Missy’s lower lip trembled. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not fair. At first, I thought you were causing trouble because you were unhappy living with Mark and Candace. I felt sorry for you. But that’s not so anymore. You run away or hide just to make Lewis come and find you. Well, that trick is not going to work again, so you might as well knock it off.”
The little girl’s expression of pure misery tore at Stacy’s heart, yet she didn’t dare soften her approach. Not if she expected Missy to stop running away. Every time the child disappeared there was an increased chance she’d fall victim to a real tragedy. Stacy couldn’t allow that to happen. She loved her too much.
There was also the matter of her personal predicament. Stacy loved Gray, too. She’d fallen for him against all odds and now she was going to have to make a clean break. Missy’s obedience was the key to doing that successfully.
Unrequited love had already driven Stacy to the point where she’d actually toyed with the idea of giving up the job she knew the Lord had blessed her with. A career-wrecking attitude like that was so unacceptable it scared her.
Missy had begun to cry. “Please, Stacy, don’t be mean to me. I love Lewis.”
Deeply moved, Stacy reached for Missy’s hand. Deciding what she ought to do had been easy compared to doing it. She knew she should tell the little girl she didn’t care about her. That she didn’t ever want to see her again. She simply couldn’t speak those hurtful words.
The small hand gripped hers with complete trust. When Missy said, “I love you, too, Stacy,” there was no going back. Moisture filled Stacy’s eyes. Her heart overflowed with compassion. She took Missy in her arms. This child’s innocent love was not going to be rejected the way hers had been so many times.
“I love you, too, Missy,” she said as tears slid silently down her cheeks. “Very much. That’s why I want you to promise me you won’t ever, ever run away again.” She sniffled, holding the six-year-old away so their eyes could meet. “Promise?”
Missy nodded solemnly. “Don’t cry, Stacy. I promise.”
Pulling her close again, Stacy kissed the grimy little tear-streaked cheek without hesitation. “Good. I believe you mean that. I’m going to trust you to keep your word.”
“Will I get to see Lewis and the puppies? I asked Jesus if I could, too. Was that okay?”
Closing her eyes and drawing a deep, settling breath, Stacy surrendered. She knew what the Lord wanted her to say. What was more important, her own peace of mind or the love and trust of an innocent child? She couldn’t put herself first when Missy’s future might depend on finding someone—or something—to love and accept her unconditionally.
“It was fine, Missy,” she said softly. “I love Jesus, too, and I know he’d want us to stay friends, no matter what happens. I’ll bring one of the puppies to visit you as soon as it’s old enough to leave its mommy. Okay?”
“Okay!” Missy grinned through her tears. “Lewis, too?”
“Lewis, too.” Stacy didn’t know how she was going to manage such a challenging feat with all the opposition awaiting her at both Payne houses, but she’d think of something, even if it meant confronting everybody. The trick would be choosing a time to visit when Gray was elsewhere.
Emotionally overburdened, yet calm in the assurance she’d made the right decision, Stacy led the way out of the cave. Shading her eyes from the bright, rising sun she spotted Gray coming toward them. Her heart clenched.
He seemed weary until he looked up and saw her. Then the usual vigor returned to his steps. Stacy stood very still, watching him approach and taking in every detail of the poignant sight so she could store it away as a treasured memory. By the time he reached her, she was so moved she could hardly speak.
“Your turn,” Gray said with a smile. He ducked into the cave as she and the little girl walked away, hand in hand.
His easy, unassuming manner, in view of her recent decision to stop seeing him, gave Stacy the strongest pang of loss she’d ever felt. And she’d felt plenty of others.
Where love was concerned, she was a regular pro at losing.
Stacy would have brooded if she hadn’t had more pressing problems to occupy her mind. The winds that had brought the end of the storm had also toppled trees. The ravines they’d used as trails on their way out of camp were now filled with fast-flowing water. And the carpet of dead leaves on the forest floor was a slippery mess, making it much more dangerous, especially on a slope.
