friend. “Can you handle both dogs?”
“Of course. But I think we should call for rescue now to haul you out of here. Lying on the damp ground for hours isn’t a good idea.”
Hours? Tears flooded Annie’s eyes. Naomi thought it would be hours before they found Kylie? Annie didn’t want to consider that her daughter might be stuck out here all night. She needed her mom, and Annie needed to feel her baby’s warm body in her arms.
Why hadn’t they already found her? The dogs had her scent. Did she have that much of a head start on them?
She thought back to the events of the day and bit down on her quivering lip. Kylie had probably been out here at least three hours before they had figured out where to start searching.
Naomi shrugged off her backpack and pulled out a satellite phone. “I’ll let Mason know your coordinates, and we can continue the search. I’m uneasy about leaving you alone and injured, though. There have been some reports of pumas in the area.”
“I’m not afraid,” Bree said. “I have a flare gun, and I can scare off any big predators. Would you tell Mason to call Kade too? He’ll want to know what’s going on.”
“You got it.” Naomi walked a few feet away into an open space in the trees to place the call.
Annie glanced at Jon and was relieved to see him looking even stronger and more alert. Maybe he was getting past theweakness from the concussion. They all needed to be at the top of their games to find Kylie out there somewhere.
Naomi rejoined them. “Mason is sending help, and he’s putting Kade in charge of retrieving you. Anu will watch the kids.” She snapped her fingers for the dogs and had them sniff the scent article again. “Let’s do this. Search!”
Thirty-Six
Jon’s head felt a little clearer as he followed the dogs with Annie through the mist curling around their feet in wisps. For a while he’d feared he’d have ask to be medevaced out. And he couldn’t leave Annie to face this alone. He wanted their daughter back safe and sound.
The dogs’ barking took on a frantic tone, and Annie tugged her hand out of his. “Maybe they found her!”
She disappeared into the fog between two large pine trees, and he ran after her. He broke through the rim of trees into a vista looking out over a cliff. It was too dark and foggy to tell if it was rocks below them or water, but he heard the rushing sound of the waterfall. It was very close.
Naomi tossed her braid over one shoulder and beckoned to Annie, who was hurrying toward her. “Be careful. There’s a drop-off right here. The dogs have a strong scent. I think she’s close.”
“She’s gone over the edge?” Annie asked, her voice a squeak that was nearly gone.
Naomi surveyed the dogs with their feet planted on the edge of the cliff. “They are stopped at the edge, but they clearly can still smell her.”
The caution in Naomi’s voice terrified Jon, and he knewAnnie would be petrified. He took her hand and held tightly. She was shaking, and he slipped his arm around her waist.
“My voice is gone,” she whispered. “Would you call her?”
Jon cupped his hands around his mouth. “Kylie! We’re here. Where are you?”
The waterfall nearly drowned out his words, and the wind howled as if in response. He listened for a moment. Was that a cry?
Annie gripped his forearm. “Did you hear something? Maybe it was an owl.”
“I thought I heard something too.” He repeated his yell for Kylie to answer.
This time there was a lull in the wind, and he heard a voice. “Jon?”
He released Annie and flung himself onto his belly to peer over the cliff’s edge. “Hand me a flashlight!”
Naomi handed him hers, and he shone its powerful beam down into the abyss. At first the light only picked out the waterfall thundering over rocks to fall into the pool far below. If she’d fallen there, she wouldn’t have survived. He trained the illumination back closer to the rock face where he lay, and almost immediately he spotted her blonde head.
She was lying on a narrow ledge about fifteen feet below him. How had she survived such a fall? The space was so small, it was a wonder she hadn’t hit it and bounced over the side. Only God could have done this.
