by Joanna Sims
“I’m—with you.”
And then he started to sing for her. He couldn’t have known it, but the song he chose, Bill Withers’s “Lean on Me,” was one of her favorite songs, too.
He had a million-dollar singing voice. Smooth and deep—it cut through her anxiety and her pain. The acoustics of the cave made it seem that his voice was swirling around her, enveloping her. It wasn’t hard to focus on his voice, because it was everywhere. And it was beautiful.
“Ow!” Her concentration broke when he started to wrap her instep. “That’s too tight. It’s too tight!”
“It has to be this tight.” He insisted. “You’re doing great, Jo. Almost done.”
Her breathing was already steadier and even though the throbbing from her swollen foot was creeping up her leg, she didn’t feel as panicked. She just needed to brace herself against the pain.
Logan continued with his song before he continued wrapping her foot. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to focus on his voice.
She smiled right before she grimaced when Logan wrapped the bandage around the ball of her foot. And then she smiled again, in relief, when he announced that he was done.
“How’s that feel?”
“Better.” The compression helped the throbbing and his singing had helped her calm down. She had managed to get a hold of herself, which could only make things easier for the both of them.
“You’re going to have to crawl out on your hands and knees, Jo. It’s the only way. I’m going to follow up the rear, so you’re not alone in this. I’ll catch you if you fall.”
* * *
Logan bandaged her knees, put on his backpack, and then lifted her into the tunnel. She had already determined that she wasn’t going to complain or cry or even so much as make one whimper. She was going to be tough and strong and stoic. She had already “lost it” in front of Logan—she refused to let it happen again.
Slowly, painfully, she crawled upward on her hands and knees. She tried, but she couldn’t always keep her injured foot elevated. Whenever she accidentally let it drop and it came in contact with the unforgiving surface of the tunnel floor, she had to clamp down on her lip to stop herself from crying out. At those times, she had to stop. She had to take a break and regroup. Logan stayed close, but not too close. He was encouraging and supportive without rushing her. She appreciated that. She needed that. At one point, he told her that he needed to take a break. She knew that the break was for her. He had her lie down on her side to take pressure off her knees and hands. When she was ready, she started again. Together, inch by inch, foot by foot, they climbed to the surface. It wasn’t until the warm, late-morning sun touched her face and she smelled the pine in the air that she felt like she was out of danger.
Just outside of the cave entrance, she collapsed onto her back, arm over her arms, and tried to catch her breath. Jagged rocks dug into her back, but she didn’t care.
“Lie still for a moment,” Logan said.
“No problem.” She kept her eyes closed—they needed time to adjust from the dark of the cave to the light of the day.
He was respectful during his examination, always letting her know where and when he was going to touch her. She was dirty and grimy, and she could detect the pungent scent of stress sweat overtaking the barrier of her clinical-strength deodorant. Under normal circumstances, she would have been horrified to have a man, other than Brice, touch her while she was in this condition. But Logan was a professional. He was a cop and trained to handle emergencies. The only thing she felt right now was relieved that he was here to help her.
“I’m not finding any other obvious injuries.” Logan sat back on his heels. “That’s the good news.”
Josephine opened her eyes and blinked several times rapidly until her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. “And the bad news?”
“Your phone is in the cave and I left mine back at the ranch.” He pulled a bottle of water from his sack. “I’m going to have to carry you out of here.
“Let’s sit you up.” Logan held out his arm, clasped her elbow with his hand, and eased her gently into the seated position.
Josephine took a couple of small sips of the water. She already felt like she needed to relieve her bladder. She handed the bottle back to him.
“Can you do that?” she asked him. With all of that muscle, he outweighed her for sure. But they were nearly the same height. How was he going to carry her all the way back to the ranch? It seemed like an unlikely plan.
He gave her a sharp look. “I can do it.”
“I just meant—maybe I could stay here while you go get help.”
“Negative.” He stuffed the water bottle back into the pack and zipped it close. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
His attention returned to her. “When I start carrying you, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on you. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. If you think you need to relieve yourself, let’s do it now.”
Blunt, to the point. She wasn’t used to that approach. But she could respect it. He was focused on getting her home safely. And her bladder did feel full and she imagined that the jostling was only going to make that worse.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Thank you.”
Logan picked her up in his arms and carried her to a spot, not too far away, but completely private for her to take care of business. When she was finished, he caught her hopping on one foot and was by her side. Once he had her situated on a flat boulder nearby, he disappeared into the woods for a moment himself. He returned quickly, split the last of the water with her, and then left his backpack near the entrance of the cave. Before he returned to her side, he closed the door to the cave and relocked it.
Josephine watched him silently. She had caused all of this mess because she had strayed away from the security of the walls of the cave. If she had been more cautious, they wouldn’t be in this situation.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” she thought to say.
“I don’t want you to worry about that right now.” He dried his palms off on his shorts. “We’ve got another challenge we need to manage together. Let’s focus on that.”
