by Susan Stoker
Wes eased toward the hole, not daring to breathe as he finally got close enough to look down. He couldn’t see all the way to the bottom of the cavernous hole. “Give me a flashlight,” he ordered, holding his hand back toward the others. Someone, Wes had no idea who, put a light in his palm and he brought it up and clicked it on.
Shining it down into the dark hole, Wes felt the bile crawl up his throat.
He’d found Laine, but he couldn’t tell if he was too late or not.
12
Laine’s head was lying at an awkward angle and Wes could only see the top of it. She was covered in dirt and mud so he couldn’t tell if she was bleeding from anywhere. Her legs were splayed apart, her skirt sitting at the tops of her knees. Her frilly blouse was ripped on one shoulder and her arms were hanging limply at her sides. The water in the bottom of the hole reflected back up at him from the light he shone downward. Most importantly and disconcerting, however, was that she wasn’t moving.
“Laine? Can you hear me, darlin’?”
“Is she there? How far down is she?”
Wes thought it was Conor who asked.
Without moving from the side of the hole, Wes twisted his head and answered, “Yeah. She’s here. I’m not sure, but I think she’s about twenty feet down or so. She’s hurt, though. I can’t tell how badly and she’s not answering me.” He turned back, heartsick.
“Laine, I’m here. I’m gonna get you out of there. You hear me? Just hang on, I’m coming for you.” With one last look at the woman who held his heart in her hand, he scooted back, needing to make a plan.
Wes saw four of the firefighters running toward the house and their truck, hopefully going to get supplies to get Laine out of the hole. Thank God they’d brought their truck. They’d have extraction equipment appropriate for this sort of rescue.
“What did you see?” Conor asked urgently.
“She’s sitting at the bottom; again, I think it’s about twenty to twenty-five feet down. There’s water at the bottom, it reflected off my light, but I can’t tell how deep it is. Her head was down, so I didn’t get a look at her face. She has to be hurt though. By the looks of the broken boards up here, she most likely stepped on them without even knowing and fell through. I don’t know if her neck is broken, or her back or what.” Wes tried to keep his voice matter-of-fact, but it took everything he had.
“What was she doing out here in this field?” Penelope asked.
“I don’t know, but at the moment, I don’t really care,” Wes told her, dismissing the question, but not harshly. At this point, it didn’t matter if she was running away from someone, or if she’d been out for a little stroll to hunt for chupacabras. What mattered was getting her out and to the hospital and making sure she was okay. They’d deal with all the other stuff later.
Hopefully there’d be a later.
Wes and the others continued to strategize as they waited impatiently for the firefighters to make it back to them with their emergency equipment.
Laine groaned softly as she regained consciousness. She knew she was going in and out, but this time seemed different, she was hearing things. “Great, now I’m hallucinating,” she tried to say, but all that came out was a faint croak. She opened her eyes and looked up, not sure what she hoped to see. But the sight that greeted her was the same thing she’d seen every time she’d opened her eyes since the sun had risen—the scruffy dog blinking down at her from high above.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth was completely dry and she had nothing to swallow. “Hey, mutt, what’s new?” Laine whispered, shocked as hell when the dog let out a bark. It was the first time she’d heard the animal make any kind of noise except for a couple of whines when she’d first seen it.
Wes turned in surprise at the sound of the dog’s bark. He’d been deep in conversation with the others about the best way to go about getting Laine out of the hole, especially if she had a spinal injury. The mutt was sitting up with her tongue out, panting. She looked at him and barked, then dropped down onto her belly and barked down into the hole.
Without thinking, Wes dropped onto his own stomach and inched his way back to the side of the hole. He felt someone grab hold of his ankles, just in case the hole opened up and collapsed under him. The last thing they needed was him falling into the well on top of Laine.
Peering over the edge, Wes shone the flashlight down into the darkness and almost stopped breathing at the sight that greeted him. Laine was awake and he could see the whites of her eyes in the darkness of the well. “Hey, darlin’.” It wasn’t what he’d planned to say, but the words popped out anyway.
