Stronger By Your Side (Great Love Book 2) (22 page)

We began walking as fast as we could while carrying a human and a goat downhill. We were practically jogging, dodging rocks, sticks and animals fleeing the fire. I was starting to think we were going to make it before we were completely surrounded by pitch black or worse, the light of the nearby fire. Then, to my dismay, a load crackling began above us. Cal and I both looked up at the same time to see what was too late to prevent.
 

Calvin

Well, this isn’t how I expected this to go. Convinced that there was nothing I could do for myself, I threw the unconscious Harry off my shoulders and in front of me as far as I physically could. Then, for the second time in my life, I willed Emerson to forgive me, and in my mind, I told her I loved her, then I waited for the crushing pain of the tree. Except it never happened. Instead, I was thrown to the front, my head whipping back and then my body connecting with the ground in a loud thud.

I quickly flipped to my back and looked up at the smoke-filled air and to the tree that now lay only feet in front of me. I scrambled back to see Harry still passed out but breathing. Then the goat jumped up and over the log, bleating at me. “Fuck…” I grabbed my head that was spinning with pain. “Prescott!” I yelled.
No, God no, not again, this cannot be happening again.
I stood up as quickly as my exhausted body would allow me and scanned the ground around the tree. That’s when I saw him. Sawyer was lying face up, grabbing his arm and wincing. He was all the way to the side of the tree, his feet only centimeters from where the tree would have crushed him. “Prescott!” I yelled as I ran towards him.

Sawyer sat up on one elbow and threw a hand in the air. “Hey, man.”

I shook my head and took a deep breath. “What the hell, man? You could have been killed.”

Sawyer laughed. “So you’d rather that I let the tree crush you than knock you out of the way? Thank God for the other guy. Where’d he go?”

I swallowed hard at the lack of water and oxygen in my body and crouched next to him. His legs were only centimeters from the downed tree. Damn. “Who?”

Sawyer rolled his shoulder. “The guy, in a flannel and jeans, with the Camo hat . . . local maybe? Where is he? Owe him my life. He rushed me from the side right after I pushed you forward . . . we both flew this way. He was just next to me a minute ago.”

I cleared my throat. “Sawyer, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, there was no other guy. It’s just us. Now hurry, get up, we’ve got to book it, fire’s closing in.” Sawyer furrowed his brow and looked up at me with confusion in his eyes.               I sighed. “Dude, let’s get the hell out of here and then we’ll figure it out.”

Sawyer got up on his feet and nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t want him trapped out here. Shit.”

I scrunched my face at him and then took a quick look around. Nothing but smoke and flames. I walked over to Harry and checked him quickly. He had a pulse, but it was weak, and so was his breathing. I covered his face back up. The goat was curled next to Harry in a ball and seemed to be equally attached to him. “Grab the goat!” I yelled over to Sawyer, who was now scanning the trees in concern. “Come on, Prescott, let’s go!” When he didn’t move, I continued, “Or do I need to tell Megs that you’re being a pain in my ass?” That got his attention, like I thought it would, and after one last glance around him, he started towards me. He picked up the goat and we began quickly walking along the creek again.
 

Sawyer

Just as we got a move on it, the skies blackened and only the light of the fire around us guided us down. We both turned on our headlamps, yet they didn’t seem to carry the same guidance as the flames—ironic how the thing that was trying to kill us was also able to save us. I tried not to think about that for too long and instead pictured Megan’s smiling face and her lips on mine only a week before. The trucks didn’t seem too far off in the distance. Their lights were on, and they made a nice homing beacon for us. We both sloshed our feet through the ash and smoke, both exhausted, dehydrated and determined. And of course it was too good to be true, because the wind suddenly picked up again with a fearsome attitude and began to come at us full force.

