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After they’d walked uphill silently for a few minutes, Jen suddenly stopped. “Mom, there’s a GPS in your phone. We can find the lodge easy with that.”
Sally pressed a hand to her throat, experiencing a moment of panic when she remembered where her phone was. “I left it in my purse…in the pickup.” Damn it! What a monumentally dumb move. Her phone, her money, her driver’s license—everything was in that purse, which was probably at the bottom of a canyon if things went as Luke had planned.God, please let Luke be all right.
Her emotions barely in check, Sally kept placing one foot in front of the other as they forged uphill. She grasped Jen’s hand close to her side, even though it made walking cumbersome, unwilling to take the chance of being separated from her daughter too.
A few more minutes of walking and she pulled herself up short. They’d traveled a zigzag course up the north side of Elk Mountain for at least thirty minutes. She’d go right by the lodge if they stayed on that course. Time to level off and head northeast. She might not have a GPS, but she could see the moon. Rachel’s friend, Jonathan, had taught both of them the basics of finding their way by the moon’s position.
Suddenly, the thudof muffled gunfire jerked her attention to the east, as though she’d be able to see the ribbon of asphalt Luke had followed. Jen wrapped her arms around Sally’s waist and buried her head in Luke’s overlarge T-shirt.
Sally backed into a small thicket of young pine trees and lowered herself carefully to the ground along with her precious cargo. “Luke’s going to be okay, remember?”
Her daughter cried softly.
“You’ll see, sweetheart. He’ll catch up to us any minute and he’ll be like ‘what took you so long.’” Sally mimicked Luke’s teasing banter.
Jen giggled reluctantly, followed by a sniffle. “I’m really glad he’s here, Mom. Aren’t you?”
The question she’d dreaded…and Sally still didn’t know how to answer. One thing was for sure: After tonight, her daughter had proven that she could handle the truth, so the truth was what she would get.
“I am,” Sally said, not really surprised by how easy the admission came. “But I don’t think he’ll be staying, honey. I know you like him a lot and I hope you won’t be too disappointed when he leaves.”
“Why, Mom? I thought he liked us.” Tears glowed in Jen’s eyes again. “Is it because of me?”
“Of course it’s not, baby. Don’t ever think that. It’s just that Luke is from California. That’s where he lives—where his friends are. He comes here once in a while to visit his Aunt Peg and his brother, Garrett…and to see you. It’s just like when we went to the Grand Canyon last year. We met some people there, but our lives were back here in Idaho. So, when our vacation was over, we went home…and so will Luke. But I bet he’d let you e-mail him if you asked. Then you could keep in touch all the time.” Sally was grasping for a positive way to spin the ultimate good-bye, but it was hard to be upbeat for Jen when Sally couldn’t get a grasp on her own feelings.
Jen sat up straight and wiped her eyes. “Maybe that would be all right…but it won’t keep you from missing him.”
Sally pushed Jen’s curly locks behind her ears, then pulled her closer for a kiss on the head. “When did you get so grown up anyway, Ms. Duncan? Don’t you know that you’re all I need?”
Jen rolled her eyes in the typical preteen answer to everything and pushed to her feet. “Whatever.”
Sally snorted and Jen snickered, and immediately the tears and gunshots were pushed to the back of their minds. This time Jen fell in behind her as Sally set a quick pace—as quick as they could manage across the rough terrain of Elk Mountain.
Twenty minutes later, they stumbled onto a little-used forest service road. It wasn’t much, but enough that Sally wanted to sing a couple of choruses of “Hallelujah.”One look at Jen changed her mind. “Let’s rest for a bit, honey.” Sally sat against a tree trunk and patted her lap.
Jen didn’t waste any time snuggling against her, trembling from the chill night air and her exertion.
Sally brushed Jen’s hair as she spoke soothingly. “We’re almost there. I remember this road from hiking with Rachel. It meets the lodge road not too far from here and then it’s just a short walk.”
“What about Luke?” Jen’s face was pale and etched with fatigue.
“He’ll be okay, honey. He’ll find us. Or maybe he’s waiting at the lodge.” Luke had to be all right. Sally couldn’t give any thought to anything else—not after everything he’d done for them tonight.
Suddenly, Jen sat up straight. “Mom, I saw a light through the trees…there.” She raised her arm and pointed across the overgrown road, her voice low and urgent.
Sally’s heart hammered erratically as she searched the area Jen had indicated. After a few seconds, the flickering light appeared, bouncing up and down as though someone carried it and then disappeared again.
“Quick. Follow me.” Sally pushed Jen to her feet and clutched her hand as they moved off the open roadway into the shadow of the trees.
“What if it’s Luke?” Jen whispered.
“Even if it’s Luke, we need to stay out of sight until we know for sure.” As soon as they were within cover of the trees, Sally kept Jen moving, stopping only when she found a close grouping of young pines with needles scraping the ground. She pushed her way through the supple fronds and dropped to her knees, pulling her daughter down beside her. Silently, she placed one finger in front of Jen’s lips, then positioned herself so she had a view of the road. It was so dark within the forest, the only way she’d see anything was if it moved or carried a flashlight, but she settled down to wait. The only sound in their enclosure was the wind rustling the pine needles and Jen’s soft breaths, both of which calmed her frazzled nerves.
Several minutes passed before the bobbing light came into her line of sight. Sally studied the figure who held it. Hope plummeted at first glance. It wasn’t Luke. This man was taller and broader across the chest and shoulders. Was it one of Clive’s men? How had they found her? The federal witness protection program was supposed to be secure, if nothing else. Marshal Lambert would have to explain this before she’d agree to anything more…providing she survived the night.
The big man stopped when he reached the spot in the road where Sally and Jen had rested. Slowly, he turned in a circle until he faced back the way he’d come. “Do you smell that?”
Startled, Sally realized he was talking to someone who was following—someone she couldn’t see. Her gaze darted back to the man with the flashlight. Something about his voice…or was it just wishful thinking?
