by Janie Crouch
Marilyn looked forward to where Sam was walking between Tanner and Noah, talking more than she’d seen him in… well, ever. Eva was holding hands with Barb, one of the ladies who’d been at New Journeys for a while. Francis, the older, quieter woman was with them.
These people were her friends. They honestly cared about her. She’d never had friends, never realized how important they were. But now she did. She no longer was so isolated that she was easy prey.
Sam’s laughter rang out, followed by Noah’s. God, that was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.
Bree nudged her. “It’s going to be a good trip.”
Yes, it was.
After a half day of hiking, everyone was sleeping pretty soundly in their tents now that it was dark. Except for Noah.
It certainly hadn’t been a very strenuous day for him. Despite the miles, he regularly expended more calories on the ranch than he had today. But that wasn’t what had him wide awake when he should be resting peacefully under the stars.
He wasn’t exactly sure what had him so on edge. He’d just come back from checking the hand-made security system he’d set up around the camp. Small branches and piles of leaves set up in the places where someone would most likely perch themselves if they wanted to get eyes on what was happening here in camp. No one would notice the carefully made piles since they blended in with nature so well, but Noah would know there was someone around if they were disturbed.
None of them had been disturbed, not in the three times he had checked earlier and not when he checked now. He came back and sat down by the fire.
“What’s going on?” Tanner came over to the fire and sat beside him. They both talked in hushed whispers so no one in the tents would overhear and worry.
Noah gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “Nothing I can put my finger on.”
“But you’re thinking there might be trouble?”
“I don’t have concrete evidence of anything.”
Tanner rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your gut feeling over ninety-nine percent of the population’s concrete evidence any day.”
Normally, Noah would, too. He took his instincts seriously. “I’m not sure I can trust my gut too much either, to be honest.” Not when it came to Marilyn and the kids. He was too invested. “But there’s nobody around us right now, that much I know for sure. I set up a few observation traps that would let me know if anybody had been surveilling us. When I checked them a few minutes ago, there was no evidence of anybody else around.”
“Could be stress wearing on you. That talk with Ellis definitely didn’t put me at ease.”
It had been on Noah’s mind every second since they’d left that piece of shit in Denver. “That’s for damn sure. Bastard was way too confident he wouldn’t be convicted at the trial. Like he knows something we don’t.”
And that wasn’t good.
“Have you been following Ellis again? We don’t want to do anything that gives Stobbart any reason to try to have the case dismissed outright.”
“I’ve got a colleague who’s gone into Denver a couple of times for me with instructions to stay far away from Ellis.”
Zac Mackay had come all the way from Wyoming with the surveillance equipment needed to do the job right. And Zac had been the perfect man for the job. He was former Special Forces also, so he had the know-how to get the job done without being spotted. And Marilyn and Annie were good friends, so Zac was thorough.
The information Zac had reported back had been odd, to say the least.
“I do know they’ve still got those building plans and maps out everywhere. Stobbart has joined them most nights. Another man joined them last night.”
“That’s probably Marius Nixon,” Tanner said. “The guy who provided money for Jared’s bail. He arrived back in the country yesterday.”
Noah rolled his shoulders and looked out at the darkness again. There may not be anyone out there right now, but something wasn’t right. He could taste it. “They’re planning something, Tanner.”
“Do you know that for sure? Has your guy been using the surveillance equipment you talked about?”
Neither of them used names so Tanner could have deniability if needed.
“I know there’s something going on because my man couldn’t hear anything with his surveillance equipment. They’re using counter surveillance equipment.”
“Fuck.”
Noah nodded. “That’s how I felt, too. It’s high-end stuff. Took my man a whole night to figure out that the info he was receiving wasn’t legit. He happened to hear a loop in the recording their equipment was spitting out. Most people wouldn’t have caught it at all.”
Them using this equipment meant they were definitely talking about something they wouldn’t take a chance on someone else overhearing.
Not good.
“What do you think they’re planning?”
Noah rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly, I think they have something up their sleeves for the trial, then are planning to take Marilyn and the kids somewhere.” He could barely get the words out. There was no way. Absolutely no fucking way. “I’m not going to let that happen, Tanner.”
Tanner nodded. “We’re not going to let that happen. Not you, not me, not Bree, not anyone else at New Journeys or in Risk Peak. Marilyn and those kids are part of our own now. You’re not alone in this. Neither is she.”
He shrugged. “It’s hard for me not to work alone.”
“We’ve got almost four months until the trial. We know the ankle monitor is working, so we focus on figuring out their plan. In this case, the best offense is a good defense.” Tanner pinned him with his eyes. “But we’ve got to let the law handle this. We cannot go after them just because they’re doing suspicious stuff.”
“Roger that.” Noah didn’t like to lie to his brother, but he wasn’t sure there was anything he wouldn’t do to keep Marilyn and the kids safe.
