Proving Ground

by Stanalei Fletcher

  “Mac?”

  “Shhh, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get you home.” Home was a long way away, yet. They still had to get out of the forest. He gave her one last squeeze, and this time he was certain she winced. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  Mac focused the light on her, spotlighting her face, arms and legs, looking for signs of an injury. It couldn’t be too serious if she was conscious and standing. Even with both lights shining on her, it was difficult to see through the dirt and grime that covered her from head to toe. The only thing that caught his attention was a rip in her shirt near the shoulder. He could see a slightly bloody scratch peeking through the tear. He poked his finger through the hole and traced the soft skin around the scratch. “You’re not being a crybaby over this, are you?”

  Caitlin glanced at her shoulder as though she’d never seen it before. “Hmm,” she muttered. “I didn’t know about that one.”

  At her calm assessment, something unraveled inside him. Instinctively, he knew something more was wrong, yet she held back. “You’re hurt someplace else?” To his own ears, his voice sounded hoarse. He hoped she wouldn’t notice. He cursed his emotional display a moment ago and ruthlessly hardened against all the feelings that flooded him. He couldn’t afford to lose control as he had on that night two years ago where he broke the bond of trust between them.

  Caitlin glanced up from where he’d probed the scratch on her shoulder. “It’s more like where I’m not hurt.” Her voice sounded a little too raspy.

  Mac took a deep breath. Rescuing Caitlin Malone just got a lot more complicated.

  ****

  Touch me there again, Caitlin thought. It was the first time tonight she’d felt something other than pain. Mac’s energy surrounded her. Sheltered her. Healed her.

  The flashlight beam dropped to the ground, illuminating their feet. The light on his head bounced off the bushes as he searched for the easiest way out. “Can you walk?” His mood had shifted. He was back to business.

  This was the Mac she knew. Gone was the man who’d held her close a moment ago, as though he’d vanished in the haze of smoke hovering over the mountains. She pushed the tiny glimmer of hope back in its hiding place, amazed at how good she’d become at masking her feelings, and held up her stick for him to see. “I can walk. Not well and not very fast, but I can walk.”

  Although she couldn’t see him clearly, she sensed the nod of his head. “Stay close behind me, Red Riding Hood. We’re leaving the briar patch.”

  Caitlin gave a small chuckle. “You’re mixing up your fairy tales.”

  “Yeah, well, just keep your eyes peeled for the big bad wolf.”

  “That wouldn’t be you, would it?” she teased.

  Mac stilled. The tension thickened, even more than when he’d hugged her. He cleared his throat. “No.” With that abrupt answer, he turned, using the light to illuminate the way out of the brush.

  Caitlin sighed quietly. As long as the night had been, it appeared it was going to be even longer, with Mac’s sense of humor buried securely inside his backpack. She glanced past his shoulder at the impenetrable willows. Earlier, she’d been less intimidated when she’d used brute force to get through them. Of course, she hadn’t seen the tangled branches packed tightly against each other. Without Mac’s broad back to follow, she doubted she could have fought her way out with a machete even in broad daylight.

  She managed to silence a painful yelp when she rolled her ankle again on a partially buried twig. After several long minutes of pushing through branches, they were finally out of the bushes. She looked over the black expanse toward the lake, expecting to see the strobes from helicopter rotor lights and hear the whump-whump-whump of the engine. “Where’s the helicopter?” A glimpse over her shoulder at the glowing sky confirmed the fire was moving toward the lake at a pace even faster than the last time she checked.

  Caitlin glanced at Mac again. He, too, stared at the fire. The dim orange glow shadowed the rugged angles of his face. She knew from his frown that something was wrong. “Mac? What is it? Why isn’t the helicopter here? Didn’t you come in on one?”

  He blinked and glanced at her. “The helicopter’s not returning.”

  “Why not?” Panic raised the timbre of her voice. How could they just leave her and Mac out here to die?

  “Because it’s been diverted.”

