Page 60 of Luke

At first, all she could hear was the sound of the breeze through the trees. And then she heard a voice, a child's voice, filled with panic.

"Kaitlyn?" she yelled again. "Where are you?"

Luke was already moving down the path. She followed as quickly as she could.

"Kaitlyn," he shouted, stopping to peer down the hillside where it looked like some rocks had recently been moved.

"I'm here," Kaitlyn cried.

Liz looked over the edge, and her heart jumped into her throat. Kaitlyn was about fifteen feet down the steep hillside, her arms wrapped around the thick root of a tree that had fallen sideways against the mountain; it was the only thing stopping her from falling onto the jagged rocks a hundred feet below.

"Oh, God," she muttered, her heart racing.

"We're going to get you, Kaitlyn," Luke shouted. "Are you hurt?"

Kaitlyn shook her head, but it was clear she was terrified. "My arms are tired. I don't think I can hang on."

"You can do it," Luke said, firmness in his voice. "Just keep your eyes on us."

Luke turned to her, his mouth set in a grim line. "Here's the deal, Liz. I have two ropes in my pack. I can throw one down, but I'm not sure Kaitlyn will be able or willing to let go of the tree and grab the rope."

"She could fall while she was doing that."

"Exactly. I'd like to go down and get her, but I need someone up here to anchor the rope, and help pull Kaitlyn back up. I don't think you'll be able to handle her weight."

She suddenly knew where he was going, and it seemed impossible to grasp. "I can't go down there. I'll fall. I'll kill us both."

"You won't. I'll tie one rope around your waist. I can hold you, Lizzie. I won't let anything happen to you. You can take the other rope with you and tie it around Kaitlyn. I'll bring her back up and then I'll bring you up."

"Oh, Luke, I don't know." She felt nauseous at the thought of going down that hill.

"You don't have time to think about it. There's no one else here. It's you and me. We can do this. We're a good team."

"Are we?" she asked, her mind spinning.

"You know we are. If you don’t know anything else, you know that."

She swallowed hard. "Okay. I'll do it."

Relief filled his eyes. "Good." He set his backpack on the ground and started pulling out what he needed for the rescue.

Lizzie's palms were sweating, her heart was racing, and as she looked down at her niece, she felt dizzy. What if she slipped? What if Luke couldn't hold her weight? What if Kaitlyn fell before she got there?

"Lizzie," Luke said sharply, pulling her gaze to his. "Look in my eyes. Trust me."

He was literally asking her to trust him with her life and also with Kaitlyn's life. But she did trust him. She always had.

"I do. I'm ready. Let's get Kaitlyn."

* * *

Luke felt real fear for the first time in forever. It was one thing to risk his own life; it was another to risk Lizzie's. But he knew this was the only way they were going to be able to save Kaitlyn. He would make good on his promise. He would bring them both up safely.

He dug into the dirt behind a boulder to give himself a place to stand and a huge rock to block his weight against. He tied the two ropes around his waist, then tied both ends around Lizzie's waist. Once she got to Kaitlyn, she'd undo the top rope and put it around Kaitlyn. Then he gave her instructions on how to make her way down the slippery, steep hillside.

He could see the fear in her blue eyes, and she was literally shaking. He wished he didn't have to put her in this position, but there was no other option.

He leaned over and kissed her hard on the mouth. "You're going to be okay, babe."

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