Page 148 of Here With Me

The moment the words leave my mouth, Donut gallops out with Fisher on his bare back. Tripp runs toward them and grabs Donut’s harness before he can take off. As soon as he comes to a stop, Fisher rolls off and collapses to the ground.

“Fisher!” I scream.

Tripp kneels beside him as another medic rushes over.

“Sweetheart, give them some room,” Dad says, standing at my side.

My chest’s so tight, I can’t breathe.Why was he in there?

They flip him to his back, check his pulse, and examine his head.

“Tripp, is he okay?” I shout over the chaos.

“I dunno. He’s bleedin’, too.”

Fisher went in there to rescue my horses and didn’t leave until he got Donut.

And now he might not survive because of it.

As the realization hits me, I fall into my dad’s arms and cry into his chest.

“He’s critical. Get the stretcher,” one of the medics directs to the other while they continue examining him.

This can’t be happening.Fisher is unconscious as they secure an oxygen mask over his face.

“Is he gonna be okay?” I ask.

“We’ll know more once we get him to the hospital. He may have head or lung trauma, so they’ll do a full analysis to determine his injuries.”

I watch as they lift him onto the stretcher, then get him into the ambulance. I’m in a daze as I try to process what’s happening.

The love of my life risked his life to save my horses, and now I may never get the chance to tell him how much I love him ever again.

“Someone should go with him so he’s not alone,” I call out.

“I’ll go,” Tripp says, then gets into the back with the medics.

“We need to follow,” I tell Dad.

“We will, sweetheart.”

Both ambulances take off, and I struggle to understand what’s happened.

Dad orders Wilder and Waylon to stick around to watch the horses. I hug Donut as tight as he allows before they take him to the pasture. Dad tells Landen to go home and take it easy. Momma kisses me before returning to the house to update Gramma Grace and Mallory.

Soon, Ayden and the other ranch hands arrive, but Dad tells them to go back home. It’s unsafe for them to be here, and we can’t do anything at this point.

Dad helps me into his truck, and when I look out the back window, it’s surreal to see the damage. We could’ve lost them all, and I’m still shocked we didn’t.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” Dad reassures as we go down the long driveway.

“I don’t understand why Craig would go this far...” I shake my head, still in disbelief. “He’s already in trouble for the snake, trespassing, and intent to harm charge. Why add to it?”

“He’s lashin’ out, Noah. He’s obviously not happy you reported him. Probably thought he could scare you into droppin’ the charges, and it clearly went too far.”

I shrug. “Well, he deserved it.”

“I agree.”