  “To where?”

  Mac heaved a deep sigh. “The crew’s first priority is to secure the bio-lab in the canyon. Once that’s done, they can come after us.”

  “What are we supposed to do? Wait here?” She glanced warily again at the glowing sky.

  “No. The fire’s growing too fast. We aren’t in any immediate danger, but we need to be well away from the fire by the time the chopper will be able to return.” He frowned at the glow in the distance. “The ground crews are worried the fire might escalate to an eruption.”

  “What’s an eruption?” Even without his answer, she knew it had to be bad.

  “It’s where the fire chews up the terrain at such a rate there’s nothing anyone can do but get out of its way. It doesn’t stop until there’s no more fuel.”

  She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “And we’re in the path.”

  Mac nodded. “Yes.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “That’s a question I can’t answer. Maybe a couple of hours. If the wind shifts again, maybe less.”

  Caitlin shut her eyes against the sting of defeat. She refused to believe that she’d endured Dunn’s beating, escaped the burning cabin, and trekked this far through the forest only to lose in the end. She took a shaky breath and tasted the acrid smoke. “So what are our options?”

  Mac tucked the large flashlight under his arm and pulled out a GPS unit. The screen lit up and he studied the layout. “We’ll head toward the boulder field on the opposite side of the lake. Once we’re on the rocks, we’ll climb to the summit and down the other side. There’s no fuel on those rocks for the fire to follow us.” He met her gaze with a confident smile and sent her stomach tumbling to her feet. “It’ll be a cakewalk.”

  Caitlin groaned. “Are you sure we can’t we stay at the lake? Surely we’d be safer near water.”

  Mac shook his head, his face turning serious as he put the GPS away. “There’s too much fuel. The fire will burn everything around it. Even the water won’t be immune. We might not burn, but we’d die of asphyxiation just as quickly.”

  Caitlin looked through the night where he pointed toward the mountainside. She could barely make out a hint of shadow filled with boulders. He wanted to go rock climbing. In the dark. With a fire nipping at their heels. And she hadn’t told him about her injuries yet.

  “I’ll radio the station and let them know I’ve found you. Then we’d better get moving.” He handed her the flashlight. “Here. Hold this.”

  She took the flashlight and trained the beam on Mac as he used the radio. Her mind whirled. Fatigue and pain had taken its toll. Until now, only sheer willpower kept her upright. Mac’s check-in call barely registered until he mentioned her father.

  “Don’t forget to call Sean Malone.” Mac spoke into the radio.

  “Roger,” replied the disembodied voice. “We’ll see you on the other side. Over and out.”

  “Ranger One. Out.” Mac hooked the radio on his belt and reached for the flashlight.

  Caitlin let the light slip from her unresisting fingers into his hand. “Dad knows I’m out here?” She worried about his health, and whether his concern for her well-being would affect his illness. She shuddered at the thought of more ammunition for his argument that she was too stupid for her own good. What was the phrase? T.S.T.L. Too stupid to live. Maybe her father wasn’t that perverse, but her actions since returning to Rockton certainly weren’t giving him any reason to think otherwise. It didn’t help matters that Mac was witness to her recklessness. The worst part was, the night wasn’t over yet. She still h
ad to tell Mac about her ankle. Forget her head and ribs. Her ankle would make rock climbing on the mountainside impossible. He’d have been better off if he’d left her out here, instead of putting himself at risk, too.

  Chapter Ten

  Mac was surprised by Caitlin’s question about her father. “Of course Sean knows you’re out here.” Did she think that he’d keep it a secret?

  “I don’t suppose he thinks it was by accident.”

  Mac snorted and shook his head. “I’m not sure how you want me to answer that. You’ve changed, Cait. But not that much. I think you’re as accident-prone as always.”

  “How would you know how much I’ve changed? Did you try to stay in touch?”

  “So you’re saying being out in the middle of a forest fire wasn’t an accident?”

