Kendall beamed. “It’s perfect.”
Things were perfect. Especially with Jake. Carly smiled, feeling warm inside even though snow fell from the sky. She couldn’t wait until it was just the two of them.
Soon, she told herself. Very soon.
A pager beeped. A cell phone rang. Jake checked both. “Excuse me for a minute.”
He took the call, but didn’t speak. He didn’t have to for Carly to know who was on the other end. She could see it in his eyes, had seen that similiar rush of adrenaline when a call came summoning Nick for a mission.
Jake would be heading up to Mount Hood for a rescue. She glanced in the direction of the summit, but couldn’t see it. The weather must be bad up there.
She wrapped her arms around her stomach to fight the sudden chills and quell the knots forming in her belly.
He put his phone in his pocket. “That was a call-out for a mission. There’s a briefing at Timberline.”
“Cool,” Austin said then returned to his snowman. Kendall didn’t seem the least bit interested.
Jake nodded.
“You’re excited about this.” Carly had been through this enough times with Nick to know how pumped these guys got at the thought of heading up the mountain, but she had never worried that much about her brother. Sure, Carly might have felt an inkling of concern and told him to be careful, but she had never been afraid.
Not the way she was now.
“I’m not excited someone’s in trouble, but I like getting out there,” Jake admitted. “We all do.”
“The weather has to be bad up there.”
He shrugged. “Nothing we haven’t faced before.”
Maybe him. But not her. She hadn’t faced anything like this before. Worry consumed her entire body. And she didn’t like it.
A heaviness pressed down on her, threatening to overwhelm her. She felt as if a keg of beer had been laid on each of her shoulders, making it impossible for her to move or do anything. Was this how Hannah had felt each time Nick went out?
Carly didn’t want Jake up on the mountain today. Not any day. Her chest constricted. “Do you have to go?”
He checked his pager again. “Yes.”
The single word spoke volumes. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. It didn’t help. “When do you have to leave?”
“Soon.”
Something flashed in his eyes. He meant…now.
Her heart pounded in her ears. A snowball-size lump lodged in her throat. She hadn’t felt like this since…
Iain and Nick.
The kids hugged Jake goodbye. They laughed and smiled as if he were driving to the store to buy ice cream, not climb a mountain in whiteout conditions to find people who had lost their way or been injured. Or died.
The pit of dread deep down in her stomach made her nauseous. Carly thought she might be physically ill.
“Take care of your Aunt Carly while I’m away,” Jake said to the kids.
“We will,” Kendall said.
Austin nodded. “Promise.”
“Thanks.” Jake kissed each of their foreheads. “Now run inside and see if the gingerbread has cooled.”
The kids ran up the porch stairs and into the house. The front door slammed close.
Tears stung Carly’s eyes, but she wasn’t about to cry in front of him. She’d climbed enough with Iain to know Jake needed his full attention on what he was about to face. Nothing else could be on his mind. Especially not her.
Jake walked to her, his long strides putting him at her side in seconds. He cupped her face with his hand. “You’ve lost your smile.”
She forced the corners of her mouth up. “It’s still there.”
He touched her lips with his fingertip. “Don’t worry.”
The tenderness in his eyes was nearly her undoing. She looked up at the gray sky.
“Worrying won’t bring me back sooner, Carly. It’ll just make you miserable.”
“How can I not worry?” she asked. “And don’t you dare tell me to try not to think about it too much.”
He grinned. “I won’t now.”
Carly couldn’t believe he was smiling and sounded so lighthearted. She pressed her lips together.
“Remember, we’re trained for this. We know what we’re doing.” Jake held her hand and walked to his SUV. “But things usually take longer up there than you think they would.”
Those were not the words she wanted to hear.
“As soon as I’m finished, I’ll come back here.”
“If you come back,” she muttered.
“Oh, I’m coming back.” He kissed her long and hard on the lips. She clung to him, afraid to let go, but he backed away. “You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily.”
“Promise?” she asked.
He brushed his lips across hers once more. “Promise.”
She wanted to believe him. “Be careful. And safe.”
Jake gave her a quick hug. “Always.”
She wanted to reach out and touch him one more time, but he was opening his car door and sliding inside.
“See you later,” he said.
Carly sure hoped so.
Excitement buzzed in the cafeteria at the Wy’East day lodge. The scent of coffee lingered in the air. Packs and poles rested against the walls. Duffel bags and jackets lay on the tables. The lousy acoustics made voices louder and echo through the large room.
As unit members talked about the past week, Christmas with their families, ice-climbing jaunts and skiing escapades, Jake sat at one of the tables and listened. For the first time, he had more in common with the first group, the family guys, than the other two.
Times were changing, he realized. For the better.
Sean sat next to him and handed him a coffee. “Just the way you like it, Porter, strong and hot.”
“Thanks.” Jake took a swig, needing both the jolt of caffeine and the warm liquid. The twenty-eight-degree temperature would make for a cold slog, but a break in the snowfall an hour ago and the resulting improvement in visibility would help. As one of the older, longtime unit members had told Jake during one of his first missions, it could be better, but it could be a helluva lot worse.
