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Chapter Four
Annie felt as if she had barely put her head down on her pallet before morning came, bringing with it hope for rescue and fear of the unknown. For a few moments, she sat back and enjoyed the sunrise as it crept into being. Oranges, pinks and purples graced the sky, serving as a reminder that God was all around her. He had created this magnificent scenery. And He would see to it that she and Declan made their way to Love. She knew it all the way down to the tips of her toes.
She swept her gaze around her. The fire that had burned so brightly last night was now barely a flame. The warmth it had provided was a thing of the past. Her tingling fingers could attest to that fact. At least it was still burning, which meant it could be resurrected. She raised her arms over her head and stretched, casting a quick glance in the direction of Declan’s pallet. He was still propped against the tree, but his eyes were pressed closed and he was fast asleep.
She felt a surge of gratitude for this strong, sturdy man who had been her anchor during this crisis. He had not only saved their lives by executing a perfect landing in the wilderness but also rescued her from a bat’s clutches and saved all her belongings from the plane. Declan had taken care of her, something she hadn’t experienced a whole lot in her life. One of the reasons she had always been so independent was that, other than Gram, there had been no one to lean on.
Annie let out a sigh as she stood up and headed toward the fire. If it was going to continue to burn, she was going to have to stoke it. Declan had stayed up through the night to accomplish that task. She was guessing that he had finally fallen asleep due to utter exhaustion.
Even though they were still stranded in the middle of Chugach N
ational Forest and there was no hint of imminent rescue, she still felt blessed. They were alive and uninjured. And according to Declan, a search party would be looking for them today. Hope was ever present.
“Morning.” Declan’s deep voice startled her. His eyes were now wide open, and he was greeting her with a lazy smile.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said, hoping he didn’t think she had been staring at him. Gorgeous specimens like Declan were probably used to being drooled over. Not that she had been drooling in any way, shape or form. Simply admiring from afar.
“Just resting my eyes,” he said. He stood up and brushed off his pants, then headed toward her. “I’m glad the fire is still going. Now that it’s morning, I’m guessing we’ll see some planes overhead.”
“Do you think we’ll see them soon?” she asked eagerly.
He nodded. “Once dawn broke, they probably began mobilizing. We need to be ready on our end so that we don’t waste a precious second.”
Annie clapped her hands together. “What’s the plan?” She blinked at him. “You do have a plan, don’t you?”
He winked at her. “Declan O’Rourke always has a plan.” He grinned at her, then walked back over to his pallet and reached down to pull out a square box. He turned back toward her and held it up in the air. “This emergency kit is about to secure our rescue.”
Annie furrowed her brow. “What’s in there?”
Declan popped the kit open and pulled something out. “A flare,” he said in a triumphant voice. “We can only use it once, so we have to wait for the exact moment to set it off. The colored smoke can be seen from quite a distance, so we’ll have a good shot of being seen from the air. It will be instantly recognizable as a distress signal.”
Annie felt her pulse sizzle with excitement. “Oh, that’s an excellent plan. It was quick thinking of you to grab the emergency kit from the plane. How many flares are in there?”
Declan’s smile disappeared. “Just this one. When I say this has to go off perfectly without a hitch, I’m not exaggerating. It’s possible they might see a fire from above if we get a big one going, but if it gets out of control, this whole forest could go up. I’m not willing to risk that.”
“Nor am I,” Annie said with a firm nod of her head. “The flare has to work.”
A sigh escaped Declan’s lips. “Why don’t we eat something for breakfast? It could be hours before they scour this area. I’m going to keep the flare inside the kit so it can stay nice and dry. As soon as we hear any planes circling overhead, I can set off the flare.”
They settled down on logs beside the reinvigorated fire and indulged in peanut butter and crackers. Annie broke off a square of chocolate for each of them. Not much conversation flowed between them as they ate. Annie’s mind was occupied by thoughts of being rescued and what might happen if it didn’t come to pass. What would happen to them? According to Declan, the forest was too vast for them to walk toward rescue.
Would they just wither away into nothing or be devoured by a pack of wild Alaskan wolves? Even though she knew her thoughts were dramatic, they didn’t seem that far-fetched considering their predicament.
Within minutes, Annie heard a rumbling noise that seemed to emanate from the sky. At first she wasn’t certain if she was imagining it or not. Then the sounds became more persistent. Declan jumped up from the log he was sitting on. He looked upward, concentration etched on his face.
“Is that—?” she began. Her heart was pounding like a jackhammer.
“Yes! I’d know that sound anywhere,” Declan shouted as he opened the kit and yanked out the flare. He stood up and craned his neck. Annie followed Declan’s lead and began scouring the sky for a plane. Suddenly the rumbling sound got louder.
“There!” she shouted, pointing to the sky as she spotted a red-and-white plane flying above them.
Just as the plane flew directly overhead, Declan extended his arm and raised the flare in the air. Feeling as if she could barely breathe, Annie watched as colored smoke filled the sky.
“Turn around,” Declan said through gritted teeth. His eyes were focused on the sky. His hands were clenched at his sides.
“Oh no!” Annie fretted. “It’s not turning around. They didn’t see the smoke.”
The plane disappeared from view just as quickly as it had appeared. Annie raised her hands to cover her mouth so she didn’t let out a sob of disappointment. She had been hopeful about Declan’s plan for them to be rescued. This felt like a devastating blow.