“Wes? Did that mangy mutt actually pull a Lassie, or am I still hallucinating?” It didn’t sound like her, but she managed to get the words out as best she could.
“Not only am I here, but everyone else is too.”
“Everyone else?”
Wes winced at the sound of her voice. It was scratchy and he had to strain to hear her, but she was alive and talking, so it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
“Yeah, Dax, Hayden, Cruz, Calder, TJ, Quint, Conor, and most of the crew from Station 7. Are you hurt?”
“Yeah.”
When she didn’t elaborate, Wes urged her to continue. “Okay, don’t move, keep as still as you can. Where, darlin’? Where do you hurt?”
“My ankles. My arms where the planks scratched them. My stomach ’cos it’s empty. My feet; they’re soaked and probably permanently wrinkled. I’ve probably lost a size or two off them as a result, Mack might be happy to go shoe shopping with me. My head is pounding, probably because I’m so thirsty, but I refused to drink the sludge in the bottom of this hellhole, but if you’d taken any longer I might’ve resorted to it. I’m dizzy and my tongue feels like it’s three sizes too big.”
Her words sounded like they were coming from a ninety-year-old who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, but they were understandable, and she was alive. Wes would take it.
“Wow, she sounds an awful lot like Mack right about now,” Quint said from behind him. Wes had no idea how they could hear Laine with her voice the way it was, but that didn’t matter at the moment. Reassuring the woman he loved did.
“There’s an IV up here with your name all over it, Laine. Fresh, clean water all for you. Just hang on, as soon as we get you out of there and hook you up, you’ll be needing to pee before you know it.”
Laine giggled, and even though it was weak, it was still the sweetest sound Wes had heard in a long time. Just then, Chief and the other three firefighters arrived back from the brush truck and ambulance parked in front of the house. Wes glanced back and saw they had a ladder, as well as rope, a stretcher, a huge first-aid kit, and other rescue paraphernalia.
“Wes, back up. We’re gonna hook Squirrel up and lower him down.”
“No, I’ll go down and get her,” Wes argued resolutely.
“You won’t fit,” Dax told him firmly. “Look at Squirrel, Wes. He’s tall and skinny and will be able to fit down there without an issue. He’ll hold Laine to him in the harness as we haul them up. You’re big; it’ll be a better fit with Squirrel.”
“Wes?” Laine’s voice was still weak, but she’d obviously overheard the conversation.
“Yeah, darlin’?”
“Please let them get me out of here. I’ve had about enough of this place.”
“Do it,” Wes told Dax and Squirrel with no more questions. He scooted around to the other side of the hole, not willing to lose sight of Laine. Amazingly, the dog stayed where she was, only moving over a bit, as if giving Wes room.
The entire rescue took no more than ten minutes from start to finish. Squirrel was hooked up to the rappelling gear and was slowly lowered down into the abandoned well. Wes lost sight of Laine as soon as Squirrel blocked the passageway, but he still didn’t move. Finally, the firefighter’s head appeared at the mouth of the hole after the others pulled both Laine and him up and out.
Squirrel lay on his back and h
eld Laine tightly to his chest, keeping her immobile as his crew tugged him backward and away from the hole. Wes shuffled alongside them, keeping his hand on Laine’s back as they moved, needing the physical contact with her.
When they were safely out of the way, Wes let Moose take hold of Laine’s head and hold her neck still as the others assisted in rolling her off Squirrel and onto the waiting stretcher, but he immediately grabbed her hand.
Her eyes were closed, and she looked serene, but her grip on his hand belied her peaceful demeanor. She was covered in dirt from head to toe. Mud was smeared on her legs and arms, her frilly pink blouse was now a dirty brown and her hair was caked with it.
Wes’s eyes never strayed from her face as the firefighters worked around them, securing her to the backboard for the trip to the ambulance. She lifted her eyelids when she was finally safely strapped down. The whites of her eyes looked extremely bright against the mud covering her face and hair.
