“My condition?” Jesse smirked at me. “Rowen, I’ve had so many broken bones, I’ve spent as much time in casts and splints as I have without them.”
I gave him an unamused look.
“I’m a cowboy, remember? I’ve got steel running through my veins.”
“And hippie in your heart,” I shot back.
“That’s right,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s why I need the rope.”
I was glad he thought the situation was amusing, because I sure as hell didn’t.
“I just qualified for the senior discount up here!” Garth yelled down at us. “Is anyone planning on coming up? This decade?”
Jesse lifted his eyebrows and waited for me.
I sighed. “I am!”
“Ready when you are, princess!” Garth replied. “I’ve been ready.”
Jesse hoisted himself up and came toward me. “Let’s get that rope around you and get out of here.” I grabbed the rope and handed it to him. “I’m ready to crawl into a warm bed with you.”
Jesse was right. He really could tie a rope one handed. “In case you’ve forgotten you have bones inside your body that are broken,” I said as he cinched the rope tight around my waist, “the only warm bed we’ll be cuddling in is a hospital bed.”
“Sounds perfect. Sign me up. You. Me. Bed. Whatever kind of bed.” He gave the rope one final check. “She’s ready, Garth!”
“It’s about damn time,” Garth said.
“Oh, and Black?” Jesse said, lifting his face up at the light. “I’m putting Rowen in your hands. I’m trusting you.” Jesse swallowed. “Take care of her, okay?”
Garth didn’t snap back with his standard smartass remark. Eventually, it sounded like he was clearing his throat before he said, “I’ll take care of her, Jess.”
My mouth dropped open and I gave Jesse a look. “Did you guys just have a moment?”
Jesse looked as confused as I did. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll figure it out later. Right now, I want you to focus on getting to the top of that ridge safely.”
“Hey,” I said, “I’ve got a rope.”
Jesse tried giving me a stern look. He sucked at that, too.
“See you at the top,” he said, grabbing my face with one hand before pressing his mouth to my forehead.
“See you there,” I replied. I turned to the muddy, rocky face I’d just come down and lifted a hand and foot to it.
“She’s coming up, Garth!” Jesse hollered.
“For real this time?” Garth threw back sarcastically before the rope went taut.
Then with the help of the rope, and my hands and feet aiding in the journey, I made it up the wall. I glanced back once at Jesse. He watched me without blinking, almost without breathing. As I moved higher and the dark swallowed him up, I stopped breathing, too.
In at least a fourth of the time it had taken me to get down, I crested over the ridge. I curled over the edge and hoisted myself higher.
“Whoa, boy,” Garth said, rushing around the side of his horse toward me. He kneeled in front of me and held out his hand. I took it and let him help me the rest of the way up.
We sat in the middle of the trail for a minute, catching our breaths. Garth tilted his head at me. “Good job, Rowen. Good job.”
I nodded, too breathless to reply.
“She’s up, Jess!” Garth shouted over the ridge. “She’s safe.”
He was a long way down, and there was a lot of space between us, but I could have sworn I heard him sigh in relief.
“Let’s get this back down there.” Garth worked the knot around my waist free before standing up and winding the rope between his elbow and hand. “Step back, Jess! The rope’s on its way down!” Garth glanced over at me, a small smirk in place. “Not that it would do much damage if it did clock him in the head.”
I swatted his arm and sighed. “Where’s your flashlight?” I asked, looking around for it. “I’ll hold it for you.”
Garth smiled at me sheepishly. “The batteries died.”
“The batteries died,” I repeated and crossed my arms. “And you don’t have any spares?”
He continued wrapping the rope around his arm. “I will next time.”
The “next time” better not involve Jesse and broken bones.
I clicked my headlamp back on. It didn’t produce near the amount of light Garth’s flashlight had, but it was better than pitch black. After Garth had circled the rope back up, he heaved it behind him before tossing it out over the ridge.
“Got it!” Jesse called up.
While Jesse tied up the calf, or while I guessed he was tying up the calf since I couldn’t see since someone’s batteries had died, I took a closer look at what Garth had rigged up. His big black horse was a little ways down the trail from us. The other end of the rope was tied to the saddle horn. From there, the rope was wrapped once around a young pine tree growing up the side of the ridge. It looked incredibly jimmy-rigged to me, but what did I know? For all I knew, that could be the way to pull both man and mammal up a steep dirt face.
“Where’s Sunny?” I’d wandered a good ways down in the ravine before I’d found Jesse, but I wasn’t sure if I’d wandered to the right or left of where I’d left Sunny.
Garth titled his head to the left. “A little that way,” he said, “but don’t worry. As soon as Jesse’s up here, that horse will be right here, practically panting and waving his tail at him. That damn horse thinks it’s a dog when it comes to Jesse.”
