Bitter Wild

by Jennie Leigh

  Jack nodded. He had to stop himself from reaching out to her as she rubbed at her leg. Again, he wondered what had happened to her. She obviously had some kind of injury that was causing her a lot of pain. It occurred to Jack then that while it might be good news that Jester had lost some of his firepower and most of the other gear he’d stolen from Millie Briggs, they had a new problem to face. If Jester had crossed that bridge then he and Casey were going to have to do the same. That meant they were going to be on foot. How far would Casey be able to go on that leg of hers?

  Casey got to her feet and turned to the boy. “Jesse, I’m going to need your help.”

  The boy nodded and she continued. “We’ve got to go after him, but we can’t take the horses across the bridge. I need you to take them back to the ranger station.”

  Jesse looked like he wanted to refuse, but he didn’t say anything. Casey reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re scared, Jesse. That’s okay. I’m scared too. But I believe you can handle this. The man we’re after is on the other side of the ravine. You don’t need to worry about him.” She glanced at her watch, then back at the boy. “It’s just after twelve, now. You should be able to make it back to the station before nightfall. By now there should be someone there who can help you. When you get there, tell them everything that happened. Tell them where we are and that we’re crossing the bridge.”

  He nodded, but still looked anything but confident. Jack had never spent much time around children. He’d been an only child and didn’t have any friends with kids. He felt like a fool as he cleared his throat and tried to encourage the boy.

  “It’s never easy to face our fears, but you’ve already dealt with the worst of it. I’ve known a lot of federal agents who wouldn’t have dealt with this situation nearly as well as you have.”

  The boy held his gaze for a moment, then nodded once more, this time with more confidence. He turned back to Casey. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  Casey produced a pair of backpacks and filled them with everything they needed. She handed Jack one of them, then shrugged the other one onto her own shoulders. She fastened the snaps to keep it in place, then turned to the boy.

  “Take it slow and easy going down the ridge, Jesse.”

  He nodded. “I will.”

  She held the reins of her horse as the boy climbed into the saddle. Then she tied the other horse’s lead to the saddle horn, leaving it plenty of room to maneuver on the steep trail. The boy turned the horse around and Casey watched him for a few seconds before turning to face Jack.

  “Let’s go.”

  The ascent went faster this time since they weren’t constantly stopping to make sure they weren’t walking into a trap. Even so, by the time they reached the bridge the blue sky was gone and the wind was blowing hard enough that they both took off their hats and stuffed them into their backpacks. Casey stared at the bridge and felt her gut clench. It was swaying back and forth with the wind. The bridge was anything but modern. There had been talk of replacing it for years, but nothing had ever been settled on. Everyone agreed that something more structurally sound needed to be put in, but no one could agree what sort of bridge ought to be built. Meanwhile, this structure just kept getting older. Jack had stopped beside her. She glanced up at him as he posed a question.

  “Is that thing going to hold up?”

  “They check it regularly to make sure the ropes aren’t fraying.”

  He looked down at her. “That’s not exactly the answer I was hoping for.”

  She shrugged, then called to the dog. She pulled a harness out of her backpack then set about putting it on the animal. That done she used a length of rope to attach the dog to herself. Jack frowned at her.

  “Do you really think that’s a good idea? He’s what, a hundred and twenty pounds? If he goes over he’ll pull you down with him.”

  Casey lifted her eyes to Jack. “You worry about getting yourself across. Chance and I will be fine.”

  She turned back to the bridge and slowly began to move toward it. It was barely more than two feet wide. The main ropes that bore most of the weight ran up through a pair of supports and then down to anchors that had been driven into the ground. Casey had crossed this bridge a number of times in her life, though she’d never done so in this kind of wind. It was risky, to say the least. She turned back to face Jack.

  “Chance and I will go across first. Keep your hands on the ropes at all times. Don’t let go for any reason. It’s going to be tough to cross in this wind. From here it doesn’t look like the bridge is moving all that much. Once you get out to the middle, though, you’ll see just how bad it is. Be careful.”

  Jack nodded. “You, too.”

  She leaned down and patted the dog’s head. “Okay, Chance. Slow and easy.”

  The dog stepped out onto the bridge without the hesitation that Jack would have expected. It walked slowly toward the other side with Casey just a few feet behind. Jack found himself holding his breath as they reached the middle. The wind seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. He expected to see the dog slip off the narrow path at any moment. Finally, though, they made it to the other side. Casey gave the dog a hug, then turned to wave at him before shrugging out of her pack so she could put up the rope and harness. Jack carefully moved forward, trying not to look down at the water racing by more than five hundred feet below him.

  He’d never been afraid of heights before, but this situation made him hesitate for a few seconds. He lifted his gaze to find Casey watching him. She motioned for him to come across and he nodded, then swallowed his fear and stepped out onto the bridge. He gripped the large ropes that ran on either side of him. The entire bridge was vibrating. It felt like it was alive. He took another step and then another, slowly working his way toward the other side. The closer he got to the middle, the slower he moved. Out here, the wind was even more violent. The bridge seemed to undulate beneath him, as if it resented his weight and wanted to toss him off. Twice he nearly lost his footing. He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally passed the midpoint. That sigh came to an abrupt end as he felt a sudden vibration shudder along the left side of the bridge.

