TWO

       “Bobby!” Spence peered over the edge onto the cliff below. His younger brother’s body lay motionless, his eyes closed. Spence had to get to him, but he had to get help.

      Spence glanced down the trail. No, he couldn’t abandon his brother.

      “Help!” Spence shouted. “Somebody help!” His voice echoed back at him.

      The wind whistled through the dense forest. He didn’t know what to do.

      “You know what your most important job is in the whole world? Take care of your baby brother,” his mom said on a weekly basis. Bobby was a trouble magnet, everyone knew it. But still...

      Spence shifted onto his stomach hoping to climb down to the ledge where his brother had landed. With a solid hold of a tree branch, he lowered his left foot to a knot in the mountain wall.

      The branch snapped.

      And he fell the remaining ten feet onto his back. The wind knocked from his lungs, he struggled to breathe as he stared up at the pine and cedar trees filling his line of vision. He forced himself to breathe, rolled onto his hands and knees and looked at his brother.

      “Bobby?” he gasped.

      He hadn’t a clue what to do, how to help him. What had he seen on that medical show Mom always watched? Spence tipped Bobby’s head back to keep him from swallowing his tongue. He grabbed his brother’s wrist and felt for a pulse.

      “Where is it?” he muttered, trying the other wrist.

      Panic coiled in his gut.

      “Bobby! Wake up!”

      * * *

      “Wake up!”

      Spence gasped and opened his eyes, struggling to get his bearings. The lush trees and whistling wind were gone.

      His brother...

      Was gone.

      A ball of pain knotted in his throat.

      “Breathe,” a woman said.

      He blinked, and Maddie McBride’s round face framed with rich auburn hair came into focus. She offered an encouraging nod and squeezed his shoulder.

      He glanced past her and realized he was in a hospital room, but he wasn’t the attending physician. He was the patient.

      “You’re okay,” she said.

      There was something in her voice that didn’t sound so sure. Her green eyes studied him with concern.

      “Who’s Bobby?” she asked.

      Right, he’d been sucked down into the childhood nightmare. He shook his head and closed his eyes, hoping she’d leave him alone with his shame.

      “Are you in pain? Want me to call the nurse?”

      “No and absolutely not.” His response was more clipped than he’d intended, but he didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to be a patient.

      “Okay then,” she said with that same note of sarcasm she’d used in the mountains. “Do you remember how you got here?”

      “I...” He shook his head. Had they carried him down?

      “What’s the last thing you do remember?”

      “Some guy assaulted me. Then you—” He opened his eyes. “You shot him?”

      “No, I fired off a round to make a point. And—” she paused before continuing “—you’re welcome.”

      He must have looked puzzled.

      “For saving your life?” she prompted.

      He nodded. It all seemed so unreal.

      “How’s Gwen?” he asked.

      “Much better. Breathing on her own. You did good work out there, especially considering your condition.”

      “My condition?”

      “Yeah, your brain trauma,” she said as if it was the obvious answer. “Intubating with a concussion? Gutsy.”

      She started to slip her hand off his shoulder and he caught it in his own. He wasn’t sure why, but the feel of her warm skin eased the panic in his chest. Her bright green eyes widened and her head tipped slightly.

      “I... I think...” He struggled for the right words, wanting to thank her for coming along when she did, and for being here to wake him from the torturous dream.

      A knowing smile eased across her lips. “How about I get you some water?”

      She slipped her hand from beneath his palm and took the plastic pitcher to the sink. He sensed she knew that he struggled to find words, to make sense of the thoughts jumbling around in his brain.

      Man, his head hurt. Maybe he should call for the nurse. No, the last thing he wanted was for hospital staff to think of him as broken and unable to do his job. He needed to appear strong, even if he felt weak. He wanted respect, not pity from his peers.

      “What happened to the man you shot?” he asked.

      “Shot at,” she corrected, walking back to the bed. “They’re still searching for him.” She handed him a cup of water. “Chief Walsh said when they find him they’ll charge him with assault and question him about what happened to Gwen.”

      “She texted me, wanting my help, but I assumed she was alone.”

      Maddie’s brow furrowed. “Poor kid. She seemed so lost when we brought her in.”

      Lost. Exactly how Spence felt right now. Confused, fragile and powerless. Not a feeling he was used to.

      “How’s the head pain?” she asked.

      “About a two.”

      “Uh-huh.” She narrowed her eyes. “I saw what happened, remember?”

      “Wait, that sound... You were singing?”

      “That sound? Wow, thanks.”

      “I didn’t mean—”

      “It’s fine, I know I’m no Carrie Underwood. I figured singing would distract the guy long enough for you to get the upper hand. Well-done, by the way.”

      “Thanks.”

      “But then, how did he get the advantage?”

      He struggled to remember. “Gwen was gasping for air. Guess I got distracted.” He sipped his water. “Why am I in a room?”

      “They’re keeping you overnight for observation.” She tapped her forefinger to her own forehead. “Concerned about the brain trauma.”

      “I’m fine.”

      “So you’ve said. If the MRI comes back clean you’ll be good to go. I think it’s scheduled for tonight.”

      He felt bad for keeping her from her life.

      “You should