Seven hours. Calvin and Sawyer had been up there in the hills, with the fire, for seven hours. Two hours ago, Emerson and I had both received phone calls from their chiefs, and Travis had driven us up here as soon as he was done at the academy. Emerson getting a call made sense; me, not so much. The fire chief also happened to be Sawyer’s Uncle Tom. Tom told me over the phone that until Sawyer ran into me a dozen weeks ago, Tom and his wife, Nancy, were the only ones on Sawyer’s emergency contact list. Sawyer had added me shortly after he got my number. The chief said as soon as Sawyer said my name, he knew who I was and didn’t need an explanation. “My sister talked about you a lot. She loved you very much,” He had told me on the phone. At those words, I had choked on my voice and my chest ached with joy and pain all at once. I had loved her, too.

They had contacted us to tell us what happened and that they would call us with updates. Well, problem was, Emerson wasn’t having it. She had dropped off the twins at Cal’s parents’ house and begged Cal’s dad to pull his strings to find out where they were. Emerson had Mr. Smith wrapped around her finger and so, after only hesitating for moment, he did. I was glad Emerson took the lead because I was with her. Jules was busy at the coffeehouse preparing for expansion and was working late. I didn’t want to bother her, so Sarah said she would watch Charlotte for me. Travis had gotten off from the academy and picked us up at Sarah’s, and we headed up here, much to both the chiefs’ surprise when we pulled up.

Seeing Emerson like this surprised me to a point. She was usually calm and rational, sweet and innocent. But when you messed with the ones she loved, she became more like Sarah: fearless, stubborn and determined.

I sat on the tailgate of Travis’s truck, watching the hill with my arms crossed over my chest. Watching the flames, knowing they were up there, was a painful torture. I didn’t want to look because it hurt to do so, but I couldn’t look away because I was anxious to see them walk down the hill.

I heard Emerson’s voice pick up and looked back to see her poking Cal’s fire chief in the chest. “I had you over for Easter! You ate my carrot cake, now for the love of God, what is your plan, man?” Travis stood behind her with his head in his hands, shaking it. I didn’t feel like laughing, but I couldn’t help the slight giggle that escaped my mouth. The tall brute of a man looked down, calm and collected, at Emerson, who looked like an angry pixie in comparison to him.

She took a deep breath and then stomped off. Travis slowly came up to me and sat next to me. He bumped my shoulder with his and asked, “You okay?” I shook my head slowly and choked back the tears. “Whoa, Megs. I’m so sorry.”

He put his arm around me and pulled me closer. “I can’t lose him too, Travis.”

Travis took a deep breath. “I know.”

I looked up at him. “You do?”

He nodded. “I can see it in your eyes.”

I tilted my head back a little. “What?”

He stared down at me. “That you love him. I can see it, just as I could with Charles.”

I bit my lip and then nodded, unable to keep the tears back any longer. I hadn’t told Sawyer. He didn’t know I loved him. Travis squeezed my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll go get you water, just stay calm, okay?” I nodded again as he walked back to where I could hear Emerson was interrogating the firefighters.

I sighed and took a deep breath, bowing my head for the first time in a long time.
God, please, God, let them both be okay
.
I can’t, I just can’t lose SJ, and Emerson can’t lose Cal. Charles gave his life for him, he has to live, God please.
I begged in my mind over and over again. After a while, I opened my eyes to an intense feeling I had, and when my eyes caught the hillside, the breath was knocked out of my lungs. I flew to my feet and screamed behind me, “Em. Hurry. Hurry!”
 

Sawyer

One minute I was close to getting back to the trucks, and the next thing I knew, a strong gust of fire blew us off the ground. As I laid still in silence, I had flashes of being carried, but I couldn’t remember by whom. I opened my eyes to realize I was lying flat on the ground. When I looked up, the man that had knocked me out of the way earlier was standing above me, looking down at me, concern on his face. I stared up at him and realized he had familiar blonde hair and green eyes, but I couldn’t place where from. I looked around to see that besides the goat, who was practically standing on me while she belated, we were alone. Where was Cal? Harry?

I reached up and petted the goat to calm her. Then I narrowed my eyes at the man. “Who are you?”

