Giselle locked the front door to the shop and headed for her car. Will Benson has some nerve thinking he knows how I feel about marriage! Preoccupied, she lost her footing on the icy path to the car. Down she went, slipping over the tiny ridge and careening down the hill. As the hill was steep, she picked up speed, heading smack dab for a pine tree.
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Frantically groping for a hold on the ice, twigs
embedded in the ice and pieces of stone-hard snow tore up her gloves and her
hands. Raising her foot to cushion the
impact, instead her leg collapsed, slamming her knee into the trunk then her
head. She saw stars.
Blood spurted from a big rip in her pants. She lay
back against the ice, groggy.
****
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Muriel Benson put down her cell phone. “No answer.”
She checked her watch. “Not like Giselle to be late.”
“Who?” Will asked idly, drinking a beer and
staring into the fireplace at his folk’s house.
“Giselle. Do me a favor. Drive over there and
check on her, will ya?”
“You invited her here for Christmas dinner?” He
shot up out of his chair.
“It’s Christmas, Will. The poor girl is all
alone.”
“Whose fault is that?” He shot back.
“You need some lessons in charity, son,” his
father piped up from behind his newspaper. “Thought we raised you different.”
“Can I come, Dad?” Bobby put down his Spiderman
toy.
“All right, all right. Come on squirt,” Will
ruffled Bobby’s hair and picked up the car keys.
They drove by Giselle’s house but it was dark and
her car wasn’t there. Will headed for the shop. He pulled in next to her car
and tried the front door but it was locked.
As he was figuring out how
to get around back without killing himself on the slick path, Bobby hollered
out. “There she is!”
He pointed to the bottom or the hill. Will squinted in the
pale moonlight, saw someone on the ground and heard a weak cry. Grabbing
Bobby’s hand, he secured his son in the car, then drove closer to her.
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“Stay here, Bobby,” he commanded, punching the flashers
button on the dashboard . “Giselle! Giselle is that you?” He called through
cupped hands. The body tried to stand up but couldn’t. He rushed over, dumped
her over his shoulder and carried her to the car.
“She’s almost frozen,” he murmured, throwing the car in
gear. Bobby started to cry.
“Is she gonna die?”
“Don’t think so, buddy.” Will carried her into the house
and laid her down on his bed. He stripped off her boots and jacket.
“Oh my God! What happened?” Muriel asked, as she
placed a blanket around the shivering girl’s shoulders.
“Found her at the bottom of a hill.” Will gently
removed the torn gloves from her bloody hands. She stared at him, pale and
frightened.
“You’ll be okay. I’m going to fix you up.” He
turned to his mother. “First aid stuff. Hurry.”
Tears streamed down Giselle’s face. Will placed
her in his lap and held her tight, stroking her hair. “You’re safe now, I’m here,” he whispered.
12 comments:
Awww! I wasn't sure who to cry more for: Giselle and her injuries, or little Bobby!
Oh Will is being so sweet to her and so protective. Is his cold shell cracking? (I hope so!)
This better not be an act, caring for someone who's injured but caring for someone he love.
I cringed when he picked her up with out checking out her injuries, but was delighted he had enough compassion to let it overcome his former anger at her.
Great tale, and wonderful 'use' of spider'
Glad he found her before she froze! I hate winter, ice, snow, and cold, so I was actually shivering as I read this. Good job!
Ah finally a crack in Will's shell...nothing like an injured love of your life to break through the wall of anger. Great installment. :)
Glad he found her in time. I suspect that hard outer shell has a wee crack forming in it.
great description of her going down that hill- very vivid
goosebumps. I love this story. I can't wait to read it completely.
I'm glad that he found her. I hope he is sincere and that he is finally coming around.
Very intense scene. Love their story and I hope Will is not just whispering empty words.
I envisioned Giselle's accident from the astute descriptors. Great job, Jean.
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