“You’re not going to just leave them there, are you?” Claire asked the young man who had miraculously appeared with Frannie, of all people.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.” He waved one hand at the rearview mirror. “I’m Paul.”
Claire recognized him now as the Santa Claus from the Christmas party. The blonde with the ponytail and glasses introduced herself. “I’m Jerrylynn, and this is Vicky.” She waved a hand at a dark-haired girl who didn’t look quite as friendly.
“I’m Claire, Frannie’s sister. This is Jenny, and this is my friend Beth.”
“Now that we all know each other, where are you headed?” Paul asked.
“Yeah, sis,” Frannie demanded. “What the heck is going on?”
“We’re going to Ennis,” Claire said. No need to mention they were being chased by an angry man and his wife. “To catch the bus into Idaho in the morning.”
“Why are you going there?” Frannie asked with narrowed eyes.
It was none of Frannie’s business, and Claire didn’t want to get into Beth’s personal life in front of strangers. “None of your business,but you can pay me back the money you borrowed.” She held out her hand, palm up, to Frannie.
Frannie screwed up her face in what might have been an apology. “No can do. That moolah is long gone.”
Claire glared at Frannie.
“We can drive you to Ennis,” Paul said into the rearview mirror.
Vicky crinkled the map in the back seat. “Ennis is fifty miles from here,” she said with a note of annoyance. “By the time we get up there and back, it will be too dark to set up camp.”
Beth’s brows notched and she glanced at Claire. “We don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re no bother,” Paul said. “But you know it’s the busiest time of the year, and even in Ennis you might have trouble finding a vacancy at a motel.”
He was right. The middle of August was always packed within the park, and all around it. And anyway, they didn’t have any money for a hotel, thanks to Frannie. She had just enough to buy Beth a bus ticket.
“You could camp with us,” Paul suggested. “We have a big tent and some extra sleeping bags since we kicked those blockheads out. I can drive you to Ennis in the morning to catch the bus.”
“What about the fire tower? And the telescope?” Frannie said quickly. Claire could tell she didn’t like the idea.
Paul shot Frannie a smile. “I’ll be back in time for breakfast.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Claire answered.
Frannie groaned. “The last thing I need is my big sister being a wet blanket.”
“Don’t mind her,” Jerrylynn said, shoving Frannie. “We’d love to have you.”
Claire considered Paul’s offer. They were driving past Hebgen Lake now, and the lowering sun cast a shimmer of gold on the smooth surface of the water. It was going to be a beautiful night. Beth could get some rest and in the morning they would go to Ennis and get her a bus ticket. “Beth,” Claire said. “What do you think about camping out tonight?”
Beth looked unsure. “What about Jenny?”
“She’s slept in a tent before, with Red and me,” Claire answered. Jenny had slept as snug as if she was in her crib at home.
“It’s all decided then,” Paul said and grinned when Frannie stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
They drove past Hebgen Dam at the west end of the lake, and the winding road dropped into the canyon. A few minutes later Paul turned into a campground at Beaver Creek. “Full up here,” the Forest Service ranger told them. “You might find some space downriver at Rock Creek.” Paul thanked him and went back to the highway.
The river where Red and Claire had fished a dozen times glinted darkly in the shadows of the canyon. Claire’s heart squeezed at the thought of Red. Where was he tonight? In Libby, or somewhere else? Was he missing her and Jenny? The road followed the Madison farther downstream, where rocky buttresses loomed on the opposite side of the canyon and dark drifts of trees shadowed the hillsides.
“This must be the place,” Paul said, slowing at a sign with the symbol of a tent and an arrow pointing to a gravel road. They turned down the road that ran between the highway and a ridge. The campsites on either side were spacious—each with a picnic table and a fire pit—and all occupied with tents, trailers and parked cars.
“Gee, it’s crowded here, too,” Paul said.
