Page 115 of It’s Your Love

“The crisis response team’s helicopter’s probably going to be grounded due to weather.” A shuffling of papers over the phone. “If you can get her to the west end of the lake, I think an ambulance could get to you. There’s a camp service road back there.”

“Okay, I’ll have to ride with her at least that far. We’re at the old picnic shelter, not at the main camp.”

“I’ll get things moving from this end.”

Grayson jogged back to Beth and Colleen.

“This cut on the back of her head is a pretty good one. She’ll probably need stitches.” Colleen had pulled gauze from the medical bag and held it pressed it against Beth’s skull. The bright white fabric had turned red. “Head wounds always bleed a lot.”

She was probably trying to reassure him. It wasn’t helping.

Colleen used a roll of self-sticking bandage, wrapped around Beth’s head, to keep the gauze in place.

“I’m fine,” Beth said, but she was still looking at them like she couldn’t quite make sense of anything.

She sat up, leaned over, and threw up again.

Grayson bent forward, hands on his knees. He might just be sick too.

“You still there?” Noah asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’m going to get ahold of emergency services and the CRT. Let’s get her out of there, then we’ll deal with hauling the horses and riders out from the access road if we have to. Don’t worry about that.”

Grayson wanted to punch a fist through something. Rail at God. Ask Him where He might possibly be in all this.

“All right,” Grayson said. He looked over at Beth.

She was still in her sopping wet clothes, mud now up her backside too, her hair matted to her face.

She demanded to stand and clambered upright. Swayed.

“Have the ambulance meet us at the access road. I’ll get her there.”

“Hang in there,” Noah said. “We’re on the way.”

Grayson disconnected and handed the phone back, then scooped up Beth and carried her up the rise toward the horses.

“What happened?”

“You slipped and fell.”

Colleen followed him.

“They’re bringing in an ambulance or the CRT or something. I don’t even know. I just need to get her to the access road.”

She nodded. “Okay, how can we help?” Marvin Jaspers, John Kane, and several other riders came to help.

“I need to saddle my horse.”

John Kane stepped forward, and Grayson passed Beth over to him.

“Is she okay?” Ginny peered out from behind her mom.

“We’re going to get her the help she needs,” Colleen answered.

Beth was still asking what had happened.