His smile twitched up a little at the corner. “My friends call me Max.” That sounded familiar too, but I couldn’t think clearly. My head was pounding. I reached up to my temple to see what was making my head pound, but everything was numb. I must have hit my head. I squinted my eyes further. Suddenly, I heard a distant yell. “Prescott!” I sat up slowly on my elbows and winced when a sharp pain shot up to my head.

Max bent down and crouched next to me, anxiously looking up to where the noise came from and back at me. “Love her with all you have. Always. Both of them. You hear me?”

I furrowed my brows. “What?” Who? The goat? The hell? Just as I heard my last name being called again, this time closer, Max stood and stared in the direction with a look that I couldn’t quite place. “I’m here!” I yelled. I looked back to see Cal carrying Harry on his shoulder a couple of yards behind me.

He quickly jogged over to me and then looked to the woods in front of me. “Who was that?” I followed his eyes.

“This is . . . where’d he go?” I asked, and then looked up at Cal as I slowly got up on my feet.

“I don’t know . . . one second he was there and the next he was . . . gone. Who was he?”

So I wasn’t seeing things. “He’s the guy who saved my ass earlier . . . local, I think. Said his name was Max.” Cal immediately stilled and furrowed his brow. “What?” I asked as I gathered up the goat.

Cal shook his head. “No . . . Nothing, man, let’s go. I just want to get the hell out of here.”

I followed Cal and was relieved to see people far enough away that I could probably yell at them, if I had enough air in my tired lungs. Instead, Cal and I just sluggishly walked on, knowing that if we collapsed now, someone would at least find us. That’s when I saw a woman who looked to be Megan’s size sitting on the back of a truck, a truck that looked familiar, although I could only see the outline. The woman’s hair was long and blowing in the wind, but I couldn’t tell what color it was, though I knew it was dark. Something inside of me sparked, and I couldn’t help but feel that the woman was Megan. It had to be her.

How did she get here? What was she doing here? How long had we been gone? As the questions swarmed my mind, my feet slowly began to give out and, without notice, I dropped to my knees. The impact shocked through my body and caused a wave of pain in my shaken brain. “Shit,” I whispered. Cal turned back to look at me, wincing at the adjustment of Harry on his back. Something warm and dark dripped down my face and onto the black ground in front of me. I placed the goat on the ground, and although I couldn’t hear anything, I could tell by the way she moved that she was bleating at me and I could feel her spit in my face. But I didn’t care, I couldn’t. The dark world around me was spinning and the warm, wet substance continued to fall down my face in big, slow drops.

I looked up at the dark shadow that was Cal to see him pull off his mask and begin waving his one free arm. I couldn’t hear it, but I knew he was yelling something. But what? Why? I watched the warm glow of the flickering fire around us and realized that somehow I ended up laying on the ground with my face in the rocks. That was okay, this was more comfortable, my body felt less strained this way, and the throbbing pain started to go away. In fact, I didn’t feel anything.

As I stared forward into the flashes of the fire, I thought about Megan. Images of her and me involving fire flashed through my mind. They started with the ones of us as young children, telling secrets in front of the fire. Then of us, a little older, next to the campfire toasting marshmallows. Next was of us as teenagers, standing next to a bonfire on the beach, holding hands. They continued until it ended with the most recent memory, me holding her close as we fell asleep next to the flickering fire. I moved my eyes to watch Cal run away with Harry bouncing on his back, suddenly waking him. Good, Harry was okay. Margo would be pleased. I could feel something pawing at my stomach and prayed it was Lucy and that she was okay, but I couldn’t check. Then I saw a couple of my friends run towards me, yelling. What were they yelling? Why was everyone yelling?

I couldn’t hear, couldn’t talk and couldn’t move. Nothing was making sense, nothing except for one thing: her. My eyes moved from the fire to where I saw her last. When they landed on her, my heart began to slow down and thump hard. I smiled to myself as she stepped into the light, and even from here I knew it was her. Her steel gray eyes pierced through the night sky like a beacon to my soul. Her tan skin glowed in the firelight and her hair blew as the wind breezed by. Her arms were crossed and her face was scrunched. I blinked hard and slow as my heart gave one last hard beat. Then I thought,
God, I love her
, and watched the woman I loved as the world turned dark.
 