“You sure are a sight for sore eyes, darlin’,” Wes whispered into her ear before Moose fit a C-collar on her.
“You have no idea how wonderful it feels to be flat on my back after all that time sitting up. I swear I can feel my spine lengthening . . . in a good way.” She breathed out in ecstasy. “Do me a favor?” Laine whispered as the firefighters prepared to walk her to the ambulance.
“Anything,” Wes told her immediately.
“See if you can get that damn dog to come to you. I’ve talked to her for two days straight now. I’ve become a tad bit attached. Besides, she’s hungry and needs a home.”
Wes smiled and vaguely heard some of the others chuckling above him. “I’d already planned to. I sort of promised her a big juicy steak.”
“You too?”
Wes chuckled, not surprised they were on the same wavelength. “And you might be interested in knowing that the dog is a mommy four times over.”
“Really?” Laine’s eyes had closed as she was being carried across the field, but they opened to look up at him. Wes was quick to shield them from the harsh sunlight beating down on them. “I saw her when I got out here and figured she was hiding them somewhere. She was scared of me and took off across the field. Stupidly, I wasn’t paying attention and stepped right on the boards. As soon as I did, I knew I’d screwed up. I thought she’d take the chance to get the hell away from me. But you know what? She stayed with me the whole time, other than a bit at night when she must’ve taken a break to feed her puppies. She let me babble to her. I think she kept me sane.”
“I wouldn’t have even thought to look out here if it wasn’t for her sitting next to your hole,” Wes told Laine, still holding her hand as the firefighters continued with their precious bundle across the field. “It looks like we have ourselves a dog.”
“If you can catch her,” Laine said with a hint of the snark he knew and loved.
“If I can catch her,” Wes agreed.
They were silent for the rest of the trip to the ambulance and as Moose and Sledge got her settled in the back.
Gesturing to the dog with his head, Wes silently asked Dax to take care of somehow getting the dog to come with him. He’d heard their conversation and nodded, telling Wes he’d get it done.
Watching in disbelief—as all it took was for the other Ranger to open the back door of his car, and the dog jumped right in, joining her puppies now sleeping together on the floor in the backseat—Wes smiled, happy it’d been so easy. Laine would’ve been devastated if they couldn’t help her. Hell, he would’ve been upset about it. He owed the stray everything.
Knowing Dax would have two of the others take care of both his and Laine’s vehicles, Wes settled on the bench next to Laine in the ambulance, keeping one hand on her forehead to make sure she didn’t feel alone, not even for a moment.
When Sledge got the IV drip going and they were finally bumping their way back down the driveway, Wes blurted out, “I love you.”
Laine couldn’t turn her head, but her eyes widened as she looked up at him. “What?”
“I love you,” he repeated. “When you never showed up at my house and no one knew where you were . . . I knew that my life would never be the same without you in it. We’ve been hanging out together a lot, and I just assumed we’d continue to do so. Eventually I would’ve told you how I felt and hopefully we would’ve gotten married and spent the rest of our lives together. At least that’s what I assumed was what would happen.
“But instead, you scared the shit out of me and I never want to feel that way again, ever. I realized that I wouldn’t be that frightened if I didn’t care about you as much as I did. I love you, Laine. I don’t want to wait. I’m one hundred percent sure that you’re it for me. It took me forty-two years to find my other half, and now that I have, I’m not letting you go.”
“I want to name her Chance.”
“What?” Laine’s comment was so far away from how he thought she’d respond to his declaration of love and sort-of marriage proposal, he had a hard time switching gears to follow her line of thinking.
“The dog. I want to name her Chance, because without her, we wouldn’t have a chance to get married and live happily ever after.”
“Okay, darlin’. Chance it is.” Wes couldn’t help the goofy smile that crept over his face.
“I love you too.”