  “I’m saying—” She must be tired. Too tired to realize she’d taken the bait. “I’m not saying anything more.”

  “This is a first.” Mac laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You. Speechless. Twice in one night.”

  Mac caught Caitlin’s glare in the flashlight beam. Good, she still had some fight left in her. She’d need it for what they had to do tonight. “Come on, we can’t stand around here all night.” He deliberately turned his back on her and swept the surroundings with his flashlight. They’d follow the ridge above the lake as they hiked to the rockslide. He didn’t like the thought of climbing those boulders in the dark, but they wouldn’t be safe from the fire anywhere else. The rocks offered safety in the way of providing little fuel.

  He walked a few steps and stopped. Caitlin hadn’t followed him. “Are you going to stand there all night?” He swung the beam directly into her face. She raised a hand and cringed against the sudden brightness. Mac tried not to let her disheveled appearance soften him. He had to be tough. They were far from being out of danger. He had to be strong enough to get them both safely through the night.

  Caitlin took a breath. “Get that damn thing out of my face. I’m coming.”

  He dropped the light to the ground in front of her so she could see where to step. She still used the stick and she had a limp, but it didn’t seem too bad. Climbing was another matter. Moving around on the boulders would force her to shift her weight from leg to leg. If her ankle was weak, he’d have to support her most of the way. He’d do what needed to be done, but touching her would be a different kind of torture in itself. As she drew level with him, he turned to lead the way.

  His pace was steady but slow so she could keep up. They walked in silence for a couple hundred yards, but it took them almost another thirty minutes. The glow from the fire grew almost to the point where they didn’t need the flashlight. That wasn’t a good sign. “Can you walk any faster?”

  Caitlin moaned. “I’m going as fast as I can.”

  “Right. Grandma could’ve run circles around you by now.” It was heartless, but if he didn’t push her, they’d never outrun the inferno.

  “How much farther before we reach the rock slide?”

  “Another hundred yards.” He picked up his pace. “Come on. Once we get on the rocks, we’ll rest.”

  Caitlin didn’t say anything, just nodded. Injury aside, her sparse conversation was an indication she wasn’t completely herself. Mac’s concern grew. If she collapsed, he wouldn’t be able to carry her and get over those rocks before the fire reached the lake. Their only chance was for him to keep pushing her while she could still walk. Everyone had their limits, but most people could go much further than they ever thought possible. Caitlin was no exception. Although her labored breathing clearly indicated a struggling effort, she increased her pace to match his. They covered the last hundred yards in just under ten minutes.

  Mac played the flashlight over the boulders closest to them then shined the light up the hillside. The night swallowed up the beam. The summit was a long way up.

  He turned off the light and started up the rocks. The light on his headband would have to be enough for now. He needed his hands free.

  “I thought you said we could rest when we got here.” Caitlin reminded him of his promise.

  Mac pivoted carefully on the rock and studied the encroaching fire. They didn’t have much time before the blaze reached the lake across from them. An hour. Maybe less. “Five minutes.” He turned on the second flashlight and hopped off the rock to the ground.

  Caitlin opened her mouth then clamped it shut. With a nod, she slipped the backpack off her shoulders and unzipped the top pocket.

  “What have you got in there?”

  “Not nearly enough.” She pulled out a sixteen-ounce bottle of water and unscrewed the lid. She pressed it to her lips and took a long pull, holding most of it in her mouth before swallowing. When she held the bottle out to Mac, he realized she didn’t think he had any supplies. Until now, Mac had been so focused on finding her that he hadn’t even considered how thirsty or hungry she must be.

  “When did you eat last?”

  “I don’t know. Hours ago.”

  She jiggled the water bottle at him, and he shook his head. From the sound of it, there were only few ounces left.

  “Try to remember,” he said.

  “I had an energy bar just before I started my hike to the cabin. We had an early lunch before the ride up here.”

  “That was at least twelve hours ago.”

  “I guess.” She shrugged and then winced.

