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“Stranger danger?” Eva whispered.
“Yes,” Tanner smiled at her. “Unfortunately, we’ve got some stranger danger. We need to hide and rest for a while. We’ll let them pass, then go a different route home.”
“What about Mom?” Sam asked.
“Noah will get her home. He’ll be waiting for us with your mom. Both of them will be so happy to see us when we get there,” Bree said.
“I’ll carry both of them, if you get the backpack,” Tanner said.
Bree shook her head. “There’s no way you can carry both of them and continue to hide our tracks. I’ll piggyback Miss Eva and you give Sam a ride.”
“I can walk,” Sam said. “I’m not a baby.”
“I’m not a baby either,” Eva said with a pout.
“Nobody’s a baby,” Tanner said, cutting them off. “We need to move as quickly as possible, with as few steps as possible. So if you happen to be the two shortest people here, then you get a piggyback ride. But listen, this is a wilderness piggyback. That means you need to hold on and help as much as possible with your legs and arms. Okay?”
They both nodded. Tanner walked over and cupped the back of Bree’s neck. “You’re going to have to dig deep, freckles. We need to move fast and find the best shelter we can get.”
“I can take it.”
He kissed her hard. “I know you can. Let’s go.”
Tanner hoisted Sam up onto his back, and Bree did the same with Eva.
Tanner hadn’t been lying. He set a brutal pace, not slowing even as they headed uphill, over rocky terrain or through thick underbrush.
Bree forced herself to keep pace even when her lungs felt like they were on fire and she had stitches in both sides of her waist. Eva did what she could to help, keeping her legs hooked around Bree’s hips and holding a lot of her own weight much of the time. But it was still agonizing.
Tanner periodically turned around to check on her but never offered to stop. That didn’t make her angry. It meant he trusted her to do what had to get done.
But she hoped he was listening out for any trouble, because, honestly, someone could walk right up on her and she’d never hear them over the sound of her own labored breathing.
It was pitch-black by the time they stopped. Bree could barely see two feet in front of her.
“This,” he said. She got a tiny bit of satisfaction to hear that Tanner was breathing hard too. “This is probably as best a place we’re going to find. Everybody stay right here, and I’m going to make sure there’s nothing living inside.”
Inside what? Bree had no idea. Tanner took a sip from the canteen, then handed it to Bree before disappearing into the darkness. She grabbed Eva’s and Sam’s hands just to make sure she didn’t lose them in the darkness.
“What is Lips doing?” Sam asked.
“He’s finding a safe place for us to rest. He’ll be back in just a second.” She prayed that was true, because she had no idea what she was going to do if she suddenly became the adult in charge.
But he was back just a few moments later. “Okay, no critters. At least, not now. We’re safe to go in.”
“In what?” Bree asked. “A cave?”
“It’s really more of an overhang than an actual cave, but it’s sheltered on three sides and can fit all four of us.”
Tanner led them forward and down a small hill. The moon was finally coming out, so she could just barely make out the shape of the natural shelter he’d found. But he was right, it should keep them hidden for the most part.
“We can’t make a fire,” Tanner whispered. “So we’re all going to need to huddle together with the blankets to keep warm. We’ll have to eat whatever we collected on the way. But most important, we’re going to have to be as still and quiet as possible, okay?”
The kids nodded. If they weren’t too scared, they’d probably be out like a light as soon as they ate.
Tanner gave them all some more water and they got out the food they’d been collecting along the way today. The temperature was dropping now that it was dark, so Bree had the kids go ahead and wrap themselves in the blanket. Tanner ate a little, then whispered that he would be back in a few minutes.
“Where is he going?” Eva asked, worry evident in her little voice.
