A Beautiful Mess

Chapter 10

Sydney had welcomed the shorts when Cole had been adjusting the harness, but now she cursed them as the side of the well scrapped up her legs. She realized the gloves Cole had given her were more of a hindrance than a help and she quickly took them off and threw them up and over the side.

"Everything alright?" She heard Cole's voice above her.

"Yep," she lied as she looked down into the darkness. Sydney lost her footing and slammed into the wall and felt rocks and dust tumble over her shoulders and head. She paused and took a deep breath before pushing off of the wall once more remaining focused on her breathing and the small beam of light that led her way. At one point her downward progress stopped for a minute and so did her heart, but as she neared the bottom, she saw a white little fur ball huddled against one of the walls. At least Sydney guessed it was white, it looked more mud colored than anything.

She felt her feet sink as she hit the bottom of the well. There was no water, but there was at least a foot of mud, and she shuddered as she thought about what was in the mud. Her shoes were a loss as she lifted her foot and felt one sucked off her feet.

Sydney knelt as best she could and called softly to the dog who refused to budge from its spot where it looked at her with wide, scared eyes. If she had been in different circumstances she would have sat and taken her time, trying to earn the dog's trust, but she didn't want to, she wanted to get back to the top. She slowly moved towards the dog, and it lowered its head as it tried to shrink away from her, so she reached for it and scooped it up quickly as it yelped in surprise. Sydney was pleased it didn't try to bite her.

"Everything O.K.?"

"Yep!" she called again as he held the shaking, skinny mass to her body. It was all skin and bones, and it was soaking wet. She pushed the fur out of its eyes and cried a little at the fear she saw there. "I'm scared too," she whispered. "I won't tell if you won't." She patiently waited until the dog's shaking died down a little and then she tucked in her shirt before shoving the dog down it. She had to get the dog to the top, and she would need her hands. Obviously Cole hadn't thought of everything. The dog welcomed this as he clawed his way to the bottom of the shirt. It had been a while since anyone had cut the poor things nails, and after a few flinches and hisses of pain, the dog was settled, allowing Sydney gave a tug on the rope.

After a moment when nothing happened, she started to panic as she looked up towards the light shining down from above. There was no one there. She clutched the dog tight as she pulled frantically at the rope.

"We're here, Sydney!" Paige yelled. "Dr. Easton and Peter are fixing the rope."

"Fixing the rope!" Sydney squeaked.

"To the truck!" Paige clarified.

That didn't make Sydney feel any better, but before she could worry too much about it she felt a quick jerk, and the rope started pulling her up slowly. She lost her hold a few times as the dog panicked and she had to let go of the rope to calm him. There was even a minute while they were still pulling and she was scraping her back on the wall, but she didn't want them to stop, she just wanted it over with, so she corrected herself as quickly as she could.

Sydney breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the sun on her face, and nothing in the world would make her turn around to look behind her. When her head grew even with the top of the well, she felt Cole's arms reach down and pull her clear of the edge, and she instantly felt all of her fear drain away at his hold. As soon as her legs hit the ground, they gave way and she sunk to the ground. The dog was still, but she could feel its heartbeat strong against her.

"Did you leave any mud down there?" Peter asked as he looked down at her with a smile.

She tried to return his smile, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

"Thanks, guys, you all take the golf cart back. I don't want you to miss the bus back to the hotel. I'll get Miss Mitchell and the dog squared away," Cole insisted as he continued to wrap the rope around his arm. Having been dismissed, there was nothing they could do, and Paige gave her a little wave as they drove away.

After they were gone, Cole threw the rope into the back of the truck and then moved back to Sydney, kneeling in front of her. Sydney looked at the dirt on his clothes, aware that she had put it there when he had pulled her free from the well. She reached out and put her hand on his chest feeling his strong heartbeat beneath his muscles, and then she felt nauseous, so she quickly scrambled on her hands and knees to the other side of the well and began throwing up. The heaving of her stomach muscles couldn't have been pleasant for the dog, but it lay perfectly still, not making a sound as she clutched it with one arm while she did her best to hold her hair back with the other.

Cole's hands grabbed her hair for her, and he calmly waited while she finished, then he handed her a handkerchief and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Sydney said as she tried to stand-up. Cole put a hand under her elbow and walked her over to his truck, lowering the tailgate and helping her up into the back of it.

"Let's see," he said, motioning to the bulge in her shirt.

Sydney looked down her shirt at the big brown eyes and smiled, falling in love instantly. "I don't think he or she wants to move."

"I don't blame him," Cole said gravely, and Sydney felt herself blush.

She started to untuck her shirt, and as she lifted it, the dog tried to climb back up her chest and away from the new opening. The little dog's face popped out of her collar and looked at Cole.

"Come on Timmy; it's O.K," Sydney assured the dog.

"Timmy, really?" He looked at Sydney with a raised eyebrow. "What if it's a girl?"

Sydney shrugged. "He or she fell down a well, so it has to be Timmy. It's too good of a chance to miss."

Cole reached in Sydney's shirt and pulled out the dog who yelped at the suddenness of it. Cole held the dog up and looked at it. "I don't think he fell down the well," he paused before adding, "it looks as if he will be named Timmy," Cole said as he cradled the shaking dog gently in one arm.

They sat for a few moments while Sydney finished her water and Timmy calmed down a bit. Sydney stood up when the harness began to feel uncomfortable, and she started to unbuckle it, but it was evident that she had no clue what she was doing. Cole placed the dog in the back of the truck while he reached for her and pulled her to him.

She watched as his large fingers made easy work of all of the buckles, and before she knew it, he was sliding it off of her. It wasn't nearly as much fun as when he had put it on her.

"Climb up, and I'll take you and Timmy back to the trailer so that you can get cleaned up before you go back to the hotel."

"The Millers, what time is it? I'm supposed to have dinner with them."

"We'll give them a call when we get to the trailer."

Sydney sunk into the back of the truck holding the dog to her, glad to let Cole handle everything. She was suddenly exhausted, and she was starting to hurt.