Benson checked his watch.It had been forty-three minutes since Ariel left for her run. That was thirteen minutes longer than she said it would take her.
For the last nine minutes, he’d been debating whether to look for her. Heading west, Ariel would have reached his family’s ranch in about a mile. Not that he expected her to run down the long driveway and knock on the door, but with Ariel, anything was possible. It was equally likely that she found an injured animal and was carrying it back to the house.
Okay, decision made. He’d go looking for her. If she was taking her time on purpose, she might be upset that he interrupted her walk, but too bad. A stalker was out there, and there was nothing Benson wouldn’t do to keep her safe.
He grabbed his car keys and headed out. Since she said she’d only be running about three miles, it wouldn’t take him long to drive a mile and a half. There were no side roads to distract her, and except for his family’s home to the west, it was pure emptiness.
He drove slowly, checking both sides of the road. While there were no sidewalks, the grass on either side was wide and easy to run on.
He’d driven over a mile when he spotted a flash of pink off to the side. Ariel had been wearing a pink shirt, and his pulse spiked. Hopefully, it was some pink-colored piece of trash, but he needed to check in case it wasn't.
Since no one was on the road, Benson did a U-turn and pulled over.
Oh, shit. It’s Ariel!
He shut off the engine, pushed open the car door, and ran to her. His heart was pounding way too fast as adrenaline coursed through his body.
Benson dropped down next to her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow. He lightly touched her shoulder. “Ariel, can you hear me?”
He wanted to lift her into his arms, but he feared he’d cause more harm in case she’d tripped and hit her head. When she didn’t rouse, he scanned her body. There were some scrapes, but no bones were protruding.
“Ariel, darling. Open your eyes.” He willed her to wake up.
Her groan had him letting out a long held breath. Benson looked around to see if anyone was nearby in case she hadn’t tripped. It was possible, someone had harmed her, and even though this part of the berm was mostly dirt, he couldn’t tell if a vehicle or bike had driven on it recently.
Ariel’s eyes fluttered open. She sucked in a breath and tried to sit up. That movement caused her to moan and drop back down. “Benson? Why are you here?”
“You had a fall and apparently hit your head. Where are you hurt?” He wanted to ask what happened, but accessing her physical condition was more important.
“I don’t know. Help me up.”
“I’m going to call for help.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.” Arguing with her would only stress her out further. “Just rest until you can get up by yourself. Otherwise, I’m calling my sister. Malia’s a nurse.” Unfortunately, she practiced in Midvale which was twenty minutes away. However, if she happened to be free, she would come over.
When a cold gust of wind blew, Benson glanced upward.Damn. Dark clouds had covered most of the sky, implying rain was imminent. They needed to hurry.
Without any help from him, Ariel was able to push up to a seated position. “See? Good as new.” Her attempt at a smile, however, was not successful.
The woman was in denial. He stood and offered her his hand, even though he wanted to scoop her up in his arms. If she couldn’t get to her feet by herself, then he’d take her to the hospital. It wasn’t what he wanted to do, because then all of Wildwood would know she’d been injured. That only mattered in case someone believed he’d killed her.
To his delight, using his hand as a crutch, she managed to stand. With her free hand, she pressed on her forehead. “I have a headache.”
“I imagine you would. Can you walk to my car?” He’d pulled over about fifteen feet away.
“Yes.”
While slow, she managed to reach his vehicle. Since the SUV was rather high, he helped her in, and then rushed over to the driver’s side. As soon as Benson was back on the road, he hoped she' be rested enough to answer some questions.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
She had to know something, or did the fall scramble her brain? “Did you trip?”
Ariel twisted toward him and winced. “Kind of, but then something hit me. I was stupidly listening to music that was too loud, and I was singing along, not really paying attention. It was as if an elephant hit me, but it wasn’t really an elephant. I saw a flash of white, and the next thing I knew, I was knocked off my feet and landed hard. Then you came.”