Read Online Blazing the Trail (Sunshine & Shadow Book 5) by Alie Williamson - Free Book Online

“Kip...find...Chinook.”
    “It’s okay. We’ll find him. I got ya.”
    April felt the cold numbness of
unconsciousness hit her, and she slipped away into darkness, wrapped in Kip’s
arms.
     
    April’s mind was spinning. She was stuck
between a dream and reality and she didn’t know how to pull herself out of it.
She could hear screaming, but it was like there were cotton-balls in her ears,
muffled. She felt the water on her cheeks, ice cold, numbing her. She struggled
against it.
    Chinook.
    She turned her head, wishing she could see
past the dark mask that was over her eyes. She heard frantic snorts and a
panicked whinny.
    “No!” she gasped.
    Her eyes opened to the dimness of her
bedroom. Her head whipped around and she spotted Kip asleep in the armchair
beside her, snoring softly. She inhaled, and on the exhale, unconsciousness
took her again.
     
    When she woke again, her eyes opened
clearly, and she gasped as the air hit her lungs. Nausea erupted up her throat
and she flipped onto her side, grabbing her wastepaper basket and vomiting
water into it. She let the air leave her body in a sigh and felt someone touch
her back. She flinched, and her head shot up.
    “Easy, it’s just me,” Kip said.
    April rolled onto her back, covering her
mouth. She closed her eyes and coughed, moaning as the pain shot through her
throat.
    “You okay?”
    She looked at him. “What happened?” Sudden
realization hit her. She sat up quickly, throwing the blanket off her legs.
“Chinook!” she exclaimed. “I have to find Chinook!” Her voice was rough.
    “Hey, hey!” Kip pushed her back down as
she collapsed in a coughing fit, wincing as her raw throat complained. “He’s
fine. We found him.”
    “Is he...?”
    “Not a mark on him. He’s shook up, but
he’ll be okay. He’s a fighter, that mustang of yours.”
    “I have to go see him...”
    Kip kept his hands on her shoulders,
refusing to let her up. “You can later. But for now, you need to rest.”
    When she relented, Kip leaned back,
resting his elbows on his knees. “April...” he murmured. He looked up at her,
his eyes full of pain. “What happened?”
    “The lion...he spooked Chinook and when he
ran...” She gripped her throat.
    Kip touched her hip. “It’s okay if you
can’t.”
    April shook her head. “I’m fine. The
cougar chased us, and Chinook stumbled...in the creek. I fell...and...the
current...” Tears began to roll down April’s cheeks. She gasped. “I couldn’t
move. I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die...”
    “Hey. Shh. It’s okay,” Kip murmured. He
slipped into the bed beside her and pulled her close. April leaned her head on
his chest. For the first time in a long time, she relaxed.  “We saw the lion on
the driveway when we got home. I tried to stop you...”
    “How did you know where I was?”
    “Hailey told me you were going to the creek,
and from there I could hear you. I just couldn’t see you.”
    “How did we...get back?”
    “Charger. Didn’t put a foot wrong the
whole way back.” Kip looked down at her, leaning his forehead on hers. “You
didn’t move,” he said, his voice shaking. “Your lips...Your lips were blue,
April, and you...you didn’t say anything.”
    April looked at him. “My parents?”
    “Oh yeah, I thought your mom was gonna
have a heart-attack. Hailey called the hospital and a doctor came and checked
you over. They’re downstairs right now.”
    April looked at the bright window, her
head pounding. She closed her eyes. “How long was I...?”
    “It was only yesterday. You slept all
night, which is good. The doctor said you needed rest and lots of fluids. He
didn’t think you had hypothermia, which is good. But you were right on the
edge, April. Why did you do it? Why’d you take off?”
    April’s cheeks flamed. She swallowed, her
throat closing around the movement.
    “I was...I’m...” She looked up at him, her
eyes wide. “Where’s Danielle?”
    Kip sighed. “She