The weather was nice this morning even though it was still quite cold, and Jonathan was beginning to acclimate to this mountain climate after a lifetime spent in south Florida. He loved the sharp, clean feeling of the air up here, and the scent of the evergreens that made up the bulk of the high elevation forests. Most of all, he liked the silence, broken only by the sound of wind rushing through the tops of the tall spruce and fir trees that surrounded them. It was good to be outside of that cabin and walking among them again, and Jonathan knew that was why Shauna had gone hunting this morning too, even though they didn’t really need the meat.
Being confined to the little cabin was difficult for all of them, but Shauna was especially agitated because of the way Eric left. They had all been preparing for the journey south ever since Eric showed up with Vicky and her information on where Megan was headed. After they buried poor Bob Barham, Jonathan, like Shauna and Vicky had no reason to suspect that Eric would pull the stunt he did. Sure, he’d suggested to Vicky that she might like to stay here at the cabin with Jonathan, saying it was a good option since the journey would be hard, but Vicky would have none of that, insisting she wanted to go and help find her friend. Eric hadn’t said any more about it, and they all assumed he was okay with it. At least that way he would have no reason to have to come back here, but even though he helped them all make preparations for leaving, he apparently made a last-minute decision to go alone, slipping out into the night without waking them as they slept.
When Jonathan had opened his eyes to the daylight streaming into the windows that morning, he saw that Eric wasn’t in his sleeping bag on the cabin floor, but thought little of it, assuming he was just outside early, getting the horses ready to go. Jonathan had managed to get dressed and get out there while favoring his good leg, eager to see if Eric needed any help, but Eric wasn’t in sight, and when he checked the barn where the horses were supposed to be waiting, he didn’t find him in there, either. What he did find was that two of the animals were gone—Maggie and Sally—the exact two that Eric had already selected for his mount and his pack horse. Jonathan then scanned the dim interior of the barn and saw that Eric’s tack and the rest of his gear was missing too. He wondered if maybe Eric had taken the horses and gear on up the trail a bit, while waiting for the rest of them to get ready, but that didn’t make sense. It was cold as hell out there at that early hour, far too uncomfortable to be hanging around outside for no good reason. Besides, he’d made no attempt to wake the rest of them if he’d indeed changed his mind and wanted to get an earlier start.
Jonathan had limped his way past the cabin on the crutches Bob had made for him until he reached the creek bed that led up towards the divide. He saw nothing moving among the stands of dense conifers and Eric didn’t answer when he called his name out loud several times. Jonathan knew that looking for tracks that close to the cabin was useless, as the snow that remained on the ground there was crisscrossed with foot and hoof prints from their comings and goings doing the daily chores. Picking up Eric’s trail, if he’d left one at all, would require going farther up the drainage, but Jonathan was in no shape to do that at the time and so he went back inside to wake Shauna and Vicky.
Shauna had looked at him for a moment with an expression of disbelief on her face before pulling on her boots and storming out the door with her rifle. Jonathan and Vicky were left staring wide-eyed at each other as they listened to her scream Eric’s name into the emptiness of the surrounding wilderness. All the frustration and rage she’d ever felt towards the man she’d once loved and later divorced poured out of her into that vastness. But despite her fury, Jonathan had been around her long enough to know that Shauna didn’t really hate Eric Branson. After all, he was the man who’d fathered her child, no matter what came between them later, and both of them loved Megan dearly and had put it all on the line to find her. Jonathan had seen glimpses of the fire that still smoldered beneath the surface between the two of them when they were together, and he’d actually expected any day now to see it burst into full-on flames if they remained in such close proximity much longer. No doubt the only thing suppressing it while they were in the cabin was the fact that they weren’t alone there. Thinking of it that morning, Jonathan wondered if that were part of the reason Eric had left when he did. Maybe he was averting or postponing the inevitable by simply avoiding it for now?
“Why did Eric even hang around here as long as he did, if this is what he had in mind all along?” Vicky asked. “He could have just left as soon as he brought us here. Why did he get all of us ready for the trip and mislead us into thinking we were all going with him?”
“I don’t know if he had it in mind to do that or not, but even if he did, he wouldn’t have left right when he got here because first of all he was going to make sure Bob Barham got the proper burial he deserved. Then, he was going to make sure this place was really safe and that we had all the supplies and gear we needed here. But I’ll bet he really was planning on taking all of us until he got to thinking about it some more; that and seeing how I wasn’t able to move worth a crap with this stupid leg! Although knowing what I know of Eric, he may have just changed his mind when he woke up sometime during the night.”
“No, it’s probably more my fault than yours, Jonathan. Eric didn’t want to be bothered with the responsibility of someone else to look after. He wanted me to stay here and he asked me to. I should have agreed to do it. At least then he wouldn’t have left Shauna behind.”
“You wouldn’t slow him down. You’ve got way more experience riding than any of us, even Shauna. Besides that, you know these mountains from coming out here every summer to stay at your grandpa’s ranch. I’m the real burden, because out here, in times like these, a guy with a broken leg is useless. I’m lucky I survived it at all, and I damned sure wouldn’t have if not for good old Bob Barham. I don’t blame you for not wanting to stay alone out here with a cripple.”