Logan helped her stand and then knelt down, his back facing her. He instructed her to climb aboard, yet she hesitated. Because she was tall, she was heavier than she looked. Yes, he outweighed her—but, by how much?
“Josephine.” Firm and commanding, that was the tone he used. “I’m going to get you out of here, but I need you to cooperate. You’ve got to trust me.”
Josephine knew she had to relinquish control. It was difficult, but it had to be done. As he had directed, she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hooked his arms beneath her thighs and then told her to “hold on and stay straight” while he stood up. He had thickly muscled thighs, but she was still surprised when he was able to stand with the weight of her body on his back.
“We’re movin’ out, Jo. Are you ready?” he asked.
She hadn’t ridden on someone’s back since she was a teenager. Back then, it had only been for a short distance and had been fun. This piggyback ride, on the other hand, wasn’t any fun at all. Besides the expected pain from her injured foot and her scraped-up knees, her arms felt like they were being wrenched from her arm sockets and her shoulder muscles had started to burn soon after Logan started walking. It also seemed like they had to stop frequently so he could reposition her on his back. She had unintentionally choked him a couple of times, and because she wanted to watch where they were going, he had to remind her time and again, not to lean to one side or the other and throw them off balance.
“Need another break?” Logan’s question broke the silence.
“Yes.” The word was pushed out of her body as he shifted her into a more secure position.
They found a spot to rest near the stream. Logan took a fold
ed, clean handkerchief out of his pocket and saturated it with the cold stream water. He brought if over to Josephine for her to cool off her face and neck.
“Thank you.” She handed it back to him after she wiped off her face, neck, and the front of her chest.
While he rinsed the handkerchief in the stream for his use, she rubbed her sore shoulders.
“We’ve made some good progress.” He stood in front of her, wiping the sweat off of his face and arms and chest, seemingly unaffected by the fact that he had just carried her for nearly half a mile. He was a little winded, and there was a flushed undertone to the tanned skin of his face, but other than that, carrying her didn’t appear to have sapped much of his strength.
A couple more minutes and Logan insisted that they hit the trail once again. He was concerned about the swelling that had traveled past her ankle and into her calf. In silence, they traveled, along the shaded path that wound down the mountain. Exhausted, Josephine turned her head to the side and rested it on Logan’s shoulder. She closed her eyes, and tried, tried, to ignore all of the places on her body that hurt while Logan pressed on. He was a determined, goal-oriented man—this much she had discovered about him. He was taking her safe return back to the ranch very personally.
“Hey!” Logan yelled.
Josephine’s eyes snapped open. She lifted up her head and saw what had caught Logan’s attention. Through the trees, she spotted a truck driving across the small pasture at the bottom of the mountain.
“Hold on to me tight, Jo!” Logan’s big voice boomed in her ear. “I’m going to try to catch them!”
She clamped her thighs harder around his waist and forced herself to find a reserve of strength in her arms to hold on without strangling him. Logan leaned forward just a little bit more and started to half jog, half shuffle down the gradual incline to the bottom of the mountain. Once they cleared the tree line, they both screamed at the truck. Logan’s breathing was labored now and her arms were wet with the sweat that was pouring off his face and neck. He didn’t give up. She felt his legs give way, but he caught them and kept moving forward. He didn’t stop until he heard her say to him excitedly, “They saw us!”
Logan stumbled again and he landed on his knees. “I’ve got to put you down. I’m sorry. I’ve got to put you down.”
She rolled off his back and landed in the grass. Logan was kneeling beside her, head back, eyes closed as if he were in pain. He was breathing like he’d just run a marathon, his face was bright red, and his entire torso was drenched in sweat.
It was instinctive for her to reach out and touch his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Leg cramped up on me,” he finally said. Then he opened his eyes to look at her. “I dropped you. I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t...” Her words were cut off by the sound of the truck door slamming and the sound of her brother’s voice calling her name.
“Jo!” Tyler ran to her side. “What happened?”
“I slipped in the cave.” Josephine explained in a rush. “Logan saved me.”
There was a silent moment of gratitude that passed from her brother to Logan.
“She needs to have that foot x-rayed.” Logan nodded to her bandaged foot.
Tyler nodded his understanding as he picked her up and carried her to the truck. Clint, one of the workers on the ranch, had dropped the bed of the truck down.
“Clint, grab that blanket, man. It’s scorchin’ back here.”
Clint ran to the front of the truck, grabbed the blanket, and then fumbled his way through unfolding it. Once the blanket was in place, Tyler set her down on it. Tyler climbed in the back of the truck with her, while Clint got behind the wheel.
“Hop in, buddy!” Tyler waved his hand at Logan.
Logan was standing now, hands on his hips, still a little winded from the exertion he had used to bring her to safety.
“You go on and get Jo some help.” He shook his head. “I left my pack back at the cave. I’m gonna go get it.”