Megan

I stood watching from afar as the paramedics rushed over to Sawyer. I crossed my arms over my chest, willing my heart to not break.
It’s not over, he’s going to be fine, they are going to save him.
I wouldn’t cry, I wouldn’t give up hope. Cal had run by with the man they went to save and got him into an ambulance just as the other paramedics ran to save Sawyer. He didn’t see me or talk to me, but I heard him update the paramedics briefly before he rushed away. I had started to run towards him, but I was told to stay put. I almost said screw it and ran anyway, but Emerson had already caused enough trouble for the both of us. Instead, I stared into the night air and watched black silhouettes kneeling down and moving about. Suddenly, something heavy fell on my shoulder. I turned to see Travis’s concerned face, watching the same thing I was. I placed my hand on my shoulder, covering his, grateful for his presence.

“Megan! Megan!” I turned around to see Emerson running towards me with wet eyes, Travis’s hand still solid on my shoulder. I half smiled as she hugged me. “I saw Cal, he’s getting the old man taken care of. Then he’s going to go with Sawyer. I’m so sorry.” I nodded and turned back to see Sawyer, now on a stretcher, with the men quickly but smoothly carrying him closer. My heart began to beat faster as they got closer. I squeezed Travis’s hand as hard as I could at the sight of Sawyer’s dark hair sticking out of the top of the gurney.

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind burst through the air and I looked up and over to see a helicopter landing close by. My heart sped up and I felt like my lungs just stopped. I swallowed hard as I watched the men hurry past me towards the copter. I dropped Travis’s hand and began following them, unaware of anything but the fact that Sawyer was on that stretcher, more dead than alive. I looked over to see Cal running towards me. Emerson was next to me in a second. From the side of my eye, I saw them kiss and say something, but I couldn’t hear anything except the helicopter blades piercing the sky.

Cal grabbed my hand and I looked up at him. I couldn’t hear him well, but I watched his mouth say, “We need to go.” I nodded and followed closely behind him as he got onto the helicopter with Sawyer’s uncle and another medic.

I sat next to Sawyer and looked at his bare chest down to his fire pants and boots. He had wires all over his chest and a breathing mask on his face. He was breathing lightly as his chest rose and fell. His head was covered with a bandage, but the dark red seeped through. I winced and pushed the tears back as I swallowed hard. My heart began to squeeze tight in my chest and boiled up into my throat. I choked on a low whimper and took a deep breath. As the helicopter jerked into the air, I grabbed Sawyer’s IVed hand and brushed it lightly with my thumb. I leaned in close, next to his ear, and as a single tear leaked down my cheek, I whispered . . .
 

Sawyer

“I love you.” The words echoed through my fogged mind and I replayed them over and over, loving the way it sounded from her lips, in her voice. But she sounded sad, scared, lost. What was wrong? Where was she? I tried to sit up to find her, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t see, either. Why couldn’t I see? Or hear? I tried to open my eyes or speak, but nothing seemed to work. What happened? I tried again, harder this time, to sit up, and after a second . . . nothing.

I felt something tingle on my hand and I tried to move it. A warm sensation carried over me and then my head began to slowly throb. I grunted at the sudden change and then another soft, warm tickle went across my cheek. I turned into it and tried to open my eyes. A flash of Megan’s tear-stricken face peeked through the darkness. I wanted to see more, but that’s all I got. I kept trying, and every once in a while I got a glimpse of the world around me in between the darkness. Cal working frantically on something, Megan crying and her mouth saying, “I’m here.” But her voice was silent. My Uncle Tom looking concerned. I kept trying to see more, but the more I tried and the more I saw, the longer the blackness would take over in between. I could feel my heart beating slowly and my mind growing tired. Then, after a while, I couldn’t try any more, I was too tired. I just wanted to sleep, so I did.