  Mac recalled how she’d winced when he’d hugged her. “I know you’ve hurt your ankle, but did you injure your shoulder when you tore your shirt?”

  “I don’t remember tearing my shirt.” She pushed the bottle back in her pack. “I had other things on my mind at the time. Like staying alive.”

  “Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?” It was past time for him to hear her story.

  Caitlin glanced at him in confusion. “Like what?”

  “Let’s start with the fire and go from there.”

  “You think I started it?”

  Mac didn’t know what to think. Her behavior since returning to Rockton was unpredictable, to say the least. “Did you?”

  She flinched and leaned away from him in wounded silence. Mac berated himself for even thinking she could’ve started the blaze that was destroying their beloved forestlands. Regardless of how she acted, he refused to believe she was capable of such a heinous act.

  When she answered, her tone was cold enough to extinguish the flames roaring toward them. “No. I wasn’t the only one at the cabin.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Is that where the fire started?”

  She nodded.

  “So you weren’t alone?”

  “It wasn’t some clandestine meeting, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  If her biting tone was meant to provoke him, she didn’t succeed. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”

  “No. I guess I don’t.” She peeled the bandana off her head. “Maybe this will convince you that I’m not the arsonist.”

  Mac shined the light on the side of her face. How had he missed seeing this? He stepped to her side to get a closer look. A jagged cut ran from her temple to her ear. Blood still seeped from the deep wound. “What happened?” His hand rose to inspect the wound, but she batted it away.

  “It’s not that bad.” She retied the bandana around her head, grimacing.

  His fingers balled into fists and he had to consciously unclench his hand before he was tempted to hit something. “You obviously haven’t seen it, so I won’t tell you how bad it looks.” He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. He flashed the light directly in her face, dropped it slightly and then did it again. “At least your pupils are responsive.”

  “You mean I’m not dead yet.” Caitlin jerked her chin out of his hands. “Do that again, and I’ll smack you with that damn light.”

  He smiled as glimpses of the old Caitlin found a way to the surface, despite how much she tried to hide behind her tough exterior. A gentle comfort settled in his chest. He l
iked the feeling. Familiar. Reassuring. Evocative. And dangerous.

  She stared at him with a hint of wariness and he found his breathing difficult to control. Maybe the smoke was drifting closer, getting heavier. In the dim light, he saw her moisten her lips. Mac stared back, mesmerized. He closed his eyes against the temptation. “How did you get that cut?”

  “A gift from a guy named Dunn.”

  “Martin Dunn? Jack’s friend?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m surprised you only got cut.” He frowned, confused by her statement. “Why were you fighting him?”

  Caitlin looked exasperated. “You make it sound as though I had a choice.”

  “There’s always a choice. That’s been the problem with your association with Jack and his biker gang, all along.” This was just another offense he could pin on his uncle. “What on earth was Jack thinking, letting you fight someone like Dunn? He could have killed you.”

  “He almost did,” she replied hotly. “And Jack had nothing to do with it.”

  She opened her mouth and Mac braced himself for the tirade to continue but it didn’t.

  “Shouldn’t we be moving out?” she asked quietly.

  He cocked his head, thinking he hadn’t heard her correctly. Then he realized her ninety degree turn was an attempt to redirect from something she didn’t want him know. Not for the first time since she’d returned had she tried that tactic. He didn’t understand why she did it and he certainly didn’t like it. However, she had a point. They couldn’t waste time arguing. The window of opportunity to get away from the fire was closing quickly. If they didn’t move now, they might not burn in the flames, but the smoke would kill them just as dead.

  ****

  Caitlin wanted to scream. A moment ago, it almost seemed as if Mac would kiss her. The moment teetered on the edge, taunting her. It was different from how she’d felt the night he kissed her that first time. Back then, his actions had been completely unexpected, but his kiss—the passionate lovemaking—changed their relationship forever. She had wanted to build on it, but instead Mac walked out of her life.