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He shoved from their hiding place on the small terrace of greenery before the rocky drop. Shay followed cautiously, careful not to step too close to the drop-off where the Jeep had met its final demise.
Looking up at the edge from where they’d fallen, Shay shook her head in disbelief.
How...how did we survive that? The trembling started up her legs again. To think they’d rolled from the Jeep and...Rick had taken the brunt of that fall, protecting her more than she could have imagined.
His back to her now, she took in his broad shoulders and noted a few rips in his sweatshirt, all the way through the shirt underneath. He had to be in pain, yet he hadn’t said a word. Shay took a step toward him and lifted her hand, wanting to touch his back, but she quickly withdrew. Unwilling for him to see her shaking again, she wrapped her arms around herself.
Rick gazed up the ledge that led back to the road. “I don’t think we can make it back up from here. The top of the ledge is just out of my reach. There’s nothing for me to grab onto, even if I was a rock climber—which I’m not.”
Neither was she. Shay’s heart sank. “What are we going to do?”
“We’ll have to find a different way.” He scratched his jaw and turned his attention to the valley below.
Glad she’d dressed in layers, Shay rubbed her arms, this time from the chill in the air. “Even if we could have made the road, we need our coats, don’t we?”
“Yeah, and we need our gear. The weather could turn ugly. And if that’s not enough, the guy I paid to rent his Jeep for the day isn’t going to be happy. Come on.” He held his palm open. “We’re getting out of here.”
When Shay hesitated, he frowned. “What? Don’t you trust me?”
There was a question she was sure he didn’t want answered. The truth was, she could only trust him so far. “It’s not that,” she hedged.
Rick withdrew his hand and waited. A stiff breeze wrapped around her.
“Then what is it? We need to hurry.”
How did she tell him? She looked at the valley, at the drop where the Jeep had landed. “I don’t know if I can.”
He shifted his weight, his gaze skimming the gorge and the valley beyond. Understanding dawned on his face. “Sure you can. We’ll make our way around and descend along the slow decline. I’ll be right there with you every step of the way.”
“Rick, just standing here like this, everything is spinning. If I look around...”
His forehead crinkled. “You’re not telling me you’re afraid of heights, are you?”
The words hung in her throat, so she nodded.
* * *
He studied Shay, her cute short crop hugging features that still looked pretty despite the smudges and the scratch from their crash through the underbrush. They’d barely escaped with their lives, so he should be grateful a few scratches was the most she had, but it wasn’t over yet.
How was it that an airplane mechanic was afraid of heights?
Now, that was a story he wanted to hear.
That could also explain much of her stiffness during their travel to Alaska. He’d been a little suspicious, but she’d claimed she just wasn’t happy about having to make the trip. He could relate to that.
He scratched his chin and flattened the smile that threatened. “I thought you looked a little sick on the flight to Fairbanks. I just figured it was motion sickness.” Rick stepped closer.
“Well, now you know. I’m afraid of heights. Afraid of flying. Not so uncommon.” Shay’s big purplish-blue eyes stared up at him again. He recalled when she’d done that moments before—looked up at him. He’d held her in his arms then....
Color rose in her cheeks. Was that from the dipping temperatures or something else?
His emotional wall flew up—he had to guard himself, keep from feeling anything for this woman. Even if he were free to fall for her, which he wasn’t, this sure wasn’t the time.
But seeing her like this, this small vulnerability in her tough act, hitched a little place in his heart.
“Yep. Now I know. But you have to realize that if we’re going to survive this, we need to get moving.”
Shay shrugged, looking resigned to the situation. But that wasn’t good enough for Rick. He was counting on her to make this work—both their lives depended on it.
“Listen, I’ve got your back, okay? You don’t need to worry about falling.”
She didn’t appear reassured.
“Is there something else? Something you’re not telling me?” What was she hiding? What happened when someone was afraid of heights? Did they pass out? Oh, Lord, please, no. Then again, maybe carrying her dead weight would be faster than assisting her down.
“Shay.” He kept talking because she wouldn’t respond. “You can do this. You’re strong, and you’re tough. We all have our weaknesses, so this is yours. No big. Just don’t look down.”
“I’m sorry, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing.” She took in a deep breath. “You’re right. Let’s do it.”
Good girl. Rick held his hand out again. “I promise I won’t tell anyone about your...um...condition.”
The corner of her mouth lifted and she smacked him on the arm.
“Ow.” He grabbed his arm, pretending it hurt.
Shay moved by him without taking his hand.
He grabbed her arm. “There’s a slope here and then some boulders and a drop-off. I think it levels off after a while, but let me help you to get your footing, okay?”
“Once we’re in the trees and can’t see how high we are, I’ll be good.” Still, Shay placed her hand in his and together they maneuvered the incline, which was a little steeper than he’d anticipated.
Slipping, Shay yelped.
