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Beth didn’t answer.
A blade of lightning sliced the sky, followed by a heavy roll of thunder.
So much for trusting God’s plan. Despite Anne’s words, Grayson wasn’t feeling it.
“It isn’t safe here,” Colleen said. “That lightning’s close.”
“I’m okay,” Beth said. She moved to sit up.
“Please, don’t move just yet,” Grayson said.
Beth turned, looked at him—well, looked his general direction. “Who are you?”
His jaw went slack.
“Ha!” she said. “Just kidding.” Her lips turned upward.
Except, she didn’t seem like she was actually joking.
Grayson tried his radio. “Wrangler-one to Base?”
Static.
“Wrangler-one to Base?” He’d expected they’d lose contact with Noah at some point, but he didn’t expect to have an actual emergency. “Noah?”
More static.
The rest of the group had left the fire and the horses. Circled around them. “Is there anything we can do?” someone asked.
“I need the satellite phone,” Grayson said.
Colleen nodded toward the shelter. “It’s in my bag. The bright blue one on the picnic table.”
“I’ll get it,” a female voice called from behind Grayson. Moments later, a phone was shoved in front of him.
He turned to Colleen. “Can you sit with her?”
She nodded. It was a stupid question, but, well, he’d pretty much lost his mind.
He punched in the prefix and Noah’s cell number, though he was probably the last person Beth would want Grayson calling. He walked out of her earshot.
Noah answered the line.
“It’s Grayson—there’s been an accident. Beth fell and hit her head. We think she has a concussion. I mean, I know she has a concussion.”
Thunder rumbled again, closer now.
Great. Just what they needed.
“Is she okay? I mean, is it mild?”
He didn’t even know how to answer that. “Colleen is treating her. She’s confused. I mean, Beth’s confused, not Colleen.” He couldn’t even get his thoughts straight. He’d seen enough concussions at the rodeo grounds over the years. “Like, really confused.”
“Can she ride out?”
“I’m not sure…she keeps asking what happened, even though we keep telling her…and she said she didn’t know my name, then laughed like she was playing it off as a joke.” He ran his hand over his face. “It’s not good.”
Grayson heard Beth announce, “I’m going to be sick.” She promptly leaned over and threw up in a cluster of weeds and wildflowers.
