Salvation in the Rancher's Arms(78)

Beneath him he could hear Ethan crying quietly.

There was no choice. He had to do this. Nothing could possibly be worse than crawling back up to the opening and telling Rachel he had failed. That his fear had gotten the better of him. She would never forgive him.

He would never forgive himself.

“Hang on, Ethan. I’m almost there.” In truth, it was too dark to tell how far he had left to go before reaching the bottom. The light from the lantern did not penetrate this far into the endless black. Only Ethan’s sobs hinted he was drawing closer.

His boot splashed against the water. Ethan’s small hand grasp at his foot. “A few more feet then stop,” he called up. Rachel’s face filled the small opening of the well, blocking out the moon.

“Is he okay?”

“Seems fine.”

“I’m cold!”

Rachel’s laugh was pitched with giddy relief. “You get yourself out of this well and we’ll see if Freedom can’t whip you up some warm cocoa.”

Freedom’s booming voice filled the narrow shaft. “Crazy fool way to spend your time, young man. What were you thinking diving down this well?”

“I—I wanted to help. I thought I could get some water from here to put the fire out.”

“How many times have I told you to stay away from the old well?” The sternness in Rachel’s voice was a mixture of relief, anger and love.

“Lots,” Ethan mumbled, but Caleb suspected he was the only one close enough to hear.

“I’m almost there, Ethan.”

Caleb’s breath caught as Stump lowered him further. The icy water crawled up his legs until he was half immersed in the pool. “Alright,” he called up. “Hold there.”

The rope stayed taut and Caleb reached around until he found Ethan and gripped his thin shirt. The boy was shivering.

“You hurt?”

“N-no, sir. Guess I’m in trouble, huh?”

“I think maybe a little.” He pulled Ethan to him. “I want you to put your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist. Think you can do that?”

There was the sound of splashing followed by a pair of cold, thin arms snaking around him. His ribs ached something fierce when Ethan’s legs hugged his middle. Biting down, he accepted the pain. He’d take anything to get Ethan safely out of the well.

“Ready?”

“Ready,” Ethan whispered through chattering teeth, his cold face pressed into Caleb’s neck.

“Pull us up,” he called, keeping one hand gripped on the rope and the other arm around Ethan. Bit by bit they moved back up the shaft. Caleb tried to hurry the process by digging his feet into the side of the well and propelling them upward. He couldn’t get out of this dank, dark hole fast enough. What little strength he had left this night faded with each passing minute, along with his focus. He could feel his breathing grow erratic. He’d been here before. Soon the fuzzy blackness would overtake him. He couldn’t risk that. He couldn’t allow them to fall back into the well.

Forcing his mind away from his fear he concentrated on Ethan, on the solid feel of the boy’s arms wrapped around his neck, on the stabbing pain in his ribs where Ethan held on for dear life, on the way he shivered from the cold.

After several long, insufferable moments, the hole at the top of the well grew larger and Stump’s arms reached for the boy. Then Caleb was over the edge, falling to the hard ground, gasping in air still scented with smoke.

Ethan was safe. They’d made it.

Next to him, Stump and the women admonished and rejoiced as they checked Ethan over, ensuring that his claims to be unhurt were true. Caleb couldn’t move. His limbs had gone numb, his lungs still begged for air.

The fear had left Rachel’s voice. “Take Ethan inside and start heating up a hot bath—”

“And cocoa,” Ethan piped in.

Caleb smiled from where he lay sprawled on the ground, his heart still pumping hard inside his chest. The kid was none the worse for wear. He listened to their voices as Freedom led Ethan back to the house and Stump took the supplies back to the barn, leaving him alone with Rachel.

Her face filled his gaze. Worry, relief and a host of other emotions were scattered across her features. “Thank you. You saved his life.”

“It was nothing.”

“It was everything.” She touched his face, her warmth chasing away the cold that had seeped into his bones. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” he said, lying. Tonight had done his injuries no favors, but he’d do it all again without hesitation. Rachel leaned down and kissed him, her mouth soft and pliant against his. Caleb reached up, burying his hand deep in her hair, holding her to him.