As expected, Buckets was standing in the rain by choice, letting the pelting drops scratch her back and looking thoroughly contented.
Megan managed to bridle the horse before she heard the distinctive rev of the ATV. To be leaving that quickly, the hardheaded camp director must have run all the way home.
“Oh, please, not yet. I need a few more minutes.”
The engine noise built, then grew fainter. Megan knew, if she didn’t mount up immediately, she’d lose her chance to follow successfully.
Gathering the reins in her left hand, she stepped onto the top of the footlocker, swung her right leg over the horse’s slippery bare back and pulled herself astride.
If James had given her more time she’d gladly have saddled up before risking a long ride in the rain. Unfortunately, she no longer had that choice. Or any other.
She gave Buckets a nudge with her heels and leaned forward to offer encouragement. “Okay, girl. Come on. Let’s go. You and I have a job to do.”
If Megan hadn’t been so worried about being left behind, she’d have chuckled at the next remark that popped into her head. It was straight out of the movies.
She gripped hard with her knees, hung on to the horse’s mane and said, “Follow that car!”
Megan had assumed she’d have little trouble trailing something as noisy as the ATV. At first, that was true. The farther they got from the camp, however, the harder it was to pinpoint the direction James was headed. Sound echoed erratically, bouncing off the hillsides and sliding down the valleys.
Thunder did more than rumble in the distance. It shook the ground. A crack of lightning split the night air, setting Megan’s hair on end and making her shiver in spite of the humidity trapped beneath her plastic poncho.
“Oh, please, Lord. Take care of us,” she prayed aloud. “All of us. I know I shouldn’t have brought Buckets out in this storm but I can’t quit now. I don’t know where I am.”
The absolute truth of that confession sent a shudder of fear zinging through her from head to toe. In the daylight, given enough time, she might have been able to eventually find her way back to Camp Refuge, especially if she’d paid attention to landmarks she’d passed on the way. At night, in the midst of a storm, it was impossible to have seen anything distinctive, let alone taken special note of it.
Going back was not an option. Then again, she wasn’t looking forward to being stuck out there all by herself, either. It was imperative she catch up to James, or at least get close enough to keep him in sight until he’d reached his goal.
Megan’s main advantage was her mode of transportation. Buckets was cautious and sure-footed, which allowed them to cut across rough terrain that was impassable by motorized vehicle. More than once she wondered if she’d worked too far into a thicket of saplings and vines to continue, but each time she came out the other side closer to the sound of the ATV.
By listening carefully she could tell every time James was scaling a hill or traversing an especially rocky area. Once he was through it, the revving of the engine always evened out.
Suddenly, the noise from the ATV stopped. She nudged Buckets harder, urged her up the last few feet of the slope they’d been climbing and halted at the crest.
Lightning shot across the sky in a jagged show of force. Thunder rumbled from all sides. Rain pelted down in waves, as if hurled from the clouds by an angry giant.
Nevertheless, Megan sat tall and peered into the distance. Across the next narrow ravine a pair of stationary lights gleamed. Could that be the ATV?
“Probably. Unless white-tail deer come equipped with headlights these days,” she answered aloud. “Come on, Buckets. Let’s go tell Mr. Harris he’s got company.”
By the time Megan reached the vehicle it was abandoned. Twenty or thirty yards ahead she could see the beam of a flashlight and catch an occasional glimpse of a yellow slicker moving among the trees.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “James! Wait. Where are you going?”
The light stopped moving.
“James. It’s me,” she called again, relieved when she saw the light swing around to point at her. Hooray! He was coming back!
“What are you doing out here?” he yelled.
“Following you,” Megan answered as soon as he drew nearer. “Good thing I caught you before you started off on foot or I’d have lost your trail. Is this the place you told me about?”
“No.”
“Then why did you stop?”
He pointed the light at the rear of the ATV. “Flat tire. I must’ve hit a sharp rock.”
“Out here? Rocks? No kidding. This place is nothing but rocks.”
“You didn’t answer my question. What are you doing here?”
“Yes, I did. I said I followed you. You wouldn’t take me with you so I got here on my own. Well, almost on my own. Buckets helped a little.”
“I can see that.”
“She is a little hard to overlook.”
Megan instinctively ducked and hugged her horse’s neck as another bright bolt zigzagged across the sky.
“You’re an idiot,” James yelled over the ensuing thunder. “You shouldn’t be out in this weather.”
“Takes one to know one. How much farther?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe three or four miles. I’ll recognize the place when I see it.”
“Okay. Hop on.”
“Do what?”
“Mount up behind me. You’ll be fine. It won’t hurt Buckets to carry us both for a little while.”
“Fine? In your dreams, lady. I don’t ride horses, remember?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who insisted there was such a big rush—you were. Is there or isn’t there a chance somebody could drown if we’re late getting there?”
“A remote one.”
“Are you willing to take that risk?” Megan asked knowingly. She could feel the tension, sense the emotional struggle he was having. To his credit, the hand holding the flashlight remained steady.
