An instant later, he lay face down on a bed of pine needles, dazed. A few feet away, the ATV lay on its side, the front wheels spinning. Above him, the treetops swayed restlessly against a black sky. He lifted his head to get his bearings, realized he was about ten feet off the path. Quickly, he took stock of his injuries. The pain in his back took his breath. He lay there for a few moments, gasping, struggling to stay calm. He remembered the months of physical therapy he’d had after the shooting. He remembered the physical therapist telling him the best way to ease the pain was to stay relaxed. For a moment, Buzz did just that, trying to relax, trying to catch his breath.
Cautiously, he sat up, grimacing when the muscles in his back seized. The pain was bad, but he could function. Judging from the pain zinging down his arm, he’d also managed to injure his shoulder, maybe even dislocated the joint. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the fear clenching his heart. Kelly was out there, alone and in imminent danger.
Shoving back a rise of panic, Buzz got to his knees then to his feet. Groaning when pain shot through his spine, he straightened and turned toward the ATV. It was going to be a miracle if the thing started, but he had to try.
Buzz grabbed the steering wheel. Using his hip, he pushed until the vehicle rolled and landed steadily on all four wheels. The strain sent his back into another spasm and he went down on one knee. Closing his eyes, he waited for the spasm to pass. Cursing the bastard who’d put the bullet in him, he struggled to his feet.
“Kelly…”
He’d intended to shout, but her name rushed between clenched teeth. Remembering the whistle, Buzz put it to his lips, gripped it between his teeth and blew three times. He climbed onto the ATV and forced his hands to close around the steering wheel. Growling low in his throat, he reached for the key, turned it. The engine coughed once then purred to life.
“Kelly!” His voice was stronger now. The pain was bad, but he could handle it. He could do this, he realized. They were going to get through this. He was going to find her and get her back to safety.
Hope spiked when he heard the crack of wood behind him. “Kelly!” Turning in the seat, he looked up the path from whence he’d just come and found himself staring into the face of hell.
Kelly’s feet pounded the path like pistons driving an engine. She’d heard Buzz’s whistle. She was certain of it. He’d come for her just as she’d known he would.
But it seemed as if she’d been running forever and still no sign of him. No sign of anyone.
The path curved sharply to the left, then dipped and ran along the ridge of a small ravine. Kelly ran as fast as she could, hurdling over rocks and fallen trees. Brush and low-growing juniper blurred past. Ahead, the trail ran straight into a face of rock and cut sharply again. She followed the rock wall around to the left and sprinted through the trees, ducking branches as she ran.
The sight of the fire rising up out of the forest floor stopped her cold. Adrenaline surged through her muscles. A few minutes ago the fire had been behind her. How had it gotten in front of her?
Realizing she could no longer stay on the path, she turned and started through the trees. She’d only taken a few steps when she heard the whistle again. Closer. Through the trees and around the jut of granite twenty yards away.
“Buzz! Where are you?”
She didn’t know if it was Buzz, but it was his name that burst from her lips. Arms outstretched, she ran toward the sound of the whistle, crashing through branches, stumbling over rocks. She ran as she had never run before, the image of him branded into her mind, the sound of his voice ringing in her ears. All the while, the fire consumed the forest around her.
She skirted the jut of granite, blinked back smoke-induced tears. The beams of the ATV’s headlights materialized through the black haze. Standing on the driver’s seat, holding his helmet at his side, Buzz looked like an apparition.
“Buzz! Oh, God! You came!”
She didn’t wait for him to respond. She ran toward him. It barely registered in her brain that he wasn’t smiling. That he was barely moving. All she wanted to do was feel his arms around her, hear her name on his lips, look into his eyes and tell him all the things she hadn’t been able to say before.
Chapter 17
T he sight of Kelly running toward him, her face pale with terror, struck Buzz with the mind-numbing shock of a physical blow. The emotions that followed rendered him as utterly useless as any injury. All he could do was stand there, thank God she was alive and wish with all of his heart that things could have worked out differently between them.
Silly thought to have when the fire of century burned all around them.
Happiness and relief and a dozen other emotions he couldn’t begin to name zinged through him with such force that he couldn’t do anything but stand there silent and still and anticipate the moment when she would touch him, when he could smell her scent, feel her warm and soft against him, hold her just one more time.