Hunter turned toward him, “Miguel’s gone. I’m sorry.”
She saw the hurt on the old rancher’s face. He said, “Tell me later. Right now, get out of those clothes. We have to get you dry.”
While she fumbled with the buttons, Sam took off his shirt and the white tee shirt under it. He said, “Dry off as much as you can with the tee, and put on my shirt. We’re cut off by flash floods in both directions on the road, so we’ll have to wait it out until the water drops. You understand?”
Hunter nodded, “Yes.” It felt like she was trying to undress in a weird dream where her fingers wouldn’t work. Brushing at the buttons didn’t help, and she was so sleepy…
Sam stopped the pickup and patted her face, “Wake up, Hunter. You have to stay awake.”
Hunter opened her eyes, “Sorry.”
He said, “Stay awake until I get on the pavement, then I’ll help you.” He drove faster toward the River Road because he knew the path to take, and was soon parked on the pavement. He turned to Hunter, “I’ve got to undress you, hypothermia is setting in. You understand me?”
“Yes.”
Sam removed her gun belt and belt first, then went to work on her uniform shirt, her bulletproof vest, and undershirt. He left on her bra, even though he knew it was better if she was naked. He took off her work boots, socks and pants, and left her underwear.
Using the tee shirt like a small towel, Sam dried her body, then her hair as much as he could. The heater warmed the cab and Hunter seemed to revive a little. She said, “Thanks, Sam, I’ll do the rest.” She reached behind her back, unsnapped her bra and removed it, then slipped on Sam’s long sleeved shirt. She removed her underwear and then buttoned the shirt, exhausted at the effort it took.
Sam’s cheeks were pink, and he said, “You need it warmer, I’ll turn the heat up.”
“It’s good. Take a while to work out the cold.” She touched Sam’s forearm, “Miguel saved me. He pulled Asadullah into the flood.”
“The bastard’s dead?”
She saw the image of the tree roots hitting Asadullah’s face, “Yeah.”
“That’s justice in a way. He was the one who shot Miguel.”
The rain lessened over the next hour and the storm passed into Mexico, leaving the desert air clean and clear. The desert flash floods are always fast and brutal, but they fade to a trickle just as quickly, and two hours later, Sam drove into Presidio.
They airlifted Hunter to Alpine. She slept the rest of the evening and all through the night, only waking when they gave her meds. The next morning when she woke, the Doctor was there. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was run over by a truck.”
“I imagine so. We removed eleven thorns from your body. Some of them were imbedded. You also have a broken nose, three cracked ribs, numerous contusions to your body and to internal organs, and a hairline fracture of the orbital socket, but no damage to the eye, well, except for contusions.
“By contusions you mean bruises.”
“Yes. And there is blood in your urine, but it will diminish. No lacerations to the kidneys or liver.”
“I can leave?”
“Take your medicine and rest. You’ll be out of here soon.”
When the Doctor left, Hunter picked up her iPhone from the side table. She dialed Lucas. It rang three times, then a woman answered, “Hello?”
Hunter hesitated a second before speaking, “Is Lucas there?”
She heard the woman say, “You have a call, my handsome husband, hurry!”
Hunter heard an ocean in the background, and seabirds, and the tinkling sound of glasses as Lucas’ voice said, “Here’s your mimosa, my love.”
Hunter hung up, then blocked him and turned off her phone in case he tried some other way to call. She grabbed a pillow and put it over her eyes, wrapping her arms around it, trying to block out the world.
***
Lucas Patino took the phone and saw the call was from Hunter. “Damn,” he said.