Rick held tight, his muscles tensing to keep himself steady on his feet along with Shay. “I’ve got you.”
When they made it to the boulders, Rick stopped. “Let me climb down first to find the best way.”
Shay nodded.
“So how did you end up becoming an aviation mechanic?”
Asking her a few questions might keep her mind off worrying about what lay ahead. His mind, too. He wasn’t scared of heights, but that didn’t mean he felt at ease. No matter how you looked at things, making their way back to the road would be a difficult task. But Rick couldn’t just sit around and wait for a rescue that might not come for days, if that. No one was expecting them back anytime soon.
“Do you really want to know?” Shay’s soft voice bounced off the boulders as he made his way down.
“Yes, I do. And I think it’s okay for you to start down. It’s an easy descent—just watch your footing.”
His breathing was a little harder than he’d have liked. This shouldn’t be anything like a tough workout—he thought he was in better shape than this. Maybe it was the altitude. He glanced up to see Shay making her way down. Fortunately, the trees were thick here and she shouldn’t see anything to set off her fear of heights. He hoped.
“My father was a mechanic. I watched him work, helped him and learned from him while I was growing up.”
Rick already knew that answer, of course. He’d heard the other guys talking about her. But he wanted to hear it from her. Get her talking.
“And you liked it so much that you decided to follow in his footsteps.” Rick climbed across the flat top of a big boulder, beginning to see that he’d made a mistake.
“Yep. That’s about it.”
He paused at the edge, confirming the drop would be too much for him to jump. He couldn’t safely hit the rocks below without risking serious injury. Shay definitely couldn’t do this.
“Okay, hold up right where you are.” He directed his voice in her direction, but he’d lost sight of her.
A small animal scurried through the underbrush below. The earthy scent of spruce and untainted wilderness enveloped him. They were really in the thick of it now.
“Rick? Where are you?”
“I’m just on the other side of these rocks. You’ll see me in a minute. I have to find another way down.”
“It’s getting colder.”
Too bad they couldn’t have done this retrieval in the summer.
“When we get down to the Jeep and get our coats, I’ll make a fire and we’ll rest for a while.”
Rick hated that they had to start this adventure already in need of rest after two long days of travel. But sometimes you just had to gut it up. He prayed they found their coats. Everything could have fallen out at different places along the Jeep’s tumble. Stuff could be sprawled all over the valley, never to be found again.
Besides their coats, his main concern was finding his gun.
He needed that gun. They could face wild animals, but mostly he feared they might face the two-legged kind, and they weren’t turning out to be too friendly in these parts. Rick wished now that he’d used the weapon at that instant when the truck had plowed toward them. He could have taken aim and taken out the driver. Maybe. It had all happened so fast.
That might not have stopped the vehicle from barreling toward them. In that split second, he’d made a decision to drive the Jeep out of harm’s way. That decision had been a mistake. Too bad he was no stranger to those kinds of mistakes.
But right now focusing on his failures wouldn’t help Shay. Rick scrambled along the boulders, searching for a better way down. Concentrating on the task at hand instead of trying to make conversation with Shay was probably a good idea, as well.
He glanced up and spotted her watching him. “I think you’re good to follow me now.” He left out that talking too much had distracted him and led them on the wrong path.
Shay nodded, seeming content to end their conversation for now. He might ask about her family if they had a chance to rest. And there was her reference about something happening and her father teaching her to shoot. He’d like to know what that was all about, if she was willing to share.
Rick’s foot slipped on a boulder.
He grasped at the rock, but he couldn’t get a handhold on the surface.
Despite his best efforts, his body slid and he fell backward through the air, Shay screaming somewhere in the distance.
FIVE
Oh, my. Oh, my gosh....
Panic wrapped a tight cord around her throat. She gasped for breath, and finally sucking it in, she screamed. “Rick!”
But he didn’t answer.
Shay called again. “Rick! Are you okay?”
Without thinking about her footing, she made her way down the rocks. She had to get to him. “Rick, please answer me.”
Oh, Lord, please let him be okay. Let this be some kind of joke. But she didn’t think he would joke about something like that, especially at a time like this. Shay chided herself. How many times had she been invited to go rock climbing? To go skating or jogging or to a workout class? She spent too much time cooped up in a warehouse just doing her job. Maybe if she had accepted those invitations, she’d have a better idea of what to do now. She’d be better equipped to climb down these rocks. She’d be in much better physical condition, too. She didn’t know how to do anything other than work. And now she was paying for that.
When Shay made it to the point where she’d last seen Rick, she crawled on shaky hands and knees to the edge and peered over.
“Rick?” She injected a little hope into her tone.
There he lay, at the bottom of the pile of rocks. “Oh, no....”
Careful not to make the same mistake he’d made, she backtracked and made her way around the mountain of smooth and jagged rocks. “Rick Savage, don’t you leave me here alone.”
