Page 30 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)
“No, it’ll work, Alex,” Trent told him. “Now listen to me…” Go back to the boat and grab my big flashlight. It’s in the back. Then point it down the river so Josh can see it. Prop it there good and solid, then grab the towels and rope that’s in the bottom of the boat and bring them to me. OK?”
“You got it, Trent,” the boy said, then bolted toward the rowboat.
Trent opened the first aid kit and pulled out a syringe. “Here comes the good part,” he told Colin, filling the syringe from a vial.
“What is it?” Colin muttered. Then he grabbed Trent’s arm. “Trent, I don’t want any narcotics.”
“It’s not a narcotic. It’s Ketorolac. It’s used for sports injuries. It’ll help with the pain.” He checked the syringe, then turned back to Colin, swabbed his arm, and injected the medication. “I have to try to splint that ankle, so believe me, you’re going to want this stuff.”
“Peachy.” Colin’s hand tightened on Trent’s arm. “Does Josh know?”
“He’s on his way in the skiff. The ambulance will be waiting at the dock.”
“He’s gonna be pissed.”
“Once he’s done weeping and wailing.”
Colin snickered and gave Trent’s shoulder a playful punch.
Trent picked up the stick and then snapped it in two over his knee just as Alex returned with the items he’d requested, dumping them on the ground at his feet. “Alex, is that flashlight fixed good and solid?”
“It’s shining right down the river towards camp… pointed a little high so he can see it.”
“Good boy!” He pulled a sharp knife from the first aid kit and began to cut the rope into long sections. Once he had cut a half-dozen lengths, he turned back to Colin. “This is the part you’re gonna hate.”
Alex moved to sit near Colin’s head and took his hand. “You can squeeze my hand,” he said, smoothing Colin’s hair back from his forehead.
Trent moved swiftly, his hands working with practiced efficiency, wrapping the towels around Colin’s leg with as much care as possible.
“I’ve got to splint your ankle,” he told Colin, his voice steady but urgent.
“It’s gonna hurt, Colin. But I’ll be as gentle as I can, and the medication should help. ”
Colin’s face was pale. “Just get it done,” he ground out, his voice raw.
Trent laid his hand on Colin’s shoulder and squeezed it. “Hang on.” He moved swiftly, positioning one stick along the outside of Colin’s leg against the cushion of the towels. The stick ran from just below his knee to beneath his foot. The other stick went on the inside, mirroring the first.
“This’ll keep your ankle from moving,” Trent explained.
“It’s not gonna feel great, but it’ll stop the injury from getting worse.
” His throat tightened, but his hands never faltered.
He eased the ropes around Colin’s leg, first below the knee, then above the ankle, and finally around the foot.
His movements were swift but careful as he tightened the knots loosely.
Colin’s fingers dug into the earth, his knuckles white, while Alex clung to his other hand. “Just—just do it, Trent. I trust you.”
“Almost there, man,” Trent murmured, his voice low and soothing. “You’re doing great.”
Colin’s face was pale, sweat beading on his forehead, but his eyes stayed locked on Trent’s, fierce and unwavering. “Josh is … gonna kill me,” he whispered, a faint, broken smile curving his lips.
Trent’s chest tightened, his throat burning. “Yeah. And I’m gonna let him. But not before we get you out of here.”
Suddenly, the roar of a motor cut through the darkness. Alex’s head snapped up, his eyes wide. “Someone’s coming!”
Before Trent could respond, a flashlight beam emerged, bouncing wildly as the skiff shot out of the shadows, the silhouette of a figure behind the wheel. Alex’s mouth fell open. “It’s Josh!” He looked at Colin, then back at the skiff, his eyes wide with relief.
The skiff slowed as it approached, the engine’s roar echoing across the water as it skidded to a stop, the motor cutting off with a sputter as Joshua leaped out, mud and water spraying as he stumbled up the bank and dropped to his knees, collapsing over his husband.
“Didn’t you promise me you’d stay safe?” he accused in a shaking voice as he bent to press his lips to Colin’s forehead.
Colin’s face softened, his pain-glazed eyes locking on Joshua’s. “Hey there, babe.”
Joshua let out a soft, broken laugh, tears glistening on his cheeks. “There will be a price to pay for this, you know.” His shaking fingers caressed Colin’s face, and he bent low over him, his chest seizing in a sob. “My love,” he choked out. “My sweet love.”