  Casey blinked as the bridge seemed to tremble. In the wind, it made sense for it to move, but this was different, somehow. She caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see one of the strands of the rope snap and begin to unravel. For a moment she was frozen with shock. Then she screamed at Jack to run as she rushed to take hold of the rope.

  Jack heard Casey scream and looked up. She grabbed hold of the rope with both hands. He felt something close to raw terror clutch him as he realized what was happening. He started running as the rope on the other side of the bridge suddenly began to fray as well. He was going to die. There was no way he’d reach the other side before the ropes broke.

  Casey saw the other side start to go and knew that in a matter of seconds, both ropes would snap. She looked up and met Jack’s gaze as he ran toward her. He wasn’t going to make it. Not unless she did something to help him. She felt panic threatening to choke her, but refused to give in to it. Instead she spotted Chance’s harness lying across her backpack. She’d left it there when she realized Jack was hesitating on the other side of the bridge. She grabbed the rope she’d unhooked from the harness and ran for the edge of the bridge.

  “Jack, stop!”

  It went against every fiber of his being to obey her demand. He took another step and managed to force himself to come to a halt. She had the rope gathered in a series of loose loops and swung it over her head.

  “Catch it and tie yourself on.”

  She let the rope go and he somehow found the strength to reach out to catch it as it arced toward him. He wrapped it around himself as he felt the bridge shudder again. He’d just gotten the rope knotted when he heard Casey scream at him to hold on. The bridge gave a wild heave and the right hand support rope snapped. Ja
ck instinctively grabbed hold of the other rope and looked up in time to see Casey wrap the rope tied to him around herself. He felt his gut clench when he realized what she was doing. He shook his head.

  “No, Casey! You can’t possibly hold me. I’ll pull you over.”

  She didn’t even bother to argue with him. “It’s going!”

  When the right main support snapped it caused the bridge to pitch in that direction. Almost immediately the smaller ropes that supported the wooden planks began to unravel as well. They were for stabilization. They were never meant to hold the weight of the bridge, much less him. He felt the wood shudder once, then twice as the bridge was put under more strain than it could bear. A moment later it finally gave way in one great rip. The main support of the left side of the bridge snapped and the ropes that held the planks in place broke almost at the same instant. He felt the planks drop completely away and he couldn’t keep from screaming as he fell. The rope around his waist pulled tight and he heard Casey scream. Then he slammed into the cliff wall so hard it knocked the breath out of his lungs. He gasped for air, then began to claw at the rocks as he felt himself sliding downward. Casey couldn’t hold his weight. If he didn’t find some kind of hold he was going to pull her to her death. The cliff was worn smooth by rain and wind and he was no rock climber. He couldn’t find purchase anywhere. Then, just as he thought they were both about to die, he came to a stop.

  He held his breath as he swung there for several moments. He carefully lifted his head to look up. All he could see was the sheer cliff and the rope disappearing over the side. He closed his eyes as he released his breath. He wasn’t dead. Somehow, Casey had managed to hold him. He breathed a silent prayer, then opened his eyes and focused on the rock wall directly in front of his face. Casey might be holding him, but there was no way in the world she’d be able to pull him up. He was going to have to climb.

  He reached out and ran his hand over the rock. Now that he wasn’t falling through space he could see and feel that the wall wasn’t nearly as smooth as he’d thought. There were countless little crags and crevices that might give him enough grip to haul himself upward. He looked up again. He was a good twenty-five or so feet below the edge of the cliff. It wasn’t going to be easy to climb that far. He focused on the rock and reached out to bury his fingers in a small crack. He’d never make it if he didn’t get started. The climb was long and slow. It took him several minutes just to move far enough to take some of the slack off the rope connecting him to Casey. He’d managed to move no more than three feet when he felt the slack in the rope tighten. He’d have called out to Casey if he hadn’t been using every ounce of strength he had to hang on. He paused a moment to catch his breath, then looked up when he heard Casey’s voice.

  “Jack, I’m going to try to keep tension on your line. At least if you slip you won’t lose the ground you’ve gained.”

  He couldn’t see her, but then he wouldn’t expect to. She’d have had to lean far out over the edge for him to catch sight of her. He spent a few more seconds resting, then again began the slow ascent. He had no idea how long it took him to make the climb. He’d stopped to rest several times, but even with the short breaks he was sure his strength would give out long before he reached the top. If Casey hadn’t kept calling out to him every few minutes, urging him on, demanding that he not give up, he would never have made it. By the time he did finally reach up to close his hand around the top edge of the cliff he was too exhausted to haul himself up over the edge.

  He heard Casey. “Hold on, Jack. Let me tie your rope off.”

  A moment later he felt her hand close around his wrist. “I’m going to put all my weight into it on the count of three.”

