Page 15 of Irresistible Second Chance

“No, I’m not,” I said now frantic. “I’m in the middle of nowhere with a broken foot or ankle. This is bad. This is really bad. I can’t even feel my big toe!”

I knew I sounded panicky, but that’s because I was. Normally, I would have tried to put up a good front, but my pain tolerance was comically low. I had the pain threshold of a newborn baby as far as I was concerned.

Chris bent down and helped me up, ignoring my protests that I shouldn’t be moved.

“You need to get to a hospital.”

“I’m sure it’s not that serious.”

He sighed, “I’m taking you to a hospital. Please don’t fight me on this. And what exactly is you’re alternate plan, anyway? To sit here until you magically heal?”

He then bent down in front of me and lifted me up in his arms like I didn’t weigh anything. I hoped he hadn’t hurt his back. I was at least 30 pounds heavier than when he had last seen me.

“Woah, woah, woah. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Carrying you back up the trail and then once we get up there, we’ll figure things out.”

Santos nodded, “We’ll take you to the hospital. It’s not too far from here.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. The day had started off so promising and now it was a nightmare.

Once we were back up the incline, Santos slid under my arm and Chris slid under the other and they helped me walk back in the direction of the main trail where the horses were, checking often to make sure I could still feel my leg. I could, and it was excruciating.

“I’ll take one of the horses back down and get help.” Santos shook his head and made a tsk-tsk sound. ““Like I said, those monkeys are mean.”

I laughed to stop myself from crying.

Chris nodded, “Good idea. We’ll stay put and wait.”

He mounted the horse and made his way back down the path. I watched, trying not to move my foot or my leg.

“I can’t believe this happened to me,” I moaned.

“I’m starting to think you need a good luck charm or something. I’ve hiked around this country countless times and never got attacked by nature.”

I could tell he was holding back a laugh. I reached out and punched him in the shoulder. “This isn’t funny.”

“Imagine your dad’s and sister’s faces when you tell them.”

I started to laugh, despite the pain, or maybe it was hysteria. “They’re going to think I made it all up. This is too crazy for even me to believe.”

He shook his head, “Crazy things do happen to us. Remember that time I tried to steal a base back in middle school and ended up needing mouth surgery right after the game?”

I nodded, now it was my turn to suppress a laugh, “I totally remember that. Your mom was freaking out when she saw you stand up looking like a vampire who just ate dinner. There was blood everywhere!”

“Yeah, not my proudest moment.”

I didn’t know if it was the pain making me lightheaded or the heat, but I was starting to panic a little. What if Santos didn’t come back in time? Could we die out here? I was being dramatic, right?

“You’re getting yourself worked up again,” Chris said picking up on my change of mood. “Like I said, we can trust Santos. He’ll be back. Not to mention, his horses are here. He might abandon us but not them.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Well, they’re his livelihood,” he saw that I was getting upset again and said, “I’m joking.” He grabbed my shoulders as if he was my coach and I was a little leaguer and said, “You’re going to get through this Syd, and I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.”

I took a deep breath and nodded my head. “I know.”

He pushed a stray loc of hair away from my face and sat back to look at my foot. “I’ve seen worse.”

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