Page 15 of First Bride to Fall
A thunderclap boomed, startling her, and she accidentally put too much pressure on her right foot again. She cried out, and Grant’s stomach sank. “Don’t move.” He pulled himself upright, and the ground gave a nasty sucking sound as he broke free from the mud.
His clothes were drenched, and his whole back was caked in muck.
He shook himself off and strode over to her, nabbing his waterproof daypack as he went. Every inch of him smarted. He motioned to a nearby rock under an outcropping. They needed that shelter from the rain so he could examine her and tend to any injuries. He led her by the elbow, and she hopped along on her left foot, trying not to slip again. “Just take it easy,” he cautioned. “We’ll get there.”
Nell sat on the rock looking pitifully drenched, and his soul ached for her. He hated that this had happened on his watch. He was always so careful, and he was grateful he’d broken her fall. He couldn’t have predicted what came afterward…or her reaction to him.
Had she felt the same chemistry? Is that why she bolted up so quickly? Regardless, on account of him, she’d made a misstep and gotten hurt. He was hoping not too seriously.
“How’s your head feeling?”
She rubbed the back of her head, the part that had rammed into his chin. Her pompom hat had softened some of the blow, but not enough of it. “A little sore back here.”
“Anything else hurting?”
She scanned her wet jacket, extending her arms. “No. It’s just the ankle.”
“Okay. I’m going to need to take a look at it.” He pinched her boot’s toe box. “That hurt?”
She shook her head. He then gingerly rotated her ankle by manipulating her boot, tilting it ever so slightly upward, downward, then side to side.
“Ow!Ow. Ow—ow, ow, Grant!Stop.”
“Sorry.” He undid her Velcro bootstraps and slid it off. He had to check for localized sensitivity and discoloration. “I’m going to need to remove this sock. Okay?”
She grimaced. “Okay.”
He examined her bare foot and ankle for any visual signs of trauma, noting the adorable bright yellow polish on her toes. The cheerful little splashes of color were unexpectedly endearing. He grinned up at her. “Nothing’s broken.”
“You sure?”
“Ninety percent.”
“Ninety?”
“Does it hurt now?”
“Yeah, it’s throbbing.”
“But worse when you step on it?” She nodded, and he produced some athletic tape from his kit. “I think you’ve just rolled it. Did it hurt before you, um, stood up?”
“No, not till then.” She shrugged sheepishly, looking so adorable in a sopping wet way. He needed to get her out of here and to shelter fast.
“Which side hurts more?” He pressed lightly at her ankle bones, and when he touched the outer one she sucked air through her teeth.
“Got it.” He gently straightened her foot at ninety degrees. “Can you keep your foot still like that?” She nodded, and he wrapped her ankle with the athletic tape using three stirrups, three Js, and three figure eights, covering her ankle bones and instep to provide stability. “You’re doing great,” he said, finishing up. “Can you wiggle your toes for me?”
She moved them just fine, her nail polish flashing like small rays of sunshine in the gloomy rain. He checked his tape job to ensure there were no gaps.
“You’ll need to stay off this for a day or so, and ice it. If it starts getting worse instead of better, I’d check in with a doctor.” He eased her boot back on, securing the Velcro loosely. “I’d better drive you home. You got someone who can come back for your car?”
“Yeah, my sisters.”
He’d seen them before. Not in school, since they were younger than Nell, but around town. Both also worked at the coffee shop and were very attractive women. Neither one exactly had Nell’s charm, though. “Charlotte and Missy, right?”
“Misty,” she corrected with a smile. “For Michelle.”
He chuckled. “Your folks were big on nicknames, huh?”