Wes sighed slightly in relief. He didn’t think he’d care if she said it back or not, but he did. He cared a lot. He didn’t know if she realized that she basically asked him to marry her, but he was going to hold her to it, no matter what she said later.
“When I was sitting at the bottom of that hole, all I could think of was that I’d never told you and I’d never get a chance to tell you. But then I looked up at our stars and knew you were out there somewhere . . . looking for me. And I had no doubt you’d track me down. Although . . . I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t have taken so long.”
Wes chuckled. “Sorry about that, darlin’, it took an expert hacker to figure out the clues you left behind.”
“How did you find me?”
“I went to your office and saw the names ‘Johnson’ and ‘Morningside’ scribbled on your calendar.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“That’s it?” Laine asked incredulously. “I knew you were good, but I didn’t know you were that good.”
Wes leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. “When you’re feeling better, I’ll tell you the whole story. But suffice it to say, you have a lot of friends who busted their asses to do everything they could to find you.”
“Thank you.” Her words were slurred as the painkillers Sledge pushed through her IV began to take effect.
“Close your eyes and rest now, Laine. I’ve got you. You’re going to be fine.”
Laine didn’t say another word as she slipped into dreamland, but Wes wasn’t expecting it. She was safe, and in relatively good shape for spending two days at the bottom of a well. He wouldn’t complain.
13
Laine sat on the middle cushion of Wes’s large couch surrounded by her friends. Mackenzie and Dax, Cruz and his girlfriend Mickie, Quint and Corrie, Conor, TJ, Hayden, Calder, and even Penelope and Cade from Station 7 were there. When Laine had found out that Sledge’s name was Cade, she’d refused to call him by his horrible nickname, proclaiming it ‘too silly for such a good looking man.’” Maybe because she wasn’t quite up to par after her ordeal, he didn’t complain.
Wes had backed away, giving her friends time to see for themselves that she was all right, but Laine knew it was only because he’d had her to himself for the last day. She’d spent twenty-four hours in the hospital for dehydration and for tests, but they’d let her go early the morning before. Her ankles hadn’t been broken, only badly sprained, and she’d bounced back quickly after having two bags of IV fluids pushed through her body. Wes hadn’t even asked, but had brought her straight to his house and got her settled in his bed, where he’d proceeded to pamper her.
M
ack had been waiting at the hospital when they’d brought Laine in. Wes had heard an earful from her about how Dax hadn’t let her come with him out to the property. He’d been scared about what they might find and had wanted to spare Mack the possible sight of her best friend dead. But he’d called as soon as Laine had been on the way to the hospital, so she could meet her there.
And she had been there. She’d browbeat and badgered the hospital staff enough that they’d let her say a quick few words when Laine had been wheeled in. Enough to satisfy Mack that her friend was indeed all right, and would be fine after everything that had happened.
After arriving back at his place, Wes had cooked a delicious lunch and dinner and brought both to her bedside. They’d watched a couple movies, but her favorite part of being with him was their conversations. She’d told him how she’d felt so alone at the bottom of the well, but that she’d never given up hope that he’d find her. Wes, in turn, admitted that in all his years of being a Texas Ranger, he’d never been so scared he’d screw up a case as much as he was while she’d been missing.
“It gave me a whole new perspective on what the families go through. I remember some of the things I’ve said to them and it makes me cringe.”
“You didn’t know.” Laine had tried to soothe him.
“I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean I had the right to be condescending or rude, even if I didn’t know I was being condescending.”
The entire ordeal had brought them closer together, and while she wished it hadn’t happened, Laine was pleased with the ultimate outcome.
“I can’t believe how different Chance looks, now that you got her cleaned up,” Mickie said, commenting on the dog who Wes had brought home while Laine had been in the hospital. She’d been to the groomer and had a thorough bath, her nails clipped, and her ears cleaned. A trip to the vet for a once-over and some shots, and the exhausted but obviously happy dog was currently sleeping in the corner of their bedroom with her puppies, away from the commotion of all the people.