A Billionaire in Disguise #2 : A Perfect Plan(24)

"You can't call the search off! My brother's out there!" Russell started to grab the sheriff by the front of his uniform.

"Mr. Davis, you don't want to do that. Just try and calm down. Everyone's on standby and when the weather breaks, we'll do what we can. Right now it isn't safe, and there's no way we can get a chopper up in this wind and lightning."

"I'll go look for him myself." Russell stormed out the door. As soon as he was pelted in the face, he knew there'd be very little visibility. Russell went back inside and sat down.

"Would you like some coffee?" offered the sheriff. James felt bad for the guy and could only imagine what he was going through.

"Please," Russell softly said.

When the rain backed off, Emily climbed on her four-wheeler and tried to backtrack. She was well aware that the area could be dangerously flooded with rains that lasted this long. It was four in the afternoon and she still hadn't seen a soul. As much as she didn't want to believe it, the area was flooded and there was no way anyone was going to get there until the water level backed down. She went back to the woods and continued to call for Parker. At seven in the evening, with the thick cloud cover, there wasn't any daylight. I won't leave you here, Parker.

Parker was getting very nauseated. He tried not to vomit, but when he did, nothing came up. His head was pounding so hard it was making him sick. The stomach cramps were doubling him over at times, and when he walked he had to rest frequently and often hold onto things. He knew the storm was bad and that no one in their right mind would go out in it. Luckily the pines kept him fairly dry and offered protection. He felt so weak and shook from the cold.

"Go get some rest, Mr. Davis. The weather is supposed to be clearing up. We plan on heading out in the morning."

"I'm not leaving. My brother has definitely been out there for two days, probably three." Tears formed in his eyes. "

James just smiled and nodded his head. "If I can get you anything let me know."



Emily was relieved to finally see the sky begin to lighten. The fire was gone, with no hope of finding anything dry to build another one. But she didn't worry because she'd already been located, and if they followed the old horse trail they'd run into her. All she could do was pray that the water backed off. It wasn't much longer before she heard the sounds of multiple ATVs. Finally she saw the headlights coming in her direction. There were ten four-wheelers. Many of the drivers were people she'd grown up with.

"Emily, I was worried about you being out here all night." 

Emily approached James Dyle and hugged him. "Thanks for your help, James. Parker Davis is in those pines someplace. We need to get him out. It stormed pretty good, but in those thick pines it was relatively dry. I don't know if he brought water with him when he came out here."

"Sit tight, Em, I have a chopper on its way equipped with thermal imaging. We'll find him."

"Emily..." came a choked-out sound of her name.

"Russell?"

Russell stepped closer so she could see his face. She ran at him and buried her face in his chest.

"We'll find him, Emily, I promise you that. I won't leave until I have my brother with me." Tears slid down both of their cheeks.



Sometime during the night, Parker tripped while walking and had fallen to the ground. He wasn't injured, but was too weak to get up. He lay where he fell and closed his eyes. The distant sound of a helicopter awoke him, but he didn't think it was real, until the sound became louder.



When James saw the helicopter stay in one area, he got hopeful. Finally he was radioed.

"We got him and he's mobile." Guy Lowell had helped search for many people. When he found someone alive, which wasn't normally the case out in this wilderness, it sent his body into overdrive.

The bright light filtered through the trees and Parker moved toward it, waving his arms. A new energy soared through him. When he tried to stand he fell again.



"Follow me!" Emily jumped on her four-wheeler and started the motor. Russell settled in on the seat behind her and held on. The others followed suit. She rode as fast as the rough terrain would allow towards the side of the pines where it would lessen the amount of time on foot. When she reached the point of entry, she stopped the motor and jumped off. She waited until everyone was with her so they wouldn't end up searching for another person.

"Parker!" Emily and Russell began to yell, but the helicopter blades drowned their voices out.

"Stay close behind me!" Emily began to run into the woods and the others were running behind her. She turned her flashlight on and had to slow down her speed to weave around the trees and branches, and avoid tripping on the roots. Parker was only about ten acres from the place where they entered the woods.