Beyond the natural obstacles there was an additional complication. For the first time since she’d gotten lost at fourteen, Stacy wasn’t sure which way was home. Normally, she’d have simply radioed for assistance when she’d discovered her cell phone battery was dead, but they’d left the church camp in such a hurry she hadn’t thought to assign her spare, short-range radio to anyone.
Slipping as she started up a soggy incline, she scrambled to right herself and paused to look back at her companions. Lewis had taken a place at the rear of the group. He plodded along, tail down instead of wagging. Missy was having trouble walking at all, let alone making decent progress. Gray had offered to carry her but she’d stubbornly declined.
“Stay down there,” Stacy called. “All of you. I’m going to climb this ridge and see what I can see.”
Gray shaded his eyes to peer up at her. “I knew we were wandering. You’re lost, aren’t you?”
“No.” Her conscience intervened. “Well, not exactly. I’m just a little turned around, that’s all. I’ll get my bearings soon. It was the detours around all the fallen trees that confused me.”
“There were only three of them,” he countered. “James is probably so worried he’s called in the Marines by how.” Frustration with the entire situation drove him to add, “What do you do in a real disaster?”
As far as Stacy was concerned, this was a real disaster. She was marooned in the forest with a grumpy man, a helpless child, and a weary old dog. Which meant she was everybody’s best chance for survival. Except that she happened to be lost at the moment, a condition she was about to remedy.
Gray watched her climb. Every time her foot slipped or her balance wavered on the steep, rocky hillside, his breath caught and his irrational anger at himself built. He never should have let her go up there alone.
That ridiculous thought made him snort in self-derision. There was no way he could have stopped an obstinate woman like Stacy Lucas from doing anything, short of hog-tying her. And even then she’d probably have figured out a way to escape. She’d made a career of being a loner. Nothing he said or did was going to change that. He just wished he didn’t care so much.
Breathless, Stacy reached the top of the ridge. From there she could see the aircraft warning beacon on the bell tower at the church camp. It was due south. All she had to do was figure out how to get them all there and her troubles would be over. Well, almost, she added, thinking of her promise to Missy and its ties to the Payne family.
“The cares of the day are sufficient,” she quoted, knowing it was part of a scripture that dealt with not worrying ahead of time.
An ironic thought occurred to her. Here she was, lost and looking like a fool to the one person whose opinion mattered to her, and once again she’d failed to ask for divine help.
“Oh, Father,” Stacy began. “I’ll never learn, will I? I go around dealing with life on my own and mess it up over and over again, when you’re right here, anytime I need you. What’s wrong with me? Am I dense or something?” Deciding she was, she added, “Please, help me with that, too.”
She was still talking to God and planning ahead as she started down the slope to lead her little party home. They’d have to circle the base of the hills and cut across a couple of low-lying fields. Happily, the trek wouldn’t be as arduous as she’d feared. If all went well, in an hour or so they’d be close enough to the camp that they might even be spotted by the staff. After that, she’d just—
Stacy’s heel hit an exceptionally slimy pa
tch of moss clinging to a flat, rock ledge.
“Oh, nooo!” Her arms flailed. Both feet shot out from under her. Airborne, she had nothing to cling to, no way to stop her fall, so she drew in her limbs, protected her head and neck as best she could, and rolled with it.
Gray raced toward the base of the hill. If anything had happened to Stacy he’d—
Lewis shot past him in a blur, almost knocking him down. Stupid dog! He was liable to make things worse—if that was possible.
Stacy came to rest with a groan. Dizzy and groggy, she lay still for a few moments, taking inventory of her condition, then slowly sat up. Other than being covered with mud, leaves, and who-knows-what-else, she felt pretty good, considering.
Lewis was beside her, whining. “It’s okay, boy. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” She wiped her hands on her hopelessly soiled jeans before reaching out to pet him. The look in his brown eyes told her there was something wrong.
Gray slid to a halt at her feet. “You okay?”
