Page 34 of Cloaked in Beauty

“Take my hand, Calvin.” Her voice, obviously not aimed at him, sounded strained.

All reassurance emptied from Philip’s muscles in an instant. He dismounted in a leap and ran for the rock, his pace quickening as he realized he could see no land past the outcropping. Was she dangling over a cliff? This wasn’t mountain country, but steep ravines could still be deadly. One slip on the loose soil and rock and a person could tumble all the way to the bottom, busting and breaking who knew what on the way down.

“That’s it.” Letty grunted. “Just stretch a little higher.” Letty’s shoulders slid over the edge as she reached for whoever was on the other side.

Even if the person was small, their weight could easily drag her off the ledge. The thought had barely crossed his mind when she started sliding.

Philip dropped his rifle and pumped his legs harder, his gaze locked on her boots. Afraid his momentum would push her over the side, he approached at an angle and launched himself across her lower half from a perpendicular position.

She released a grunt as his weight landed atop her, but all he cared about was the fact that her legs were now pinned to the rock, his body anchoring them in place.

“I’ve got you!” she cried to someone he still couldn’t see.

“And I’ve got you.” His sides heaved as a prayer of gratitude winged heavenward.

He felt the muscles in Letty’s back and legs tighten as she strained to reel in whatever fish she’d caught. Wanting to get her away from the ledge as quickly as possible, he shifted his weight just enough to wrap his arms around her legs and heave her backward. Once her shoulders cleared the top of the ridge and neutralized the immediate danger of her falling over the side, Philip flattened himself on his belly beside her and peered over the edge.

A boy stared up at him, face scraped and covered in dirt, eyes brimming with tears. The lad couldn’t be older than eight or nine. Nothing but a few inches of ledge and an exposed tree root for a handhold separated him from the bottom of the ravine. Philip’s heart gave a twinge as he reached over the side, grabbed a fistful of the boy’s shirt, and dragged him onto the safety of the rock.

He expected the kid to need a minute to recover—heaven knew Philip did—but the boy popped up and immediately started tugging on Philip’s sleeve.

“Please, mister, you gotta help my brother.”

Philip rolled over and crunched up to a sitting position, then offered Letty a supportive hand as she did the same. Their eyes met. Gratitude glimmered in her gaze, but it played second fiddle to the deluge of concern flooding her expression. A tiny tip of her head was all it took to make it clear where she wanted him to devote his attention.

“Please, mister. He’s hurt real bad.”

Philip turned back to the boy. “Where is he?”

The boy raised a trembling hand and pointed back to the ravine. “Down there.”

****

Letty gripped the edge of the rock and searched the expanse below. Her gaze slid farther and farther down until she spied a dark, crumpled form near the streambed at the base. An impossibly small form. A gasp rose in her throat, but she swallowed it. She didn’t want to add to Calvin’s distress. The boy was still shaking from his own ordeal.

Before she could turn, she felt Philip come alongside, his presence providing immediate comfort and assurance that instilled her with a confidence she couldn’t have manifested on her own.

“Do you see him?” she murmured. “To the left. By the streambed.”

“I see him.” His voice sounded grim. Much like her heart felt.

The boy wasn’t moving. She prayed he’d simply been rendered unconscious from his fall. That a chance remained for him to recover.

“I’ll get a rope and repel down to fetch him.”

Letty pushed away from the edge of the rock and brushed off her hands. “I’ll help.”

“There’s a small satchel tied to the back of my saddle filled with bandages and medicinal supplies. Fetch that for me along with my rope while I find a good place to tie off.” Philip’s sharp gaze had already begun studying the nearest trees, seeking one stable enough to serve as an anchor.

Scrambling quickly to her feet, Letty smiled at Calvin and reached for his shoulder. “Come. Help me gather the things Mr. Carmichael needs.”

Tear tracks streaked Calvin’s dirty face. “Is Dennis gonna be all right?”

Heavens, but she wanted to say yes. To promise that his brother was going to be just fine. But false hope would only make it harder for him to deal with whatever reality awaited.

Hunkering down to look him straight in the eyes, Letty took hold of the boy’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “I don’t know how badly your brother is hurt, Calvin, but I do know that Mr. Carmichael will do everything he can to protect him and keep him safe. He’s very good at protecting people.”

All she had to do was recall his weight falling upon her to prove her statement true. She’d felt herself slipping over the side of the ledge until his body had pressed her legs against the rock and kept her from falling. She’d not given much thought to how he might react to her riding off beyond expecting to earn his displeasure and anger. Yet, not only had he followed, he’d thrown himself into the fray immediately upon his arrival. A fact she thanked God for. She might have been the one to initially heed the call, but Philip was the one who made the rescue. Without him, she and Calvin might very well be at the bottom of that ravine right now with poor Dennis.