Indian Summer

by Amy Elizabeth

  Rebecca felt dangerously close to losing her composure. The rain began to fall more steadily, but she didn’t even notice until everyone shielded their eyes and started leading their horses for the shelter of the barn. Reluctantly she followed, her heart sinking lower with each step.

  “There has to be something more we can do,” she said when she entered the aisle. “Somewhere we haven’t looked. Someplace we haven’t thought of.”

  “I don’t know where else we can look,” Tommy admitted. “We’ve combed every inch of this property at least a dozen times.”

  “And Shania’s not back yet,” Holly added. “Maybe she found him.”

  The thought brought Rebecca very little comfort. She watched in despair as Holly, Ben, and Jake started to untack their horses. Even Tommy gave a quiet sigh and turned to Joaquin to loosen the cinch of his saddle. She knew there was nothing more they could logically do tonight–it was dark now, and a storm was moving in–but she also couldn’t bear the thought of giving up. Her husband was out there somewhere, alone and exposed to the elements and undoubtedly as frightened as she was.

  From the darkness came the unmistakable clip-clop of hooves. Rebecca strode down to the end of the aisle, and for the second time that day, her heart nearly came to a stop. She could do nothing but stare as Pumpkin trotted into the aisle and gave an enormous shake, rattling the empty saddle on her back.

  “Shania?!” she called, racing into the storm.

  She shielded her eyes against the rain and peered through the darkness, hoping and praying that she’d see Shania’s tall figure somewhere. Even better, she prayed she’d see both Shania and Alec making their way unharmed to the safety of the ranch.

  There was nothing, though, except the whistle of the wind in her ears and the steady beat of raindrops on the brim of her hat.

  Tears were streaming down her face by the time Tommy and Jake caught up with her. “Bec, what are you doing?” Jake cried, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a stop.

  “We have to keep looking!” she shrieked, whirling around to face them. “They’re out there somewhere–”

  “And there’s nothing else we can do right now,” Tommy said calmly. “We’ll head out again as soon as dawn breaks, alright?”

  Rebecca felt as helpless as an infant as Tommy and Jake guided her back to the barn. A fresh round of tears leaked from her eyes, but she let them drip down her cheeks unchecked. She thought again of Alec’s disturbing question that morning and Shania’s strange behavior while they worked, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was just coincidence that they were both missing now.

  Two distinct images flashed through her mind, and she couldn’t decide which one troubled her more:

  The thought of Alec and Shania being out there alone…or the thought of them being out there together.

  *

  Before darkness fell, Shania located a shallow crevice in the rocks that would serve as a perfect shelter for the night. It wasn’t quite a cave–it only extended about fifteen feet into the hillside–but it was enough to shield them from the wind and the rain that was howling through the valley.

  The journey there was a challenge for Alec. He leaned against Shania like a crutch, using the last of his strength to stagger through the sand and collapse in the safety of the crevice. His stomach convulsed whenever he glanced at his leg, so he leaned his head against the wall of the cave and fixed his gaze on the hills, watching them glow with each flash of lightning.

  Shania sat on the opposite side of the fire, also propping herself against the hard rock wall. She’d gotten drenched while she collected what little dry firewood she could find, and he could see now that she was shivering beneath her jacket. He thought about offering her his coat, but when he saw the bitter expression on her face, he changed his mind.

  Now that the initial crisis had passed, he was reminded again of how angry she was. She hadn’t so much as glanced in his direction since they’d entered the cave.

  Alec shifted against the wall and grimaced when he inadvertently placed weight on his injured foot. For a moment the world spun in circles, but he focused his eyes on the fire until the wave of nausea passed. He wondered how much damage was being done to his leg by delaying treatment like this.

  By the time he made it to the hospital tomorrow–if he made it to the hospital tomorrow–he would have been injured for well over twenty-four hours.

  He didn’t know how long they’d been sitting there when Shania finally broke the silence. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  Shania turned her gaze from the falling rain and regarded him for a long moment. “Do you come down here a lot?”

  Alec shook his head. “I haven’t been down here in nine years.”

  Her expression didn’t change. “So why did you come today?”

  It was Alec’s turn to remain silent. On the surface, the answer was simple–he’d come here to think about her. He’d come here to think about how differently each of their lives might have turned out if he hadn’t sent her away. Most of all, he’d come here to think about how much he’d hurt her and what he could do to heal the gigantic rift between them.

  But as simple as all of that sounded in his head, he knew there was no way to succinctly express it in words. Besides, he’d never gotten the chance to think about any of those things. Instead he’d lain unconscious on the beach for half the day, and he’d probably still be there right now if Shania hadn’t shown up.

  When he failed to respond, she drew in a deep breath. “Look, Alec, about last night–”

  “Can we not do this right now?” he said quietly. “Can we please just get through the night?”

  To his relief, she nodded. “Sure.”

  His leg started to throb again, radiating all the way up to his hip. He knew he needed to elevate it, but there was nothing inside the cave to prop it on. Moving slowly, he tried to fold his right leg beneath him so he could rest his left leg on top of it.

