Page 28 of A Cowboy's Claim
She glanced his way and stepped closer, then shocked the hell out of him by calmly undoing his belt buckle and stripping it from his belt loops while she spoke. “The EMTs are at least fifteen minutes out, and I’m here. I’m the only one with the necessary trainingandsmall enough to fit. I’m sorry, Tamara. I look forward to having your assistance once we’re no longer dealing with an enclosed space.”
Declan stole the belt from her fingers as soon as he figured out what she was doing. “Let me.” He quickly used another rope to create two loops for her legs and a higher chest section to control her vertical position. “Modified climbing harness. We’ve used it in emergency situations before. It’ll hold.”
He held it for her and she stepped in without any hesitation, waiting quietly as he cinched it tight. Without taking too long, he double-checked the knots were bomb-proof, because while she needed to do this, she also needed to be safe.
Caleb looked up from where he been calling reassurances down the shaft to Tyler. “You ready?” he asked her as Aiden came forward to take the flashlight from his hands to free him up to move.
Sydney nodded. “I’ll go down, figure out what we need to do next. I’ll call for the bag if necessary.”
Declan couldn’t stop himself. He caught her by the wrist and held her still for a moment. Every bit of his heart was in his throat. “Be careful.”
“I will.” She stared right back, letting him see her fear and her determination.
He nodded. She had this, and he’d have her back.
Then she was off, hurrying to the edge of the shaft and sitting with her legs dangling. “Hey Tyler, It’s Dr. Jeremiah. Jinx’s friend. I’m coming down to see you.”
The announcement was greeted by a wail and a sob and a long drawn out, “Mommmmy.”
Tamara let out a sob then buried her face against Caleb’s chest.
The fear in the man’s eyes as he met Declan’s gaze––it was the hopelessness of knowing a precious life hung in the balance.
“We’ve got this.” Declan pushed aside all his own doubts and fears and offered up a rock-solid faith in a miracle. If he willed it to be true, that might give Caleb the power to believe it as well. “We won’t let him down.”
Luke Stone stepped forward to grab Sydney’s rope, but Declan took it from him. He looped it around his back then handed the end to Luke. “I’ll control her descent. You act as anchor.”
“Got it.”
She didn’t do anything fancy like a rock-climber stepping off a cliff. Sydney scooted forward until he had the slack between them removed and the rope took her weight.
“I’m coming down now, Tyler. There might be some dust that falls, so squeeze your eyes shut.”
“M-m-my arm.” It came out between teary gasps.
“Then don’t move it. Don’t move at all. They’re going to lower me a little bit more. It’s really skinny in here. Aiden, shine that light a bit more to the right. That’s it. I can see you now, Tyler. I’m just above you. Declan, stop.”
He braced and kept the rope motionless, Luke steady at his back.
Tamara wiped her eyes then took a deep breath. She squeezed Caleb’s hand then moved so she could peer into the shaft. “You listen to Dr. Jeremiah, okay, big guy? You’re my brave boy.”
Sydney cleared her throat. “Change of plans. We need another harness so we can bring Tyler up. That’ll be the smoothest journey.”
Which meant something was really wrong down there and she didn’t want to say it where the kid could hear.
“Can we take the wall down?” Caleb asked hopefully.
“No. Don’t think that’s a good idea. Tyler, can you turn your head toward me, please? That’s the way. Yeah, your left arm is probably hurting. You don’t need to move it, just look at me.”
And then she started calling out words like dilation and numbers that made Tamara nod. Declan kept his attention on holding Sydney steady in position. The rope between them vanished into darkness, but her weight remained a steady assurance she was there, just out of sight.
Caleb had his belt off in an instant, knotting the rope from the medical bag firmly onto it, ready to feed it down the shaft. “Belt coming.”
“Great. Listen for when I tell you to slow down—slow, slow, and stop.”
Tyler’s crying continued, but he was mostly sniffling between ragged bursts. “I want my mommy.”
“Got it, kiddo. I’ll get you ready to zip up to your mom and dad, okay? You ever get knocked over when you play with your friends?”
