Page 10 of Searching for Bristol
“You ever seen a Bigfoot?” Bristol asked. The look Rocky gave her made her laugh. “Right. I take it that’s a no.”
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, Punky, but Bigfoot isn’t one of them. I have no idea if such a creature exists, but if he does, I hope he stays hidden. The hell his—or her—life would become if someone actually caught one would be indescribable. The government would probably want to dissect him, the news shows would lose their minds, and it would spell doom for any others in the world. He’d probably be put in a zoo for people to gawk at, if he survived at all. No longer be able to roam free.”
“I agree,” Bristol said with a nod.
He finished folding up her pack and stuffing it inside his own, then stood and shrugged it on. The man acted as if he hadn’t just flung fifty or more pounds of gear onto his back. She knew from firsthand experience that all her crap wasn’t exactly light. But seeing him act as if the combined weight of their backpacks was nothing made her realize exactly how strong the man was.
“I bet I can walk,” she offered. “I mean, if you helped me. If you put your arm around me, I could use you as a crutch. Or a cane. Whatever.”
Rocky stared down at her as if trying to read her mind. Then he crouched—and it was everything Bristol could do not to look between his legs.
Yes, she was hurt, and kind of high on whatever painkillers she’d taken, but she was still a hetero woman. And he was extremely good-looking. And okay, she knew herself—she was attracted to him. She’d always loved big tall men. She wanted to see if he was big all over, but she refrained from looking. Barely.
“You’re not walking. Or hopping. I’ve got this, Punky. I’m not going to drop you. I can get us both to my car.”
“Then what?” she blurted, wishing she could take the question back the moment it was out. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter,” she said quickly. “I appreciate you being here and helping me.”
“Then I’ll take you to Fallport and Doc Snow. He’s the resident doctor in town. I’ll have him look you over and see what his professional opinion is about that leg. He’s got an x-ray, but I’m guessing with that fall you took, and with your concussion, he’s going to want you to be checked out by a level one or two trauma center. Especially if you need surgery. If that’s the case, depending on your pain level, we’ll either drive you to Roanoke or call LifeFlight. But to start, we’ll concentrate on getting you back to Fallport and, after hearing what the doctor thinks, go from there.”
“We’ll?” Bristol frowned.
Rocky didn’t respond right away, just stared at her. But after a long pause, he nodded. “Yeah. If you think I’m going to put you on a chopper, or drop you at the hospital and walk away…that ain’t happening.”
She wanted to ask why. But she was so relieved, so grateful—doctors really weren’t her thing—all Bristol could do was nod.
“You okay with that?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said simply.
“Good.” He smiled slightly. “Because there’s something about you, Bristol Wingham, that’s already got me hooked.”
His words made goose bumps break out pretty much everywhere. “Me too,” she said softly.
Another smile formed on his face. “Now, this is gonna suck. I’m sorry, but there’s no other way to say it. Your only job is to hang on to me, understand? I’m not going to drop you. Not going to let you fall. I’m gonna lean over and pick you up. One arm under your knees and the other at your back. We’ll take lots of breaks, because your legs will eventually go numb from my arm under your knees. I’ve got more pain pills, and we’ll keep you topped off, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be sore and uncomfortable. Okay?”
“Okay,” she breathed, even though she wasn’t at all sure about this. But Rocky carrying her was a hell of a lot better than her crawling through the forest. Remembering the kind of pain she’d already endured as she’d done just that was enough for her to straighten her spine and tell herself to suck it up.
“That’a girl,” Rocky said softly. “Here we go.”
Bristol tensed as he leaned over her, but she put an arm around his neck and held her breath as he stood with her in his arms. He didn’t grunt with the effort it must have taken to dead lift her. He made it seem easy.
But the pain that shot up her leg madeBristolinhale sharply.
“Breathe through it, Punky,” Rocky said quietly, standing still. “I know it hurts, but you can do it.”
She did her best not to throw up all over the man who held her and eventually the pain lessened a bit. It felt good not to be sitting on her ass on the hard ground anymore. She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to look at him. Their faces were close. Extremely close now. But Bristol wasn’t scared. Not of him. “I’m okay.”
“You sure?” he asked.
Bristol nodded. “Let’s do this.”
A look of respect and admiration crept over Rocky’s features as he nodded and started walking.
CHAPTERTHREE
Rocky was trying to walk as lightly as possible, but he knew he was hurting the woman in his arms with every step. It wasn’t easy to hike through the forest without hitting her feet on any bushes or tree limbs along their way. And with every brush of a limb against her legs, she winced and sucked in a breath.
But he’d never been as impressed with someone as he was Bristol. She didn’t cry. Didn’t yell out in pain. Hell, a part of him wished she would, if only to release some of her stress. When they finally reached the trail, he sighed in relief. He kept his eyes open for a place to take a short break and when he saw a flat rock alongside the trail, he knew he’d found it.
