Paradox Valley

by Gerri Hill

  “Out at the farm,” Jean said, “we never had a ball for him. So he’d bring us sticks or pinecones or, yes, even rocks. Hal and I were too old to keep him entertained, though.” Her voice faltered a bit with the mention of Hal’s name, but there was still a little smile on her face as she watched Lucky in the water.

  One more toss of a rock, then Corey turned away from the creek and took up the reins on the white stallion she rode. She remembered Jean’s earlier warning that he’d tossed Carl Milstead into the creek once. They’d have to cross the creek now and she wondered if she’d end up soaking wet before it was over.

  “Let’s head out,” she said.

  Butch again helped Jean while Dana held the horse, then they too climbed back in their saddles. Butch crossed the creek first, pulling two of the extra horses behind him. She followed, hoping no one saw the tight grip she had on the saddle as her horse ducked his head several times, his nose touching the water. But she made it across without incident, and she allowed herself to release a relieved sigh.

  She glanced up at the sun, noting that they were heading northwest now. She shielded her eyes, then slipped her sunglasses back on. She kicked her horse, urging him into a faster trot. Now that they were close to the helicopter, she was anxious to get there. Lucky ran beside her, his tongue hanging out, and she swore there was a smile on his face. She imagined this was the most activity the young dog had had in his life and he appeared to be enjoying the trip.

  She glanced behind her, seeing that the others had also picked up the pace, even Jean, who was bouncing in the saddle, both hands gripping the saddle horn tightly. Dana appeared to be having no problems on Gretchen as she pulled the other mare behind her. She nodded and gave Corey a quick smile.

  It took them a good while to reach the helicopter, and she assumed it had been farther away than it appeared. She stopped several yards away from it and the others did as well. When Lucky would have gone to investigate, she called him back.

  “Stay here,” she murmured, touching the dog’s head. “Let me take a look first,” she said to Butch.

  She walked closer, her boots crunching over rocks, her eyes darting around, looking for signs of the crew. They wouldn’t have been able to survive the crash, she knew. There was evidence of a fire, but it hadn’t consumed the craft, which was odd. Still, there should be bodies.

  She stepped over a twisted piece of metal, peering into the remains of the cockpit. Hard to tell if that was blood she was seeing, but she assumed that it was. But where was the crew?

  “Well?” Dana called.

  She turned around and held up her hand, signaling them to stay put. “No crew. I want to check the perimeter for tracks.”

  “Been a few days…and we had rain the other night,” Butch warned.

  She nodded as she walked away from the wreckage, her eyes glued to the ground around it. As Butch had said, any tracks would most likely have been washed away in the rainstorm. But if the crew wasn’t here, Sutter’s squad must have made it to the wreckage. They would have taken the bodies with them.

  But where the hell was the squad?

  She blew out a frustrated breath, then walked back to the others with a shake of her head.

  “Nothing.”

  “No bodies?” Butch asked. “You think they could have survived that?”

  She shook her head. “No. Most likely the other squad found the wreckage before me.”

  “If they were on foot and we’re on horseback, what are the chances they would have beaten you here?” Dana asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. They left a day after me,” she said. “But maybe from satellite images they were able to spot the wreckage so they knew exactly where to go. I feel like we’ve been riding all over the damn place. Wouldn’t have been hard to beat us here.”

  “True.”

  “So now what?” Butch asked.

  Corey sighed. Yeah…now what? Look for the so-called meteor? How in the hell was she supposed to find that out here? It was blind luck that they found the helicopter in the first place. What were the chances she’d stumble upon the…well, whatever the hell it was that landed out here? She looked over at Dana. Not to mention she had the safety of these three civilians to worry about. No, the best thing would probably be to head back to Jean’s place. They would have shelter there, they would have food. And it would be safer than being out here.

  “I guess I need to get you back. At least to Jean’s,” she said. “My assignment is to find the meteor.”

