They started trekking upstream, making sure to stay where the water would cover their tracks. Abby was watching the water, pointing at something every once in a while.
Laura spoke quickly, blurting her words out in a torrent of emotion. “Look. These guys are after me.” She glanced at Abby, and the anguish on her face hurt Seth. “And Abby.”
Seth waited. He did not see how agreeing with her would help anything. Laura continued, still talking quickly, her voice thick with sentiment. “You should go. You can probably make it back to town safely, especially if you’re not with me. You don’t need to get caught up in this.”
Seth stopped walking. There was no way he could process what she had just said and keep moving at the same time. She thought he would leave her to save himself.
Filled with disgust at the very idea, Seth’s voice was now heavy with emotion. “I’m not leaving you alone. I don’t care what makes the most sense—I’m not leaving you two alone. We’re going to get out of this mess together.”
Laura looked at him. Oh, how he wished he could read that expression in her dark eyes. Did she believe him?
She opened her mouth, but Seth cut her off, angry that she thought he would be so cowardly as to save himself while letting a woman and child die. “No. I will march back to that tunnel and try to take care of that assault team by myself before I leave you two out here alone. We’re all going to the shelter. We’re all going to make a plan. We’re all going to make it out of this.”
She still looked like she wanted to argue. “Besides,” he said, “they were watching the cabin and saw both me and my truck. They know we were in there together, and I’m sure they think you told me everything. I’m as big a liability as you are at this point.”
Laura’s voice was soft, but not defeated or angry. For that, at least, Seth was thankful. “All right. The shelter is this way.”
They left the creek at the designated spot and headed up the mountain. Seth’s legs started to burn after just a few minutes. He looked at Laura in front of him, Abby’s arms wrapped around her neck.
Seth wanted to reach out and put his hand on Laura’s shoulder to stop her but was afraid of destroying the fragile trust they seemed to have built. Instead he quit walking and coughed. Laura paused and turned to look at him. She had a question in her eyes, and he struggled to find the right words. “This is pretty rough terrain.”
She waited, watching him. Probably wondering why he had stopped their progress to state the obvious. Seth felt himself becoming flustered, which made him want to snap. No. That approach wasn’t going to work. He decided to just say it and wait for the rejection. “I was wondering if you wanted me to carry Abby for a little bit. She has to be getting heavy.”
Laura looked at Abby, who seemed to be following the conversation with her sweet dark eyes. “She’s been sick all week. I thought her fever had broken but it felt like it was coming back when I was carrying her in the tunnel. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
Seth couldn’t stop the laugh. “I’m pretty sure, all things considered, getting the flu is the least of my worries right now.”
Laura looked up at the sloping forest in front of them. She kissed Abby on the check and held her out toward Seth. “Thank you. A break would be nice.”
Seth took the little girl, surprised at how light she felt. She was warm and wound her arms around his neck without hesitation. Laura began walking again, and Seth followed. The daylight was fading, and they needed to find a safe place to make it through the night. And they needed a plan for getting past both a forest fire and a group of armed men. Help us to make the right choice, Lord. I don’t want to let them down.
FOUR
He was carrying her daughter. A park ranger was carrying her daughter. Her dad would be having a conniption right about now. This unexpected liaison with a park ranger was the most rebellious thing she’d ever done. Then again, Laura had never really had a rebellious phase. It was kind of hard to rebel when you lived alone on a mountain with a man who refused to get angry. She actually smiled at the thought of her father’s face if he could see this.
“Mommy!”
Laura almost stumbled as she stopped and spun around. She should have known better than to place Abby in the hands of a park ranger. And then she had turned her back on them, not even watching what was going on.
The tension in her body evaporated as Abby blew her a wet-sounding kiss, Duckie clutched in her arm. “Wuv Mommy! Mwah!”
Abby wasn’t hurt. She wasn’t in danger. She was cradled in Seth’s arms, grinning with those chubby little cheeks, and then sending big kisses to her mom. Seth’s huge smile faded as he looked at Laura. That handsome joy was replaced with an expression Laura couldn’t name. Defensiveness? Disappointment? He had surely read the accusation on her face when she had turned around.
Whatever it was, it made Laura look away from Seth’s face. She focused her gaze just above Abby’s head as she forced a smile.
“I love you, too, baby.”
Her face felt too tight, and it was hard to maintain the upward curve of her lips. Abby seemed to buy the act, however, as she turned back to Seth and started babbling. Something about leaves and rainbows.
Laura chanced a glance at Seth. He was watching her, his face impassive. Unable to maintain his gaze, she turned to face forward again, navigating the path almost subconsciously as she thought about the man behind her. She couldn’t figure him out. No, that wasn’t true. Laura couldn’t figure herself out.
“How far away do you think the shelter is?”
His voice was conversational, almost as though he was asking how she liked her coffee. Laura kept walking, trying to keep her pace steady. She was grateful for his effort at normalcy, but she didn’t want to see that look in his eyes again.
