But the van held.
“It’s okay, baby, probably just a rock in front giving way. It’s still secure.”
When she got to the opening, she saw what Brock meant. Chains snaking back up the hill to the road above kept the van from sliding. Brock grabbed her hand and put it on a taut rope.
“Grab that rope with both hands and use it to help you climb to the litter.” It was only a few feet above them on a flatter ledge, but the angle of the ground between had to be at least forty-five degrees.
Brianna suddenly felt her strength ebbing away. All she wanted to do was curl up like a small animal and stay right there.No, no, you’re not doing that, Bri. Get ahold of yourself. Just a little farther. You’ve got a contest to win. She nodded at Brock, grabbed the rope, and climbed to the litter where Mack waited. Brock was right behind her, so if she did slip, she’d fall into a solid wall of Swick.
Smiling, Mack said, “There she is,” as if he were waiting in a restaurant and just caught sight of her at the door. He gripped her arm and helped her up. Brock quickly secured her in a litter and up she went. Below, she heard Rachael getting the same treatment.
As the litter rose, the day got brighter again. It wasn’t as late as she thought but they were far down enough that the setting sun couldn’t reach them. She tried to focus on that instead of the realization that she was hanging above a ravine and had come this close to losing her life. Would they pull the van up after everyone was safe, or let it fall? She imagined it turning over in space and felt sick to her stomach.
And then the real nausea hit. She’d been so focused on helping Twila, and then so relieved to see Brock…
“Oh my God. My fiddle. I left my fiddle.” Her beloved fiddle, her family’s heirloom, the one that belonged to her great-great-great-grandmother—her prized possession brought out West. There was no way she’d get it back in time for the performance tomorrow. What if the van did fall into the river in the meantime?Gone forever. Brianna bit her lip to keep from crying.Be thankful you’re alive. Just be thankful you’re alive and focus on Brock and everyone else down there getting back up the mountain safely. That’s what’s important.
I’m not going to cry.
Flint and another man were standing by at the top of the mountainside. They grabbed her litter and pulled her up over the guard rail and onto the road where they helped her out of it. Flint was talking to her but she couldn’t focus on his words so she just nodded until he tried leading her toward a waiting ambulance where EMTs were checking the others out.
“No. I have to make sure Brock is okay.” She went back to the guard rail and looked down. Vertigo hit as she realized just how steep the mountain was, how precarious her situation had been. She gripped the edges of the railing as she watched Rachael’s litter swing and the three men climbing the ropes beside it.
Flint grabbed her and gently pulled Brianna away from the railing. “Whoa, there. Looked like you were gonna go right back over the side. They’re okay, I promise.” He pressed a bottle of water into her hands. “Drink this, it’ll help.”
She looked at the bottle. Flint took it back out of her hands and unscrewed the top for her. “Here you go.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not dumb, I’m—”
“Just in a little bit of shock, sweetheart, I know. We need to get you over to the paramedics, okay?”
“Please, can I wait here until they’re safe? I’m okay now, I promise.”
Flint studied her eyes for a moment. “All right, but you’re standing back here with me.”
Just then, Amber ran up to them. “Honey, are you okay?” She hugged Brianna. “We’ve all been so worried.”
“I’m fine, but my…” She gestured helplessly toward the ravine. “I left my fiddle in the van.”
Amber’s hand flew up to cover her open mouth. “Shut the front door, you did not!” She looked as crushed as Brianna felt right now.
Brianna nodded, fighting back tears at Amber’s expression.
“I know you’ll get it back, honey. Listen, my fiddle isn’t the greatest, but since we’re on at different times, you borrow mine for tomorrow.”
That did it. The first tears streaked down her cheeks. “Thank you.” She could barely get the words out around the lump in her throat. To think this woman had been a complete stranger just a few days before, a competitor, and was doing something this nice for her. It broke her heart in the best way.
“Well, I doubt Jerold would be willing to lend you his,” Amber said, rolling her eyes. She looked around. “I don’t even know where he is. We’re supposed to stay close since it’s gonna get dark soon.”
Flint jogged the few steps back over to the guard rail as Rachael’s litter came into view. He and the other man helped her out of the litter as Jake and Mack climbed up—Mack giving Jake a hand—followed by Brock.
“Oh thank God!” Brianna rushed to Brock and he stretched his arms out for a hug. Brianna wrapped her arms around him and he held her tightly.
“Hang on,” he said as he let her go. He shrugged out of a backpack and unzipped it. “I think you’re gonna need this.”
“My fiddle!” Brianna burst into tears as she took her beloved instrument from Brock. “Oh my God, you risked your life to get it.”
“Saved it for real,thistime,” he said, nuzzling into her hair.
