AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 28
Tucker heard Wynonabreathing hard and slowed down. It wasn’t that he loved sprinting up the same mountain every day. It wasn’t that he wanted to stay in the lead. He wasn’t a competitive man, unless his brothers were involved. And his quad muscles certainly weren’t enjoying the climb. But he was in such a hurry to find this stupid amphibian.
Now he could hear her right behind him. The trail wasn’t wide enough for her to come abreast. Sundance looked over his shoulder at her and then circled back to walk beside her. Tucker tried not to be offended.
Sundance stayed right beside her, almost as if he were worried about her for some reason, as they dropped the first team off with Holden in charge.
As they approached the second spot Tucker had picked out, Sundance sprinted off to their left. Far below them, Tucker could hear the trickle of water, but he knew it likely that he could only hear it because he knew it was there. No one else mentioned it.
Tucker stopped as the trail widened. Gunner took his pack off, assuming correctly that this was the spot for his team. But Craig spoke up. “I’ll stay here with these guys.”
Everyone turned toward him in surprise. He hadn’t spoken up in a long time. He raised his chin at Wynona as if he expected argument, but she only said, “Okay.”
Gunner looked at Tucker, questioning with his eyes. Tucker shrugged. “Want to come with us?”
Gunner didn’t answer but he reshouldered his pack and started up the hill.
“I need a light,” Craig snapped.
Without turning around, Gunner hiked his thumb over his shoulder. “It’s right there.” He kept walking.
“Hang on a sec,” Tucker said and started toward the western edge of the trail. He motioned for Wynona to follow, but they all did.
When they reached the edge, Wynona let out a dainty gasp. It was cute. “There it is,” she said in wonder.
“There it is.”
They had finally reached Katie’s Gulch, and from now on, the trail would follow it until it intersected a different trail that banked east again.
“Where’s Sundance?” Wynona asked, alarmed.
Tucker chuckled. When had those two developed such a bond? “Probably trying to find a way down to the water.”
“But he can’t!” she cried. “There’s no way!”
He knew what she meant. They were looking down into a deep ravine banked with vertical walls of granite. Unless one had rappelling gear, there was no way down. But Sundance had surprised him before. If there was a way, he would find it. “You might be surprised.”
“Can you just whistle to him, please?”
Tucker chuckled, and Gunner gave him a strange look that he couldn’t read. “Sure.” He whistled. “Let’s go. The trail follows the gulch from now on.” Gunner was still staring at him, which was making him a little uncomfortable, so he hurried away from him.
The trail became more difficult. They crested a rise to see Sundance in the middle of the trail waiting for them. Tucker sneaked a peek to see if Wynona was relieved, but it was hard to tell. Mostly, she just looked tired. There were no more switchbacks to countercheck the slope. Now they just went up, and up, and up.
“We’re almost to the top,” Tucker said in an attempt to encourage Wynona.
“The top of what?” Gunner grunted.
“I’m not sure it has a name,” Tucker said, “but this is the highest point on this side of the gulch.” He looked west. “Make that both sides.”
Another few hundred feet and they were there. It was the smallest clearing yet, and perilously close to the edge of the ravine. Wynona dropped her pack and looked that way. “Wow,” she said between wheezing breaths, “we’ll need to be careful that we don’t die.”
“Right.” Tucker felt guilty for her breathlessness. He could have taken more time. It wasn’t dark yet. “When we walk the perimeter, we’ll have to stay on the bright side of the light.”
She nodded. “Good idea.” She sounded better already. She was recovering quickly. She strode toward him. “I’ll set the light up here, then.”