  “What are you doing?” Shania asked.

  “Trying to get my foot off the ground.”

  She watched him struggle for a minute before she stood and made her way around the fire. Alec said nothing as she folded her legs and sat at his feet, gently taking his injured leg and propping it across her knees. Within seconds the throbbing subsided.

  “Better?”

  Alec nodded. “Thanks.”

  Shania turned her eyes back towards the river, and Alec couldn’t help but follow her gaze. The storm had finally passed, but the moon was still shrouded in clouds, making the night impenetrably black. He lifted his wrist and tilted it towards the fire until he could make out the time on his watch.

  2:30am.

  “You should try to get some sleep,” he suggested. “You’ve got a long hike in the morning.”

  “I know,” she said without diverting her gaze. “But I’m not tired.”

  Alec certainly was. The relentless stab of pain in his leg coupled with their overall predicament had zapped what little reserves of energy he had. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, welcoming even a moment of reprieve from the anxieties of the day.

  He didn’t know how long he’d dozed when he was jolted awake by the sudden snap of a branch. Shania jumped, too, jabbing her knee into his calf, but he barely registered the sensation. He glanced out into the darkness, hoping that they’d just imagined the sound and nothing was actually out there.

  Then one of the logs of their fire popped, sending a burst of light into the night, and Alec’s blood turned to ice when he saw the glowing yellow eyes of the grizzly bear staring straight back at them.

  Chapter 39

  Out of necessity, Rebecca returned to the farmhouse, but she didn’t even attempt to go to sleep. She paced circles around the kitchen, treading lightly so she wouldn’t wake Walter, while she turned the day’s events over in her mind.

  Alec was disturbed by something. Shania was clearly disturbed by something, too.
Alec had gone for a ride, only to have Onyx return to the ranch without him. Shania had gone looking for him, only to have Pumpkin return to the ranch without her. There had to be a logical explanation for each of those things, but Rebecca couldn’t figure out what it was.

  She drank at least her ninth cup of coffee and began another round of pacing. The answer was right there within her grasp. She could feel it. Think, Rebecca.

  They were both upset. They’d both vanished inexplicably. They’d searched every inch of the Flying W’s property looking for them…

  That’s it.

  Rebecca stopped dead in her tracks, trying to remember the night Alec had told her about his childhood with Shania. How had he described the beach they always visited? She racked her brain for details, willing herself to remember.

  A rocky outcropping.

  A bend in the river.

  Beyond the borders of their property.

  She glanced out the window at Tommy’s cabin. Not surprisingly, the lights were on in his kitchen, too. She didn’t know or care what time it was. She raced for the foyer and pulled on her jacket, slipping silently out the door before she bolted down the hill.

  Tommy opened his door only seconds after she knocked. “I know where they are,” she panted.

  “How?”

  Rebecca described as much of the setting as she could remember. “Does that sound familiar at all?”

  Tommy frowned as he leaned against the door post. “I’ve seen the outcropping before. It’s at the east end of the valley, in the opposite direction we take the trail rides. I’ve never ridden past it, though.”

  She felt a flutter of hope. “I know that’s where they are, Tommy. That’s where they always went when they were kids.”

  “But why would Alec have gone there today?”

  Rebecca shrugged. “Like I said, he seemed off this morning. Maybe he went down there to think and something happened. Maybe she rode down there looking for him and something happened to her, too.”

  Tommy looked skeptical. “Bec,” he said gently, “have you stopped to think that maybe they’re down there for an entirely different reason?”

  Her stomach flipped when he voiced her unspoken concern. She wasn’t naïve. The thought had crossed her mind many times over the course of the evening. And although she had no reason not to trust her husband, she also realized that Alec–like anyone else–wasn’t infallible.

  Especially when she factored in a decade’s worth of unfinished business with a woman as attractive as Shania.

  “Of course I have,” she said, forcing the image from her mind. “But something tells me that’s not it. That doesn’t explain why their horses are here and they’re not. Something’s wrong, Tommy. I don’t know how, but I can sense it. And I’m going to go down there right now to find them, with or without you.”

  He glanced at the clock on his wall and let out a sigh of defeat. “Well, you’re not going out there alone,” he replied. “I’ll meet you in the barn. Just let me grab some flashlights.”

  *

  Alec and Shania sat as still as statues, watching the fire illuminate the features of their long sought-after culprit.

  The grizzly was enormous–easily the largest bear Alec had ever seen. When he shifted his weight, Alec could discern a prominent brown hump at the top of his shoulders. His eyes glistened in the firelight, sometimes red, sometimes yellow, and sometimes vanishing into the darkness, only to shine again when the bear moved its head. He was no more than twenty feet away, standing in place and staring straight back at them.

  “Shania,” Alec whispered. “Give me your knife and get behind me.”

  It took her a moment to respond. “I shouldn’t move.”

  “Give me your knife and get behind me,” he echoed, more forcefully this time. “Do it right now.”

  He could feel her trembling as she slid her knees from beneath his leg and set his injured foot on the ground. She moved slowly and cautiously, handing over her knife before she inched further into the cave. Alec sat up and pulled her behind his back, placing himself between her and the grizzly.

