But the pain was still there.
“We also have the extraordinary spotter, the man who keeps us from tumbling off a mountain, Kevin Spot-On Daniels.”
This time I whistled.
“This mission is simple, but it’s not. Once we’re on the mountain, there’s one way off and that’s to get down by hiking down the mountain side. I hope you didn’t have any plans tonight because this looks to be a tedious one. Be advised the wind had already played havoc, constantly switching directions as a weather front comes in. Not the best scenario but the only one we have. Any questions?”
“What about the hikers?” I asked.
Immediately, half the crew laughed as if I was an idiot.
“Nah, that’s a good question. What do we have ourselves on Saturday? A holiday. Every tourist this side of Washington State is here enjoying our fine weather and exquisite scenery. Now, hopefully they saw the smoke and decided to cut their day short. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some diehards. There always are. There were some determined to spend the night with their families, pets, you name it. We have rangers working in tandem, but that doesn’t mean we won’t run into stragglers. Stay alert. If you see one, call out. Don’t try and become a hero. You got it?”
“Got it,” half of us said at the same time.
“ETA, five minutes. Taking the scenic route so we get a bird’s-eye view of what is going on.”
We were prepared, all turning toward the windows. As the pilot made a soft turn, banking to the right, I could see the summit clearly.
And the forest surrounding it, several acres on fire.
We had our work cut out for us, but that was fine. We could do this.
“Line up, gentlemen, and let’s get the party started.”
We all lined up, prepared to jump. As the plane swung around, the cargo door was opened. We were in formation, ready to go, the spotter keeping a close eye on the electronics.
“Alright. Ready? Jumpers. Hit it!”
One by one, we jumped from the plane, heading for the dense terrain and the plumes of smoke.
And I couldn’t be more elated. I never had felt more alive.
With one exception.
When I was with Grace.
CHAPTER 19
Grace
The man was a control freak.
I’d come to that conclusion after Viper had left.
Dominating. Demanding.
Determined to command aspects of my life.
If I’d told him that I had the lighter, he would have taken it from me.
I fingered the offensive piece, rubbing my thumb across the emblem in the center, wondering if I was doing nothing more than frustrating the hell out of myself. Maybe, but since my parents hadn’t smoked and I doubted they’d ever been to Mack’s Bar given it appeared to be a dive, and since the lighter wasn’t rusted, I had a feeling someone had dropped it recently.
Maybe I was asking questions for no other reason than to soothe my usual curiosity. I only hoped curiosity didn’t kill the cat.
Laughing, I had to wait until an older man had finally opened the doors at four on the dot, my mind creating several scenarios of how the lighter had ended up on the ranch. None of them good.
At least with Viper on some fire, I wasn’t worried about being caught. What I was mildly fearful of was feeling as if I needed to confess my sins. The man had an uncanny ability to know when I was tossing out a little fib or yanking his chain.