“Don’t be silly, Jonathan. Your leg is healing, and Eric saw that you could ride, even if you couldn’t walk or run. He probably thought he’d have to constantly look out for me and protect me because I’m a female the same age as his daughter. I could see why he wouldn’t want to deal with that with all his worry about her.”
Jonathan certainly wouldn’t have minded being stuck in the little cabin alone with Vicky when Eric suggested it, but that had only been a fantasy he didn’t really expect to materialize. Now, unless Eric changed his mind again and came back, he was stuck here with her though, and unfortunately Eric’s very unhappy ex-wife. They heard every word as she vented her anger at first, but though she was still outside somewhere, she’d finally cooled off enough to stop yelling. Of course, she didn’t expect Eric to hear it anyway, as he was no doubt already miles away, following the Continental Divide south to New Mexico, but it probably made her feel better to get it out. She would be back in eventually, and before she did, Jonathan decided to hobble over to the wood stove and get it started so he could offer her some coffee. And that was when he found the note.
It was more than a note, really. In fact, it was a letter, and he saw that it was addressed to Shauna, with Eric’s signature at the bottom. Jonathan wanted to read it immediately, but he didn’t see his name there at the top, so he just turned and showed it to Vicky: “Maybe this will explain it. We’ll know when she comes back inside.”
“If he took the time to write a full-page letter, then this probably wasn’t a last-minute decision. I’m dying to know what it says.”
“Me too, but I’m not about to read it. I don’t want to do anything to piss Shauna off any more than she already is!”
When she did finally come back inside, Jonathan handed Shauna the letter and watched from a safe distance as she scanned the handwritten words on the page.
“That son of a bitch! He did this deliberately all right. He left without us to go after Megan on his own!”
“Why would he do it like that?” Vicky asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Did he say exactly why?” Jonathan was almost afraid to ask, knowing he was the most likely reason. “He did it because I would slow all of you down, didn’t he?”
“No, he did it because he’s a selfish jerk!” Shauna spat.
But Jonathan knew Eric Branson wasn’t selfish. Shauna might have reason to think he could be a jerk at times, but he hadn’t done all he’d done since Jonathan met him because he was selfish. Everything he did, he did for his daughter and the rest of his family, not to mention the strangers, including himself, that Eric helped along the way when he didn’t have to. No, Eric left because he didn’t want a crippled Florida punk slowing him down. His priority was to catch up to Megan now that he knew where she’d gone, and he wasn’t going to do anything that would compromise that mission. Jonathan totally got it. He really did. It was the kind of thing he would expect Eric to do after getting to know him over the past several weeks. Even if not for Jonathan’s injury, Eric could travel faster and stealthier without the three of them tagging along, and simply leaving without telling them was the only way he could do that. Shauna would have never agreed to it, as she had already shot down the idea when Eric casually brought it up. It sucked to think that Eric didn’t trust even him enough to let him in on his plans, but Jonathan figured Eric wasn’t taking any chances. Once he made up his mind to do something, he didn’t second-guess himself, and he probably didn’t want to hear any objections or arguments from anyone, even if he believed Jonathan was on his side in this.
“He thinks I’m going to just sit here in this cabin for God knows how long while he follows our daughter all the way to New Mexico? I’ll have no way of knowing if he ever gets there or not or if he finds Megan when he does! It could be weeks before he gets back here with her, and I’m supposed to just sit here and wait? That’s just crazy!”
“He wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have this broken leg. I’m sorry I was so stupid that day, Shauna. This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s my fault!” Vicky said. “I shouldn’t be here. Eric didn’t want to take me to New Mexico and he didn’t want to leave me here alone either. I just created another problem for him by being here. I’m so sorry, Shauna.”
“It’s not your fault, Vicky. And it’s not yours either, Jonathan. It’s just Eric! He thinks he knows better than everybody. He can’t stop us from following him though. We know the way he went.”
“Maybe, but we’ll never catch up to him if he doesn’t want us to,” Jonathan said, “not with me slowing you down. I’d say go on without me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for the two of you to be traveling these mountains alone. Even the three of us, for that matter. Without Eric, we’d be an easy target for an ambush. Maybe we ought to just chill like he said. Maybe he will get there faster, and it won’t take all that long for him to get back here with Megan.”
Shauna didn’t want to hear it, but Jonathan knew that deep down, she agreed. Out here in the vastness of these mountains, there was no guarantee they’d ever find Eric if they tried to follow, especially if he got new information regarding Megan and headed somewhere other than the reservation. And if the three of them left on their own, Eric would then have to look for them when he returned here either with or without Megan. Considering all this, Shauna finally accepted that they might as well wait for now, but she was in a terrible mood those first few days, and Jonathan knew that if enough time passed without Eric’s return, she would be determined to press on in search of Megan anyway. In the meantime, she had taken to hunting and exploring the area surrounding the cabin, and each day when she left, it was a relief to Jonathan and Vicky, as tension when she was around was palpable.
