Page 20 of High Country Escape

“No.” She glanced at her pack. “Well, my drone’s a little cracked, but I don’t suppose you fix those.”

Danny shook his head. “We’re ready for the litter now.”

Dalton, Carter, Eldon and Ryan brought the litter over. Grace and Sheri helped Debra onto it and deposited her pack behind her head. “You need to wear this,” Danny said, and held up a helmet.

“Why do I need that?” she asked.

“In case we drop you,” Eldon said.

She opened her mouth as if to protest, but Danny was already sliding on the helmet. “Now lie down and we’ll strap you in.”

“What if I don’t want to be strapped in?” she asked.

“Unless you’re planning on walking out on that injured ankle, we have to strap you in,” Danny said.

She lay back then. “You’d better not drop me,” she ordered.

“We haven’t lost a patient yet,” Eldon said and positioned himself at one corner of the litter.

Rather than spend time trying to find the trail Debra had said she had taken, they set out back the way they had come. Several volunteers moved ahead of them, clearing as many obstacles as they could. But it was a slow, bumpy ride. Debra periodicallywhined that they needed to be more careful. “You’re safe, don’t worry,” Ryan said, but Debra clearly wasn’t persuaded.

The ambulance was waiting up at the road. The volunteers deposited the litter next to it and the EMTs moved in. “I’m fine now, really.” Debra sat up as soon as the straps holding her in were removed and stripped off the helmet. She smoothed out her hair and pushed away the blood pressure cuff one EMT was trying to apply. “I don’t need that. Really. I’m fine.”

“You should have your ankle x-rayed,” Danny said. “You might have torn some tendons.”

“If it’s not better in a day or two, I promise I’ll see a doctor,” Debra said. “Right now, I just want to go home. Somebody help me up.”

One of the EMTs offered a hand. Wincing, Debra pulled herself to her feet and balanced precariously. “You can’t drive,” the EMT said.

“It’s my left foot that’s hurt.” She looked around. “My car is right there.” She pointed toward a black Volkswagen Beetle, parked across the road in the shade of a piñon. She hefted the backpack to one shoulder, then hobbled over to the car. No one tried to stop her.

Danny turned to Dalton. “Friend of yours?” he asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve run into her a couple of times in town, but I don’t really know her.”

Carter moved in closer. “She’s into you,” he said. “You going to go out with her?”

Dalton scowled at his twin. “No.”

“Who is Roxanne?” Bethany asked.

Everyone was staring, waiting for an answer. Dalton wasn’t going to get away with not giving one. “Roxanne is a friend. She’s new in town, too.”

“I remember now!” Eldon said.

Everyone focused on him. “The woman who was run off the road.” He looked around them. “Not far from here. Brunette? Drove a RAV4?”

Several of the volunteers nodded. They had either assisted on the callout or had heard about it. “So the two of you hit it off?” Bethany asked.

“Yeah,” Dalton said.

“But you’re not dating,” Carter added.

“No.”

No one said anything. Dalton turned and began disassembling the litter. Eldon moved in to help him. The EMTs returned to the ambulance and everyone else went back to loading gear and preparing to leave.

They were back in Carter’s Jeep before anyone spoke. “So I take it you asked this Roxanne woman out and she turned you down. Is that right?” Carter asked.