Page 70 of Love in the Time of Wildfires

K. Let me know when you’re close and I’ll meet you. Drive safely.

While Logan had never met Mimi, he was grateful she kept him in the loop. Even so, he had to get there.

After getting inside the truck, he said, “If you drive as fast as you can, while still feeling safe, I’ll answer any questions you have about being a hotshot.”

Colin’s eyes widened before glancing around as though checking to see if anyone else witnessed this test. Then he gave a small, mischievous smile. “Buckle up, cowboy.”

Chapter Twenty-three

River wasn’t sure how she managed to keep dragging herself when her energy had been zapped to zero hours ago. The first night she’d spent sleeping in the forest had been horrible. She wasn’t even sure she’d call it sleep rather than being restlessly unconscious for brief periods of time. She’d been cold, uncomfortable, and scared. The second night hadn’t been much better. Not wanting to go through another night became her main motivation to keep moving forward even if she was exhausted and in pain.

River traveled as best she could, at one point finding a tree branch that made for a decent walking stick. Her ankle throbbed dully, and she was sure her foot was swollen inside her boot. Finding this branch was like coming across an unexpected gift. It could help with walking and also be a weapon should she come across another bear. It at least made things easier, even though she was out of water and food at this point. Her lips were so dry and chapped they hurt.

The good news was River had come across a small creek and was now heading in a downstream direction. She hoped to hit a river or campground eventually. Unfortunately, the creek water was becoming tempting. She knew drinking it was a bad idea and could possibly put her in a worse situation if it got her sick. The most she allowed was wetting the bottom edge of her jacket sleeve to dampen the skin along her neck and chest, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to resist.

Her thoughts were turning darker, her hopes wavering. River felt more of a shell of herself than anything else, never feeling so sucked into the depths of despair. Regardless, she had to keep dragging herself forward for as long as she could—

River stopped.

Was that a voice in the distance? She wasn’t sure. When the wind blew hard through the trees, the air sometimes filled with ghostly sounds. Or she was at the point of hallucinations. She wasn’t even sure of the direction.

Was she getting close to something, someone? It gave her a boost to keep going, quicker than before, with the help of her walking stick.

She heard the shout again. That wasn’t the wind.

“Hey!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. If she could hear them, maybe they’d hear her. Her heart beat fast—so scared she was going to miss her one opportunity. River kept yelling the word over and over again as loud as she could.

Please, she begged the universe. River wanted to see her friends and family and Goldie. But she especially wanted to see Logan again. Even if he was furious with her. She’d take his fury, which she rightfully deserved, if she got to see him again.

With the lack of water, her throat was scratched and abused. She couldn’t yell as strongly as she had the first day. River took one deep breath and with everything she had, she yelled, “HEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY! HELP!”

Something caught her eye. At the top of a hill above her, a head popped up. It was a young woman with a soft brown complexion wearing a yellow baseball hat. Maybe it was the whole being lost in the wilderness sort of thing, but she was probably the most gorgeous person River had ever seen in her life. As soon as they made eye contact, the woman gasped. “HERE! OVER HERE! HERE!” The woman blew into a whistle before jogging down the hill toward River.

“Oh god, please be careful,” River said because there didn’t need to be another injured person, not when there was only one perfect walking stick around.

The woman proved to be more graceful than River, arriving at the bottom without falling. “River?” she said, practically crying, even though River had never seen her before in her life. It didn’t matter because she was about to start crying too. “Oh, I’m so happy to have found you. I’m Kimaya. Here, sit on this rock.”

Kimaya led her to a small granite boulder to rest on. “Thirsty,” River said.

The woman took off her backpack, digging through it and soon producing a bottle. She twisted off the lid before handing it over. “Don’t drink too much if you can help it. You’re going to be okay. Help is coming. I’ll be right back.”

The drink wasn’t water—it tasted sweeter. Possibly Gatorade. Either way, she did her best not to guzzle it.

With more energy than River thought possible, Kimaya ran up the hill again, and soon more voices and whistles filled the air.

She was no longer alone in the world.

Chapter Twenty-four

Colin got him to his truck in Tahoe in record time. Logan immediately drove to the old logging road in Desolation Wilderness. When he arrived, there were quite a few vehicles, and he had to park a little further away.

The first person he saw was a petite woman with wavy dark hair talking on her cell. She glanced at him, waving him over. “Yeah, okay. Got it. We’ll head over there now. Yes. Thank you so much,” she said to the person on the other end of the line before hanging up. Her gaze rose to him, “Logan?”

“Yeah.”

Mimi threw her arms around him, which was unexpected, but he realized how much he needed it. “They found her,” she said, her voice full of teary happiness.

“They found her? And she’s. . .?” His heart caught in his throat.