Read Online Escape From the Badlands by Dana Mentink - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dana Mentink
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tumbles than this. I…”
He raised his voice a fraction to stop her from arguing. “Listen to me. If you continue and drop dead from a concussion, I’ll have to call off the race. You don’t want me to have to do that, do you? All the money I’ve put into this? All these racers disappointed?” There was an edge in his tone.
Something crossed Betsy’s face for a moment, but Kelly could not decipher it. Betsy opened her mouth to answer and then closed it. After a moment she nodded. “Okay. I’ll go for a scan but I’m not going on a stretcher, and I’ll be ready to start tomorrow.”
Chenko nodded. “Of course. We’ll find you a new bike and you’ll be tearing up the trails again tomorrow.” He turned to Kelly. “Didn’t think you’d be called upon already, did you?”
“I’m glad to be here to help. I’ll ride with her to the hospital.”
“Thank you. I’ll get this chaos back in order. Devin,” he called. “I’m going to need your help. Get the racers down the trail. Tell them they can walk it; no riding until it dries up some more.”
“I’ll drive, in case Kelly needs a hand,” Shane called out.
Kelly caught the look of surprise on Chenko’s face and Devin’s narrowed eyes. “I should go with her,” Devin said.
“No,” Betsy hissed, groaning as Kelly and Shane helped her to her feet. “I don’t want you to come.”
He looked as though he’d been slapped.
Soon they had her loaded into the backseat. Shane eased the car to the main road as gently as he could, while Kelly sat with Betsy. She did not complain as they jostled along, but the rough terrain must have aggravated her bruised body.
“Are you okay, Betsy?” Kelly asked.
“Fine.” She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes.
Kelly had phoned ahead, and fortunately the small medical center forty miles away was equipped to do a CT scan and a complete exam. The miles passed in slow motion, cliffs and grassland blurring together against the blue sky in what seemed a never-ending picture.
Kelly felt her stomach tighten, remembering the look on Shane’s face. It had been a long time since she’d felt the instant emotional connection they used to enjoy all the time. Not long ago they could finish each other’s sentences. She’d been able to detect somber moods in his tiniest inflection. They had shared more good times and unrestrained joy than she’d ever experienced in her life, but she’d always sensed there was a part of him—something from his past, a soul secret—that he had not shared with her. It had taken her until just that moment to realize that she hadn’t pressed him because of her own dark past.
She recalled in vivid detail the night she’d run. A wild seventeen-year-old, she’d begged her then-boyfriend for a ride, the alcohol making her reckless as the hot South Dakota cliffs that vanished into the rearview mirror. If they hadn’t stopped for gas, if her uncle Bill hadn’t called one last time. If she hadn’t felt the Lord urging her to turn around and go home.
She controlled a shudder. It was the narrowest of choices that separated her from the life that imprisoned her sister and controlled her mother for most of their childhood. The decision she’d made at that dirty gas station to go back home had saved her life. Maybe one simple choice like that would bring Rose back again, too.
Please, God. Bring Rose home.
Kelly refocused on Shane. Right now, though he was outwardly calm, she could read the tension in his jaw. He looked in the rearview mirror from time to time, but he did not make eye contact with her. Clearly, whatever it was, he did not want to discuss it with Betsy in the back.
His bangs hung in his face, lending him the roguish air that had always thrilled her. He was fearless about nearly everything, but something was weighing on him right now, and there was no way to identify it until they reached their destination.
An hour of relative silence passed, broken only by
He raised his voice a fraction to stop her from arguing. “Listen to me. If you continue and drop dead from a concussion, I’ll have to call off the race. You don’t want me to have to do that, do you? All the money I’ve put into this? All these racers disappointed?” There was an edge in his tone.
Something crossed Betsy’s face for a moment, but Kelly could not decipher it. Betsy opened her mouth to answer and then closed it. After a moment she nodded. “Okay. I’ll go for a scan but I’m not going on a stretcher, and I’ll be ready to start tomorrow.”
Chenko nodded. “Of course. We’ll find you a new bike and you’ll be tearing up the trails again tomorrow.” He turned to Kelly. “Didn’t think you’d be called upon already, did you?”
“I’m glad to be here to help. I’ll ride with her to the hospital.”
“Thank you. I’ll get this chaos back in order. Devin,” he called. “I’m going to need your help. Get the racers down the trail. Tell them they can walk it; no riding until it dries up some more.”
“I’ll drive, in case Kelly needs a hand,” Shane called out.
Kelly caught the look of surprise on Chenko’s face and Devin’s narrowed eyes. “I should go with her,” Devin said.
“No,” Betsy hissed, groaning as Kelly and Shane helped her to her feet. “I don’t want you to come.”
He looked as though he’d been slapped.
Soon they had her loaded into the backseat. Shane eased the car to the main road as gently as he could, while Kelly sat with Betsy. She did not complain as they jostled along, but the rough terrain must have aggravated her bruised body.
“Are you okay, Betsy?” Kelly asked.
“Fine.” She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes.
Kelly had phoned ahead, and fortunately the small medical center forty miles away was equipped to do a CT scan and a complete exam. The miles passed in slow motion, cliffs and grassland blurring together against the blue sky in what seemed a never-ending picture.
Kelly felt her stomach tighten, remembering the look on Shane’s face. It had been a long time since she’d felt the instant emotional connection they used to enjoy all the time. Not long ago they could finish each other’s sentences. She’d been able to detect somber moods in his tiniest inflection. They had shared more good times and unrestrained joy than she’d ever experienced in her life, but she’d always sensed there was a part of him—something from his past, a soul secret—that he had not shared with her. It had taken her until just that moment to realize that she hadn’t pressed him because of her own dark past.
She recalled in vivid detail the night she’d run. A wild seventeen-year-old, she’d begged her then-boyfriend for a ride, the alcohol making her reckless as the hot South Dakota cliffs that vanished into the rearview mirror. If they hadn’t stopped for gas, if her uncle Bill hadn’t called one last time. If she hadn’t felt the Lord urging her to turn around and go home.
She controlled a shudder. It was the narrowest of choices that separated her from the life that imprisoned her sister and controlled her mother for most of their childhood. The decision she’d made at that dirty gas station to go back home had saved her life. Maybe one simple choice like that would bring Rose back again, too.
Please, God. Bring Rose home.
Kelly refocused on Shane. Right now, though he was outwardly calm, she could read the tension in his jaw. He looked in the rearview mirror from time to time, but he did not make eye contact with her. Clearly, whatever it was, he did not want to discuss it with Betsy in the back.
His bangs hung in his face, lending him the roguish air that had always thrilled her. He was fearless about nearly everything, but something was weighing on him right now, and there was no way to identify it until they reached their destination.
An hour of relative silence passed, broken only by
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