to get you to a hospital, fast.
Just the day before Miguel had told her there was no cell phone service in this area to call for assistance. So she’d either have to leave him here and go for help, hoping hypothermia didn’t set in in the meantime, or drag him to the truck. She chose the latter.
After removing his crampons, she turned him over, grabbed hold of his harness and began pulling him toward the car. They were still on the ice, and she had to dig her crampons in with every step, slowing her progress and draining her strength.
Ally prayed every inch of the way over the flat cascade of ice. Several times she heard a moan from Des. Relieved for even that much response, she finally reached their vehicle. After removing her crampons and helmet, she went through several of his pockets and found the keys.
Once she’d opened the rear door, she grabbed him in a fireman’s lift the way she’d been trained in the Tetons and managed to get him inside. He had to weigh at least two hundred pounds of hard muscle, but she couldn’t stop to rest. Frantic to reach help, she raced around and got behind the wheel of the truck. Thank heaven it was only a few kilometers to the village.
All the while her mind was replaying the horrific moment in the raft with Rex when they’d hit the rapids. He hadn’t been wearing a helmet, either. She’d told him to put it on after they’d put the boat in the water. But like Des, he’d said he would get it in a minute but had left the shore without it. They’d gone into the rapids at the wrong angle and the boat had flipped. Rex had been thrown from the boat and his head had hit a boulder. He never regained consciousness.
This was like déjà vu. Des couldn’t die, too! She wouldn’t let him.
CHAPTER FOUR
“DES? Can you hear me?”
That voice crying softly to him … A woman’s voice … An American, he realized, since every once in a while he could hear her speaking English to him. Who in the hell was she?
Slowly his senses picked up other things. The warmth of two feminine hands closed around his, the subtle fragrance of wildflowers found in the highest meadows.
“Please wake up and talk to me,” the sweet voice called to him.
With that urgent entreaty, he made the effort and opened his eyes to discover an enchanting face bent over him, wet with tears. She’d been crying. He didn’t understand why.
The tips of her light brown hair, streaked with gold highlights, brushed against his jaw. Those liquid-filled eyes of amber brown … He’d seen them before. But where? Right now they were full of anxiety and a plea for him to stay with her.
“I’m Ally. Do you remember me?”
He was trying to think, but the pain at the side of his forehead kept interfering with his concentration. “Ally who?” he whispered.
“Ally Bonner. Miguel asked if you would take me ice climbing.”
Something clicked in his brain. “You’re the Teton girl who wears the cowboy boots!”
“Yes!”
Her smile of relief radiated a universe of sunshine. It seeped into those dark places where he’d been living for such a long time. “Thank heavens you’re going to be all right.”
He took a deep breath. “I remember reaching you and handing you the ax. Then I was overwhelmed by dizziness and couldn’t hold on.”
She squeezed his hand before letting go. “So that’s what happened! I watched you fall. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”
“I’ve never felt that sick in my life. I was supposed to be protecting you. Where am I?”
“At the clinic here in Puerto d’Ara.”
“Why are you crying?”
He heard her take a shuddering breath. “Because you’re alive… . My … fiancé wasn’t as lucky.”
Fiancé? “What happened to him?”
“We were doing a float trip together down the Snake River with a group of tourists from the dude ranch I help my family run. Like you, he said he’d put his helmet on in a minute. When we hit the rapids at the wrong angle, it tipped and Rex was thrown. He hit his head on a boulder. We managed to rescue him from the water but he was unconscious… . He never came out of the coma,” she said on a whisper.
Des’s stomach clenched, imagining the horror of it. He’d heard her anguish.
“When I saw you lying there, I couldn’t bear it.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Ally.”
She drew herself up and wiped her eyes. “It’s in the past now. What’s important is that you’re awake and will live to climb another day.”
“Thanks to you. How did I get here?”
“I brought you.”
He frowned, but even that hurt. “How?”
The corner of her mouth lifted. Though she wasn’t conscious of it, he found her smile seductive. “The old-fashioned way.”
What? He stared hard at her. “You mean you dragged me off the ice by yourself?”
She nodded, causing her wavy hair to dance along her shoulders. He remembered she’d been wearing it in a ponytail before. Either way, she was a knockout. “Those harnesses come in handy for a lot of reasons. The hardest part was getting you in the back of your truck.”
“But you managed it. And got me here.” A swell of gratitude and admiration took over, shocking the hell out of him. Only then did he realize there was an IV in his other arm. “What time is it now?”
“Five in the evening.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“On and off since yesterday afternoon.”
He’d lost a whole twenty-four hours? “But that’s impossible!”
“Your body needed the rest. Besides having a slight concussion, the doctor says you have the flu. It hit you hard, that’s why you’ve been sleeping so long.”
Des was incredulous. He passed a hand over his jaw and felt his growth of beard with disgust. “I remember feeling nauseous for the last few days, but figured it was a bug and would pass. Instead of obeying the warning signs, I endangered your life.”
“No, you didn’t,” she insisted. “You did such an expert job of preparing me that I was able to respond. But next time, take your own advice and put your helmet on before you do anything else, okay?”
Des was in awe of this woman. She’d endured heartbreak and grief. Des’s experience with his fiancée couldn’t compare. Now he could truly see it for what it was—a blow to his pride, nothing more. He felt the fool for having allowed it to affect him so much. He’d wasted the past year of his life. On a trifle.