But he was at least willing to wait and see if they could stop Ellis without bloodshed. Let the law handle him.
If not…
Tanner slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s try to enjoy this camping trip and make it something memorable for Marilyn and the kids. Unless you think there’s actual danger here…”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like something is off, but my neutrality is definitely compromised when it comes to that woman and those kids. Maybe I want Ellis to be here so I have an excuse to take him out and make sure they’re safe for the rest of their lives.”
“As an officer of the law, I’m afraid I’d probably have to let you do exactly that if Ellis showed up here.” Tanner grinned. “I have the emergency radio. If there’s any change in Ellis’s status, the guys at the office will let us know right away.”
Tanner teased him a little more, trying to get him to admit his feelings for Marilyn. His brother had no idea how close he was to the truth. And he would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
He looked out into the darkness again.
Whatever it took.
15
“Can I join you?”
He’d known Marilyn was coming up behind him long before her soft words met his ears. He turned to her and nodded.
She had two cups in her hands “I come bearing coffee. Tanner told me you were up here. The kids and Barb and Francis are still asleep.”
“It’s one of my favorite spots. Mom and Dad used to watch the sunrise here when we went camping.” The small outpouring of large rocks provided just enough height to be able to see over the distant tree line. “I’ve always loved it.”
“If you want to take some time for yourself, I totally understand.”
“I’d rather you join me.” He slid over on his rock perch, making room for her.
She made it the rest of the way, then handed him one of the collapsible camping coffee cups.
Having Marilyn here made this better. He and Tanner had taken shifts all night staying awake, making sure the camp was protected. None of the ha
nd-made security systems had been disturbed. Whatever danger had his spider-senses tingling hadn’t come near them.
Now he could take a moment to relax. And there was no one else he’d rather relax with.
They watched the sun climb farther up, the purples and reds of the rising sun were just becoming noticeable over the trees. He took a sip of his coffee, eyebrows raising in surprise when he found it mixed just the way he liked it.
She smiled over at him. “I brought a little creamer and sugar from home so you wouldn’t have to drink your coffee black.”
He stared at her, so lovely in the rising sun it almost took his breath away. It was such a simple thing—he certainly could’ve drank his coffee black and would’ve been just fine with it—but something that spoke of consideration and care. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something like this for him.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
She just smiled. He reached over and grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers as they watched the sun continue its journey over the trees.
“Are you more of a sunrise person or a sunset person?” he asked.
“Sunrise has always been my favorite part of the day.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Sometimes my nights were…hard and scary. But somehow the sun coming up each morning made it all feel a little better. Like it would be okay.”
“Sunrises equal hope.”
“Exactly. A new day, a new chance to make a change…not that I did for a long time.”
He squeezed her hand. “But you did. That’s what matters. You made the change, even if it took longer than you wanted.”
Sadness shadowed her features, but she nodded. “Yes, I guess so.”
“Did you sleep okay? How was your tent?”
“I slept pretty well, surprisingly. Must be all the exercise and outdoor air. I heard you and Tanner talking some. I think it was the middle of the night. Everything okay?”
“No problems that we could tell.” He could say that honestly. “We just like to keep an eye on things.”
They watched the rest of the sunrise in silence. One of the things he appreciated most about Marilyn was her willingness to be present in the present. She wasn’t trying to take selfies or chatter. She was in the moment. Still.
And he just wanted to be here with her.
The sun had barely climbed up past the trees before they heard noises from the rest of the camp. Quiet moment over. It was time to help make breakfast and get packed up.
He turned to her, letting her hand go and reaching up to run a finger down her cheek. “We should talk sometime soon.”
He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to say. Certainly nothing too heavy, just wanted to make sure she understood that he was in this. Them. At whatever pace she needed to move.
“Good talk or bad talk?”
“A you’re important to me, gorgeous, and I want to make sure you know that so we can move forward if and when you’re ready talk.”
“Oh. One of those talks.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant.
“You okay?”
She turned her face back toward the sun. “You’re right, we should talk at some point. There are things…before we can… I need you to know…” Her mumbled words faded to nothing.
He rested his hands on her shoulders. “Hey. If and when you’re ready encompasses everything. Whatever it is you need to tell me can wait until you want to.”
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to want to,” she whispered. “I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to look at me the same once I do.”
He couldn’t think of a single thing she would tell him that would change the way he felt. But he also understood that she had to process that her own way in her own time. He tapped a finger under her chin. “When you’re ready, we’ll work through it together.”
They hiked through the morning, stopping for lunch, then heading toward where they would be rafting for a couple of hours this afternoon before stopping for the evening. Once again, Sam and Eva were eating up all the attention being given to them by the Dempsey brothers. Barb and Francis enjoyed their company too.
But who wouldn’t enjoy the company of two handsome outdoor experts?
