Chapter 20
JULIA
J ulia’s heart pounded against her ribs as she stared down at her rain-soaked stepdaughter precariously clinging to the small but sturdy fir trees sticking from the rocks. “Sierra, don’t move.”
“Please, help me,” Sierra cried.
“I’m going to help you. But I need you to stay as still as you can until I can get you, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra answered. “But please hurry.”
“I’m going to.” She leaned back when Sierra’s shrill cry drew her attention back, her stomach clenching as she worried something had happened.
“Please don’t leave!”
“I’m just going to call for help. I’m not leaving.” She leaned back again as rain continued to pelt her and slid her hand onto Grant’s shoulder. Her wet fingers slid across the plastic of the radio strapped to her waistband.
She bobbled it as she pulled it free and pressed the button to speak. “Ally, come in. We found her, but we need help.”
Static crackled as she let off the button. Her heart thudded, waiting for a response that never came.
“Ally?” she tried again before she shook her head. “It’s no use. The storm is squashing any signal. I’m going to have to go on foot.”
“But–” Grant began when she clamped her hands onto his shoulders.
“Stay with her, but don’t get too close to the edge, okay? I don’t want to have to rescue two of you.”
“Julia…” He started, his eyes wide with fear.
“It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get her. I just need to get help.”
His features still registered raw panic as he stared at her.
She cupped his face in her hands. “Grant, we’re going to get her. Stay with her, keep her calm. Keep reminding her to stay as still as she can. Don’t get too close to the edge, though, okay?”
He wrapped a hand around hers as he slowly nodded.
“It’s going to be okay. We know where she is. We just need to get to her. I won’t be long.”
He gave her a firmer nod. “Keep her still and calm.”
“Yes, still and calm. Whatever you do…do not try to reach for her. She’s too far down and the edge could crumble and take you with it, okay? Promise me.”
“I promise. But Julia…what if…”
She shook her head before he could finish. “That’s not going to happen. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She climbed to her feet and scrambled across the slick rocks back to the cover of the trees. She tried the radio several more times as she made her way back to the trail. The fastest place she could get to would be the east ridge. Someone must be there. She prayed they had climbing gear with them.
The rain fell harder, each drop like a cold whisper against her skin. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a foreboding soundtrack to their desperate mission. The ground beneath her feet turned into a treacherous mix of mud and slippery leaves, making each step a battle against the elements.
Her stomach twisted and turned with every step away from them, but she had to leave them behind to save Sierra. There was no way she could reach her with anything they had. This was the fastest way to help her, though every step sent a pang of dread into her heart.
She continued at as quick a pace as she could to safely make it through the woods. Before she hit the trail, a sob escaped her. Crying wouldn’t help, but she wasn’t certain she could hold back tears any longer.
She paused briefly, collapsing against a tree trunk. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she gathered her strength and thoughts. She glanced back, the ridge disappearing into a misty veil of rain.
She’d been strong with Grant because she had to be. He needed that from her, but she’d felt as nervous as he did. What if they couldn’t get to her fast enough?
The tears blurred the world as she tried to continue forward at a quick pace. As she skirted a tree, she smashed directly into another figure. She bounced back a step, wiping at her cheeks as she glanced up, her heart skipping a beat.
“Luke!” She flung her arms around him as he pulled her closer.
“Julia, what’s wrong? Are you out here alone?”
“No,” she said as she pulled back, wiping at the tears that had fallen when she’d hugged him. “Grant’s with me. We found Sierra, but…she fell. She’s trapped on the north face.”
“She fell over? Is she hanging onto the rocks?”
“No, she’s clinging to a fir tree. It’s not going to hold for long, though. I’m surprised it held this long. We’re going to need climbing gear to get to her, and I can’t get a hold of anyone–.”
“I have some,” he said, poking a finger at his backpack.
Her eyes went wide as she stared up at him. If their relationship hadn’t been so complicated, she would have kissed him. “Really? We need to go then.”
“Wait, Julia, we should call Ally and Ethan.”
“There’s no time for that. With this storm, she could fall at any second. We shouldn’t put it off. Let’s get her and then worry about getting in touch with someone else.”
Luke nodded as she spun to lead him back through the rain-soaked forest. “She hurt?”
She wiped rain from her forehead as they hurried back toward Sierra.
Once again, she found herself trapped between the past and present, clinging to both.
