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By the time he reached the top, his arms and legs shook. He turned and pulled Cassie up over the edge and onto the pavement.
They collapsed side by side and lay for several minutes, catching their breath and giving their muscles a break from the strenuous climb.
“As nice as it is to lie beside you,” Cassie said. “I’d rather we were on a soft bed.”
“We can arrange that,” he said. Pushing to his feet, he reached down and dragged Cassie into his arms and kissed her long and hard.
Then he stood beside her, looking down the steep incline at the river of rock and gravel that had consumed a major portion of the highway and Drake’s pickup.
“That could’ve played out a lot worse,” he said.
Cassie nodded and slipped an arm around his waist. “I meant what I said as we were plummeting to our deaths. It wasn’t just an only-because-we’re-going-to-die sentiment. For some dumb reason, you’ve found your way firmly beneath my skin. Now, if you decide you spoke too soon and in the heat of the moment, I won’t hold you to what you said.” She knew she was rattling on but couldn’t find a way to stop, even when Drake turned her to face him.
“People sometimes say things in the heat of the moment that they don’t really mean. We were pretty much in the heat of the moment. Nothing should count if that’s the way you want to go.”
Drake touched a finger to her lips. “However, I meant what I said. I didn’t mean for it to happen, and definitely not so quickly. I can’t unlike you or pretend I don’t care in order to satisfy some arbitrary grace period we’re supposed to wait through before we can believe what we’ve felt all along is real.”
“I never knew what love was…”
“Until you,” Drake said at the same time as Cassie.
They laughed, held each other and kissed.
Once the sun dipped completely below the peaks, darkness descended, and the temperature dropped. Starlight competed with the shadows cast by the mountains, making it almost impossible to see the road in front of them.
They walked back the way they’d come, having no other choice with the road washed out by a river of rock.
The road Drake had zigzagged through the mountains seemed to wind around forever. When he thought it would never end, they emerged into a valley where the starlight helped illuminate their way.
“There should be a house near here,” Cassie said. “I know this valley. I’ve passed through this area so many times throughout my life. Funny how I never noticed the homes here.”
“Hopefully, one will have a landline phone we can use to call for someone to come get us.”
A light shone in the distance from a security lamp perched high on a pole. Hope gave them a little more energy, and they picked up their pace.
They’d gone halfway across the valley when the thumping sound of rotors beating the air echoed off the surrounding hillsides.
A helicopter popped up over a peak and swooped into the valley, shining a high-powered spotlight. Eventually, the spotlight found them.
The chopper hovered overhead for a moment, then landed on the road thirty yards from where Drake and Cassie stood.
A tall figure emerged from the helicopter and strode toward them.
As the man neared, Drake recognized Hank Patterson.
The first words out of Hank’s mouth were, “Thank God.” He held out a hand to Drake.
When Drake gripped him, Hank pulled him into a hug. “We thought you two were caught in the landslide.”
“We were,” Cassie said
Hank released Drake and enveloped Cassie in another heartfelt hug.
“What do you mean you were caught in the landslide?” He held Cassie at arm’s length. “Were you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Thankfully, we survived,” Drake said. “The same can’t be said for my truck. We were carried to the bottom of a steep hill where the landslide spread out and slowed to a stop.”
