Page 4 of Let it Snow Queen
I dangled for minutes, or hours, I couldn’t be sure. The harness cut into my thighs and ribs to a near excruciating level. Dying slowly was the worst. But knowing I either had to hang here until I starved or cut the line and end it all . . . That was worse.
My mom told me she fell into a shark tank once. I wondered if she felt this afraid then. Luckily, my dad saved her. The love of her life, well, one of them, was there to dive in after her.
I didn’t have that though. I couldn’t be so lucky. Declan’s dad took off weeks before Dec was born. Labor pains answered my sobs and my son was brought into the world in a wave of grief. My mom found her men. I’d lost the only one I could manage to get.
And now I’d lose my son too. I wondered if he’d even remember me.
A sound pulled my attention up. I sniffled, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. Only the sound of rushing water. I must have imagined it. Pebbles skittered over the sides of the rock face, peppering down around me. An animal, maybe?
Maybe I’d be eaten by a mountain lion like a steak kabob. Lovely.
“Ye alright, lass?” a man’s voice called down.
Maybe I’d already died and my highlander from my romance novels was coming for me. Okay, that didn’t sound so bad.
“Lass?” he called again. The Irish accent was dreamy.
My voice croaked, dry and forlorn. “I’m here! I’m stuck.”
Could it be that someone really found me? Hope fluttered in my soul.
More pebbles rushed down the rock face, floating over the sharp overhang of rock above me. “I’m going to pull you up,” he shouted.
A raw chuckle left my throat. This guy clearly couldn’t see my size from there. Fresh despair clouded my senses. “You can’t,” I answered, my voice bouncing off the slick boulders. “I’m . . . big.” Tall, big, plus sized.
His burly chuckle reached me, and I wondered what could be so funny. “Oh yeah?”
I gasped, feeling my harness tighten around the bottom of my thighs.
“So am I,” he called. My body lifted inch by inch, as if I weighed nothing. “Bigger in fact. I can bet you that, lass.”
Frantically, I gripped the rope as I was pulled higher, though with the sharp rock, I didn’t like the way the rope was fraying. The pulling stopped. “I’m sending a friend down to help get you over the ledge,” he shouted. “Wait right there.”
Like I was going anywhere.
After several moments, a big hand appeared over the side. My harness pulled as I reached out. All I could see was the fraying rope as my pulse thundered behind my ears. A rough hand grabbed at my forearm. I wrapped my hold around him, too, though his arm was so thick, my hand couldn’t reach all the way around. But it didn’t need to. He pulled me with ease. I stood as he held my elbows, steadying me to a stand over the ledge. My knees buckled underneath me, and I was numb and shaking. The man grabbed me instantly as we braced our boots farther into the four-foot long divet in the side of the rock. My breasts heaved, pressed up right against his strong chest. His arms held firm, not rushing, allowing me to gather myself. The silence between us allowed me to catch my breath. When I looked up, tender blue eyes met mine. His dark-brown hair was shaggy and wet, sticking to his forehead in waves. I wanted to brush it out of his eyes for him, but that would have been wildly inappropriate. The stubble on his strong jaw also called for mytouch. “Thank you,” I said, the flecks of gold in his eyes calming me.
Grinning, he touched three fingers to his chin and gestured outward. “You’re welcome,” he answered in sign language. Surprise brought a smile to my damp face. Several years ago, we fostered a little girl who was deaf and only signed. Of course I fell into a research pit and took several years worth of sign language classes. I wasn’t as perfect as I would have liked, but I could communicate well enough.
“Alright, lass,” the man called down. “Hold on to Fox. He’ll help guide you up as I pull.”
It wasn’t an easy climb, but the leverage from the man pulling me helped. Fox kept his hand between my shoulder blades, essentially rock climbing one-handed somehow. Even my hard-to-impress Marine dad would have respected the skill that required.
Finally, grass appeared within my range of sight as we crested the top of the falls. Two large hands hooked under my armpits and pulled me up over the side. My knees turned to Jell-O, but he held me firm. I didn’t know why, but I buried my face in the stranger’s chest, not unlike I often did with my dads. Sobs shook my body, and the stranger wrapped his enormous arms around me, letting me cry. He pet wet my hair softly. “You’re safe. I’ve got you,” he whispered. Once my cries subsided, a water bottle appeared in front of me. Sniffling, I took it from Fox, touching my chin. “Thank you.”
He smiled before stretching and looking out over the falls. He touched his middle finger to his stubble and flicked it outward. “You’re lucky.”
I nodded. “I know.”
Pulling my gaze away, I looked to the man next to me. No, not a man, a giant. Up, up, up . . . He had to be over six foot six, taller than both of my dads, and a lot taller than me. I’d never met aman so large. His wide shoulders and soft middle made me feel warm and protected when he’d let me cry on him. I fought the overwhelming urge to hug him. “I can’t thank you both enough. You saved my life. I’m Ruby,” I said, reaching out a hand.
The man ignored my pleasantries and wrapped a big, thick arm around my shoulder in the hug I so desperately wanted. “Ah, Fox and I have gotten into similar predicaments over the years. Think nothing of it, lass. I’m Gallow O’Brien, and this here’s Fox Ackerman.”
“I’m Ruby Winslow-Gregory. Nice to meet you.”
His warm smile faded slightly. Did he not like my name? Gallow sported a neat, dark-red beard and short, styled red hair.
“A big, red-headed Irishman was not what I was expecting.” I laughed, downing my water.