The Lost and Found (41 page)

I could hear the sirens now and see the flashing lights. Soon we were surrounded by a cacophony of noises, voices telling Josiah he’d need to let me go. I clung to him and buried my face against his chest. I needed him. He was my strength; I couldn’t survive this without him. One of the medics was trying to pry my arms away from Josiah, to reason with me, telling me they needed to assess me and make sure I was all right, but I held on tighter.

I heard a strange noise then, sharp and high pitched, and shattering. It took a little while for it to register that the noise was coming from me — I was shattering.

Josiah held me closer, rocking me in his embrace. “Sh, sh, shhhhh… Crimson. It’s okay. I’m right here. You’re safe.” He turned to those closest to us and said, “Just give her some room. Give her some space. Please.”

The medic backed up and then said to his partner, “She’s gonna need a sedative.”

His partner agreed and turned away from us. Moments later he turned back with a syringe in his hand. As one medic took my wrist, to pull my arm away from Josiah, Josiah pulled me closer. “It’s okay, Crimson. You’re strong. You can do this. You’re the strongest person I know. They’re just trying to help, to calm you down. I love you, Crimson. Do you hear me? I love you.”

There. Josiah spoke the only words that could get through to me. He loved me. I was strong, and I would survive, and he loved me. I felt the tiny prick in my arm and then began to feel warm and a little sleepy. I blinked my eyes several times and Josiah kissed me. That was the last vision I had before everything went dark.

Sunrise

Josiah

CRIMSON WAS RESTING; THE
sedative and pain medicine were still keeping her under and away from the pain. Josiah could hear the steady beeps of the machines monitoring her. Even though she was safe now and out of danger, fear still choked him. Still held him captive. He couldn’t get the images out of his head. Couldn’t silence the sound of her terrified scream; his ears were ringing with it.

When he’d stepped inside the barn, he’d seen Crimson on the floor, Rob hunched over her. When he’d seen the blood on her face, the fear in her eyes, he’d lost it. He had no clear memory of his actions or intent, other than to get to Crimson, to save her. He remembered throwing one of the other men, the one closest to him against the barn wall. He remembered stomping on the leg of the other, kicking him in the face, and then throwing him aside as well.

By the time he’d turned back to Crimson and Rob, they’d rolled, and he’d watched in agonizingly slow motion as Crimson struggled against Rob, seen the knife as it pierced the man’s neck. Rob had slumped to the side and Crimson had been able to scramble away. She was white, deathly white, except where the blood was smeared across her.

He had to swallow the bile, the anger, the sense of helplessness that had nearly left him crippled. Crimson needed him, needed him now, and he had to be strong for her. Carefully he approached her, not wanting to scare her, and covered her with his shirt. Once he’d dealt with her other two attackers, tying them up and dragging them outside, he came back for her.

Crimson sat in the dirt and blood; her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to hide, to cover the evil that had been done. His heart had broken, literally shattered at the sight. He carefully gathered her in his arms, lifted, and carried her outside. He tried to be gentle, but she whimpered in pain, breaking his heart again. Then he simply held her, just held her.

Crimson Sage

I WOKE UP IN
the hospital. Bright lights stunned my eyes. Blinking, I looked around me, trying to recall why I was here and what had happened. I stirred a little, intending to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in my side and in my head, making me groan.

Josiah was suddenly there, leaning over me. “Crimson? Hey, Baby. How are you feeling? Don’t move, okay? Just hold still.”

“My head…” I whispered as the pain pounded through my skull. I hurt. Everywhere. And the more alert I became, the more pain I discovered. Tears pricked my eyes, and I bit back a whimper.

“I know, Babe, I know… I’m sorry. The doctors say you have a mild concussion and several bruised ribs. You should try to hold still as much as possible.”

“How long have I been here?”

Josiah took my hand in his, carefully threading our fingers together. “Do you remember what happened?”

I nodded slightly, trying not to move too much. “Is Rob…?”

“He’s dead.”

I swallowed and felt tears prick my eyes again. “The others?”

“Once they came to, they were taken into custody and booked into the county jail. All this happened last night. You’ve been here about a day.”

I tried to remember, but some things were foggy and muddled in my head. Josiah must have noticed my confusion. “The medics gave you a mild sedative last night to calm you down. You were… pretty upset. Understandably upset. Red called Billy and then he and Ethan came down here. They left about an hour ago. I think you’ll be able to go home today.”

“When?” I whispered.

“Soon. The doctor is going to come in and talk with you, and Red needs to talk with you also, to get your statement. Then, if there’s nothing wrong, I think you’ll be released.”

“Okay.” My throat felt a little raw and I looked around for something to drink. My eyes landed on the side table where I saw a pitcher and a cup. Josiah followed my gaze and without me having to say anything he filled it and brought it to me. I swallowed slowly and felt a sharp tug at my throat. My hand moved automatically and I felt the bandage there.

“It’s just a scratch, not deep. No stitches,” Josiah reassured me. He swallowed and clenched his jaw a little; I saw the anguish in his eyes as he looked at me. He lifted my hand to his mouth. “I wish I could take all this away and make it better. I wish there was something I could say, something I could do, Crimson… I hate this, being so useless!”

“You did,” I told him. “And you’re not useless.”

“I feel pretty useless…”

“You saved me. Again.”

“I was almost too late,” he whispered. There was a faraway look in his blue eyes; they were haunted and in pain.

“You were right on time — just when I needed you, you were there.”