Talk. Just keep talking. He’ll hear you and be all right by the time you make it down. “Can you hear me, Rick?”
Shay found herself staring at a drop of about five feet. Not that far, really, but if she didn’t land just right, she might not be much better off than Rick. Or worse, she could be injured and in pain and with no way to get help.
Shay slid her gaze to all possible ways down, but there was nothing for it. She pressed flat on the rounded boulder and slid her body against it as far as she could.
She pulled in a breath. Please, God, let me land right.
Releasing her slight grip, she allowed herself to slide and then drop.
Her feet hit the ground and she plopped back on her backside. So far so good. Still, she had a stretch to go to make it all the way down to Rick. He hadn’t responded to anything she’d said. And that wasn’t so good.
Fear like she’d never known—even when the killer truck had shoved them from the road—coursed through her. At least she’d been with Rick at that moment, and with that, she realized that despite the uneasiness she felt at the shadows in his eyes, she’d felt safe as long as he’d been there.
What if Rick never woke up?
No. She couldn’t think that way. Careful to make her way to him cautiously and safely, she nevertheless hurried down the rest of the pile of rocks. Though descending hadn’t been that easy, the stack of rocks had given them a path to the base of the mountain and into the gorge.
Her feet firmly planted on earth carpeted in pine needles, Shay rushed around the edges of the rock pile. “Rick,” she gasped, running.
There. He lay sprawled on his back. Motionless.
She fell to her knees next to him, wanting to touch him, jar him awake, but fearing she might hurt him more, depending on his injuries.
“Where are you hurt?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t answer. She ran her hands down his arms and legs, gently patting to make sure there wasn’t an obvious break.
Then she rested her palms on his head and pressed her face near his. “Now, you listen to me, Rick Savage. I need you. Please wake up. I have no idea what to do without you.”
Her palms resting against his stubble-roughened cheeks, she felt the rush of warmth through her hands and up her arms. She’d had a thing for this man for the longest time, in spite of the gun incident. Seeing him like this sent shards of pain slicing through her core. “Please, please wake up.”
Brushing his dark hair from his forehead, she noted the sun-bleached strands, remnants of a summer spent outdoors. She ran her hands all the way through the thickness. “I’ve always wanted to do that....” She murmured the words to herself.
“If only you were awake, then I wouldn’t have to feel guilty for doing that without your permission.” She sat back on her rear, thinking. Praying.
“If you don’t wake up, what in the world am I going to do? Where would I begin to get you help? The sky’s growing dark. I wanted to make it to the Jeep for our coats before making a fire, but maybe I should just make one here and wait for you to wake up. That’s something I can do, at least.”
Shay rubbed her arms, warming them against the cold. She had to make a decision. It might already be too late either way. “Maybe I should just leave you and find the Jeep myself so I can bring back our coats and anything else I can find. How far could it be from here anyway?”
A vise squeezed her heart. How could she save Rick?
“Maybe if you were a jerk, it might be easier to leave you. But no, you have to be cute and...” Shay sighed. “Cute and nice.”
There, she’d said it.
Rick groaned and slapped a hand to his head. “Did anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”
“You’re...you’re awake. Oh, thank You, God.” Shay pressed her hands over her mouth. But how much had he heard? “And no. No one has ever told me I talk too much.”
Tears burned behind her eyes.
Rick sat up, rubbing his head, his hair a scruffy mess. He blinked a few times, then pinned her with his grays. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You made it down all by your lonesome.” Rick sat up, then pushed up to stand, a little unsteady on his feet. “I’m sorry to scare you like that.”
“Never mind about that.” Shay stood, too. “Are you okay? You think you have a concussion?”
Rick rubbed his face and then his neck. “Nah. I’m good to go. We need to make up for lost time.”
Shay started to move by him, though she didn’t know where she was going. But the way he looked at her left her wondering just how much he’d heard. What an idiot she’d been to flap her trap like that, but talking kept her company, chased the fear away.
He stepped in her path, standing a little too near for comfort. “I’m glad you don’t think I’m a jerk.”
* * *
And just a little too glad that you think I’m cute. Too glad for my own good.
When Shay’s eyes widened, he knew she wondered what else he’d heard. Though he’d been unconscious for a short while and had a dull throbbing ache to show for it, he’d felt himself coming to and heard an ongoing conversation Shay was having with herself and him. Her soft, caring voice had brought him back from the darkness.
The problem was he couldn’t stop thinking about her words and he had no business thinking about them now, in this situation. Or ever.
“Let’s get moving.” Rick tore his gaze from the heat of surprise in hers and focused on surviving. “Stay close to me.”
After getting his bearings again, he headed due north in the direction where the Jeep should be. Evergreens and lush undergrowth had taken over the gulch they’d descended into, and maybe somewhere at the bottom they’d find a river or stream.
