“Hadley!” Jinx yelled.
I wanted to tell him that I was fine, but I couldn’t form the words. Finally, I was able to suck in air. But the action hurt like hell.
“Are you okay?” He crouched down beside me as more footsteps sounded.
“Oh, God,” Calla said. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
“I’m okay,” I wheezed.
Toby filled my vision. “Think you can sit up?”
I nodded. He grasped one hand and Jinx the other. “On three,” I told them. “One, two, three.”
I let out a whimper of pain as they got me in a sitting position. Jinx shot Toby a look. “There’s no way you can bike out of here.”
“Just give me a second. If I can’t bike, I can walk.”
Toby shook his head. “Maybe we could call the ranger’s station—”
“You are not calling search and rescue because I have some scrapes and bruises.”
Calla bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Hadley. I saw a snake slither across the trail and panicked.”
I bit back a less-than-kind retort. Calla still hadn’t quite gotten used to living in the country and hated snakes more than anything. “Accidents happen. I’ll be fine. After a hot bath and a truckful of ibuprofen.” A million ice packs wouldn’t hurt, either.
20
Calder
Birdie ran,shrieking around the living room.
“Is there any reason for that kind of sound? Other than trying to make my ears bleed?” I asked my beloved daughter, who was two seconds away from making me pull my hair out.
“I’m excited, and I need to get my energy out,” she yelled, still running. “Hadley said it’s important my mind is centered when I skate.”
“Why don’t you do some laps around the backyard?”
“Good idea, Dad!” She charged out the back door.
Sage looked up from her book. This was a new one about edible plants and flowers. “Thank you. Geez, that was a lot.”
I barked out a laugh and then dropped a kiss to her head. “You and me, kid, we gotta stick together if we have any hope of surviving Birdie.”
“No kidding.”
The doorbell rang, and I moved towards the entryway. “I got it.”
I pulled open the door, and Hadley stood there, looking freshly showered, damp hair woven back into a braid. “Come in.” I tugged her braid as she passed. “You leave your hair wet, you’re going to catch a cold.”
“That’s a myth, and it’s seventy-five degrees out.” She tipped Sage’s book as she moved towards the couch. “This one looks good.”
“It is. Addie said there are all sorts of plants we can eat around here.”
“Maybe we can find some when we go on our hike,” Hadley suggested.
“That would be awesome.”
I ruffled Sage’s hair. “You want to change before we go to the park? You might be too warm in jeans.”