Page 3 of Her Mountain Rescuer

“Got some pine needles,” I say into the radio, my voice shaking. Another rumble of thunder booms through the forest, echoing against the mountains. “Over,” I remember to say. I’m so cold that I just want to close my eyes.

“Good girl,” he praises, and that perks me up a little. My heart flutters, and even in my current state, I can’t stop myselffrom wondering what it would feel like to hear Beau say those words as he fucks me hard and deep, claiming me, breeding me.

God, I’m so fucked up over him it’s not even funny.

“Keep breathing, stay calm, and I’ll be there soon. I’m on my way to you right now. I’ve got your coordinates, and I’m coming as fast as I can. Over.”

“H-how l-long?” I ask, my voice trembling. I feel like a human icicle. Everything’s numb, except for my ankle, which I can feel swelling against the confines of my hiking boot. I try to press the button to say something else, but my fingers aren’t cooperating anymore. I want to tell him that I need him.

“Not long, sweet girl. I’m in my Jeep right now headed for the trailhead entrance closest to you. Just hold on. Keep talking to me. Over.”

Did he call me sweet girl? No. That can’t be what he said. Beau wouldn’t call me that. Beau was on a date with another woman. I’m not okay. I’m hearing things that aren’t there. It’s the only logical explanation.

I lean back against the trunk of the pine, the bark rough against my back even through my jacket. There isn’t an ounce of comfort to be found and I’m so tired. My ankle hurts and my eyelids are heavy and my fingers and toes are painfully numb.

“I’m here,” I say into the radio once I’m able to get the button to work. “I’m…I’m here.” I let my eyes fall closed, just for a moment, and it feels so good that I don’t fight to keep them open.

Thunder booms again, and my eyes fly open. I don’t know how long they were closed. Long enough that the wind has shifted and rain is now pelting me in the face. I realize the radio isn’t in my hand any longer, and I look around for it, finding it a couple of feet away. I must’ve dropped it when I passed out for a minute. I reach for it, struggling to press the button with myfrozen fingers. After a moment, I give up. I’m too cold. Too tired. I can’t.

More lightning streaks across the sky and it starts to rain even harder. It’s so windy that my trees aren’t providing any shelter at all, so I do my best to tuck my face into my jacket and curl up into a little ball against the trees.

My breathing slows and soon, my eyes fall closed again.

Two

Beau

It’s raining so hard, the wind so loud that I can’t even hear the sound of my footsteps on the muddy trail. Thunder cracks above me, and I hear a loud crash less than twenty feet behind me. I turn, squinting through the sleeting rain, and see a large branch lying across the trail. Fucking hell, it’s dangerous out here. Freezing, too.

I pick up my already punishing pace. I need to get to her. I barely feel the rain pelting my face, barely feel the cold, damp air around me. Adrenaline flooded my veins the moment Hailey radioed for help, and it hasn’t let up since. It’s keeping me going, pushing me forward.

I have to save her, and not just because she’s my best friend’s daughter. No, what I feel for Hailey goes far deeper than that.

Far, far deeper.

But I shove it away, just like I always do, because no matter what I feel, what I want is an absolute impossibility.

I pull my InReach out of my pocket to re-check the coordinates, making sure I’m still on the fastest route to her. Themud slides beneath my boots as I start moving again, as fast as I dare, my large emergency pack jostling against my back. I need to get to her. She’s been out in this storm for far too long. I don’t let myself think about the what ifs, focusing on the trail and keeping my legs moving.

The wind gusts through the forest, and I squint against the onslaught of rain. The coordinates from the InReach lead me off the main trail, deeper into the woods. The trees are dense here, branches snarled together, roots protruding from the ground.

I push forward, scanning all around me for any signs of Hailey. I’d shout, but I doubt she’d hear me over the wind and rain. Panic flares inside me, tightening my chest as I reach the exact coordinates but don’t see her…

There. The thicket of pines up ahead. I catch a flash of her light blue hiking jacket and set off towards the trees. My heart beats frantically in my chest as I close in on her, and I can see her huddled form, slumped against the trunk of one of the pines. Her arms are wrapped around her knees, her pants torn, likely from a fall. Her head is buried in her arms, and she’s not moving.

Fuck.

She looks tiny curled up against the massive tree. Tiny and vulnerable and alone and the wave of protectiveness that surges through me steals my breath, it’s so intense.

“Hailey,” I call out, my voice rough, like it’s been ripped from me. Slowly, she lifts her head, and my heart plummets into my stomach. She’s pale, her lips blue, her eyelids heavy. I crash into the dense copse of trees, needing to get to her. I don’t even hesitate. I just lift her into my arms, cradling her to my chest.

I do my best to ignore the feeling that this is exactly where she belongs, because while it might feel right, it isn’t. It’s not.

It’s not.

“Beau,” she says softly, curling into me like a kitten. “You came.”

“Of course I did, sweet girl,” I say, knowing I need to stop calling her that. When this is over, when life goes back to normal, I’ll go back to calling her Hails. I will. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now. I promise.”

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