“I think she’ll chill out soon enough,” Vicky had said after Shauna left that morning with the deer rifle. She hadn’t mentioned Eric’s name for a couple of days, and they both knew she was making an effort not to think about him.
“It’s obvious she’s still in love with him,” Vicky said. I don’t care how mad she gets or that she divorced him and married someone else. I can see it in the way she looks at him.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“I know I am. He probably doesn’t even know it though. Guys are stupid like that.”
“Is that right?” Jonathan asked, momentarily meeting her gaze before quickly looking away again. He wished Vicky had thoughts like that about him that maybe he was just too stupid to pick up on, but he doubted that was the case. They’d just met, and what would she see in him anyway? He sure wouldn’t have been her type before all these events went down, her being a college student and all, and now, in a world that required men that could do useful things like the fishing and shooting he was good at, he had a bum leg and couldn’t do jack shit. But whether Vicky saw anything in him or not, it had been hard for Jonathan to keep his eyes off her during the past couple of weeks since she’d arrived here with Shauna and Eric. Even if he wasn’t her type, she’d been talkative and pleasant to be around. And she’d insisted on helping him with his recovery, walking at his side to steady him as he gradually began relying less and less on his crutches.
And now today, with her help, he’d walked farther from the cabin than he’d been since he arrived here. Sure, she’d led Tucker along as back up to get him back if something happened, but Jonathan had managed just fine without needing the horse. All-in-all, it had been an amazing morning, taking in the grandeur of the unspoiled mountain wilderness while being guided and assisted by a beautiful young woman that he had a hard time keeping his eyes off of. The rifle shots that interrupted them were an intrusion into that perfection, but he knew they might also mean they would soon have a welcome change of diet.
“Let’s just ease along that way a little, if you don’t mind helping me, Vicky. I can’t wait to find out if she got one or not. If she did, she’ll be coming back to get one of the horses and she’ll need your help too, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, but if she missed those shots, she’ll be coming back in a bad mood and you know it. It might be better if we are still here, out of her way, just in case. Look, I’ve been down that way, and it gets steep down there in a hurry. I don’t think you should try it yet. Let’s just sit down and wait right here where we can watch for her. We’ll know before she makes it to the cabin whether she’s had good luck or bad.”
Jonathan didn’t really like that idea, but as long as Vicky was sitting there beside him, he wasn’t going to complain. They found a smooth rock that was just the right height to make a comfortable perch at the foot of a large outcrop, while Tucker waited nearby. They were talking quietly as they sat there until some twenty minutes later, when Vicky got up to go give Tucker a pat. It was while she was over there that Jonathan spotted movement down near the creek a couple hundred yards below, and he saw immediately that it wasn’t Shauna. Jonathan turned and quickly shushed Vicky with a whisper: “Don’t move Vicky! Stay where you are and keep Tucker quiet!”
She looked at him in confusion and he pointed in the direction he’d been watching. A man dressed in camo and carrying an assault rifle was standing out in the open now and making some kind of signaling motion with his free hand. And moments later, Jonathan saw several other figures materialize from the forest behind him.
Three
NOW THAT SHE KNEW they’d seen her, Shauna ran as fast as she could without looking back, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the group of armed men as possible. Fortunately, the heavy forest through which she was running meant she didn’t have to stay all that far ahead of them to keep out of sight. They hadn’t fired any shots yet, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t if she presented them with an easy target, so she couldn’t let up. She already knew they were coming after her because after she ignored his shouted order to stop, she glanced briefly over her shoulder and saw the same man waving his followers in her dire
ction. It was what she’d wanted when she screamed and fired her rifle, but now that she’d actually gotten their attention, Shauna wondered if she’d made a mistake. It would have been easy to stay out of sight and simply follow them back to the cabin, but then what? With no reasonable way to get ahead of them, she couldn’t have warned Jonathan and Vicky in time and there were far too many of them to confront. No, this was better, but now that the chase was on, she couldn’t help but feel fear. Shauna knew she couldn’t afford to make a misstep and fall, so though her body was flooded with adrenalin as she sprinted, she held back just enough to give herself time to pick the best line through the many obstacles of roots, fallen logs and rocks that the challenging terrain presented.
The heavy hunting rifle was a burden to her now, as she had no intention of using it against her pursuers, but she didn’t dare leave it either, in case she had no choice in the end. She ran with it in her hands as that was safer than slinging it on her back where the barrel might snag a branch and trip her up. Her Glock was her last line of defense beyond the rifle, but Shauna sure hoped it wouldn’t come to a standoff like that, because it was doubtful she’d survive it. She had counted thirteen men in the patrol, or raiding party or whatever it was, but she couldn’t be sure she had even seen them all in the heavy timber of the drainage. She also had no way of knowing if all of them were coming after her, or if some had waited behind or even continued on, in the direction of the cabin. She didn’t want to think about the latter, because that would mean her diversion had already failed whether she escaped or not.
Feral Nation - Convergence (Feral Nation Series Book 6) Page 2