The group would’ve moved much more quickly if Noah and Tanner didn’t stop to answer all the questions and point out different plants and animals along the way, but no one seemed to mind. One conversation about bears got poor Eva a little nervous, so Noah had to take Sam to the side so they could finish while Tanner distracted Eva with a caterpillar on a tree.
Marilyn could’ve gone without seeing the racer snake a couple dozen feet from them, but Sam—okay, and Tanner and Noah—had thought it was pretty cool. At least it had slithered in the other direction.
Noah and Tanner’s theme was clear for everyone they were guiding—respect nature. Nature wasn’t always gentle or pretty, but it was always something to be respectful of.
They were about thirty minutes from the rafting point when Noah stopped and pointed out a group of marmots lying out on a rock, far enough from the humans not to feel threatened. The guys passed around the binoculars so everyone could take a closer look at the large ground squirrels.
Tanner helped Eva hold the binoculars so she could see. “Marmots are pretty cool. They eat grass and flowers and live in groups of between ten and twenty. During warm weather, they pretty much spend all day eating and lying out in the sun, getting fat.”
Which was better than standing there yelling “Alan!” like in those YouTube videos.
Sam wasn’t impressed. “Sounds kind of boring.”
“The amazing thing about marmots is that they hibernate over half their lives,” Tanner said. “They’re underground at least six months out of every year, living inside a hole, just trying to survive.”
Eva looked at the guys, eyes wide. “They stay inside a hole for six months? They don’t come out to eat or anything?”
Tanner tapped her nose. “Nope. They just hunker down, breathe in and out, and survive. That’s it.”
Sam and Bree were both murmuring something, but Marilyn wasn’t really listening.
She was a marmot.
God, how depressing was that? Spending half her life living in a hole, just trying to survive. That was basically the very definition of what she’d done for the duration of her marriage. Even worse, it was what she was still doing by hiding the facets of her past from Noah.
Breathe in, breathe out, survive. Stay in a hole. Hide.
It was pathetic.
Noah spoke, looking at her, even though he was addressing Sam’s statement. “I don’t think marmots are boring at all. I think they’re pretty amazing. They don’t really have any true defense mechanisms like other animals do, and it’s just sheer strength of will that keeps them alive during the winter. They survive because they are determined to. That’s something to be respected.”
She looked away. Did he really feel that way?
It was time to tell him the truth about what had happened to her. What she had allowed. Even if it meant she lost Noah before they even really had the chance to start, she had to do it.
“All right,” Tanner said. “Let’s get going. We’ve got about another mile until we get to the rafts.”
She could hear Sam talk to Noah and Tanner, complaining about how calm the water was and how they probably never rafted in such baby water when they were kids. The men quickly dispelled that misconception, announcing they had learned to raft in this very river when they were about Sam’s age. Suddenly Sam couldn’t wait to get in the water.
Like they’d done everything else, Tanner and Noah carefully explained the logistics of rafting before they got in. Tanner pulled the map out of his backpack and showed everyone exactly where they’d be going.
“We’ll take the left at this second fork. Farther downriver is where the rapids get a little more exciting than what we’re looking for today.” He winked at Sam. “
But maybe soon. If it’s okay, Bree Cheese and me and the two rugrats will go down with the majority of the supplies. Noah will have the honor of escorting the rest of the lovely ladies.”
Soon they were on their way. The water was perfect—enough current to pull them along but nothing even remotely dangerous. Marilyn loved to be able to sit next to Noah and hear all the laughter from the other raft. The kids kept demanding Noah and Tanner race, and they took turns paddling hard to get in front of each other.
They came up on the second fork about thirty minutes later, and Noah pulled ahead of Tanner and the kids for real. “We’ll get to the landing area first so we can help them if they need it.”
She could hear Sam’s whine about losing the race, and Tanner’s assurance there would be another chance someday. As they passed the fork, Marilyn could see why Noah wanted to be ready to help them. The speed of the water had definitely picked up.
Noah handed her a rope, then deftly maneuvered the craft until it was sliding on a path of sandy shore. “Jump out and pull us as hard as you can while we have momentum.”
She did, holding onto the rope and running farther onto the shore, dragging the raft with her as far as she could. She turned, grinning at Noah, who was smiling back at her.
And was just in time to hear a terrible screeching noise from farther upstream. Her heart pounded as she realized it was from the kids’ raft.
A second later, Marilyn screamed as the raft suddenly jerked, the front end collapsing, hurling the kids and Bree and Tanner all into the rapid water and pulling them out of sight.
16
Noah muttered a low curse as he saw his brother, Bree, and the kids disappear into the cold water. What the fuck just happened?
Marilyn was already pushing at their raft on the land, trying to get it back into the river. “They’re in the water! We have to get to them!”
He jumped out to stop her, not surprised that she was making progress at moving the craft, despite its dead weight. She wanted to get to her kids.