Russell broke out in a run, speeding past Emily when they got close to the light. "Parker! Parker!" Russell ran faster than he'd ever moved. Branches stung his arms and face, but he didn't allow them to slow him. He saw his brother staggering and falling while attempting to stand on his feet. His brother was alive. Russell bolted forward and dropped to his knees.

Parker felt the strong arms around him.

Chapter 17

Parker slowly opened his eyes as he lay in the hospital. In the room, staring at him from each side of the bed, were Russell and Emily. His brother looked at him and smiled, the relief on his face was evident. Parker only partially remembered being carried out of the woods and flown to the hospital where he endured exams and needles. Turning his attention to Emily, he remembered more than he wanted to. I hurt her so much. She didn't deserve any of it.

Russell patted his brother's arm. "Hey, how do you feel?"

"The headache's gone so I'm grateful for that, and I feel stronger." Parker's voice was still raspy. "I'm definitely happy I'm not lost in the woods anymore." Parker gave a weak smile.

"You scared the hell out of me, brother." Russell had a serious expression on his face. "I don't ever want to go through that again."

"You can relax now, Russ. I'm not lost anymore, and I never plan on venturing out like that again."


 

 

 

"They're giving you lots of IV fluids and said you can eat this morning if your stomach feels up to it." Russell quickly changed the topic because his voice was beginning to shake. "In a couple of days you can be discharged. Work is fine, Rhonda is there making sure--"

Parker listened to his brother talk super fast. He knew he did that when he was nervous. "Russell, I'm okay. You don't have to worry, and I'm sorry I scared everyone." Parker could tell his brother was getting ready to fall apart.

Russell put his face in his hands, then stood up and wrapped his arms around Parker. "I thought I'd lost you for good." His voice cracked and he blinked back the tears.

"You found me. There's nothing to worry about anymore." Parker tried to stay upbeat but knew the truth; he could have easily died out in the woods.

"I was there for the search, Parker. But if it wasn't for Emily, you wouldn't have been found as soon as you were. This situation could have easily had a different outcome." Russell needed to step out of the room to regain composure. "I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee. Do you want some, Emily?"

"No thank you." Emily smiled and then stared down at her lap as Russell left the room.

"Thank you for being here, Emily. I didn't think I'd get to see you again."

"You shouldn't try to talk, Parker. I'm sure that your throat hurts when you do."

Parker smiled and nodded his head. The awkward silence was noticed by both of them. Even if he didn't have one hell of a sore throat, it would be difficult to know where to begin. He would definitely break any records for saying I'm sorry.

"Try to get more sleep, Parker, you've been through a pretty big ordeal." Emily got up and touched his face, then quietly left the room. She didn't know what to say or do anymore. It was evident that she'd gone through a traumatic experience too in this situation and wished more than anything she had her grandfather to talk to. As she walked through the lobby, she saw Russell. She tried to keep her head down and leave without being noticed.

"Emily, can we talk?" Russell had a sad look in his eyes. He walked towards her when he saw her nod. He found an empty family room off the lobby and, with his arm around her shoulders he led her through the doorway and they both sat in the chairs.

"What did you want to talk about?" Emily was nervously biting her lip.

"Us. This whole thing. Almost losing Parker..."

"But we didn't and he's going to be okay." Emily tried to smile, but Russell saw that it didn't match her eyes.

"Emily, you're not okay. Neither am I."

"I'm just really tired, Russell. I think after a nice nap, I'll be good as new." 

"Come here." Russell stood up, held onto her hands, and gently pulled her to her feet. As soon as he wrapped his arms around her, she lost it. They each shared their tears for a long time. No words needed to be spoken and no excuses had to be given. It was crystal clear to Russell just how much this woman loved his brother. His gratitude for all she had done was too big to measure.

After a while, Russell lifted up her chin and looked into her eyes. "Emily, I know you love him. No woman would have ever done what you did for my brother. He has loved you for a long time. Please don't walk away like this. Go back upstairs and tell him."