  “If it comes in here, you curl into a ball and protect your head.”

  She nodded against his shoulder. “I know what to do.”

  The grizzly eyed them warily, making no move to approach or retreat. Another log popped in their fire, sending a burst of sparks into the air. The bear raised his head and gave a little grunt, clearly startled by the sound and the sight. Then he lifted himself into the air to get a better look at them, towering mightily against the sky on his hind legs.

  Alec stared up at the grizzly, suddenly wondering if he was experiencing the final moments of his life. If the bear attacked, their chances of survival were slim. They were trapped inside a shallow cave with nowhere to go. And although he held Shania’s knife, if the bear came close enough for him to use it, it would already be too late.

  The grizzly was powerful enough to take them down with one swipe of his paw.

  Yet curiously, right in that moment, Alec wasn’t thinking about himself. He could have been thinking about the things he’d done–and hadn’t done–with his life, but all of that paled in significance compared to the people he cared about. He thought of the woman who was now cowering behind him, his friend who’d tried to rescue him and instead was about to share his fate. He thought of his father next, who relied on him for his very survival, and he wondered what would happen to him if Alec didn’t come home tomorrow.

  Mostly, though, he thought of his wife. He had no doubts that Rebecca was strong enough to go on without him, but that knowledge didn’t stop the guilt that pierced through him when he thought of all the things he wished he could have given her. More than anything else, he wished he could have given her more of himself. The one thing she wanted most from him–his time–was the one thing he was so often unable to give.

  But perhaps the most painful thought for him to swallow was how she’d react to all of this. He already knew how it would look–a secret rendezvous gone terribly wrong. And Rebecca, of course, would assume the worst–that he’d been unfaithful to her–even though nothing could be farther from the truth.

  The bear dropped to all-fours again and took a slow, tentative step closer. Alec’s stomach lurched when the bear took another step, then another. Behind him, he felt Shania scoot closer and hide her face against his back. The grizzly stopped again, no more than ten feet away, and continued to eye them. Then he opened his mouth and let out a low growl, revealing a terrifying row of long, pointed teeth.

  “He thinks we’re a threat,” Shania whispered. “Stop looking at him.”

  Immediately Alec dropped his gaze. He even went so far as to bow his head and turn his face away. He doubted that he could hook in with a bear the same way he could with a horse, but he had nothing to lose by trying.

  He closed his eyes and drew in a silent breath, mentally repeating the process he’d used that first day with Onyx. He envisioned himself in a wide-open field in broad daylight, but instead of staring at his horse, he imagined that he was face to face with the grizzly.

  You have nothing to fear from me. I am not going to harm you.

  And in his mind’s eye, the grizzly responded like a docile horse, simply turning and walking away. He wished that was how it would happen right now. He wished that he had the ability to transform his peaceful vision into reality. He didn’t know how long he sat there with his head bowed low, waiting to feel the bear’s hot breath on his face or his powerful teeth tearing into his neck.

  When neither of those things happened, he very slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. The sky was filling with light, but that wasn’t what he was looking at.

  “Shania,” he whispered, giving her a gentle nudge.

  She lifted her face and followed his gaze to the river, where the bear was wading quietly through the water. They could do nothing but stare as the grizzly reached the opposite shore and disappeared into the trees.

  *
>
  Dawn broke over the horizon as Rebecca and Tommy began their descent into the river valley. Although their horses could see just fine in the dark, they hadn’t wanted to risk riding faster than a walk. At the first hint of light in the sky, they moved their horses into a trot.

  “How much further is it?” Rebecca asked when they reached the valley floor.

  “Not far now,” Tommy said. “Maybe a mile or so.”

  Needing no further encouragement, Rebecca urged her horse into a canter. Tommy and Joaquin fell into step beside them, and their horses’ breaths came out in rhythmic snorts as they followed the riverbank towards the sunrise.

  Rebecca had never ridden through this part of the valley; they always turned west when they brought guests down here. Eventually they rounded a small bend in the river and she saw a steep hill directly in front of them, with the jagged remains of a cliff jutting out into the water.

  “That has to be it,” she said aloud, pressing her heels into Star’s sides.

  Star obediently extended her strides, carrying them closer and closer to their destination. Then, through the increasing light, Rebecca spotted a tall shape wading through the water towards them.

  Shania.

  Every ounce of tension drained from her muscles as she slowed her horse to a trot. “Are you alright?” she called.

  Shania nodded as she stepped onto the sand. “I’m fine. But Alec hurt his leg.”

  Tommy pulled up beside her and extended his hand. “Come on.”

  Shania gripped his arm and he pulled her effortlessly onto Joaquin’s back. As soon as she was settled behind the saddle, Tommy guided his horse into the river. Rebecca followed a few paces behind, trying to prepare herself for whatever she was about to see.

  Star and Joaquin splashed their way through the water, rounding the rocks until they emerged onto a wide stretch of sandy beach. When Rebecca spotted Alec sitting inside a shallow cave, she was off her horse’s back in an instant.