When had she rolled off the log?

 

Sara Beth blinked at the rivulets of water running up her face. She hung at a precarious angle – half-on and half-off the root base of the fallen tree. Rough bark scraped her soaked skin, tearing into her shoulder blades and elbows.

 

Night had fallen and rain had been coming down long enough to soak through her leather chaps and make the ground a muddy mess.

 

“Psht.” She spit at the water slipping over her lips toward her nose. Chilled, she shivered. If she didn’t get down from her position soon, she might pass out. Constant pressure in her head added an ache she couldn’t identify while it warred with the rest of her pain from the fall.

 

Get down, Sara Beth. Ignore the rest of it. Just get down. Figure out what to do when you’re lying flat on your back – or something! Move, girl! Getting her feet under her might be the only way to warm up. If she could walk home, she wouldn’t freeze to death. Well, it wasn’t that cold, but she’d heard stories about hypothermia. A common killer in the northern states.

 

At least her legs didn’t hurt.

 

Oh man, but her shoulders burned.

 

She dragged in a deep breath, stretching out her arms to reach for thick roots protruding from the ground. Hopefully they’d be solid handholds.

 

Her fingertips just barely grazed the curve of the closest root before she slumped back to her spot. If she could just stretch enough to… yes! She finally clutched a knobby root enough to heave herself from where she’d been lodged.

 

Tugging, she tightened her stomach, and her body slid to the ground with a thud.

 

Holding on to the root, she adjusted to the cold, hard ground.

 

Pain shot from her back to the rear of her neck. “Oh, crap.” She sobbed, turning her head to the side just enough to tuck under the overhang of the log. She’d take it as long as the rain wasn’t pummeling her face anymore. 

 

She couldn’t feel her legs.

 

They didn’t hurt – but that wasn’t the problem. The cold and wet that had plagued her from head to toe while she’d lain on the log had disappeared at least from the waist down. She lifted her head and looked down the length of her body.

 

Her toes pointed in a V-shape.

 

Blowing water off her lips, she blinked to see through the spikes of her lashes. She had to just be cold. So cold her legs and feet had grown numb. She willed them to move, even reached down with pruning fingers and jiggled her upper thighs to help.

 

Nothing budged.

 

Sara Beth covered her mouth and nose, inhaling long and slow. Hyperventilating had become a very real possibility. Keep it together, girl. Sara Beth closed her eyes. She had to be too cold – nothing else.

 

It’s not like anything could be permanently wrong, right? Not for real.

 

Rain roared around her. There was no difference between the cold mud under her and the chill of her skin.

 

For a split second, she could have sworn the thunder called her name.

 

If she couldn’t get up and walk, how was she going to get back to the ranch? A more violent shiver struck her and her lips trembled. Hands crammed to her mouth, Sara Beth huffed air on her fingers. But it was like aiming an A/C unit on ice – little to no effect.

 

The hopelessness of her situation compounded the knot in her stomach. Her willfulness and obstinance in doing whatever she wanted had finally gotten her nothing but pain. Being punished for stealing a dang horse, her sister’s boyfriend’s horse didn’t seem fair. Well, okay, yeah she deserved to be punished but not that bad.

 

Her life hadn’t been filled with the best kind of fair. 

 

“Stop it. Stop it.” She yelled at the rain. The downpour didn’t answer. “Why are you even worrying about the past? Get up! Figure something out!” But the cold wouldn’t listen and her pity party had grown lonely. No one was around to listen.

 

“Get home.” She whispered. Why hadn’t she taken that cellphone Rosie kept pushing on her to use?

 

“Sara Beth?” A man hollered from just up the trail. The hoarseness suggested he’d been yelling a while.

 

No way was that thunder.

 

She angled her head from under the protection of the log, blinking at the onslaught of more rain. Twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands, she held her breath to hear better.

 

Had she imagined it? Someone might be looking for her! “Help!” Weak, her voice only carried a few feet in front of her before drowning under the storm. 

 

Again! Keep trying. “Help. Please… Help…” She ended on a whimper, her tears mingling with the chilly rain. Rocks dug into her back. Sobs shook her shoulders and chest. “Please, help.”

 

Fear became her driving force and she wrangled deep inside for strength she didn’t think she had. Reaching out to pull herself more onto the trail, she dug her fingers under pebbles and clumps of soaked moss. “Help!”

 

A light bobbed in and out of the dark shadows. 

 

Sara Beth rubbed at her eyes, gritty mud scratching her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

 

Yes! Someone was there with a flashlight.

