Which was exactly what she was doing. The damp leaves were soaking through her skirt and she didnt want to finish the hike with a wet behind. But then the pain hit. Her left ankle and her tailbone, mostly, but shed bumped and scraped herself in a number of places on the way down.
Are you hurt? he asked. Did you hit your head?
My ankle, she finally said, barely managing to get the words out. It felt like someone was hitting her foot with a sledgehammer. I think I broke it.
HELL. This was exactly the kind of thing he was always cautioning his hikers to watch out for. You had to pay attention on these trails, which werent intended for casual strolls. He should have warned Sydney to be more careful from the beginning. He probably should have checked to see that her boots were properly laced, to give her ankles the support they needed.
Getting her off the mountain and to medical help was going to be a trick, assuming he could even get them out of this gully. Doing it before the blue norther hit would be damn near impossible. He could already feel a chill in the air. Dense, blue clouds were rolling in from the north. The temperature would drop twenty degrees in the next hour or two and they were probably close to three hours from the car.
Sydney unlaced her boot. Her face was tight with pain, her breath ragged. He eased the boot off her foot as gently as he could, but he could tell he was hurting her. When her foot was free, he peeled off the sock. Her ankle was swelling up fast, but at least there were no obvious bones sticking out.
If were lucky its just a bad sprain, Russ said. Have you ever broken anything before?
No. But this h-hurts bad.
Put the sock back on for now. We need ice.
Where can we find ice up here? she asked as she gingerly pulled the sock over her swollen foot. For that matter, how do we get back to the trail?
He had ideas for both of those dilemmas. He helped her to stand, letting her lean on him as she balanced on one foot and brushed the leaves off her skirt. She was bleeding from a scrape on one knee, and the sleeve of her fake zebra jacket was torn almost all the way off, revealing a shredded silk blouse and another scrape on her shoulder.
He took off his backpack, stuffed her discarded boot inside and tossed the pack up the hill as far as he could. Then he stooped down, bracing his hands on his bent knees. Climb aboard.
What?
Youre gonna ride piggyback. Its the only way I can think of to get you back to the trail. Hop on.
She was in no shape to argue. She did as he asked.
He wished she were pressing her body against him for some other reason. He was acutely aware of the feel of her bare thighs around his waist. Her tight skirt was probably hiked up as high as it would go. Her breasts were pressed against his back, her slender arms wrapped around his neck and her head was ear to ear with his. Shed lost her hat during her tumble down the hill, but he didnt remind her of it. The thing would just get in the way and he suspected it would be no use against freezing rain.
Climbing the steep hill with an extra hundred or so pounds on his back was no picnic, but he managed it, pulling himself up using saplings as handholds, being careful not to jar Sydneys injured foot in the process. Occasionally she made a quiet little gasp, and he knew the pain must be intense. But he had to hand it to her, she was pretty stoic. She ought to be cussing him up one side and down the other for getting her into this predicament.
This was what he got for trying to deceive her. He should have known better. Hell, he didnt want his old mans money because he hated the deceit and shallowness Sammy Oberlin represented. His money and his lifestyle had nearly ruined his and his mothers lives. When theyd moved to Linhart, theyd turned over a new leaf and started fresh, their lives based on honesty and integrity, the value of working for an honest living, being part of a community.
Yet hed deceived Sydney in a big way. So much for honesty and integrity.
When he reached his backpack, he tossed it all the way up to the trail. A couple of minutes later he and Sydney made it safely to the trails themselves. He set Sydney down and caught his breath.
How you doing? he asked.
She shrugged, which probably meant not too well. Her ankle was the size of a softball inside her sock.
Is there any way you can walk? Leaning on me for support and with a walking stick, maybe?
She held on to his arm and tried to put weight on the foot. But there was no way. After three tiny steps she was in tears and her face was a stark white.
Just leave me here to die, she said pathetically. Save yourself.
Cmon, gimpy. I can carry you. But her injury meant they wouldnt be returning to Linhart today, possibly not tomorrow, either. He could carry her three miles with no trouble-he often carried nearly that weight on long hiking trips. But he would have to move slowly on the rough trail to avoid another tumble, and they were running out of time. Theyd spent too much time already. On the northern horizon, a wall of gray announced that the front was moving in-and it looked like a monster.