“I think so. But Lewis—”
“You slammed into him when you hit the bottom,” Gray said. “I didn’t like the way he fell. It looked awkward.”
“Oh, no.” Ignoring her own bumps and bruises, Stacy rolled to her knees and began to go over the dog gently, inch by inch. When she got to his right foreleg, he cried out and tried to rise.
She held him down. “No, Lewis. Stay. Stay. That’s a good boy.” Taking great care, she talked softly as she probed the sore leg, mostly to let the dog hear her calm voice. “It’s probably broken. I can’t be sure because it’s not a compound fracture. The problem is, I can’t let him walk anymore. If his leg is broken, putting weight on it can make it worse, even if I splint it first.”
Gray hovered over her, his brow wrinkled in a worried scowl. “What do you plan to do?”
“Carry him,” she said without hesitation.
His resounding, “Hah!” had so much force everyone else jumped. In the background, Missy started sniffling.
Gray reached out a helping hand to Stacy. “You haven’t even tried to walk yourself yet. Can you get up?”
“Of course, I can.” Rather than show how shaky she still was, she chose to accept his assistance.
He pulled her to her feet effortlessly, then quickly released his hold. “Okay. Prove it. Show me.”
Determined to do just that, Stacy stood straight, set aside her temporary discomfort and took a step. The first one was fine. The second told her that the prior break in her thigh bone was acting up. In spite of her efforts to hide her distress, she favored that side. Judging by the way Gray was looking at her, he’d noticed.
“I’m fine. Really,” Stacy insisted. “I limp sometimes because of an old injury. That has nothing to do with the fall I just took.”
“Missy told me about your leg. How badly does it hurt?”
“It’s just a little stiff, that’s all.”
“Right.”
Clearly, he doubted her ability to handle Lewis by herself. Truth to tell, Stacy agreed with him. The strained muscles in her leg were killing her. And Lewis was no lap dog. He weighed at least sixty pounds. He was also in misery, which meant she’d have to take care not to jostle him too much. It was going to be a long walk back to camp unless she could persuade Gray to do things her way.
“I’ll stay here with Lewis while you and Missy go on,” Stacy said firmly. “When you get back to the camp, you can send help. It isn’t far. I’ll draw you a map. I know for sure where we are now.”
Gray wasn’t convinced. “What if Missy and I got lost? Or weren’t able to find you again? What would you do then?”
“Probably give up and pray, which is what I should have done already,” she said cynically.
“Not a bad idea. However, I happen to believe that God also expects us to make sensible choices in the first place. I don’t assume He’ll bail me out of every stupid predicament I get myself into. Neither should you.”
Stacy was incredulous. “You think that’s what I do? Okay. Like what?”
“Oh, like refusing to admit when you were lost. Or leaving the camp without arranging for radio contact first.” He half smiled. “Or getting steamed at me for falling asleep in the cave last night, even though I behaved myself.”
He would have to rub it in, and with a know-it-all smile, to boot. Stacy was at the end of her rope. “Listen, mister. My favorite dog is hurt, my leg is killing me and I’m stuck in the wilderness with you and the cause of all this. The only mistake I made was coming here in the first place. I’ve already warned Missy and now I’m telling you. Don’t call me anymore. I won’t be available and neither will Lewis. Period. Got that?”
“Got it,” he said, feigning indifference. “Now, if you’re through lecturing me, splint the dog’s leg and let’s all get going. I’m not about to spend another night here.”
“Well, at least I have that to be thankful for,” she muttered under her breath. Choosing a straight, sturdy stick she bound it to Lewis’s leg with gauze from the first-aid kit in her pack.
As soon as the doctoring was done, Missy caressed the old dog’s head and leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry, Lewis. I’ll get you a special treat.” She grinned. “I know. Ice cream! Would you like that? I’ll bet you would, ’cause I know we both love the same stuff.”
Giggling, she peeked up at Stacy, then looked from her to the man who was standing close by. “You should be nice to Uncle Gray, too, you know. He’s my bestest friend.” She quickly added, “Besides you, Lewis. I love you bunches.”