“If I’m remembering right, it should be up here about three miles or so.” Laura was proud of how evenly she answered him. She felt like a little girl playing dress up with a neighbor boy—both pretending to be mature and sophisticated. Two grand adults having a lofty conversation in adult voices about adult things.
A confident adult was the last thing Laura felt like right now. She might not physically be a child anymore, but right now she was scared and confused. But she knew she wasn’t alone, no matter how much it felt like it.
Laura swallowed hard as a smile fought with the impulse to cry. She had God. She had Abby. And she had a park ranger.
They walked. And walked. Laura thought the forest fire had maybe moved to the muscles of her legs, concentrating its burn there.
“It’s pretty up here.” Seth’s voice was still conversational, as though they had been talking the entire time. Two people out for a stroll, enjoying the scenery. Laura wanted to thank him for his effort, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of making this situation seem ordinary.
“Yes, it is.” Laura didn’t have to try too hard to infuse her words with warmth. It was the truth. “I love this mountain. I’m sure part of that is because it’s home. But really, who wouldn’t look at all this and fall in love?” Laura took a second and gave the scenery the respect it deserved. She had been focusing on escape. On next steps. On routes and plans and maps that existed only in her memory. Now she was focusing on the masterpiece that God had created. The one she had missed desperately when she lived in Denver.
The trees had brown, textured trunks and lush green leaves and sharp, precise needles, and they burst with life. The forest floor was covered in leaves and plants, a soft carpet. Moss looked soft and inviting. Rocks seemed to pop up here and there, little chunks of sculpture decorating the land.
The wind was blowing away from them, and Laura tried to find the familiar scent of the forest. She wanted to smell pine and wood and that musty, tangy, thick mountain smell. It was there. Along with the faintest hint of smoke, unfortunately. But she couldn’t see smoke yet, and that made her fe
el better. The sky was a color that, if she painted it, would probably be called unrealistic.
Laura’s pace had slowed considerably. She felt herself begin to blush as she stopped her staring and resumed their original steady pace. She hadn’t meant to get so caught up, but she also didn’t want that horrible silence to return. She turned and gave Abby a big smile. “The mountain is pretty, isn’t it, Abby McDabby?”
Abby looked at her and smiled right back. “Pretty! Pretty mountain.”
Laura looked at Seth. His eyes were warm. Happy. Not wanting to ruin the moment and lose the feeling of hope that was growing in her chest, Laura faced front again. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Thank You, God. We needed this.
Feeling reassured and rejuvenated, Laura checked her surroundings to make sure that they were still on the right path. The break from reality was nice, but getting lost was the last thing they needed. Seth must have noticed her change in demeanor.
“Um, we’re not lost, are we?” He sounded hesitant. That made Laura smile. He seemed afraid the question would anger her. And scared that they might, indeed, be lost. Still basking in the relief of the carefree atmosphere they had created, she tried to make her voice as serious as possible.
“Lost? Umm...noooo. I just don’t see the tree where we need to turn.”
Silence. Then, still hesitantly, “Tree?”
Laura was glad she was still in front of Seth. There was no way she would have been able to maintain a straight face. “Yeah. When we see this tree, then we need to make a hard left.” She made of show of slowing her pace and looking at the nearly identical trees that surrounded them in the forest.
This time, his voice held a hint of dread. “What does the tree look like?”
Laura had to swallow quickly to keep the laugh inside. She waited a second until she thought her voice wouldn’t give her away. Trying to sound as confident and nonchalant as possible, she responded, “It’s tall. It has green leaves. The bark is a sort of brownish color.”
Laura wished she could see Seth’s face right now. He wasn’t saying anything, and her mind was supplying all kinds of ideas about what his face might look like. His voice was decidedly thicker when he finally spoke. “Is there anything else? Anything that would make the tree stand out?”
Laura pretended to think for a second. “Oh! It does have some distinctive things on it.”
“Distinctive? What are they?” Seth sounded relieved.
“It has moss on the trunk. Toward the bottom. And there are bird nests in the branches. And these squirrels. These certain squirrels live in it. They have bushy tails.”
Laura heard Seth stop walking behind her. She put on her best poker face and turned to face him. “Is something wrong?”
Seth was looking at her with an expression that was probably half suspicion and half frustration. “Are you messing with me? We’re looking for a tree that looks exactly like every other tree in this forest?”
Laura had to face the front and start walking again. She couldn’t help but smile at how disgruntled Seth was. “I mean, they look different to me. But, then again, this is my mountain.” Laura continued her pace. She hoped that Seth would follow.
“Mama!” Laura turned to see Abby pointing at her. Abby wasn’t upset, but she clearly wanted Seth to keep up.
With a huge sigh, Seth started moving again. “You’re messing with me. You have got to be messing with me.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “You are messing with me, right?”
Laura’s tone was probably giving her away, but she was enjoying this too much to stop now. “Messing with you? Oh, you mean about what the tree looks like?”
Laura heard a humph from behind and almost giggled. “I’m not messing with you. I mean, how else would I know where to go? There aren’t any street signs or anything like that.” She wasn’t exactly telling a lie. Laura’s dad had taught her about finding her way on the mountain, and part of that involved looking at the trees. Knowing the forest by sight.