  “I thought you were convinced it wasn’t a meteor,” Butch said.

  “Wait a minute,” Dana said as she walked closer to her. “You mean, leave us at Jean’s and then you’re heading out again?”

  Corey nodded. “You’ll be safer there. Maybe you could go on to Paradox. I’m sure Anna Gail—”

  “No.” Dana stared at her. “We all stay together. You’re not dumping us off and then heading back out here alone. That’s crazy.”

  “What’s crazy is having the three of you out here with me when we don’t know what the hell we’re looking for. Besides, we don’t have much food left. My supplies were for one person, not four,” she said. “My mission is to—”

  “Well, fuck your mission,” Dana said loudly. “Miss Jean shot a man who looked like her husband and he didn’t bleed. We burned his body, for God’s sake, because you were afraid it wasn’t just a body, remember?” She turned and pointed at Butch. “And he freaked out and attacked you—and me—when he was near the body. Whatever the hell is going on out here, I won’t feel safe at Miss Jean’s house,” she said, her voice nearly quivering now, “not if you’re not there.”

  God. She took her cap and sunglasses off and rubbed her hair vigorously, trying to decide what to do. Dana was right. She couldn’t leave them there alone.

  She slipped her cap back on and met Dana’s frightened gaze. She finally nodded. “Well, I guess we’ll be eating rabbit for dinner then.” She was surprised by the quick, tight hug Dana gave her.

  “I’m on a diet,” Dana murmured. When she pulled away, Corey could see the relief in her eyes. “Thank you,” Dana whispered.

  Corey nodded, then turned to the others. “I guess we head back to the creek.”

  Butch looked at her sheepishly. “I’m sorry that I, you know, freaked out and attacked you.”

  Corey slapped his shoulder as she walked past him to her horse. “Not your fault.” She paused to glance at Jean before getting on her horse. “How you holding up?”

  Jean nodded. “I think Dana’s right. We should stay together.” Then the corners of her eyes crinkled up as she smiled. “I like rabbit. Tastes like chicken.”

  Corey felt some of the tension leave her as she laughed. Taking the three of them with her probably wasn’t the wisest decision, but it was the right one.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  It was a bit early to be stopping for the day, but since they’d found the helicopter, Corey’s sense of urgency faded a little. Her uneasiness seemed to grow, however. Back at the creek, they investigated the previous campsite they’d found. Most likely, Hal and his group had camped there several days ago. They’d also most likely collected any available firewood as none was to be found.

  “So they camped here, then were heading back home,” Butch said, looking down the creek. “The camp where we found the horses, though, there were only four bedrolls.”

  “Four bedrolls and three horses,” she said. She glanced over at Jean. “Hal was on foot?”

  Jean nodded. “He said he’d left Daisy by the barn.” Jean patted the neck of her horse. “Obviously that was a lie. He came walking up in the front, like he’d come from the road.”

  If Hal was in his mid-seventies, like Jean, there was no way he could have made it all the way back home on foot. Not that fast. Of course, it wasn’t really Hal, was it?

  “What are you thinking?” Dana asked.

  Corey shook her head. “Nothing. Everything.” She got back on her ho
rse. “Let’s keep going. There’s no firewood here anyway.” Dana still stared at her and Corey winked at her, trying to set her mind at ease. “We’ve still got to catch a rabbit, you know.”

  Dana rolled her eyes. “Again with the rabbit,” she murmured.

  * * *

  Dana sat down next to Jean, who was sitting on a large rock. Even though it wasn’t dark yet, the fire was burning brightly. Fortunately, there’d been no luck finding a rabbit, and they’d shared the last sandwich and two containers of the meals that Corey had. If they were out much longer, then yes, Dana would be forced to eat a rabbit. Sad really, since she knew that Paradox Creek was teeming with trout. She’d take fresh trout over a bunny any day. Shame that they hadn’t thought to bring fishing gear along.