Colin’s fingers carded through Joshua’s hair, his lips forming a faint, crooked smile. “Everything’s gonna be all right.”
Trent’s voice was firm, steady. “OK. Now that we’re done making nice, Alex, get over here and hold his leg while I tighten this splint. Josh, I need you to hold him steady, hands on his shoulders. This is going to hurt like a mother .”
Alex swallowed hard, his throat tight. He moved to Colin’s side near his injured leg, his hands trembling as he gently placed his hands where Trent indicated, keeping Colin’s leg as still as he could.
Colin’s eyes flicked to Alex, his lips twitching into a faint smile.
Trent’s voice was low and steady, his hand firm on Joshua’s shoulder. “OK, Josh. I need you to hold him as still as you can.”
Joshua’s head rose, his eyes seeking Trent’s.
“Has to be done, buddy.”
Joshua swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he nodded. “Just … just tell me what to do.”
Trent guided Joshua’s hands, placing them gently on Colin’s shoulders. “Hold him steady while Alex holds the leg.” He turned to Alex. “Keep that leg as still as you can. I don’t want him moving.”
Alex nodded and sucked in a trembling breath.
Trent grasped the rope, prepared to tighten the splint and immobilize the leg. “Deep breath, buddy,” Trent murmured.
Colin nodded, then cried out; Joshua’s jacket twisting in his fist as Trent tightened the ropes around his leg and foot.
Joshua bit his lower lip hard, shaking at the sight of Colin’s pain, but his hold on Colin’s shoulders remained firm and solid.
Colin’s eyes fluttered, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Jesus, please tell me you’re done.”
“I am,” Trent told him. “Now we just have to get you to the skiff.”
“Fucking hell,” Colin moaned. “ That should be a picnic.”
“You’ll be on a stretcher. All you’ll have to do is lie there.”
Joshua crumpled lower, his forehead pressing against Colin’s, his breath catching again and again.
Trent stood and moved to the riverbank. “Josh, is the stretcher on the skiff?”
“Yeah.”
“Alex, come and help me get this rowboat out of the way; then we’ll get him onto the stretcher.”
Once the rowboat was pulled ashore, Trent repositioned the skiff, then he and Alex brought the stretcher and situated it next to Colin’s body.
“OK,” Trent said. “Josh, you and I will lift him. I’ll take his legs.
You lift his shoulders and body. Alex, you kneel here next to the stretcher.
When Josh and I lift him up, you shove the stretcher under him, then we’ll lay him back down.
” He glanced at the two of them. “You ready?”
Joshua slid his arms under Colin’s shoulders and hips as Trent supported his legs. “On three,” Trent told them, then glanced up at Colin. “One more deep breath, buddy. I know it hurts, but please try to lie as still as you can. I don’t want that cracked rib to pop loose and puncture a lung.”
Colin nodded. “Just do it.”
“One, two, three,” Trent intoned, then, as gently as possible, he and Joshua lifted Colin off the ground while Alex shoved the stretcher underneath him. Within seconds, they were securing the straps around Colin, and minutes after that, Joshua and Trent had lifted him onto the skiff.
“I’ll drive,” Trent told them.
“Thank god !” Joshua muttered, then knelt next to Colin, holding his hand and smoothing his hair, while Trent gunned the skiff’s motor to life and wheeled it around in the river, headed back toward camp.
“I want to stop at the campsite,” Trent said over his shoulder. “See how they’re doing.”
Colin nodded, then lifted Joshua’s hand to his lips. “Alex saved my ass,” he told his husband, who turned and patted Alex’s back.
“Thank you,” Joshua whispered. “You are now officially my hero.”
“Mine too,” Colin said.
They paused at the campsite long enough to check on David and the campers, who were nearly finished breaking down the campsite. Every camper sloshed into the river to hang over the skiff’s side and greet Colin, reaching in to pat his shoulders and praise his heroism.
“Not that heroic,” Colin told them with a sheepish grin. “All I managed to do was break my ankle.”
David leaned in and stroked Colin’s hair. “We’re almost done here. I can get the kids back in the two rowboats that are left. We’ll come back tomorrow for the tents and supplies.”
“And the rowboat we left back where Colin was injured,” Trent said, then gunned the skiff’s engine again. “OK, back off now, guys. We need to get him to the ambulance.”