Protection

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Clint felt his heart beating so hard that it vibrated his chest. He forced himself to not look down, because he knew if he did that, he would probably slip or make the incessant beating worse. He was about halfway up the slope, all the while keeping his eyes on his destination.

Halfway slowly turned into almost there, and almost slowly turned into nearly there. The muscles in his arms grew tired and started to give. Nonetheless, he pulled himself up until less than a yard separated him from the top of Almighty.

Then, he made the mistake of looking down. His vision blurred as he saw how high he was. One slip of his hand and he could go tumbling down that slope and never see the light of day again. Trying his best to clear his head, he reached for the next rock jutted out of the solid wall of earth.

A few more shaky steps up the mesa and his hand touched the top. He pulled himself up until he could roll over onto the top of Almighty.

He laid there on his back, staring up at the grey sky, his heart pumping fast as the adrenaline ran out of him. His breathing was heavy and ragged, his chest heaving in efforts to catch his breath.

He had done it. He had actually done it. Clint would have smiled, had not he been reminded of Miss Cooper’s presence down below him and her and her anxiety to get to the place which he was laying. Pushing himself into a standing position, he looked around and found a suitable rock that he could tie his length of rope around.

After tightening the know around the rock. He walked to the edge of the slope and tied a rock to the bottom of the rope to make it go down to the bottom of the mesa. His heart began to beat faster again as he neared the edge. What if Miss Cooper fell?

Shoving the thought from his mind, he waiting until he saw her small form at the bottom of the slop grab on to the rope, tie it around herself, and begin to climb up. He stood as far back as possible to still be able to see her yet not be too close to the edge of the mesa. Miss Cooper’s ascent was slow and steady, and she rested her arms every once in a while by relying mostly on her foot to steady her on an outcropping. He waited and waited until she climbed so far that he could make out her face. Soon, he could make out sweat gleaming on her forehead. One hour passed and turned into an hour and a half. He clenched his fists, as if the act would help her climb, and watched her every move until she finally reached the top and threw her hand over to grasp a handful of grass on the top of the mesa. He walked to the edge with shaky legs and reached down to help her up. Once her two feet were firmly planted on solid ground, he began to breathe easier.

She was safe, and so was he.

A beaming smile split her face as she looked at her surroundings, her transparent coffee-brown eyes revealing her excitement and wonder of finally being at her destination.

*****

Bliss took in the land around her. The top of Almighty looked just like the land down below. Scattered tufts of grass poked out of the earth here and there while a hard rock or two jutted out from inside the mesa. The grey sky provided very little light from the sun, and yet the place seemed to sparkle and shine with hope.

There was hope.

She turned and nearly ran a far piece until she reached an area around where her mother was found at the bottom of the mesa. She looked down below at her surroundings until she came upon the area her mother was found dead. She gasped as she took in her view of the land that stretched on for miles and miles out in front of her. She stepped close to the edge, though not quite far enough to need to use very much caution, and just stared.

“Come see this, Mr. Slade. I can see the whole ranch from here!” she smiled.

“Na, I’m good here,” he replied.