Page 54

He looked up, and sure enough, a woman had lifted her head. Her mouth moved, but Mitch was either too far away or too stunned to read her lips. Her head fell down again, and that flutter of crimson—a scarf or handkerchief or something—moved in the slight breeze.

Mitch’s phone brightened, but he ignored it as he slid from the saddle and jogged toward her. How could he tell her she was okay? Her eyes fluttered closed, and her chest rose and fell in short, breaths.

We need an ambulance, he sent next. It’s a woman. She’s breathing.

He looked back to her and reached out to brush her hair off her forehead. She felt clammy and cold, and that certainly shouldn’t be the case for this summer day in June.

The ground vibrated, and Mitch looked over his shoulder to find his riding partners galloping toward him. He didn’t need to wave them down; his horse stood there in plain sight.

Instead, he slid his fingers between that of the woman’s and wished he could will his thoughts into her head. It’s okay, he told her. It’s going to be okay. Help is on the way.

He squeezed, and thankfully, she squeezed back.

Jed arrived first, skidding on his knees next to them. He spoke, but Mitch only caught “going on?”

The woman didn’t answer, but her eyes did flutter open.

“Who are you?” Jed asked next, and Mitch’s eyes flew to the woman. She wore shorts and a T-shirt, but she had no shoes, and as he let his gaze slide down her body and back up, he realized she was dirty, with dried blood on her knee, then her forearm, and across her cheekbone.

His stomach lurched, because he’d never been good with blood, and he tried to pull his hand away. She gripped it tighter and opened her eyes all the way.

“I’m Lily, and I crashed my bicycle somewhere.”

Jed had his phone out now, and he spoke into it. “She’s awake. Her name is Lily, and I gotta say, she’s not breathing real well….”

Mitch couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, so he just stroked his hand across her forehead to keep her hair back.

“Did you see the red?” she asked.

He nodded, and she did too, though hers were faster and tighter.

“I tried yelling,” she said. “I waved my sock, but no—one…saw.”

He shook his head and touched his ear, trying to tell her he couldn’t hear her. Even if she had yelled loud enough for someone else to hear, he wouldn’t have.

“He’s deaf,” Jed said. “But he saw you, and he texted, and they’re coming.”

“Thank you,” she said, her lips almost white. “Thank you.” Her eyes drifted closed again, and Jed didn’t like that. He tried to wake her, but Lily just said, “Thank you,” again as she passed out.

Chapter Seventeen

“She was passed out at Shiloh Ridge?” Edith looked over to Aggie with nothing but alarm running through her body. “What happened?”

Aggie swung her car around and headed down the dirt road that led back to the highway. They’d pick up Christie and JoJo, and then they’d find somewhere for lunch. Summertime was crazy for everyone, and JoJo would be traveling over their normally scheduled Girls Night.

Aggie’s dark hair had been pulled up into a tight, high ponytail, and she’d painted on the perfect cat’s eyeliner around her dark eyes. “I guess Lily had gone for a bike ride the previous night?—”

“Do not tell me she was out there alone all night.” Horror ran through Edith. “There are wild animals here.”

“She was out there alone all night.” Aggie nodded with wide eyes. “A truck went by and showered gravel at her, and as she tried to get away from it, she lost control of her bike, flipped it, and crashed.”

Edith crossed her arms over her stomach. “I don’t like this story.”

“She woke up in the ditch, and she did her best to get somewhere people could find her.”

“What about her phone?”

“Busted,” Aggie said. She looked left and right, then turned to head toward town. It only took about five minutes, and then the houses and condos and town of Three Rivers spread before them. “Get this—Mitchell Glover found her.”