Lila's Loves (Haven, Texas 1)

She attempted to move her ankle, wincing at the pain that caused. She’d made it to the dog, but as she’d turned to try and make her way back up the slope she’d slipped and fallen, unfortunately her foot hadn’t gone with her, twisting beneath her.

“Well, fella, I think we just might be stuck here for a bit.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. As if the dog understood her fear, he turned his head and gave her a lick on her face.

She appreciated the gesture, but it would have been nicer if his breath hadn’t been quite so rank.

Huddling closer to the hairy animal, she wished she’d put on a sweater or a jacket. The sun was going down and it was only going to get colder and colder.

“Lila! Lila!”

Oh God, now she was hearing things.

“Lila!”

Except that voice was getting closer, wasn’t it?

“Hello! Help!” she screamed back, making the dog jump then whine. “It’s okay, boy,” she soothed, patting him.

“Lila! Shit, where are you, baby?”

“Gavin!” she cried out, nearly sobbing in relief. “I’m down here, I’m down here.”

When his face appeared above her, Lila figured she’d died and gone straight to heaven. He frowned, peering down at her.

“Are you okay?” he called down to her.

“I’ve hurt my ankle,” she told him. “I can’t get back up the slope by myself. I need some help.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Okay, precious, just lie very still, I’m going to call the others, we’ll get you up soon.”

Lila buried her face into the dog’s side and waited. Twenty minutes later, she watched as Gavin and Trace moved towards her carefully.

There wasn’t much light left and she bit her lip, hoping they didn’t trip and fall. Eventually they reached her, pulling her into their arms to hold her tight. Instantly she felt a hundred times better.

“Damn, baby, you scared us,” Gavin said as he took off his sweater and pulled it over her head.

Trace picked up her foot, prodding at her ankle.

“Ouch,” she cried out.

He sent her a look of sympathy. “Sorry, Lila, we’ll take a look at it when we get back to the house. Best we leave your boot on right now.” He glanced over at the dog. “Who is this?”

“He was trapped. That’s how I ended up down here, I was rescuing him.”

Gavin gave her a stern look and she bit her lower lip, feeling her butt tingle.

“And just where is your phone?” Gavin asked. “We’ve been trying to call you.”

“It’s in my pocket,” she told him. “There’s no reception down here.”

Gavin looked at his own phone and swore, nodding. “Okay, baby, let’s get you out of here. Trace is going to put you on my back. You hold on as best you can so I have my hands free. But let me know if you feel you’re about to slip or you grow tired.”

“What about the dog?” she said, looking over at the mutt. As if he understood what was going on, the black and white mutt stood and shook, then took off with a limp up the slope.

“I think he’ll be okay,” Gavin said dryly. They followed the dog up, albeit at a much slower pace.

When they reached the top, Colin grabbed her from Gavin, setting her down on the ground and running his hands over her. “Are you okay?” he asked her.

“I’m fine, just a sore ankle.” The sun had nearly set by now and she didn’t need to be told how lucky she was. “I heard Sarge barking. He was stuck down there; his paw was trapped under a branch, so I climbed down to help him. His paw is sore, it needs looked at.”