He shoved through the thick scrub, trying to make time while they still had the last of daylight to guide their path. The temperatures had long ago started dropping below comfort level. If they didn’t recover their coats and make a fire soon, they were done for. The full brunt of winter wasn’t on them yet; still, the temperatures could vary from extreme cold to extreme heat during the spring and fall months. Today had been a relatively warm day, but he had a feeling that warmth was on its way out if the temperatures so far were any indication.
Behind him, Shay was breathing hard, and he wasn’t doing much better.
He paused and turned to face her. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she said, a shiver to her words. “Keep moving.”
Of course she understood the danger they’d face if they didn’t find what they were looking for. They hiked on for a few more minutes, darkness finally closing in on them.
“How much farther, Rick?” Her teeth chattered a little. “You sure we’re headed the right way?”
“It has to be around here somewhere. I know this is the place.”
Rick gazed up where the moon shone above them, illuminating a familiar cliff, but he hadn’t exactly seen this side of it from the top, making it hard to gauge their position. “Recognize that?”
“You mean the ledge of death?”
“Is that what we’re calling it?” He almost chuckled at the name she’d given it.
“No. That’s what we’re going to call it if we end up dying because we can’t find the Jeep.”
“We’re not going to die. We’ll build a fire and stay warm tonight, then look for the Jeep tomorrow if we have to. But for now, stay close. Let’s work our way over and hope to find the Jeep. If Providence is on our side, we might even be able to turn on the lights.”
Shay huffed. “I know my stuff, but that doesn’t mean I could get that thing running again.”
Forcing his way through the brush in the light of the moon with Shay remaining near, Rick smiled to himself. “I bet you could get it to start even if it sank in the river.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Savage.”
Mr. Savage. He liked the sound of her voice when she said it. What an idiot. Now he was a jerk for thinking along those lines. Shay didn’t deserve damaged goods.
When Rick took another step forward, he kicked something that had a metallic ring to it. They both froze.
Clouds had momentarily slipped over the moon, leaving them in darkness. He leaned over and pressed his hand against the cold metal, sliding it until he came to the end. “The bumper. Or one of them. It must have come off.”
“We’re close, then.” Shay’s voice rang with hope.
“Yeah, close.” Faced with the prospect of finding everything they needed with only intermittent moonlight to guide them and the cold grip of an Alaskan night threatening them, Rick started to think maybe they’d made a mistake. This wasn’t going to work. “Wait here.”
“No. I’m coming with you.”
He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. She didn’t try to pull away as he led her in search of the body of the vehicle. He hoped everything they needed remained intact inside what was left of the vehicle.
As they pushed through a thick stand of bushes, Shay’s gasp reflected his own morbid thoughts. The Jeep rested overturned and on its side, the front end and right side collapsed. Shay had been sitting on the passenger’s side. Now that seat no longer existed, having been crushed by the toppling two-ton vehicle.
They should have been ecstatic to find it—at least in the face of their circumstances—but instead, Rick and Shay both stared in shock. The next thing Rick knew, Shay was in his arms, trembling. When had he tugged her to him? Or had she simply stepped against him and wrapped her arms around him?
He shook his thoughts free. “This time I need you to stay here. I’m going to shove it over so it won’t be unstable, and then we can search inside, okay?”
She nodded her agreement, taking a few steps back. “Be careful.”
Rick marched around the Jeep, watching where he stepped so he wouldn’t twist his ankle or stumble. He wasn’t exactly sure he could right the thing, but it appeared to rest at an awkward angle, looking as though even the slightest nudge would push it completely over. The sound of pebbles trickling down the cliff face drew his attention up, though he couldn’t see much. He hoped any rocks loosened by the Jeep’s tumble didn’t decide to slide while he stood here.
“Shay? You out of the way?” he called.
“I’m good. Go ahead.”
Rick pressed his foot against the crumpled roof and shoved. Hard.
The Jeep rocked back and forth, the sound of twisting metal resounding through the gorge. Okay. This would take a little more than a mere shove on his part. He pressed his back against the roof and heaved with all his strength. While the Jeep teetered, Rick stepped back and kicked it hard.
It toppled onto the tires, and the driver’s-side door, already dented from the first collision, fell off, clanking through the night. Dust rose while steam spewed from the radiator. Rick’s shoulders rocked with an incredulous laugh that the radiator was only just now ejecting its contents.
Shay jogged up to him, her cloudy breath visible in the moon’s illumination. “The door light went on a little. You see that?”
She grinned. Funny how such a small thing in the worst of circumstances could bring a smile to her lips.
He’d always liked her smile. “Yeah, I see it,” he said, but he wasn’t talking about the light that had come on when the door had fallen off.
Then her attention shifted away from him, a look of alarm spreading over her face as she angled her head, listening.
Somewhere in the distance, an ominous sound echoed.
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