She should also grab the firearm from his holster.Lying on top of it couldn’t be comfortable.The fact he didn’t so much as blink while she jammed her hand underneath his back and retrieved the weapon scared her.She examined the gun.Growing up in Texas should’ve made her more comfortable around a weapon like this handgun.It didn’t.She was scared to death she’d end up shooting an innocent person by accident—or herself if a bullet ricocheted.That would be just her luck.
No, she’d never developed a comfort level with firearms.
The gun was heavy in her hand.She examined it quickly and found the safety.She knew enough to make sure it was on until she needed to use it.Ivy prayed that moment wouldn’t come, but if the bear had been tracking them, she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot to scare it away.Worst case, she would use the weapon to shoot the bear, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Now that she had a weapon, she moved back to the pickup to look for a medical kit.She’d taken basic CPR classes for her summer lifeguard job.Stemming the bleeding would go a long way toward saving Beau.
The engine hummed.Would the truck run out of gas?Balancing the potential need for a quick getaway with the need for gas, she decided to turn the vehicle off while she attended to Beau’s injuries.
Clay and Royce could be out here lost.The bear might have found them.Or they might have given up and left her for dead.No matter what the situation, she needed to work quickly and get medical care for Beau.Real medical care.Could she drop him off at an ER with a gunshot wound and expect not to be required to answer a ton of questions?
Deal with it when the time comes.
Setting those thoughts aside, she unbuttoned Beau’s shirt and exposed the wound on his shoulder.Blood pulsed from it, matching the rhythm of a heartbeat.Think.
The medical kit contained bandages, gauze, medical tape, and a few other essential items.She balled up enough gauze to press against the wound.
The first signs of life stirred in Beau when he made a pinched face.
“I know.This hurts.Stay with me, and it’ll feel better soon.”Those last words had the ring of an empty promise, but she would do whatever it took to make good on the promise.
Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of losing one more person she cared about.Was it too soon to care about Beau?They’d just met.So, why did it feel like they’d known each other for a lifetime already, like kindred souls?
She chalked it up to fleeting trauma bonding.That was the only explanation for why she felt such a strong attachment to someone she’d barely met.Or it could be leftover grief from losing her mother and brother in such a tragic way.Both had gone too soon and died far too young.
Hot tears pricked the backs of her eyes.A few fell, dropping onto Beau’s shoulder as she worked, mingling with his blood.
Ivy exhaled a slow breath to calm her racing pulse—a pulse that beat like a champion thoroughbred’s at the end of a race.
She placed an oversized bandage over the gauze and then secured it with medical tape.No one would accuse her of being a triage nurse, but the bleeding stopped.She would take the progress.
Now, to get him inside the pickup.
Ivy stood up, tossed the medical bag into the cab via the open passenger door.She positioned herself near Beau’s head and reached under the plank.
It required effort, but she managed to get him closer to the door.So close, yet so far.
Beau blinked a couple of times.He mumbled a string of unintelligible words.
A twig snapped to her right.She picked up the gun, took off the safety, and aimed in the direction of the sound.Without putting a hand down, she hopped to her feet and moved behind the open pickup door to put some mass in between her and whatever or whoever had made the noise.She would shoot the second she saw something if it broke through the tree line.
Her hands trembled, and she hoped like hell she could hit a target if need be.While she was hoping, why not go all the way?Make the noise come from a squirrel instead of the men who’d abducted her or a bear that might have double her weight, at a minimum, and could crush her with one swipe, not to mention what those claws could do to her bare flesh.
Ivy sucked in a breath and did her best to steady her hands.
“Hey,” Beau said.
“I got this.Don’t worry,” she said, hearing the shakiness in her own voice.
Beau sat up and winced.
Without looking away from the bushes, she asked, “Can you get inside the pickup without my help?”
“I’ll try.”
She moved out of the way so he could climb in.
“Do I want to ask what’s going on?”