 

Thrusting her hands behind her, she pushed or tried pushing herself to a seated position, but when she moved her back, a tight pinch sent a spasm to her waist. She bit back a cry.

 

Flopping back to the ground, she closed her eyes and yelled with all her might. “I’m here! Please.” The spasm spread and the pinch twisted into an overwhelming burning sensation. Shortness of breath followed the chest pain. A heart attack?

 

Oh, no, was she going to die?

 

“Sara Beth?” The light moved closer, sweeping back and forth in a steady pattern. Flashing in Sara Beth’s eyes on the down swing, the light moved on and then returned to train on her. “Hey! Sara Beth, I’m coming.”

 

Boot falls thudded dully through the trodden, soggy grass. He moved the light from her face and knelt beside her. Fingers probed her neck and head. “I’m going to put the light back on you – it might blind you a bit – I need to check you over, alright?”

 

Sara Beth closed her eyes, the light shining on her face. Her lips trembled. The light shifted to just below her chin. She opened her eyes to make sure he hadn’t left or – her luck – keeled over next to her because he’d been struck down by lightning.

 

“You can do this. Just a minute. I’m going to radio for some help.” The man’s silhouette lifted a radio and pushed the buttons. “Hey, Rourke Ranch. Johnny Mayfair here. I found the girl west of the ranch along the forest trails. I’ll put out a flare. We need medics in here – immediately. Looks like a bad fall. Might be spinal damage.” He lowered the handheld and moved around, rustling as he did so.

 

She couldn’t stop shaking. The rain’s persistent downpour sucked the energy from her and she wanted to sleep, even if it meant she had to snuggle into the sucking mud. “I’m…” Teeth chattering. “So. Cold.”

 

“I know. Just a second. I’m working on it.” He removed his slicker and lay beside her, shifting closer until he could drape the slicker over them both. A moment later, warmth covered her where his body touched hers. He wrapped his arms around her upper body and threw his leg over hers. “Is that better? I’m sorry we’re still in the mud, but I don’t know how bad you’re hurt.”

 

Sara Beth wanted to sleep. His heat felt so dang good. The rain had disappeared from her face along with the chilly breeze which had whipped around them. He’d created a tent-like atmosphere. Although the ground was slick and wet – and of course freezing – at least they didn’t have the barrage of elements attacking them from above.

 

He asked if something was better. But she couldn’t focus on exact words.

 

She shook her head, whispering from under the safety of the modest protection he’d provided. “I’m warmer on top, but I can’t feel my legs, so you might be wasting that energy.” She opened her eyes and tried making out his features in the dark. “Why do you suspect a spine injury?” She hadn’t said anything to him about her fall or anything. Was he going to claim to be one of those clairvoyants who saved kidnapped dogs and knew where the buried bodies were of young girls?

 

Johnny tightened his hold over her chest and abdomen. “I doubt you’d be lying in the mud during a rain storm by choice. I figure the only thing that could keep you down is injury, right? Well, nothing looks broken or badly mauled. That only leaves your spine.”

 

He squeezed her upper arm where his fingers clenched her. “I’m sorry you can’t feel your legs. Let’s get out of here first and then we can worry about the details, okay?” He gently pushed her head onto his arm. “I don’t know as much as I should about first aid, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to move your neck or back.” He paused and then continued. “I’m Johnny Mayfair, by the way. Since we’re so close, I figure it can’t hurt, knowing who’s holding you.” He chuckled, the movement of his chest against her oddly comforting. 

 

The whole situation had become surreal.

 

Sara Beth almost tried to pull away from him. But she couldn’t. Even if she really, really wanted to, he was too dang warm. She stared into the dark beneath his chin. “I’m Sara Beth Scott.” She fell silent and reveled in his warm touch.

 

“Nice to meet you, Sara Beth. What are you doing out here on a night like tonight?” Soft and velvety, his voice could pass for a late night radio host’s.

 

She pressed her lips together. How much did she tell him? How much would he understand? “I’m determined to…” But what was she determined to do? She couldn’t remember.

 

A moment passed and then another. Sara Beth drifted in and out of sleep, ignoring the pain in her back growing with each heartbeat.

 

She jerked awake, once, twice, and then a third time.

 

Johnny cupped her cheek in his hand. “Hey, shhh. It’s okay. Just go to sleep. I won’t let anything happen to you. Shhh.”

 

Sara Beth smirked into the dark. She’d never fall asleep out there…