  She counted off and he used every last ounce of strength he possessed to push when she reached three. For one instant he seemed to hover just on the edge. Then he was falling forward. Casey landed on her back and groaned, then grunted as he landed on top of her. Jack sucked air into his lungs as his arms and legs trembled from the exertion he’d put on them. After a long moment, he managed to roll off Casey. They lay there, side by side, both of them breathing hard. Jack could barely believe he’d made it. He should have been dead. He would have been if it wasn’t for the woman beside him. He turned his head to stare at her. That was when he saw the tears streaming from her eyes. He forgot the weakness in his arms and legs. He ignored the aching in his hands. He sat up and leaned toward her, reaching out to touch her face.

  “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head. “I think my shoulder is dislocated.”

  He stared down at her and finally saw that she wasn’t using her left arm at all. It lay limp beside her and even through the thick layers of her jacket and clothes he could see that the shoulder wasn’t seated in its natural position. He lifted his gaze to hers. “What do you want me to do?”

  She fixed her brilliant amber eyes on him. “Put it back in place.”

  Jack had taken all the standard first aid classes. He could perform CPR and all the other traditional life-saving techniques. This, however, wasn’t something he’d been trained to do.

  “I don’t know how to do that, Casey.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and focused on him once more. “Help me sit up.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled her upright, but otherwise said nothing. After taking a few breaths she told him exactly what she wanted him to do. It took him two tries to get the shoulder back in a normal position. By the time it was done she was crying freely and Jack wanted to hit something. Instead he carefully put his arms around her and held her against his chest. They stayed that way for a long while. Jack didn’t let her go, in fact, until he felt a cold, wet nose pressing itself against his cheek. He looked up to find himself face to muzzle with her monster dog. Jack wondered if the animal was trying to push him aside. Then he blinked in surprise as the dog suddenly planted a wet tongue on his cheek. It backed away, then dropped to its haunches. Jack leaned back from Casey, dropping his gaze to her face.

  “Are you going to be okay?”

  Casey nodded. Her tears had stopped falling, though her lashes were still wet. He wanted to kiss her so badly that he ached. She’d held him in spite of a dislocated shoulder. He could only imagine the pain it must have caused her. She could have let him go. No one in the world would ever have blamed her if she had. Not even him. But she had endured the pain until he’d managed to start climbing and then she’d made sure he wouldn’t fall. He didn’t believe he’d ever known anyone with her courage.

  “You saved my life. Thank you doesn’t seem to be adequate.”

  She shook her head. “I’d have done the same for anyone else.”

  “Yes, I imagine you would have.” He fell silent, then finally said what was on his mind. “I don’t resent the fact that you’re a strong woman, you know. In fact I find it enticing. Distractingly so.”

  Casey felt a shiver work through her body that had nothing to do with the chill in the wind. “Jack-“

  He shook his head. “I’m not coming on to you. I just want you to know that I respect who you are.” He reached out and touched her face gently. “You’re a very special woman, Casey. I hope you know that.”

  She nearly kissed him then. Because she was still shaking with the terror that had gripped her the moment she realized she might lose him. And because in spite of all the reasons why it would be insane for them to have any sort of relationship, she wanted him to know that she thought he was special as well. They stared at each other, then he pulled away from her and climbed to his feet. He reached down to pull her up before walking over to examine the end of the massive support rope that had held up the bridge. Casey spoke from behind him.

  “It was cut. He knew we’d come after him and he cut the ropes just enough make them fray. I’d say it was a miracle they didn’t give way when Chance and I came across, especially in this wind.”

  Jack dropped the rope and turned to look at her. “Wh
at is this going to mean for us?”

  She shook her head. “John and the others will lose almost half a day coming up the ridge and then going back down again. Then it will take more time for them to get down to the lower bridge and back up this side. I’d say it means we’re looking at a day or so of lag between us and them, and that’s on top of the distance between us now.”

  She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, used a knife to rip it into strips, then tied one of the scraps to the nearest upright. Jack watched her with a frown. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m leaving a marker so they’ll know we made it across. If I don’t, they’ll panic when they see the bridge.”

  He nodded, then bent to lift her backpack off the ground. She turned around and reached out for it, but he shook his head. “The last thing you need is this thing on your shoulder. I’ll carry it.”

  The feminist in her wanted to argue. Maybe, if he hadn’t just said what he had, she would have. Instead she nodded and turned to walk away. They walked for almost two hours before veering off onto another trail. Casey marked it with one of the scraps of cloth. They reached another fork in the virtually nonexistent trail and she led them down the right fork. They’d marched through the increasingly cold wind for just over half an hour when she came to an abrupt halt. Jack watched her as she studied the ground, then moved off the trail to search the ground around a small cluster of trees. He heard her mutter a low curse.

  “What?”

  “He doubled back. Either he was deliberately laying a false trail or he got this far and realized he wanted to go the other way. Whatever his motive, he left the trail here and headed in a completely different direction.” She shook her head. “We’re going to have to stay with him. He might have decided to go off trail completely.”