  She watched as Butch strolled along the creek, his gaze shifting up toward the ridge several times. She glanced over at Corey, who was also watching him.

  “He’s acting a little weird,” she said finally.

  Corey turned to her. “Yeah, he is. I hate to say it, but he’s got that look in his eyes again. Like when we were in the barn.”

  “Great,” she said dryly.

  “When we keep watch tonight, do you mind taking a turn with him?”

  She nodded. “Okay.” Then, “Are you worried about him?”

  “A little, yeah. He keeps looking up at that ridge,” Corey said. “Is it significant?”

  Dana shrugged then glanced at Jean. “Miss Jean? Is that ridge something out of the ordinary?”

  “That’s Baker’s Ridge,” she said. “Highest point in this area.” Her gaze slid to the ridge in question. “Back in the day, Ernest Baker and his brother—can’t remember his name—held off an Indian attack for three days up there at the top. By the time help came, the brother was dead and Ernest was found with no less than six arrows in him,” she said matter-of-factly. “He lived into his eighties.”

  Dana looked at Corey and exchanged a smile with her.

  “Miss Jean, can you see this ridge from your house?” Corey asked.

  Jean nodded. “There’s a view of it out the kitchen door. Why?”

  “During the storm the other night, it looked like the lightning was concentrated up on the ridge here. I remember thinking that no matter where the lightning strike originated, it seemed to be drawn to this particular ridge.”

  “Would something attract it?” Dana asked. “Like iron or something?”

  Corey shrugged. “I don’t know enough about it to say. Lightning being attracted to something could be a myth. But the lightning from that storm was definitely hitting the ridge.”

  The light had almost faded from the sky, and Corey added a few more sticks to the fire. They were camping in an area with lots of small trees and scrub brush. There’d been ample firewood, and they’d all helped gather it, even Jean. Corey again had her tent set up and Dana assumed they would take turns sleeping. Since she would take the shift with Butch, she wondered if Corey would offer to share the tent with Miss Jean.

  She looked over as Butch made his way back to the fire. She raised her eyebrows at him.

  “What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been a little standoffish,” she said.

  He squatted down beside the fire. “I think there’s something up on the ridge,” he said quietly.

  “Like what?” Corey asked.

  “Don’t know. Just…something,” he said vaguely.

  Dana met Corey’s eyes across the fire, wondering what she was thinking. She didn’t have to wonder long.

  “Maybe we should ride up there tomorrow…take a look,” Corey suggested.

  Butch jerked his head up. “Yeah. We should take a look.” He stood. “We can head out right now. We can—”

  “How about we wait until morning?” Corey said. “Let’s get some rest, then we’ll check it out in the morning.”

  That seemed to pacify him, and he nodded. “Okay. Yeah. We’ll check it out in the morning.”

  “Why don’t you get some sleep,” Corey suggested. “I’ll take the first shift.”

  “I’ll stay up with you,” Jean said.

  Dana saw Butch hesitate, so she stood up too. “Come on,” she said to him. “Let’s sleep in the tent. It makes me feel a little safer.”

  * * *

  After Dana and Butch went inside the tent, Corey turned to Jean. “If you’re tired, I’ll be okay by myself.”

  Jean shook her head. “My sleep is filled with dreams I’d just as soon not have.” She motioned to Lucky, who was lying beside Corey. “He seems to have taken a liking to you.”

  Corey reached out and ran her hand across his fur several times. “I never had a dog. I think I would have wanted one just like him.”

  “Your folks wouldn’t let you?”

  Corey placed another stick on the fire. “No. I didn’t understand it at the time. My mother always made some excuse as to why I couldn’t have one. When I got older, I realized the excuses were only excuses. My mother didn’t want a dog, but she didn’t want to be the bad guy, so she made up other reasons.”

  “When my boys were young, we had a couple of dogs running around. Barn cats too. The youngest, Johnny, he loved that old ugly mutt named Bruno. Never knew a boy could cry as much as he did when that old dog died.” Jean sighed. “When it was just Hal and me…well, we didn’t give a thought to having a dog around. We had enough to handle with the farm animals that we kept.”

