“No way. I appreciate the thought, but I’m taking care of it.”
“At least let me use my employee discount.”
She peered at him for a few seconds, and he wasn’t sure if she would even accept that, but then she nodded. He gave the clerk his employee discount information.
When the woman realized who he was, she blushed. “I didn’t realize you were Josiah Witherspoon. So sorry, sir.” She hurried to finish the transaction.
As they were leaving, Josiah paused and looked at her nametag. “Pam, thank you for doing such a good job.”
As he left the store, pushing one of the carts full of items, he said to Ella, “I need to become more involved with my employees. Make sure they feel important. We’re growing, and I don’t know the new people working for me like I should.”
“How many are there?”
“Three hundred and two.”
“That’s a lot of faces.”
“I know their names on paper, but I’ve only dealt with the employee representatives.”
Ella started unloading her cart and putting the supplies in the back of the truck. “You could always do what David does and have a big shindig once a year.”
“Yeah, I love that picnic. The softball game is so much fun.” Robbie tossed the ground cloth into the pickup’s bed.
“It’s a good suggestion, and one of the many parks in Anchorage would be a great place to host it.”
The idea of having an annual celebration at the end of the summer season felt right. Since returning to Alaska, he’d held himself back from connecting with others, only stepping out of his comfort zone to help with Northern Frontier Search and Rescue, and even then, he often searched with just Buddy.
It was time to reconnect with the world again.
* * *
Ella stared out the window of David’s plane at the forest-covered island with mountains jutting up in the middle of it. It was green everywhere she looked. Beautiful. Although she hadn’t camped since she was a child, she was getting excited about it.
“We’re gonna stay here?” Robbie asked Josiah, her son’s eyes big as he took in the eastern shore. “Do people live here?”
“Some. Not many. Hunters and visitors come in the summer, though, so we may run into a few people. But essentially, we’re bringing in what we need and will take it back out, even our trash.”
David landed on the water of the gulf and steered the floatplane to shore. “I’m going to be back here on Sunday evening to take you all home. Six o’clock. Have fun.”
“Yippee, we’ve got two and a half days of camping.” Robbie pumped his fist into the air while Alex exited the seaplane, then Josiah.
Her son hopped down, splashing in the few inches of water David landed in. Robbie hurried toward Josiah.
“Are you ready for this?” David asked with a laugh.
“I’m relying on the others to know what to do. Robbie needs this time away, and I’m glad we know people who have camped a lot. See you on Sunday evening, and thanks for dropping us off.” Ella climbed out of the airplane as Josiah came back, minus his gear, to get the rest from the back of the plane.
Josiah placed his arms under her and carried her toward shore. “No sense in your boots getting wet. There’ll be enough times when we cross a stream.”
“Is that why you told me to bring more than three pairs of socks?”
“Smart woman.” He set her on the small beach, then returned to the plane to grab the inflatable boat packed in a duffel bag. When Josiah had retrieved all their provisions, he waved to David. “Last chance to go back to civilization.” Josiah planted himself next to her and watched as their friend took off.
“Is that what the boat is for? If we have an emergency, we can leave by paddling to the mainland.” Ella pointed to the left and in the distance, only miles away, she saw the outline of the Alaskan coast.
“I’m stashing the boat bag in the bushes. Since this isn’t Grand Central Station, I don’t think a thief will be walking around and stumble upon it, but I like to be prepared for emergencies.”
“We could have brought one of David’s SAR satellite phones.”
Josiah leaned close and placed his forefinger over his mouth. “Shh. I didn’t want Alex getting distracted with business. This is for her as much as Robbie. Besides, if someone goes missing, David would need the few he has for a search and rescue operation.” He dragged the duffel bag to the thick brush at the edge of the spruce forest lining the beach. “This will be a perfect place for the boat.”
“So no rivers to go down?” Ella asked, anxious but excited about this new experience.
“Nope.” He arranged the branches to hide the green bag. “Only a few streams. I have a place in mind to set up camp, and then we can explore from there.”
“Mom, are you ready? Alex has been here before, and she’s going to be the leader.”
“I’ll be right behind you.” Ella adjusted her backpack, glad the temperature was quickly nearing sixty degrees. Perfect hiking weather.
“And I’ll take up the rear,” Josiah whispered into her ear.
A shiver streaked down her neck and spine. The idea he was right behind her sent her heart beating faster.
Ella followed her son into the woods off the shore, the light dimming from the dense foliage surrounding her. As she hiked, the scent of the trees and vegetation infused the air, and the sounds of the birds calling echoed through the forest. As she inhaled the fresh smells and drank in her peaceful surroundings, serenity flowed through her. She hadn’t felt this in years, not since she was a child. She might not be a good camper, but she was glad she’d come. She needed this.
Two hours later, in an open area at the base of a mountain, Josiah stopped, sliding his backpack off his shoulders. “This will be home for the next couple of days.” He pointed toward the rock face behind him. “On the other side of the ridge is a waterfall that feeds a pond. Farther down the south side is a lighthouse on the cliff.”