Josiah shook his head, clearly not seeing things as I saw them. “I wasn’t. Not in time — you were hurt.”

All this time Josiah had been my strength, my rock. It hurt me to see him like this. To see him this broken. “You told me you loved me. Remember?”

“Of course,” he breathed against my palm.

“I needed that, needed you. Those words were… they mean
everything
to me.”

“I love you, Crimson Sage Smyth. I love you.”

The doctor came in about forty minutes later to talk with me and said he’d be back to discharge me as soon as the paperwork was ready. About ten minutes later, Red showed up. He let Josiah stay with me as I gave my statement. Josiah had already given his, telling them everything he knew about the events of the day before. It was hard, painful, to have to talk about what had taken place. Red was patient with me, gently asking me each question to get a clear picture as to what had happened. He had me start at the beginning and keep going until I couldn’t remember anything else.

When he was done, Red thanked me and said that Billy and Ethan were here to see me. Red left, and then Billy and Ethan came in. Ethan’s eyes were red and swollen from crying, and Billy didn’t look a whole lot better. Ethan nearly ran to my side; Josiah cautioned him to slow down and not hurt me, but bruised ribs or not, I reached for my brother and held him close.

“I was so scared, Sage. So scared,” he mumbled against my neck, clearly trying to fight back tears, not wanting to cry in front of me.

“I’m okay, Kid. I’m okay. Josiah made it in time. And Rob won’t be bothering us anymore. I promise.”

Ethan squeezed me tighter before pulling away; he nodded and swallowed as he stood back. Billy stepped up and took my hand, then gently placed a kiss on my forehead. “You gave me a terrible scare….” He stopped as he choked a little then cleared his throat and shook his head. Billy patted my hand before he let it go and stepped back.

“Red was just here,” Josiah told them. “To take her statement.”

“I saw him. The doctor been in yet?” Billy asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Hopefully I’ll be able to go home soon.”

A couple minutes later the door opened and a middle-aged man wearing glasses and friendly smile entered the room, followed by a nurse. He approached the bed and shook hands with all who were assembled around me.

“Dr. West was called away to surgery. I’ll be discharging you. I’m Dr. Irvine — how is my patient today? Any pain, or discomfort?”

“A little,” I told him.

“Where and to what extent?”

“My ribs are sore. I can feel it when I breathe or move even. And my head and jaw hurt some.”

“On a level of one to ten, with ten being extreme, more than you can take pain, what is your pain level right now?”

“Um, maybe a seven?”

“Okay, I’ll have the nurse bring in another pain killer. You’ll be sore for a while yet. You have three ribs that are quite bruised. Your jaw is bruised and swollen, and you have a mild concussion. I’m going to prescribe you a pain reliever to take at home. And other than rest — lots of rest — I think you’re good to go. If you have any other problems, or if the pain begins to get worse, then you contact me right away.”

Relieved to be going home, I quickly agreed. The nurse brought my discharge papers and pain meds to me and once I had the papers signed, I was able to gather up my things. Not that I had much. My clothing and shoes had been taken as evidence. Billy had brought a pair of sweats and a t-shirt for me along with a pair of flip-flops. As we made our way down to the car, Billy asked if I was hungry. I suddenly realized that I was.

“You want me to have Billy swing by the Saveway, and I can pick up a few things, then I can make you dinner?” Josiah asked me.

That sounded wonderful so I nodded in agreement. I sat in the car with Billy and Ethan while Josiah ran inside. He was only gone about five minutes, and then we were on our way back to the ranch. The pain meds had begun to kick in and I was feeling pretty good, not in too much pain, so long as I was careful. Josiah sat in the center beside me and provided a soft place for me to lean against.

As we pulled into the ranch yard and the barn came into view I suddenly tensed up. My heart began to pound and my breath caught in my throat. Josiah felt the tension inside me.

“It’s all right. You’re safe.”

I nodded in agreement, but I couldn’t help the fear that trembled through me.

“Hey, how about you stay with me tonight?” Josiah whispered against my ear.

“Yes,” I managed past the hard lump in my throat.

Billy parked the car near the big house; I was slow getting out. The ranch yard was suddenly filled with happy, anxious faces — all the boys wanted to see me. Josiah and I reassured them I was okay, just a little sore and tired. He also told Billy I was staying with him tonight. Billy nodded in understanding. Ethan looked at me, carefully checking to make certain I was all right and not just trying to be brave. Even though it hurt like heck and I had to grit my teeth, I carefully pulled him close for a hug and told him I’d see him tomorrow. We both needed that contact.

Josiah took my hand and led me to his loft. I took several slow shallow breaths on the walk over, trying to keep the pain, the memories at bay. The stairs were a challenge. Josiah wanted to carry me, but I thought that would hurt too much. It was a long, slow, and painful process climbing up those stairs. I took them one at a time and Josiah helped me with each one. I had to stop and rest three times, but I made it. Josiah quickly unlocked the door to his loft and held it open for me. “Do you want to rest first?” he asked.

“No,” I shook my head slightly, breathing heavily and trying not to cringe. “I just want to shower. I need to shower…”

He nodded in understanding. “Are you able to shower on your own?”

I blushed a little and said, “Yeah, I think I can manage it.”

“Holler if you need anything. I’ll be right here.”

I nodded before carefully hobbling into the bathroom and closing the door behind me. I still kept several articles of clothing here at Josiah’s just in case I ever found myself needing to sleep over. And as I cautiously stepped into Josiah’s shower, knowing I had clean clothes to wear once I was done, I felt extremely thankful for my forethought.