  “Where did Lucky come from?”

  “The Bensons had a momma dog,” Jean said. “They brought two of the puppies over one day and next thing I knew, this fat black thing was in my lap nibbling on my fingers,” she said with a laugh. “You should have seen the look on Hal’s face when he realized that we were keeping him.”

  “Benson? Is that one of the guys who went out with Hal?” she asked.

  Jean nodded. “Yes. Curtis. Their place is farther out east of us.” Jean stared at her, her gaze thoughtful. “You think any of them made it back home?”

  Corey hesitated only a second. “No. I don’t think so. Where we found the horses…there was a lot of blood. I think they met with…with foul play,” she said cautiously, not wanting to upset Jean.

  “I wonder if any of them made it back, though…like my Hal did,” Jean said, her voice little more than a whisper.

  “I hope not, Miss Jean.”

  Jean’s face was solemn as she nodded. “I surely do hope not too.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  For the first time in her life, Dana was afraid…afraid of Butch. Or maybe afraid for him. As soon as Corey had gotten them up to take watch, Butch had grabbed his rifle and made his way to the creek. Each night the moon was a little brighter, and she could make out his features. His back was to her, his gaze fixed on what she assumed was the ridge. It was too dark to see it but it was out there…and it was almost as if it were calling to Butch.

  She’d huddled as close to the fire as she could, Corey’s gun gripped tightly in her hand. When coyotes started howling close by, she’d nearly jumped out of her skin. The coyotes seemed to break whatever spell Butch had been under, and he made his way back to the fire. When he sat down, he didn’t say a word. She admitted she was afraid and she came very close—several times—to getting up and waking Corey. But she knew that Corey’s shift had lasted much longer than theirs would. So she stifled her fear, telling herself there was nothing to fear in the first place. This was Butch, for God’s sake.

  And now, as daylight was slowly creeping over the valley, the new day couldn’t come fast enough. In fact, she wanted it to come so badly that she got up, startling Butch in the process. She made her way over to the tent, smiling slightly as she found Lucky lying beside it, as if keeping guard.

  She bent down and petted his head, then reached inside, touching Corey’s shoulder. Corey jumped, her eyes wide.

  “It’s just me,” Dana whispered.

  “What’s wrong?”

 
“It’s almost daylight,” she said. “And…I’m scared,” she admitted.

  Corey looked past her to where Butch sat. As they watched him, he got to his feet, walking aimlessly back toward the creek, his gaze lifted up to the west…and the ridge.

  “He hasn’t said a single word the whole time we’ve been up,” she said.

  Corey sat up and rubbed her face with both hands.

  “You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” Dana asked unnecessarily.

  Corey gave her a half smile. “Don’t have time for that, I’m afraid.” She looked over at Jean, who was watching them. “Did we wake you?”

  “I’m always up with the chickens,” Jean said. “Now’s no different.”

  Dana stood and got out of the way as Corey crawled out of the tent. She straightened up, raising both arms over her head in a big stretch. Her eyes were closed and Dana watched her, noting the smooth skin on her face, the lips that were turned up slightly in a smile. She wondered if they’d met under different circumstances, would she still find Corey attractive?

  “What?”

  Dana blinked, finding Corey staring at her. She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  She went back and got the fire going, thankful that there was still enough coffee. The supplies they’d gotten from Anna Gail’s store were dwindling, but the bag of ground coffee was still half-full. She smirked. Or half-empty, she thought.

  Miss Jean came over, holding her hands out to the flames. “Sitting out here with the captain last night, I was a little chilled. The tent was nice,” she said.

  “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yes. Until those coyotes came by. Of course, they woke the captain too.”

  The sun wasn’t up yet, but dawn had replaced darkness and she could see around them. “Where is the captain?” she asked.