But the phone call…
I looked around. I was miles from home, probably two hours by motor vehicle. I had no car, no phone. No one would come around here looking for me, and darkness would descend soon. November was here.
My body ached, and my head swirled. A minute later, I hit the ground.
* * *
I squinted against the sun high in the sky. Where was I?
I looked around. The redness of the canyon clued me in. The last thing I remembered was flooring the brakes. Where the hell was my car? My phone? What time was it?
I wasn’t wearing a watch, and I had no idea how much time had passed. Something had happened that I didn’t remember.
I’d lost the last few minutes before I’d hit my head on something. I touched my forehead and found an egg-shaped knot. Definitely had hit my head. My vision was blurry. I tried to stand, but my legs wobbled like jelly and I fell.
Tried again. This time I stayed standing, but fought dizziness. I breathed in and out a few times, trying to gain some steadiness. I obviously had a concussion, and I had no idea what had happened.
I got a sick feeling in my stomach when I looked toward the cliff heading into Brown Canyon. It was a shallow canyon, but Jake wouldn’t have survived it. I walked slowly toward the edge, fighting vertigo. I didn’t trust myself to stand near the edge, so I sat down and looked over.
And nearly heaved.
My beautiful blue Porsche lay there, crashed at the bottom of the canyon. I checked my pockets. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere without my phone. Since it wasn’t on me, it must be in the car. It might have survived the fall. On a normal day, I could easily scale down the shallow canyon, but with a concussion? I probably shouldn’t try.
Not like I had a choice, though. With no phone, I wouldn’t be able to get help, and I needed help. I raked my fingers through my hair. Now what?
Screech!
My nerves jumped as I twisted my neck. A pickup had halted, dust flying up from its tires. My brothers, Talon and Jonah, raced out.
“Ryan!” Jonah yelled. “Thank God!”
They ran toward me.
I should have known my brothers would find me. They always took care of me. Of course, they were only half brothers now.
Now? Christ. They’d always been my half brothers. I just hadn’t known until now.
They knelt down beside me.
“Are you okay?” Talon asked. “That’s a hell of a bump on your head.”
“I can’t remember what happened,” I said. “But Jake is gone.” I pointed down into the canyon.
“Jake can be replaced,” Jonah said. “You can’t. Whatever happened, I’m glad you didn’t go down with the car.”
“How long have I been gone?”
“Depends on when you left,” Talon said. “We got an anonymous phone call this morning saying you weren’t answering your phone, so we went to the guesthouse and found you and the car gone. We figured you’d gone on one of those road benders of yours. Ry, you have to be more careful.”
“I had a rough day. I needed a little speed.”
“We understand it was rough. But,” Joe said, “you’re still our brother.”
“Half brother,” I said.
Talon vehemently shook his head. “Bullshit. You’re our brother in every way that matters.”
I believed them. They still loved me like a…well, like a brother. That didn’t change the DNA. I was their half brother. Nothing diminished that.