Though he never put stock in memorizing where the squirrels with bushy tails were.
“So, we’re looking for a special tree that is somehow different from all the other trees because it has bark and leaves and moss and nests and squirrels, even though every single tree I look at has all these things?”
Laura turned her laugh into a small cough. “Well, I don’t know that I would call the tree special. I mean, isn’t all of nature special?”
When Seth didn’t respond, Laura’s curiosity was too strong to ignore. She turned to see him muttering to Abby. He looked exasperated, but whatever he was saying was making Abby smile.
They rounded another tight clump of trees, and Laura realized that her fun was over.
“This is it. We’re here.”
* * *
Seth looked around, but “here” looked like every other place they had been since they got out of that tunnel. He was fairly certain that she was making fun of him. She had to be. She couldn’t really be looking for a special squirrel tree. No. She was playing him. Probably.
Seth didn’t normally enjoy being the butt of other people’s jokes, but he found that he wasn’t really upset with Laura. For one thing, he had seen her smile. Just for a second, but it was enough. Her cheeks had been pushed full, her eyes had seemed to come out from the shadows and she’d looked ten years younger. Seth had felt better, too.
Putting Abby down, he tried to discern where the shelter might be. He failed.
He looked to see Abby picking a flower that was growing near her feet and Laura standing there with her hands on her hips. The smile was still in place, though. So was the amused expression she had been wearing and trying to hide for the last ten minutes.
Seth threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of defeat. “Okay, okay. I give. Tell me your terms, and I’ll surrender.”
Laura looked like she was pressing her lips together, and the corners of her mouth were slightly curved upward. Oh, yeah, she was teasing him. She walked over to a group of bushes and pulled some vines away.
There was a door.
In the middle of the forest.
There was a door in the middle of the forest.
Seth was stunned. Yet, he had known somehow that Laura would come through for them.
The door looked old and rickety. As he walked toward it, Seth realized that the clump of bushes was not really a bunch of bushes growing together. Instead, it was a building of some sort. The shelter.
Seth walked inside, pulling out a flashlight from his belt as he did so. The interior of the cabin was similar to Laura’s rustic cabin, though much smaller. It was basically just a room. The fireplace surprised Seth because he definitely didn’t remember seeing a chimney outside. Of course, he didn’t see the building, either. Seth spotted two windows, both with interior shutters closed over them. Seth guessed that if he opened the shutters, he would only see the dense brush that was covering the cabin. He noted a bed, a table with chairs and a kitchen that looked like it belonged on a campsite.
“Secret fort!”
Abby’s excited voice drew Seth’s attention to the door. She was pulling against Laura’s hand, trying to get inside while her mother just stood in the doorway and watched Seth.
“It sure looks like a secret fort, doesn’t it, Abby?” Seth was glad Abby was excited instead of scared. So far, she seemed to be calm or acting like she was on a grand adventure. Seth hoped it could stay that way. He didn’t want the little girl to be afraid.
“Well, it’s not much.” Laura sounded resigned, like she had expected the worst and the worst is what they had gotten.
“It’s perfect,” Seth said. “It’s hidden. It’s dry.” He opened cupboard and closet doors as he walked around the room, noting the precious supplies they held. “And it’s got supplies.” He was relieved to see a rifle wi
th ammunition. He’d take that with him when they left.
Laura looked behind her, out into the open forest and then closed the door. “Do you think they are tracking us?”
Seth considered it for a moment. “I’m sure they will, eventually. But those men had a very urban look, Laura. I doubt they spend a whole lot of time in the wilderness.”
Laura didn’t look convinced.
“Even if they do, we have you,” Seth said. She looked surprised. Maybe shocked that he was giving her a compliment. “You know these woods. You knew how to get us to this shelter with minimal evidence left behind.” Seth recalled standing right in front of the shelter, knowing it was nearby, and still being unable to detect it. “And you led us to a shelter that is about as hidden in plain sight as something can be. In fact—” Seth stopped as the sound of a helicopter filled the small cabin.
Almost as one, they ran to the front door. Laura was reaching out, preparing to pull it open and run outside when Seth’s hand on her arm stopped her. “No, Laura. Wait.”
“What if it’s help?” She sounded desperate. It hurt to hear.
“What if it’s not?”
That did it. Laura dropped her hand and just stared at the door. Seth didn’t have time to think. The chopper sounded like it was passing overhead right now. He needed to get a look at it. Barely cracking the door, Seth saw the chopper flying in the direction of Laura’s cabin.
“Seth?” Laura’s voice made some of the tightness leave his face. He carefully shut the door and turned to face her.
“That was not a police or fire chopper. It looked private. All black.”
Still frozen, Laura tried to get her tongue to work. “More men?”
Seth met her eyes. “Maybe. Or Mahoney’s escape plan. But they didn’t see us. Nothing has really changed.”
Laura sighed. Seth didn’t know if she was reassured or had just decided talking wasn’t going to help anything. “Okay, so what now?”
Rocky Mountain Showdown Page 4