At least the cabin was stocked with plenty of provisions. Not gourmet fare, but they wouldnt starve.
Once she was securely on his back again, he started back up the trail.
Youre going the wrong way.
Were going back to the cabin. Its too far to the car, and its too dangerous trying to go downhill with you on my back.
No, no, no, we have to get to town somehow. I need to get back home, I have work to do.
Your work will have to wait.
You dont understand. My aunt and my father will be worried about me.
Youre not exactly a kid, he pointed out. I talked to your aunt yesterday and she didnt seem worried at all. Said she didnt need the car and to take your time, she would see you when she saw you.
But my fatherokay, maybe its not that hes worried about me, its the other way around. Hes ill and I dont like leaving him alone.
Ill? Russ hadnt realized that. Whats wrong with him?
He had some health problems before my mother died, and then he went into something of a downward spiral, culminating in stomach surgery. Honestly, I thought he was going to starve himself to death. Hes improving now, but hes a long way from self-sufficient.
Russ never would have done this to Sydney if hed realized she had a father back home who needed her. If anything happened to the man, it would be on Russs conscience.
Im sorry, Sydney, really. But theres no way we can get back to town today. UnlessI could hike back alone and call in a medevac helicopter to fly you to a hospital. But the clearing at the cabin isnt big enough for a landing. Wed have to lower a line with a harness and raise you-
Stop, stop, youre making me dizzy. I dont like helicopters or hospitals and I definitely dont like the idea of dangling in the air. Besides, the way this wind is whipping up, Im not sure a helicopter would work.
Russ had been thinking the same thing, but hed been willing to try it if that was what she wanted.
Your aunt promised she would call your father, he said, wanting to make her feel better about the situation. Shell make sure hes okay.
Sydney grumbled a bit more, but there wasnt anything she could do.
When he reached the creek, he followed the steep trail down to the waters edge using a tree branch for support, then found a nice flat rock near where the water jumped over a little fall.
How are we going to get across the creek? Sydney asked as he eased her to the ground.
One problem at a time. First, were going to do the next best thing to icing up that ankle. This creek is spring-fed and its freezing, even in summer.
Sydney folded her arms stubbornly even while balancing improbably on one foot. Im not sticking my foot in a freezing creek. It hurts badly enough as it is.
Might take down the swelling, which would speed up your recovery, Russ pointed out. The sooner your ankles better, the sooner we can go home. He sat down on the rock, pulled out his pocketknife and started trimming his nails as if he had all the time in the world. He did it only because it was such a country-bumpkin thing to do that he knew it would infuriate her.
With a huff she leaned on his shoulder and maneuvered herself into a seated position next to him on the rock. She peeled off the sock. Eww.
Her foot was turning blue. Not the best sign.
How long do I have to leave it in the water?
About ten minutes should do it.
With another huff she plunged her foot into the water. Yowwwww! Holy mackerel, son of a pigeon-toed sailor, that hurts!
Russ winced. Want me to tell you a story to take your mind off the pain?
No. I want you to reassure me Im not going to lose all my toes to frostbite.
Frostbites not a threat in these temperatures, he said, though the cold north wind reminded him that hypothermia was. That lightweight jacket she had on was totally inadequate in anything below fifty degrees, and that temperature was rapidly approaching.
While she soaked her foot and called him bad names, Russ scouted along the creek until he found a better place to cross, rather than the log bridge theyd used before. He didnt want to try walking across the narrow log carrying Sydney on his back. But a little ways upstream the water was shallower and he could simply wade across. His boots would get wet, but they were only a few minutes from the cabin.
Its been ten minutes, Sydney informed him when he returned. She already had her foot out of the water and was drying it off using her sock. She put the damp sock back on. Can we go now?
Even more colors were coming up on her ankle now: purple, red, green, black. They would be lucky if she could walk on it the next day. If not, he was going to have to hike out alone and bring help to transport Sydney off the mountain. He hoped the ice storm the weatherman had been talking about was only idle speculation. Those alarmist forecasts seldom came true.
With Sydney once again riding him like a horse, he started off to cover the last quarter-mile of the trail. Does it feel any better?
Its cold, she groused.
When they reached the clearing and the cabin came into view, Sydney didnt try to disguise her sigh of relief. And here I thought I never wanted to see this place again.