As her son listened to Josiah talk about the island and what to expect to see, especially the animals, Alex said, “He should be a guide leading groups into the backcountry. I’m surprised he ever left Alaska. It’s in his blood.”
“It’s home. I can understand that, even though I’ve only been here four years.”
“I don’t know if I could ever leave here.”
“What made Josiah?”
“He wanted to serve his country. Harry was a big influence on him as he grew up, so after he finished college, he enlisted in the military. But the man who came back to Alaska was a changed person,” Alex whispered almost to herself, surprise flittering across her expression. She turned, wide-eyed, to Ella. “I shouldn’t have said anything. He doesn’t talk about his time in the Marines much. All our lives we’ve been close except for those ten years he was gone. Please don’t say anything to him.”
“I won’t,” Ella said. “If he doesn’t want to talk about his past, that’s his prerogative.” But that didn’t mean she had to stay around, waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen.
Forcing someone to do something would never work in the long run. Keith had used force with her all the time, and finally she’d managed to escape. She knew the situations were different, but after the camping trip, she had to find a way to look at Josiah as only a friend. If not, she’d need to cut her ties completely. She was falling in love with him in spite of trying not to. The very thought sent a bolt of fear through her as all the peace she’d been feeling fled under the memories of her first marriage, based on secrets and lies from the beginning.
“Let’s give them some time to bond. Let’s put up our tent, then I want to show you a place I loved when I last came.”
“I’m glad we decided the guys should share a tent and we girls bunk together. Two tents t
o carry in are better than three.”
“I heard Josiah had to curtail what you were bringing.”
As she and Alex worked, Ella said, “I packed my backpack and still had half of the items scattered around me on the floor. Necessary things like a flashlight, insect repellant that I didn’t have room for in the bag. I quickly got a lesson on what was essential and what wasn’t. I finally convinced him that my moisturizer was important because it was also a sunblock.”
“One of the hardest things for me to leave behind was my cell phone. I feel lost without a connection to the outside world. Josiah insisted I not even bring it in the car, so it’s sitting on the dresser in my bedroom.” Alex chuckled. “I have it bad. But in my defense I run a big business and have a lot of employees.”
Ella wished she’d had a sister like Alex, but she’d grown up an only child. She didn’t want Robbie growing up like that.
As Alex and she finished erecting the tent, Robbie came over to her. “You did good, Mom. Josiah is gonna let me put up ours and only help if I need it.”
Ella ruffled her son’s hair. “Ask for help if you need it. That’s what you’re here for—to learn, so when we go by ourselves we’ll know what to do.”
He looked at her in all seriousness. “I’m here to have fun. That’s what Josiah said.”
“Then have fun putting up the tent. Alex and I are going to do some exploring. We’ll be back in a little while.”
Josiah approached. “Where are you two going?”
Ella nodded her head toward Alex, who was laying the canvas floor down and crawling out of the tent. “She knows. I’m just tagging along.”
Alex rose, dusted off her jeans and glanced at her brother. “Overlooking the stream. You know where. Join us when you’re through if you all want.”
As Robbie went to retrieve the tent, Josiah said in a low voice, “Don’t forget to take your gun.”
Alex grinned. “Have I ever?”
“Should I bring my revolver, too? It’s in my backpack.” Ella glanced at her belongings.
“I thought you were leaving that at your house. Alex and I have our rifles. That should be enough. There haven’t been any problems with the bears on this island. The weapons are more a precaution.”
“Just so you two know, I’m capable of using a weapon. I learned after I divorced my husband.”
With her binoculars hanging around her neck, Alex slung her rifle over her shoulder, plopped her hat on her head and said, “Let’s go. Bring your camera instead. You should get some great wildlife pictures.”
Ella grabbed her camera and water and quickly followed Alex. “We’ll see you all in a while.”
Forty minutes later, after hiking up a trail that led to an overhang that overlooked a stream, Ella collapsed on a rock perch. “I thought it was a short walk.”
“By distance it is. It’s the terrain that makes it longer.”
“Yeah, climbing up a small mountain for a gal who sits behind a desk most days is a bit of a challenge. How do you keep in shape? You have a desk job, too.”
“I work out when I can, and in the winter cross-country skiing keeps me fit. I sometimes ski to work.”
“That’s something I could do, but not to work. Twice this winter I had to pick up Robbie unexpectedly from school because he was sick.”
“You have a terrific kid, Ella. Having him in the house a couple of weeks ago made me realize I’d love to be a mother one day. I suppose I could look at adopting.”
“Or marrying again.”
Alex stared at the treetops of the forest across the stream. “No, my husband was my high school sweetheart. Since I was a sophomore, I knew I would marry him. I had five fabulous years with Cade. I can’t see myself finding anyone to fill his shoes in my life.”
“You never know.”
Alex slanted a look at Ella. “How about you? You’re a great mother to Robbie. Don’t you want more children?”
“I’d love to, but for different reasons I don’t see myself marrying again, either.”