Tyler nodded and knocked on the glass so Clint would know that they were ready to head back to the ranch. Clint drove in a semicircle onto the road. For a moment, Josephine couldn’t see Logan. She twisted her head around. It was inexplicable—she didn’t like the idea of losing sight of him. When was able to see him again, she experienced the oddest sense of relief.
Their eyes met, as if for the first time. The man, who had carried her down the mountain, stood on the road, his hands resting on his hips. Strong, sweaty, and sexier than any man she had ever seen. No words passed between them, but it seemed like the air was filled with silent words. Never taking his eyes off her, Logan trailed behind the slow moving truck with a noticeable limp. When he stopped moving, he lifted his hand up and waved it one single time. She waved back and continued to stare after him until the truck rounded the corner and he disappeared from view.
* * *
Later that evening, Josephine was stretched out on the couch in “wedding central” with her foot elevated. It was a severe sprain, not a fracture, which was a relief. She wouldn’t have to hobble down the church aisle with a cast on her foot. It wasn’t the best outcome, but it certainly wasn’t the worst either. Much worse could have happened to her if it weren’t for Logan’s quick thinking.
Logan.
He had been on her mind. She had hoped to see him at the dinner table, but he didn’t join the family for dinner. Tyler mentioned that he had returned to the cabin, so at least she knew that he had returned from the mountain safely.
“Your brother told me that it’s not fractured. That’s good news, right?”
Josephine looked up from the pile of RSVPs she was cataloging. She had been so completely focused in her own world, and perhaps a bit foggy from the Tylenol 3, that she didn’t hear his footsteps on the hardwood floors.
She put down the RSVP on her lap and smiled at him. “Hey. We missed you at dinner.”
“I was beat.” Logan was still standing in the doorway. “I fell asleep and just woke up a while ago.”
“I bet.” She nodded. “Do you want to sit down?”
“I don’t want to wear you out,” he said.
“You won’t.” She wanted him to stay. “I need company.”
Logan sat down on the ottoman that was just across from the couch. She could tell that he was fresh out of the shower—the air had the clean, crisp scent of soap and shampoo.
She smiled at him affectionately. “I really need to thank you for what you did for me today.”
He leaned forward, forearms resting on his thighs, hands clasped together. “You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”
He had such a nice mouth.
“I know,” she said. “But, I still need to thank you. So—thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled briefly with a slight nod. “Did you have a chance to talk to Brice?”
Josephine felt her chest tighten when Logan mentioned Brice’s name. She still felt sick to her stomach when she heard it, and he was the last person she wanted to talk about.
“Why do you ask?” She tried, very hard, to keep her voice as normal as possible.
He was a cop, so he was trained to notice small details. There was a slight shift in his dark brown eyes—she was sure certain he had detected something odd in her voice and her question.
He responded. “You were out hiking alone with a guy he doesn’t know. Some people still don’t believe that men and women can be friends.”
“Oh.” She had a frown etched into her brow that she couldn’t control. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. Brice and I aren’t together anymore.”
It took him a second to process her statement. He had been worried, for Josephine’s sake, about Brice’s reaction. He had also been worried that a bad reaction from Brice would taint his
budding friendship with Josephine.
There was a moment when he looked directly into her bright, aqua-blue eyes and she didn’t look away. And that’s when he read the hurt in her eyes that wasn’t a result of her sprained ankle—it was a direct result of her broken heart.
“I’m sorry to hear that...” he finally said. It was the standard answer that was given in a situation like this and his delivery had sounded sincere. But, was it true? Was he really sorry to hear that Brice had done a truly stupid thing by letting Josephine Brand slip through his fingers?
No. He wasn’t. Not one bit.
Chapter Eight
That first visit rolled into the next, and soon Logan was coming to check on her every afternoon after he had finished working on the relocation of the chapel. She had begun to count on those visits. She had begun to look forward to them. In fact, she had started to look at the clock, anticipating his arrival. And if he was late, she felt disappointed. Yes, she had plenty of things to keep her busy while she let her foot heal—she was getting a ton of schoolwork done and she loved immersing herself in the wedding with her mom and Jordan. But, her daily visit from Logan was what she looked forward to the most.
“Jo.” Her sister’s voice interrupted her internal dialogue. “Jo!”
Josephine shifted her eyes from the window to her sister, who was now standing in front of her wearing her wedding dress.
“Oh, Jordy—it’s beyond.” She set her laptop off to the side and swung her legs off the couch.
Her sister had chosen an Eve of Milady wedding gown from the couture line. The sweetheart bodice was hand-beaded and the fit-and-flare long skirt was made of fine silk organza. There was an edge to the gown, with its completely sheer back, that matched Jordan’s personality perfectly.
She stood up. She need to get a closer look at the gown she had helped her sister select. When she eventually married, she wanted to wear a ball gown. But this sleek, sophisticated silhouette was her twin to a tee.