Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“There’s a branch through my leg,” he groans.
“I can see that,” I say, panicked. “What do I do? Okay, I can tip the snowmobile over and drag you. Can you walk? Maybe I can carry you. I’ll drive us back. I don’t know how—”
“Callie,” he says my name. His voice is so weak.
“Oh, God, you’re bleeding a lot.”
“I need you to run back to the house—”
“I’m not leaving you!” I say, frantic.
“I need you to. Inside on the end table.” He stops to catch his breath. “There’s a CB.”
“Easton, I can’t leave you.”
“Plug it in. Press it and call for Sammy.”
I start to cry. “No, I won’t leave you.”
“If you don’t, I’ll die out here. Go. Tell him. . . there’s been an accident. . . tell him to hurry.”
Fuck. Fuck! “Okay, I’ll run fast. I’ll be right back. Here.” I put his jacket over him. “I’ll—”
“Go. . .”
I’m up and running back down the trail. My legs burn, but I refuse to slow down. When I enter the house, I trip and skid to the floor but drag myself back up, find the CB, and plug it in.
“Hello? Hello, is anyone there? I need help!”
“Yello?”
“Hi! We need help. Easton Cruz has been in a bad accident. He’s bleeding. He needs medical help,” I rush out.
“Easton? Alright. I’ll call for help. You sit tight.”
“Thank you,” I barely get out because I’m back out the door. By the time I reach Easton, he’s passed out. “Easton!” I scream his name. He doesn’t respond, so I slap him. His eyes flutter open. “Please, stay awake. Help is coming.”
“Callie.”
“Please, stay awake. You’re going to be okay.” I cry. Tears rush down my face. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. That I didn’t trust you. This is all my fault.”
He reaches for my hands and squeezes, but it’s so weak. “It’s not. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough to make you listen.”
“No, you did. If I had just listened, we wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be here.”
“I’ve only wanted to be with you,” he says through chattered teeth.
“I’m so sorry. Please, just hang on, okay? Please. I love you. I love you. Please don’t die on me. I’d never survive it.” His eyes slowly close, and I slap him again to keep him conscious. “You’re my world too, Easton Cruz.” I can barely understand myself, I’m crying so hard. “You said so yourself. It was fate, me showing up on your doorstep. It’s our second chance. We deserve this chance. Please. Easton!” His eyes close. I slap him, but it doesn’t wake him. In the distance, I hear sirens and engines rumbling. I look behind me and see a herd of snowmobiles and lights.
“Over here!” I jump up and wave my arms. When they get near, a man jumps off and runs toward me.
“Where is he?”
“Over here. He’s hurt bad.” He’s quickly assisted by a pair of medics and two other men, who lift him from the snow. Easton howls out in pain, but I’m thankful because that means he’s conscious. “We got you, son.”
“Miss?”
“Yeah?” I turn frantic to the man calling for me.
“Jump on the snowmobile with Frank. He’ll take you down. We gotta hurry.”
***
It feels like a lifetime before someone comes out and escorts me back to Easton’s room. When I enter, he’s lying in bed. He has a bandage on his forehead, and his leg is in a cast. “Oh, Easton.” I burst into tears. I rush over to his bedside, and without minding his injuries, I climb in. “I’m so sorry. You must hate me.”
He cradles his arm around my waist and kisses the top of my head. “Babe, I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have stormed out like that. I’m the asshole.”
I raise my head. “Are you okay?”
“Just a broken leg. Stitches and some cuts and bruises.” I burst out into another fit of sobs. “Hey, it’s okay. If it wasn’t for you. . . Callie, you saved my life.”
“I felt like something was wrong. I’m so sorry. For everything I said. I do want to get over the past. Because I can’t imagine a future without you.”
He grabs my cheeks and kisses me hard. “Me either. When I get out of here, we’re makin’ plans, okay? You and me. And none of this not trusting bullshit. No more lies.”
I nod. “No more lies.”
“Love you, Cal.”
My eyes glisten with tears. “I love you too.”
There’s a knock on the door, and I try to slide off Easton, but he holds me in place. “Not going anywhere, babe,” he whispers into my ear.
“Glad to see you’re doing good, son.” The man from earlier enters the room. “This one over here saved your life.”
“She saved my life the moment I met her. Sammy, this is Callie.”
His brows perk. “You’re the infamous Callie. Heard a lot about you.”