Alex opened her mouth, but instead of saying anything snapped it closed.
A noise behind Ella drew her around. Robbie appeared on the trail with Josiah right behind him. “What took you all so long?”
“We got some wood for a fire after setting up our tent. So now all you two have to do is fix dinner. Both of us—” Josiah pointed at Robbie then himself “—are hungry. We worked up an appetite.”
“First, I’m going to take some photos.” Ella lifted her camera to her face. “I’ll cook if you agree to clean up.”
A black-tailed deer came down to the water about ten yards upstream. She took several pictures as two more joined the first one.
She gestured toward the animals when a fawn moved out of the foliage. “Robbie, a baby deer. Do you see it?”
Robbie sat near her. “It’s so cute. I hope no bears are around.”
“So do I.” Josiah stood behind her son.
Alex passed the binoculars to Robbie. “Take a look through these. You can see the black tails better and the spots on the fawn.”
Ella rose to move closer to the ledge. As long as she wasn’t at the very edge, she was all right with the height. She wanted to see if anything was on this side of the water. Suddenly all the deer looked up, then raced back into the forest. What scared them? A bear? She scanned up and down the stream. The sunlight glinted off something for a second, then disappeared.
“Can I have the binoculars, Robbie, for a minute?”
Her son held them up for her. She took them, then swung around to locate the dense vegetation across the water downstream where she thought she’d seen something—someone. It couldn’t have been a bear. Then, in the midst of the thick undergrowth, she spied an individual, almost totally camouflaged, with binoculars directed toward them.
“We have company.”
TWELVE
When Ella moved nearer to the ledge, keeping the binoculars fixed on the same spot, Josiah closed the space between them. “Found something interesting?”
She turned her head toward him, sliding a glance toward Robbie, then passing the binoculars to Josiah. “I saw someone in that brush down there.” She pointed downstream about fifty feet.
He followed the direction she indicated, but he didn’t see anyone. “Whoever it was is gone now. Although not many people live on this island, it does get some campers, hunters and hikers. We’ll probably run into some while hiking tomorrow. Could be someone looking for deer. It’s hunting season.”
Suddenly the noise of a gunshot split the air. Ella jerked back, brushing up against Josiah, her hand splaying across her chest.
Josiah clasped her upper arms. “You okay?”
“That stopped my heart. I hope the guy missed, if he’s a hunter.”
“Mom, Alex and I are heading to camp, but you should stay and take a few more pictures. Maybe you’ll get one of a bear.”
Ella’s eyes narrowed. “I get the feeling those two are conspiring.”
Josiah laughed. “When I moved over here to see what you were looking at, they kept exchanging glances, so I’d say you’re right.”
Another shot rang out. Ella tensed. “You’d think I’d be used to hearing gunfire since I practice at the shooting range. But coming out of the blue like that...”
He leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice. “We’ll hear that occasionally this weekend. You’ll learn to tune it out.”
“Never. Even on the shooting range, I’m aware of every shot fired. When my ex took me there, Keith liked to demonstrate his ‘gift,’ as he put it. But what it was really was another intimidation technique.”
Josiah squeezed her arm gently. “Don’t think about him. He’s not here, so don’t let him ruin your vacation.”
She looked back at him. “I know, but no matter how much I try to put him out of my mind, at odd moments he intrudes.”
“Don’t let him win. You lived in fear for four years. You don’t have to now.”
She rotated toward him. “How about you? Something has happened to you. By all accounts, I’ve heard you aren’t the same person you were when you went into the Marines. I know you served several tours of duty in the war zone. I also know you don’t like to talk about it. I was like that, too. Confiding in you was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Of course, I can’t go around telling the world, since I’m in hiding, but having one person know is enough. I felt a burden lifted from my shoulders. Let me help you, Josiah. And if not me, at least talk to Alex.”
“She knows some of it.” He stepped away.
“But not all?”
He pursed his lips and averted his gaze. “I can’t. I...” He felt as though he was on the side of a cliff, ready to rappel down the rock face, and yet he couldn’t make that first move and step off. He wanted to, but something held him back. The memories were buried deep, where he wanted to keep them, and yet...
She started for the path down the mountain.
“Ella.”
She turned to him, expectation on her face.
“Wait up. I’ll hike down with you.”
A mask fell over her features, but not before he saw the hurt in her gaze. She’d given him a part of herself when she’d told him about her husband, but the words inside him were dammed up behind a protective wall.
“That’s okay. I’d rather be alone.” An impregnable expression met his appraisal. “We’re friends, but that’s all. I know that, but as a friend, I wanted to help. Now I know my boundaries.”
Although her look didn’t reveal much, her voice cracked on the last sentence. She swung around and marched down the trail. He’d give her a minute and follow her, staying back a hundred yards. But he wanted to keep an eye on her. He had a rifle; she didn’t.
As she descended the mountain, she called over her shoulder, “What part of alone do you not understand? I figured you knew that definition well.”
To Save Her Child Page 14