“I don’t know. She’s conscious and talking.
I couldn’t assess anything beyond that. Well, I wasn’t willing to.
I wanted to get help as soon as possible.
I’m really worried about that tree not holding. ”
“Right,” Luke said as they reached the edge of the trees.
Grant still huddled over the edge, called to Sierra.
She hurried across the slippery surface toward them, dropping to her knees when she reached him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m back.”
“Hey, did you already–” He caught sight of Luke who peered over the edge at Sierra.
“She’s down pretty far. We’d never reach her without gear,” Luke said.
“Shouldn’t we be getting that?” Grant asked.
“I have some,” Luke said as he shed his backpack onto the ground.
Julia twisted to face him as he pulled it open. “What do you have?”
“Enough to get her, I think,” Luke said as he pulled rope, pickets, and more climbing gear from his backpack.
Julia assessed it before she formed a plan. “Okay, we’ll anchor on the opposite side of that fir and descend to her. Do you have a second harness?”
“No, I’ll have to tie her to me with the rope.”
“To you? Luke, with this anchor in that wet ground, you’ll be too heavy.”
He shook his head as he pushed his wet hair from his face. “You’re not going.”
“I have to. I’m the lightest one of us. And I have just as much climbing experience. With both you and Sierra on that rope, you’ll pull the picket right out of the ground.”
“No, Julia,” Luke said with a shake of his head.
Grant fluttered his eyelashes as he tried to make sense of the argument before wiping at the rain on his skin. “I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
“What’s going on is I’m going to go over this cliff and getting your daughter,” Luke said.
Julia shook her head. “Luke, if you do that, you’re both going to be in trouble.”
“What? Why?” Grant asked.
“The ground is wet and soft. We need to put the least amount of weight onto that rope as we can. He’s easily fifty pounds heavier than me.”
“You did have a lot of Marina Mists the last time we were together,” Luke said as he drove the anchor into the ground.
“This isn’t a joke, Luke. Stop being stubborn.”
“What will happen if there’s too much weight?” Grant asked.
“They’ll pull the pick right out of the ground,” she answered.
“Can’t we hold it?”
Luke let out a harsh laugh as he prepared the rope. “This isn’t the movies. You can’t hold two people dangling from a cliff.” He flicked his gaze to Julia. “You’re lighter, yes, but you’re not going over that cliff.”
“I don’t understand why,” Grant said.
“Those rocks are like ice. The wind is whipping. She is fifty pounds lighter than me which means she could get pretty battered in the wind. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I’d never send my wife over that cliff face in this weather.”
Grant’s features twisted with concern as he glanced at Julia. “No, I wouldn’t endanger Julia–”
“That’s not fair. Stop misleading him into supporting your argument.”
“Julia, if this is dangerous, I don’t want you doing it,” Grant said.
“See, even Grant agrees.”
Julia shook her head. “What he’s not telling you is that he’s putting Sierra’s life at risk by insisting on protecting me.”
Grant flicked an angry glance at Luke. “What?”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. The anchor’s not going to hold the weight.
The ground is too soaked, and the wind is too strong.
By insisting on going, he’s putting both their lives at risk.
They are at a much higher risk of not making it back up onto the ridge than if I go.
You guys need to stop arguing about this and let me go. ”
Luke clenched his jaw as he stared at her. “Julia, this is way too dangerous.”
“And what? It’s better if you fall off a cliff than me?”
Grant shook his head, waving a hand in the air. “Wait a minute, maybe we should be calling someone instead of anyone risking their life.”
“Search and rescue will never get here in time,” Julia said. “I don’t mean to scare you, but time is of the essence.”
Luke blew out a sigh as he finished tying off a knot. “She’s right. We can’t wait for search and rescue. That’s putting your daughter in more danger than if either of us goes for her.”
“I’m also right about who should go. It’s dangerous no matter what. But I’m as experienced a climber as you, and I’m way lighter. It’s our best shot.”
Luke slid his eyes closed. “Maybe you’re too light. Is she heavier than you?”
“I can handle her. We’ll be fine.” She snatched the harness from his hands and stepped into it. “I’m going.”
“Julia–” Grant said.
“I’m going. We will be okay. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“I know that,” he answered. “But I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be okay. This is the best scenario.”
Luke tightened the harness around her. “Not a great scenario, but…she’s right. She’s the better one to go. The stress on this anchor will be enough.”