Sheriff’s Deputy Will Townsend entered the cafeteria. He was the county sheriff’s office’s SAR coordinator. Jake had climbed with him several times and knew the deputy would shed his uniform and head out with the rescuers if he could.
Alan Marks, the incident commander, or the IC, followed. The IC was an OMSAR member who interfaced with the sheriff’s office and kept everyone informed of what was going on out there. The IC cleared his throat. Unit members at the tables and those standing around quieted.
“Hope everyone had a nice holiday,” the IC said. “The subject is a thirty-seven-year-old male, Samuel Sprague from Portland. He’s an avid hiker who received new snowshoes for Christmas. He wanted to try out his present and see how high he could get on Mount Hood. The subject was last seen heading up climbers’ right on the Palmer snowfield. He called his wife at ten o’clock this morning saying he was lost, and due to the conditions, couldn’t tell where or how high up he was. We are working to pinpoint the position of his call. Attempts at further contact have been unsuccessful.”
The guy had the sense to call for help, but that didn’t mean he knew what he was doing out there or would stay put until someone came and got him. If he did move, Jake knew that during whiteout conditions people unfamiliar with the mountain usually followed the fall line down until they ended up in Zig Zag canyon. Not a fun place to be with the snow and cold temperatures if you weren’t prepared and carrying the right equipment. But depending on which way the guy headed or how high he’d gotten, he could also be on the White River Glacier. Or anywhere else in between.
“The subject is carrying a pack, but he didn’t fill out a permit so we don’t know what supplies he’s got with him,” the IC continued. “We do know he doesn’t have a GPS or MLU with him.”
Sean looked at
Jake with a raised brow. No doubt he was probably thinking the same thing. The use of Mountain Locator Units in winter had been a heated topic for a couple of years.
“The logical assumption would be he stayed put after calling his wife and is waiting to be extracted, but we all know logic doesn’t always play out in these situations,” the IC said. “The team leaders know their assignments. Good luck and be safe out there.”
She hoped Jake was safe out there.
Carly tried to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t think about him so much. She helped the kids make a gingerbread house and decorate gingerbread cookies. They played games until Hannah, Garrett and Tyler arrived home. The fuss over the baby kept Carly occupied. So did making dinner.
“Ready to call it a night?” Garrett asked after helping her with the dishes.
“I want a cup of coffee,” Carly said.
“You won’t sleep,” Garrett warned as he went upstairs to help Hannah with the baby.
Forget being kept awake, Carly couldn’t sleep. Not with Jake up the mountain.
Horrible what-if worst-case scenarios played out in her mind. A few real ones, too. She’d grown up on this mountain. She knew what could happen up there. She’d experienced it firsthand.
A car drove by on the street, the tires crunching on the snow and ice. Carly waited for the car to stop, prayed the car would pull into the driveway, but it kept going.
Not Jake.
Waiting for the coffee to brew, she remembered the last time the clock had moved this slowly. Carly prayed tonight wouldn’t end up the same.
Hannah walked into the kitchen with the water bottle the hospital had given her. A large plastic straw stuck out of the blue lid. “How are you holding up?”
“I would have brought you water. You’re not supposed to climb the stairs too much.”
“I know, but I went very slowly. I needed to walk, and I wanted to check on you.” Hannah filled the bottle with cold water from the refrigerator. “So don’t try and change the subject.”
“I’m…” Scared to death. “Hanging in there.”
“Then you’re doing better than I did when I first started dating Nick.” She refilled the water bottle. “I had heard the term SAR, but knew nothing about climbing let alone mountain rescue. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel. I had both my radio and television on waiting to hear some word. I couldn’t believe how relieved, how happy, I felt when he called to tell me he was finished and all right.”
“You were Nick’s girlfriend. You had every right to be worried about him.”
“So do you.” Hannah smiled. “Anyone can see there’s something between you and Jake.”
Carly blushed. “I did try to be careful.”
“I’m sure you did.” Hannah gingerly lowered herself into one of the kitchen chairs. “How’s it going?”
Carly picked up the tin of cookies from the counter and placed them within Hannah’s reach on the table. “Everything was so wonderful until…”
“Jake headed up the mountain.”
Nodding, she sat. “Now I don’t know if we…if I…”
“The waiting gets easier.” Hannah reached for a gingerbread man. “When I knew things were getting serious with Nick, I joined OMSAR. I did a few fund-raising events and helped out where I could, including the rescue base at Timberline. Doing that showed me what really went on during a mission. How well trained everyone was, the work that’s involved and why things take so long. It almost sounds like a cliché, but they really mean what they say about keeping rescuers safe. They don’t take chances with their lives. The last thing anyone wants is to increase the number of injured patients during a rescue.”
Carly remembered Nick telling their parents something similar when he joined OMSAR. “I guess being there would help.”
Hannah nodded. “After Kendall was born, I couldn’t be at the base. That was hard because I wanted to know what was going on. I would listen to the radio and check online. I still do that during missions. Friends are out there, and family, too.”
Hannah yawned.
“Go to bed,” Carly said. “You should sleep when the baby sleeps.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone.”