James raised the beam briefly to her face, then lowered it and traced the outline of the placid beast beneath her. “There’s no saddle!”
“You left camp so fast I didn’t have time for one,” Megan said. “It’ll be fine. All we need is a stump or a big rock for you to stand on. I’ll bring Buckets in close and you can just step aboard. It’s easy.”
“Oh? And what keeps me there? She’s as fat and round as a barrel. Even without all this rain her back would be slippery.”
“You—you can hang on to me.”
Megan swallowed hard, hoping James hadn’t noticed the unexpected quaver in her voice. He might not have had any experience riding double, but she knew what to expect. The motion of the horse was going to slide them into close proximity. Very close proximity.
Suddenly, she wasn’t certain she should allow the camp director to join her, especially since he was so upset. Then again, his anger would provide a good buffer. Anything was better than having him relax and enjoy himself while she fought to remain aloof.
That logical reasoning helped settle her nerves. “Okay, suit yourself. Walk if you want to,” she said flatly. “Just stop wasting time. The sooner we get to the caves, the sooner we stop being targets for all this lightning. Am I right?”
“Unfortunately.”
Mumbling to himself, James cast around for a platform, spotted a nearby stump and climbed up on it.
Allowing him no opportunity to change his mind, Megan maneuvered the horse into position. “Okay, we’re ready. Grab her mane with your left hand and hang on tight, then swing your right leg around and aim to land behind me, like the cowboys do in the movies. Centrifugal force will take care of the rest.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Just do it.”
“Okay, okay.”
James took a deep breath, tensed every muscle and flung himself at the horse’s side. He hit with an “Oof” and a muttered expletive.
Startled, Buckets shifted her balance and
sidestepped. Megan tightened the reins. “Whoa! Easy, baby. Easy.”
“Hold her still,” James yelled.
“I’m trying. I didn’t know you were going to tackle her like a football player.”
“I just did what you told me to.”
“Not very well.”
“I haven’t had much practice, okay?”
She glanced over her shoulder to see why his voice sounded as if it were coming from somewhere below. It was. The poor guy had a doubtful hold at best. His effort to mount had brought his right ankle barely past midpoint on the horse’s spine and his other foot was kicking empty air. Even if she could maneuver him back onto the stump, Megan doubted he’d make a second attempt.
“Here,” she said, grasping his left forearm near the elbow and lifting with all her might.
By leaning back, she was able to give him enough leverage to finish mounting. When he slid into place, however, she was left hanging off the opposite side.
James righted her effortlessly. “Watch yourself.”
“I’m fine. You just take care of your half of the horse.”
“I’d rather push a truck.”
Megan was at the end of her patience. She was cold, wet, tempted beyond reason by a situation not of her own making, and too exhausted by the whole ordeal to put up with his complaining.
“Knock it off, mister. You could be up to your boot tops in mud and ducking to keep from getting toasted by lightning, instead of riding to the caves on this wonderful horse.”
“We’re not there yet,” James countered. “If you weren’t out here, too, I’d gladly take my chances on foot.”
“If I wasn’t here you’d have no choice but to walk.”
He rocked from side to side on the slick hide, inching himself away from her. “I meant, I wouldn’t be concerned about getting a little fried.”
“My, my. You do like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
“I must,” he said wryly. “I got on a horse with you, didn’t I?”
Chapter Thirteen
Megan was so bumfuzzled by riding close to James she didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh, cry or scream. Or all of the above.
The man perched behind her was evidently doing his best to keep from touching her, which might mean he wanted to avoid her as much as possible. Or, it could mean he cared about her, respected her high principles and didn’t want to do anything that would give her the wrong impression of his own standards.
Then again, maybe he was holding back because he was as unsure of her feelings as she was of his. All she’d have to do to find out was lean back a tiny bit and rest her shoulders against his chest. Just for a second. That would be long enough. And maybe lay her head on his shoulder?
The idea was so tempting it made her shiver. It was also risky. If James rejected her, she knew it would hurt terribly—not to mention embarrass them both.
What am I doing even thinking about my personal life at a time like this? Megan asked herself. What kind of monster am I? My sister’s missing. Roxy should be the only one on my mind.
But Roxy wasn’t the only one, was she? Like it or not, James Harris now occupied a major portion of Megan’s thoughts—and of her dreams. Falling for him wasn’t a choice she’d made by sensible reasoning. It had simply happened, slowly, unconsciously, yet more quickly than she’d ever imagined it could.
Love wasn’t nearly this complicated in her favorite novels, Megan reflected, frustrated by her indecisiveness. She was a bold, independent, educated woman, with her feet on the ground and career choices ahead. She didn’t need any man to make her complete. So what was she afraid of?
Moreover, what was James afraid of? If she didn’t gather her courage and force the issue soon she might never find out, and that would be turning her back on a God-given opportunity.