Gray was fighting the strong urge to scoop Stacy up in his arms and carry her all the way back to camp, regardless of the indignation he knew he’d face if he dared suggest it. It distressed him greatly to see her favoring her leg and trying to cover up the obvious pain. If she tried to tote that monster of a dog, the way she’d vowed she would, he knew she’d never make it. And she’d hurt herself trying because she’d be too hardheaded to admit defeat.
That conclusion left him no choice. As soon as Stacy hefted her pack, he said, “You carry that. I’ll bring the dog.”
Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Not about something as serious as that. I’m the logical one, remember? I insist.”
“Why? Because you think I can’t do it?”
“No. Because Missy’s too small and you’re needed to lead us out of here. Besides, the dog deserves somebody who can carry him with the least amount of suffering. Me.”
“Oh? Well, what if he decides to bite you when you pick him up?”
“Believe me, I’ve thought of that. I have the feeling he’ll accept my help. He’s quit growling at me every time I go near you or Missy, so he must have mellowed some.”
“He’s also hurt,” Stacy reminded him. “That will make him less predictable.”
Like his mistress, Gray mused. “Well, we won’t know unless we try, will we?” Moving slowly, purposefully, he approached the place where his niece comforted the dog.
“It’s okay, Uncle Gray,” the girl said. “I told Lewis to like you.”
“Oh, good. Did he listen?”
“Uh-huh. He’s a good boy.” She leaned down to plant a wet kiss on his furry, golden cheek. “Aren’t you, Lewis?”
Gray was encouraged to see the dog’s tail thump the ground. He spoke aside to Stacy. “I think it’ll be best if you help me lift him so he knows it’s okay with you. If we’re going to have any trouble, it’ll probably be when we first move him.”
“I agree.”
Approaching, she edged Missy out of the way and took her place, speaking in sugary tones. “Okay, Lewis, now be good. Mr. Payne is going to pick you up and I don’t want you to take a piece out of him. At least not until we’re back in civilization. Okay?”
“Oh, that was sweet,” he remarked. “Thanks a heap.”
“You’re welcome.” If Stacy hadn’t been so worried about the dog, she’d have chuckled. “I’ll lift his head and ne
ck,” she said. “You slide your arms under his body. It’ll be easier to carry him if you support the middle and let both ends hang loose.”
Gray did as he was told. Coordinating his efforts with Stacy’s, he straightened while she continued to murmur calm reassurances to Lewis. The animal obviously trusted her completely. Hopefully, some of that trust had rubbed off on him. There was only one way to find out.
“Okay. Let go,” Gray ordered. “Back off. Let’s see what he does.”
Nodding, Stacy released her hold. Lewis immediately swiveled his head to look up at the man who still held him. Before Stacy could intervene, the dog’s broad tongue shot out to give Gray’s face an amiable slurp! Missy giggled.
Gray realized he’d been holding his breath. “Whew! He had me worried when he looked at me like that. I was already planning what I’d tell the emergency room doctor.”
Temporarily speechless and trying to recover from Lewis’s surprising change of heart, Stacy just stared. Since she and Gray had been at odds so often, she’d assumed the dog’s attitude would reflect that mood. It was a real shock to find that it didn’t.
She pulled a face as she shouldered her pack. What a disgusting development.
Clearly, Lewis had defected.
Chapter Fifteen
Gray’d had trouble negotiating the thick forest without jostling Lewis’s injured leg. Now that they were on flatter ground he was starting to feel more confident, even though his arms were about to give out. “I told James to give us till noon today before he called for a full search. Think we might get there in time to stop him?”
Stacy looked at her watch, then at him. “Almost. How are you holding up?”
“I’m hanging in there. I wouldn’t have believed this dog was so heavy by looking at him.”
“He’s solid muscle, even at his age. I keep all my dogs in top condition.” Her smile was demure but condescending. “Maybe you should start working out with them.”
The Troublesome Angel Page 16