She forced a smile. “I feel better after talking with you.”
Hannah looked doubtful.
“Really,” Carly reassured.
“Okay, but let me know if you need anything.”
Alone again, Carly listened to the news on the radio and heard a brief report about a missing Portland man lost snowshoeing, but no updates. She checked news Web sites and a Northwest climbing forum, but none had any new information.
She was just going to have to wait. Except…
Carly didn’t want to wait. She didn’t like this feeling of uncertainty, of being worried and afraid. She couldn’t think straight or eat. It was exactly how she’d felt six years ago. She cringed.
What was she doing?
Carly had never wanted to experience those feelings again. Yet here she was. Her insides tied up in knots waiting to find out if Jake came back or not.
No matter how much Carly cared about him or wanted to be with him, she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t put herself through this over and over again, each time he went on a mission. Even if she were strong enough, which she wasn’t, she didn’t want to do this.
Not ever again.
Exhausted, Jake moved slowly from his SUV to the porch. Normally he couldn’t wait to get home after a mission, but he hadn’t even considered going there first. There was only one place he wanted to go tonight.
Scratch that.
Only one person he wanted to see.
As he climbed the front steps, the door opened. Carly stood with one hand on the doorknob. “You’re back.”
Damn, she was beautiful. A smile tugged on the tired corners of his mouth. “I’m back.”
“How did things go up there?”
“Another team found him,” Jake said. “Cold and hungry, but happy to be rescued.”
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Starving.” He kissed her on the lips. “Exactly what I needed.”
She opened the door wider. “Come inside so you can warm up and get something to eat.”
Jake looked down. He’d been in such a rush to get here he hadn’t changed. “I’m dirty.”
“You smell like the mountain.”
True. All of his mountain gear and clothing had a particular scent, a mix of sweat and earth, of dirt and rock and mud—a smell that never went away. “I’ll go around to the mudroom and change there.”
“I’ll heat up dinner for you.”
Later at the kitchen table, he gobbled up the spaghetti with Italian sausage along with a salad and three slices of garlic bread.
She sat across from him. “You really were starving.”
“It’s not often I get a delicious home-cooked meal. Great dinner. Thanks so much.”
Carly pushed the tin of cookies toward him. “You’re welcome.”
Jake took a one-eyed gingerbread man. He hadn’t had one of these in years. “How’s Tyler doing?”
“He’s such a good baby.” She stood and cleared his plate from the table. “Kendall and Austin aren’t quite sure what to make of him since he doesn’t do much right now.”
“I’ll wash the dishes,” he offered.
“You’ve done enough.”
He snatched another cookie. “I can handle a dirty plate.”
“So can I.” Carly rinsed his plate off in the sink. “And I wasn’t the one out being a hero today.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“You saved a man’s life.”
“We were just doing our jobs,” Jake explained. “We’re not heroes.”
“You volunteer. You don’t have to do what you do.”
“I have a skill and I’m trained to help people who need help. That’s not a hero.” Jake wiped his mouth with a napkin. “A hero is someone who finds themselves in an
extraordinary situation and rises to the occasion like a guy driving by, stopping and pulling another person out of a burning car. That’s a hero.”
“I disagree.” She tossed the dishrag into the sink. “What you do makes a difference. You help people. You save lives. That’s a hero in my book.”
“Why are we arguing about this when I could be holding and kissing you?”
Carly leaned with her backside against the counter. He didn’t like seeing the wariness on her face, the tension bracketing the corners of her mouth. “I was worried about you today. Terrified something bad might happen to you up there.”
“That’s normal given what you’ve been through.”
“Normal?” Her voice cracked. “There’s nothing normal about what I went through today. I never went through anything resembling this when Nick went on a mission.”
Jake didn’t get it. He knew he was fine. She should trust his ability to take care of himself. “What’s the difference?”
“You’re not my brother,” she admitted. “The feelings I have for you…”
Jake grinned. “I like hearing you say you have feelings for me.”
“Well, I don’t like saying it.” She gripped the counter with her hands. “If I didn’t have feelings for you, I wouldn’t care what you did. It wouldn’t bother me that you risk your life for yahoos who have no idea what the ten essentials are, but go up anyway ill-prepared and unskilled. I wouldn’t care that you go after experienced, well-equipped climbers who run into really bad luck up there. I wouldn’t care at all. But I do and it bothers me. A lot.”
The tightness in her voice, the emotion in each word, made him realize how much she cared. He rose from the table.
“Rescuer safety is paramount in any mission. We don’t put ourselves in harm’s way.”
“Not when you went after Nick and Iain?”
“That was different. And you know that.” Jake lowered his voice so he wouldn’t wake anyone upstairs. “OMSAR has said no to certain rescues when the risk level was deemed too high. We’re out to assist people, not hurt ourselves.”
“You’re on an eleven-thousand-foot mountain, Jake. Anything could happen up there. Sure, rescuer safety is important, but you put yourself at risk for ice fall, rock fall and a whole bunch of other nasty stuff every time you go on a mission.” She stared at the hardwood floor. “Don’t tell me you don’t.”
Rescued by the Magic of Christmas Page 14