I studied Garth toeing the ledge, adjusting the rope just so. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he had a streak of hero running inside of him somewhere. “I have to say, you’re pretty much the last person I would have thought would come save the day,” I said.
Garth cracked his neck and continued examining the rope. “I’ve ridden this ridge dozens of times.”
“So it isn’t really Suicide Ridge?”
A corner of Garth’s mouth twitched. “Only at night during a torrential downpour.”
“Ah, fantastic,” I muttered. “I feel so much better.”
“Ready down here, Garth!” Jesse shouted.
“All right!” Garth headed toward his horse, then looked back at me. “You ever wondered if cows could fly?” He flashed a wink. “Well, you’re about to see it with your own eyes.”
“How about a little less talking and a little more working?” I called after him as I looked over the ledge. I couldn’t tell how long I had taken to get up the face, but I wanted to be ready for that little thing whenever it got there. I already heard it crying its little calf cry.
“Gid’ up, boy,” Garth said, clucking his tongue. The rope starting moving up the face, around the tree, and down the trail. The calf was really giving her vocal chords a workout. I wasn’t sure if she was bouncing her way along the side as the rope pulled her up, or if she was trying to climb, but either way, she didn’t sound very happy about the entire situation.
“I can see her!” I shouted at Garth. “She’s almost over the ledge.”
“As soon as she is, give me a shout!” Garth yelled back.
The calf was making so much noise I wanted to cover my ears, but as soon as I grabbed her and pulled her up onto the trail, she calmed.
“Stop!” I yelled.
The rope went slack, and Garth rushed toward us.
The calf wasn’t even struggling. Thank God, because she was a sturdy little thing, and I’d have my work cut out for me if she did decide to put up a fight.
“She’s safe, Jesse! I’ve got her! She’s safe!” And then, for reasons I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand, I started crying. Almost sobbing.
Garth couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable if he was wearing eyeliner and a tutu. After giving me a quick pat on the back and mumbling good job, he made quick work of untying the knots Jesse had fastened around the calf.
I sat in the trail, holding the calf, crying like the idiot I was, while Garth wrapped the rope around his arm again.
“All right. Two down. One more to go,” Garth said before leaning over the edge. “Rope’s coming down, Jess. If you don’t make it to the top of this thing quicker than your girlfriend and a baby cow, I’m never going to let you live it down.”
Jesse’s chuckle rolled up toward us.
“His arm’s broken, Garth. Not to mention his ribs, too,” I said, giving him a small scowl.
“So?” he said before tossing the rope over the side again. “He can take a few pain relievers when he gets back to the ranch. You’re not dealing with your wussy city boys, Rowen.”
“That’s right,” I said, rolling my eyes even though he had his back to me. “I forgot you all are invincible gods.”
Garth looked over his shoulder, “Nope, we’ve even better than that.” I could see his smile gleam. “We’re cowboys.”
“Set your timer!” Jesse hollered up. “Because I’m climbing!”
Garth gave another cluck of his tongue, and the rope snapped tight. I closed my eyes, held the calf tighter, and said a silent prayer. I’d never prayed before. I’d never known who to pray to. I didn’t know who I was praying to now, but I sensed someone was listening.
“Get ready for him, Rowen!” Garth shouted at me. “That crazy S.O.B. really is going for some kind of a record.”
My eyes snapped open and, sure enough, that rope was gliding up at least twice as fast as it had when the calf was coming up. I moved the once-again-asleep calf off of my lap, made sure she was tucked away from the ledge, then crawled toward it. Toward him.
Even in the dark, his white shirt cut right through the black. That, and his smile. He was climbing, using his legs and one arm in an odd looking but efficient way, toward me. His eyes locked on mine and his smile stretched.
A few seconds later, Jesse’s hand dug into the dirt over the ledge. I grabbed it, dug my heels into the ground, and pulled. Working together, we pulled him onto the trail.
“I’ve got him!” I called out to Garth, cradling Jesse to me. “I’ve got you,” I whispered before kissing the top of his head.
“Yeah,” he said, winding his arm around my waist, “you sure do.”
We rested that way for a minute, holding each other as we both regained our breaths.
“You found me, Rowen.” He lifted his head. His eyes were shiny. “You came and found me.”
I grabbed his hand and lifted it to my face. “Just returning the favor.”
Chapter Nineteen
We were back at the bus station. Back at the beginning.
Another month had gone by. Another month that was too good to be true. Another month with Jesse and the family I’d adopted as my own.
After making it back to the ranch the night of the storm, Jesse had been taken to the hospital to get splint up, cast up, and sewn up. He’d gotten his way, though. We’d crawled into a warm bed together later that night, although it was almost morning by then.