Rescue Me(55)

“Sam, we don’t have to do this now.”

“Shh. I know it hurts.”

It did hurt, but in light of . . .

His thumb ran across her cheek, a quick tender swipe that probably didn’t mean anything at all but had her breath squeezing out of her chest. “It’ll just take a minute. I hate looking at it.”

He didn’t say why, he just grabbed a travel bottle of saline. “Close your eyes. This might hurt, sorry.”

She closed her eyes. He grabbed her good shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he squirted saline over her wound. More surprising than painful. She inhaled as the saline dripped down her hair. He used a gauze pad to flick away the glass.

“It looks pretty clean, but you’ve got a vicious gash there. I wish I had ointment.”

She grabbed his wrist, eased his hand away from her head. “It’s fine, Sam. Really.” She met his eyes, just so he’d believe her.

His mouth tightened into a grim line, as if he didn’t want to accept it. Then he sighed, nodded. But for a second, she thought she saw his eyes glisten.

As if it pained him.

“Let’s get these kids off the ledge,” she said before her emotions could find her voice.

He began to root through the pack. “I’m sure Gage packed a mechanical descender—it’s standard in all our packs . . .” He unearthed a metal belayer/descending device. “We can lower each person down with this.”

She unhooked the rope from the harness, and Gus and Quinn pulled up the slack.

Sam went to work rigging a belay system using the webbing and the rope and more cam anchors. When he finished, he climbed into a second harness and hooked himself into the anchor.

“Are you sure you want to do the belaying? Your ribs—”

“I’m sure.” His tone cut her off, betraying again just how hard it had been for him to watch her sidle down the cliff and climb back up. With the harness sitting at Sam’s hips, maybe he wouldn’t injure himself further.

“Who goes first?” she asked.

“I think we need to have an adult at the bottom,” he said and glanced at Josh.

Josh stiffened but nodded.

“Have you ever been climbing, Josh?” Willow asked as he tugged on the harness.

“A few times at a gym.”

“I’m sure they lowered you down, right? Once you reached the top?”

He nodded. She wanted to wince at the brutal angle of his nose. Up close, he looked like he’d done time in a UFC ring and lost in a knockout.

“So, just lean back and Sam will lower you down. When you get to the bottom, unhook the harness, then climb out of it and send it back up.”

He swallowed, nodded.

To her eye, he still looked like a sixteen-year-old kid.

He walked over to the edge of the cliff.

“There are a couple of footholds just over the edge. Step on those, then lean back. Sam will do the rest.”

Josh gave her a tight nod, then stepped over the edge, visibly trembling.

Sam just sat there, his mouth a tight bud of impatience. “Ready?”

Willow put a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Look up, Josh. Not down. That’s the key.”

He found her eyes, his gaze latching on to hers. “Good advice,” he said and flashed her a smile.

Then, slowly, he leaned back, his hands on the rope. “Ready.”

Sam slowly let the rope out, sliding it through his gloves.

Willow got on her knees and leaned over the edge to watch. Josh worked his way down steadily, walking with the rope.

He settled at the bottom, not far from the destroyed van. A few minutes later, Sam started hauling up the harness.

“Maggy, you’re next.”

Maggy had slammed her mouth against something in the accident, so her lip was fat, and her eyes were reddened from crying. Willow pulled her into a quick embrace, smoothing her curly brown hair, then took her by the shoulders.

“Sometimes, when I’m afraid, I sing,” she said, and began to hum the only thing that came to mind.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

Maggy picked up the tune and began to hum as Willow outfitted her with the harness and gave her the same instructions as Josh.

The song rose to her as Maggy descended, humming, then mouthing the words.

Dawson went next, eager to get off the cliff, then Riley, who caught her arm. “Sorry,” he said.

“Nothing to be sorry about. We’re in God’s hands.”

He wore a tight-lipped disagreement as he headed over the edge.

But really, she meant it. The fact she wasn’t shaking with fear filled her with a strange sense of power.

Especially when she glanced at Sam, and he winked.

Huh. Maybe they would live through this.

Yes, of course they would.

Zena, then Quinn and Gus. Willow winced at the gritting of Sam’s teeth, the sweat that beaded on his forehead when he lowered the big guy.