Accepting His Love

Accepting His Love: Chapter Sixteen

Several hours had passed since Abigail had left and Derek was starting to get worried. Back and forth and back and forth he paced. He was sure he'd burn a ditch straight through the ground, and his hat was ruined from the amount of wringing his nervous hands were giving it.

Where was she? He wondered, running a frustrated hand through his blonde hair. It just didn't take this long to get a single barrel of water filled.

His brain began to take an imaginative course of its own as he thought about all the things that could've happened to her. What if she fell into the stream and drowned? What if she had been kidnapped? Okay, the second scenario was a bit extreme, but he just couldn't be too sure.

He prayed that his chocolate skinned ball of fire was alright. She'd come to mean a whole lot and then some to him and God forbid, she was taken from his life...well, he didn't want to think about what he'd do.

Another theory flitted through his mind. What if she had run off? Derek knew that she valued her independence highly and he figured that he was a smidge bit smothering these past few days. He couldn't help it though. He just wanted to show her how much she meant to him, but he hadn't stopped to think about how all the extra attention would make her feel. Heck, weren't girls supposed to love that sort of thing?

Derek couldn't stand the wait any longer. Her independence could go for a hike. Something must have gone wrong.

He went over to saddle his horse. Hopping on, he urged the dark haired steed to gallop toward where he remembered the little stream was located. He should have done this an hour or two ago. Who knew what could have happened to Abigail in the time that she was missing.

Once he got to the gurgling body of water, he frantically whipped his head back and forth, searching the area for any sign of Abigail.

A little ways off, he saw her horses, Buttercup and Tulip, and they snorted and stomped at his approaching figure. He jumped off his horse and rushed to the wagon. He could care less if his horse wandered off. Finding Abigail was his top priority right now. Nothing else mattered.

The barrel of water that she had left to fill stood in the middle of the wagon with puddles of water around it, but she wasn't there. He spun around on his heel desperately trying to spot her.

"Abigail!" He cried out frantically. No answer. "Abigail, answer me!"

There was still no answer. The only sound resounding in the still air was the rushing of the stream and the nickering of the horses. Derek was beyond frantic now. He just didn't understand it. Her horses and wagon were right there beside the stream, but he couldn't see her anywhere.

He called her name a few more times and was about to go check further down the stream when a soft moan of pain reached his ears. He followed the sound and to his horror, found Abigail's small and naked form, crumpled in a heap on the bank of the stream.

His legs carried him over to her faster than he could blink and he crouched down on the slippery wet grass beside her. She was unconscious and she was devoid of any clothes. Her brown skin glistened with water, and a bar of soap and a towel lay abandoned on the stream bank.

Gingerly scooping her frail body up from the wet ground, he cradled her to his chest. He searched for injuries and was horrified to see a trail of fresh blood trickling from her temple and a large bump on the side of her head. He cursed under his breath before checking for other damages.

He surmised that she must have fallen and looking at the boulder she had been previously laying on, he saw the smear of blood on the gray rock and grimaced. She must have fallen and hit her head pretty hard judging at the amount of dried blood coating the boulder.