Page 10 of Still Afraid

“My leg … it hurts.” Tears left streaks down her dirty face.

Pain and tears were the best thing Josh could hope for right now—they meant she wasn’t in shock. “I know, little one. We’re gonna get you down and feeling much better. Just hold still.”

Reaching around the branches, Josh slid one arm under her shoulders. “Can you hold onto me, Eva?”

The little girl wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and buried her head against him.

Given the angle he was at, he had to stretch his other arm over her to scoop up the lower half of her body. It didn’t matter how he held her. He risked mangling her leg worse without a basket to send her down in. Based on the conversation he’d overheard Chloe having, a basket or even a board was going to take too long. Ideally, he wanted the little girl out of the tree before her parents got here. He wanted to spare them the trauma of visualizing what their daughter went through during the tornado.

He shifted her weight against his and eased her off the branch. Despite her delicate frame, the branch snapped back up, and Josh faltered as he tried to not lose his balance.

But the limb beneath his feet creaked. Jesus, help!

Chapter Three

At the sound of the cracking branch, Chloe jerked her gaze back up to Josh and Eva. Chloe’s heart raced with worry. Josh didn’t have a free hand to grip another branch or his rope. If the branch broke, he and Eva would be caught by the rope but not without slamming into another limb. Lord, protect them!

Josh somehow scurried along the branch to the trunk of the tree and transitioned to a thicker limb.

“Are you all right?” she hollered up, shielding her face from debris floating down.

“Yep. We’re okay.” Josh lowered himself to sit on the branch.

“Do you need anything else?” She cringed at the question. It didn’t matter that she’d been able to set her fear of heights aside to save him in the past. She still couldn’t stand the idea of being high enough that she could fall to her death. But she would not let the fear control her. She’d set it aside to do what she had to, especially for Josh.

“I think I have what I need. I want to bring her down before I splint her leg.”

The little girl clung to Josh as he used another rope to strap a Swiss seat-style harness on her.

Josh met Chloe’s eyes. “Ready for her?”

“Yes, sir.”

Josh explained to Eva what they would do, but she screamed “no” and clung to his neck.

“I promise, Eva, this is the safest way to get you down. I don’t want to bump your leg and make it hurt more. Chloe will be right there at the bottom waiting for you. You won’t even touch the ground. Then I’ll be down as fast as I can climb.”

It took a bit more coaxing, but Josh finally started lowering Eva to Chloe.

Poor little girl cried the whole way down, though Josh expertly avoided branches.

Reaching up for the child, Chloe waited as Josh lowered Eva into her arms. Once she was safe, Eva buried her face against Chloe’s neck. “I got you, sweetheart.”

Chloe stepped back and let Josh drop the rest of the rope. She swayed back and forth and covered the little girl in assurances that she was safe now.

Josh was down from the tree in record time. He may be over forty, but he was still quite athletic and hadn’t let life keep him from being active. As he set one hand on Chloe’s back, he brushed a strand of hair out of Eva’s face. “See, Chloe has even better arms for comforting you than I do.”

In the distance, Poirot let out a short bark.

“Where did he run off to?” Josh asked.

“I think he went to find Lance.”

A moment later, Poirot bounded between the trees, Lance and Eva’s parents on his tail. They rushed over to Chloe, and Mom stroked her little girl’s face. Eva was beyond ecstatic to see her parents and reached for them. Gently, Chloe moved to hand her over to her mom, but Josh’s voice stayed her.

“We need to splint her leg to keep it from moving or bending anymore.”

Under Josh’s direction, Eva’s mom sat down, and Chloe gently placed Eva in her lap.