She sent out a silent Lord, help me and cleared her throat, preparing to tell James exactly how she felt about him. When she opened her mouth to speak, however, what popped out was “How much farther to the caves?”
“Maybe half a mile.” He pointed with the flashlight. “Take that path over there. It should lead down to the river.”
Down? her mind echoed. Down, as in steep? Had her unspoken plea been answered already? She certainly hoped so, because she obviously couldn’t count on herself for anything. What had become of the capable, levelheaded person she’d been just days ago? She wished she knew!
Bringing Buckets to the crest of the ridge, Megan halted. “Looks safe enough except for a few low branches. Keep your head down and hang on. This could get a little rough.”
Not wanting to give James time to come up with an alternative plan and spoil her chance to force him to embrace her, she nudged the horse with her heels and they started over the lip of the hill.
Head down, Buckets picked her way cautiously, stiffly, around protruding rocks. The motion was anything but smooth. Still, James refused to lay a hand on Megan. The more their momentum propelled them forward, the farther back he leaned.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s hard to stay… Uh-oh.”
Megan felt him start to slide sideways. “If you were hanging on like I told you to, you wouldn’t be having problems.”
“I didn’t think—”
Just then, Buckets’s foot slipped. The mare jerked to right herself, throwing both riders off balance.
Megan would have been able to cope with the abrupt movement if James hadn’t chosen that moment to finally make a grab for her. She screeched, “Let go!” on her way down.
The next few seconds passed in a blur. James hit the ground first. Megan landed partially on top of him.
Buckets skidded to a halt and looked back at them as if to say, “What’re you doing way down there?”
“Are you okay?” James asked, breathless.
“I guess so.” Scooting aside and sitting up, Megan rubbed her hands on her jeans to clean them off before wiping her wet face with the backs of her wrists. “You picked a fine time to take my advice.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who left camp without a saddle. At least you had her mane. There was nothing for me to hang on to except you.”
“Exactly. And you did your level best to keep from touching me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.” James stood and held out his hand.
Megan clambered to her feet without accepting his help, thankful the drizzle and the darkness masked her unsteady emotions. “At least you admit it.”
“I plan to admit a lot of things once we’re back in camp,” he said solemnly. “Right now, I can see it’s a good thing we fell off when we did. I almost missed that old corner post over there.”
He shined the flashlight for her. “See? Down by the big cedar? If there’s a surveyor’s mark on it we’ve found the right place.”
“I—I think I see a post.” She sniffled and took a disgusted swipe at the salty drops mixed with the rain trickling down her cheeks.
“That’s the landmark I was looking for. The cave entrances are a few yards south. We can walk from here.”
“Anything to keep from getting back on a horse?”
James snorted. “No. Anything to keep from going crazy trying to behave myself when I’m that close to you.”
Her eyes widened. Did that mean what she hoped it did?
“You weren’t trying to stay away from me because you didn’t like me?”
“Ha! I should be so lucky.” He grabbed her hand and started off. “Come on. We’ve wasted enough time.”
The logical side of Megan’s mind kept insisting they were on a wild-goose chase, no matter what James had dreamed or imagined. The side that believed in divine intervention wasn’t nearly as convinced, especially since they’d taken their tumble in such a fortuitous place.
She struggled to keep pace with his longer strides while Buckets trailed them both, head hung low, like a faithful dog following its master.
“Don’t you feel a little silly racing around the woods like this?” Megan asked
. “I mean, nobody’s given us a good reason to think we’d find anything here, have they?”
“I told you I couldn’t explain the urge to investigate. Call it intuition if you want.”
“Suppose you’re wrong.”
“Then I’ll feel silly and you’ll get to gloat,” James said. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
“Good for you.” She held tighter to his hand. “I like a man with the courage of his convictions.”
“Do you? Well, well. I thought you hated my stubborn streak. Didn’t you call me opinionated?”
“Yes. Just because I admire your character doesn’t mean I think you’re always right. You can be self-confident and still be dead wrong, you know.”
“Are you speaking from experience, Ms. White?”
“Not me. I’m never wrong, remember?”
James started to chuckle, then abruptly stopped. “Listen. Hear that?”
She strained. “No. What?”
“Voices. Over that way, I think.”
“I don’t hear a thing.”
“That’s because you’re always talking. Hush.”
“Yes, sir,” she mumbled, half-disgusted. He must have the ears of an owl if he could hear anything over all the background noise. The heart of the storm had moved on, taking most of the thunder and lightning with it, but rain was still beating down on the trees and the rush of the river had become a roar.
Megan jumped when James suddenly cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Zac! Zac, it’s me.”
She looked up at his profile silhouetted against the gray sky. For his sake, let him get some kind of response, even if it isn’t the one he expects.
Struck by the negative tone of her appeal, she wondered if maybe she hadn’t been viewing this situation through the murky veil of her own pride. Right now, it seemed James’s faith was a lot stronger than hers. Even if he was mistaken, the least she could do was give his efforts her full support.
“Roxy!” Megan called.
Everlasting Love Page 13