Shadow of My Heart - By Caryn Moya-Block Page 0,48
saw the road with your sign and came for help. You’ve got to help me get them out.”
“Of course we’ll help,” Raven said. “Gwen, call the sheriff’s office. Lindy, find Isanti and any other ranch hands working today and have them meet me at the road. Cara, honey, after you get dressed, gather all the blankets you can find and make something warm for the girls to drink. Hot chocolate would be good.”
“Thank you, thank you so much,” the woman said, wringing her hands.
“I didn’t catch your name?” Raven asked.
“Louise Sheppard. Call me Lou.”
“Lou, come in a minute. Let me get some more clothes on,” Raven said, ushering the woman inside.
Everyone jumped to do their assigned tasks, as Raven ran back up the stairs. Cara followed him into the bedroom.
“Cara, I am going to Shadow-walk up to the road. Get the keys to the truck and drive Lou up after you find those blankets,” Raven said, pushing his feet into a pair of cowboy boots and grabbing a cotton shirt.
“Where are the keys?” Cara asked, grabbing her jeans and yanking them on.
“On a hook by the front door. I’ll see you there,” Raven said, giving her a quick kiss before walking into the shadows behind the door.
Cara finished getting dressed and went into the hall closet. She grabbed several blankets off the shelves and rushed downstairs. Gwen was just getting off the phone, and Lou stood near the door.
“Here, Cara, take these lap quilts,” Gwen said, handing her the three small quilts that sat on the couch and chairs in the living room. “I’ll make the hot chocolate. You go ahead and take Lou back up to the road.”
“Thanks, Gwen.” Cara said. “Come on, Lou. Raven is already heading up there.” Cara grabbed the keys off the hook by the front door and went outside.
It had been a long time since Cara had used a stick shift. But she got the truck started and put it into gear without killing the engine. Sighing in relief, she turned the truck toward the end of the drive.
“How many girls are in the bus?” Cara asked.
“Sixteen, and the bus driver, Mary, is the other girl scout leader,” Lou said. “Mary said her arm was hurting her. It might be broken.”
“I’m sure the sheriff will send an ambulance. The paramedics can check your friend’s arm.”
“Thank you so much for helping us. I hated to leave the girls, but one of us needed to find help.”
“You did the right thing. Don’t worry. Everything will be all right,” Cara said, trying to reassure Lou.
When Cara reached the road, she followed Lou’s directions to the scene of the accident. Raven, Isanti, and another man she didn’t recognize were helping the girls climb out of the bus window to freedom.
“Wow. They sure got here fast,” Lou commented.
“As they get the girls out of the bus, let’s bring them over here to the truck. We can put them in the back so they are off the road,” Cara suggested.
“That sounds good,” Lou said, climbing out of the truck as soon as Cara parked it.
They both hurried up to three little girls, wet and shivering, by the side of the bus. One of the little girls was crying while the other two tried to console their friend. Lou directed the girls to go with Cara, while she stayed to help the other girls out.
Cara took the little girls by the hand and brought them over to the truck, before wrapping them in a blanket and getting them settled in the back.
“Are you girls okay? Do you have any cuts or bruises?”
“I have a cut, here on my arm,” said one of the girls.
Cara grabbed a first aid kit out of the truck glove compartment and cleaned and bandaged the little girl’s cut. She comforted the little girls, trying to keep their minds off their ordeal. As soon as several more were out of the bus, she led them over and started again. Gwen showed up with the hot chocolate just as the sheriff and ambulance arrived. Through it all, Cara was impressed with how Raven took charge and directed the evacuation of the bus. He carried the bus driver, the last to be saved, out of the bus and lowered her into the hands of the paramedics. The girls in the truck bed cheered.
Cara’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at Raven, standing on the overturned bus, his black hair blowing in the breeze. He looked around, then