ONE
T IME SLOWS DOWN DURING the most terrifying moments, framing every sound, obscuring all images as each breath comes in a slow-motion screenshot.
Megan slammed on the brakes the instant the deer bounded into the road. Trees lit by a low setting sun blurred past as if a hand swiped across a pastel painting. Her heartbeats drew out long and loud, and the sound of her screeching tires competed with the strong, slow drumming.
As the car screeched to a halt off the road, the world caught up with her in a fast-forward rush that left her gasping for breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see how close she had come to hitting the tree, or the deer, or careening off the bank into the stream who knows how many feet below. Her head spun at the thought.
Counting slowly backward from ten, one of the many strategies she taught to her patients, she finally opened her eyes. She gave her sight a second to adjust before scanning her car, and the paperwork that had gone flying onto the floorboard, before looking back to the road where the deer still stood, blinking at her in confusion. Its ears twitched once more before it bounded off the pavement and disappeared into the forest beyond.
“I’m okay. It’s okay. Everything is okay.” Megan peeled her fingers off the steering wheel, almost surprised there weren’t indentations from her crushing grip.
She closed her eyes once more, this time in gratitude. It could have been worse, so much worse. Her lips pursed as she blew out a breath, willing her body to stop shaking.
The day had begun with such promise, her first day on a new job, no longer the corporate rat race of getting employees back at their desks and being prolific, but a real heart job—a position that would make actual differences in people’s lives, kids’ lives.
Though she hadn’t done that today, had she? Shaking her head, she wondered if she had lost her touch. She had failed miserably at connecting with her one patient today. The girl had so many walls around her that Megan might as well have tried breaking into Fort Knox.
Had she been too far gone in the stiff-neck corporate world gig of dispensing drugs to solve problems and really connect with humans?
Her heart had always longed to work with teens like Krista, despondent kids who weren’t quite adults, struggling to find a place in the world that always seemed to forsake them.
A low moan of regret escaped as she eased back her head, rubbing her temples and trying to free herself from the mental turmoil. She allowed herself a short bereavement, but then she needed to stay focused. The girl would come around. These things took time. Just because Camp Hope was magical didn’t mean that magic happened right away.
Daylight dimmed, urging her to look through the tree lined road to where a patch of sky slowly turned from dark blue to purple. She couldn’t sit here on the side of the road all night. Chasity expected her for dinner, and if her best friend got worried, she would send the sheriff, aka hubby, to come looking for her.
Megan drew in another steadying breath before shifting the car back into drive. Taking her foot off the brake seemed like a monumental effort, but once it was finally free, the car jerked and thumped as she rolled forward. Her heart flew back into a flurry. Had she hit something after all? Was there another deer she hadn’t seen?
The thought made her gasp and fly out of the car, but there was no sign of a deer, nor any dents in her bumper. What she did find was a very flat driver’s side front tire.
She blew out an exasperated breath.
“It’s okay. That’s why I have AAA, right?” she muttered to herself, reaching back into the car to dig her cell phone from her purse.
Finding the emergency road service number in her contacts, she hit the green call icon only to hear the telltale sound of a failed call. She looked down at the screen to see how many bars she had—none.
“Great,” she muttered, fiddling with the phone until she turned it off and restarted it in case that helped it to find some wayward bar, just enough to get a call out. “If not, I guess I can be grateful Chasity is a worrywart and married to the sheriff.” She sighed as she squatted, thankful she had worn her slacks today rather than a skirt, and inspected the flat tire.
She should be able to do this. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how to change a tire; it’s just that she never had done it herself.
“New town, new life,” she sighed, standing and brushing off her hands. “Time to learn to be independent, Meg.”
She opened her trunk and stared at the bare carpet for several seconds, trying to remember where her spare was located. The carpet came a short distance up the side of the trunk, and in a sudden epiphany, she tugged on the corner and pulled it back.
“Ha! There you are,” she said, doing her best to take out the lug wrench and spare without ruining the paint on her nails. She stared into the trunk, unable to shake the feeling there was something missing.
Maybe small town living wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. She huffed as she hefted the spare out of the trunk and rolled it to the flat tire. Her eyes shifted from the flat to the spare to the lug wrench. What was the first step?
Squatting down, she picked up the lug wrench, surprised again at how heavy it was, and maneuvered it to fit around a bolt on the flat. “Righty-tighty. Lefty-loosey.” The spoken words comforted her in the otherwise silent forest. Well, not quite silent. The forest seemed to stir as the night critters rose in search of their food.
A chill ran down her back.
Glancing behind her, searching for the eyes she swore were watching her, she shivered. She made herself focus on the task at hand. The light faded fast, and the last place she wanted to be was on the mountain alone in the dark.
She was a city girl, used to lights always being on. The deep darkness of a forest still gave her the heebie-jeebies, even though Chasity said that she’d get used to it, eventually.
Gritting her teeth, she yanked on the wrench to the left as hard as she could. Panic flooded her as she realized the bolt hadn’t budged. She stood to give herself more leverage. Even so, the bolt didn’t move.
Her racing heart drowned out the growing noises in the forest as she thought of her options. Should she head back to camp or down into town? How far had she come? Which one would be closer?
The purple faded into black as stars woke up overhead.
She could wait in the car, turn on the lights, put on some music, and rock out until Chasity’s husband, Derrick, arrived. He would come. She knew he would. Chasity would insist on it.
What if he was still on duty?
The thoughts whirred until she realized she had fallen down the rabbit hole. Deep breaths. Just stay calm.
She closed her eyes, focusing on calming her racing heart. Just as her heart returned to a normal rhythm, the forest crunched behind her, pine cones and fallen branches crushing under something big, something heavy. She spun, peering into the darkness as she clutched the lug wrench in front of her.
When the creature huffed, she let out a startled scream, tripping over the tire and hitting her knee on the edge of the asphalt. The pain barely registered as she scrambled to her door, pulling herself inside and hitting the lock button, still clutching the wrench and staring into the darkness.
She flipped on the interior lights, then the high beams, but they didn’t point into the forest beside her, the blackness that held a huge, huffing creature. Stories of bears breaking into cars for a chocolate bar swam through the high currents in her mind.
She could see the headline now: City girl killed by a bear because she couldn’t fix her own flat.
The thought had her searching for her phone, only to realize that it still lay on the ground by the spare tire. She glanced at the clock on the dash. How long would Chasity wait before sending Derrick out? Would she come herself if he was on duty?
Fear shot through her as she thought of Chasity bringing her foster daughter Kami out here with that thing lurking in the forest. She honked her horn and turned on her flashers. Maybe someone would hear her?
A moment later, she gained control of her actions once again, drawing in deep breaths, forcing her heart to calm. The creature still hadn’t shown itself. Did it lie in wait, hoping she would get out of her car again?
For a moment, self-pity took hold of her. Why didn’t she ever end up with the protective type like Chasity had with Derrick? The series of bad dates she had been on over the years featured self-involved men more interested in her looks and wardrobe than her as a person.
Chasity always said that her knight in shining armor would come one day. Megan laughed, letting the sound roll through her, washing away the fear. “Well, what better time for a hero to arrive than at this exact moment?”
A beam of light swept along the treetops, making her sit up in her seat to see better. They disappeared and reappeared before she saw the lights in the curve coming toward her.
She flashed her lights like a maniac, laughing and silently thanking Chasity for being such a worrywart, surprised that she hadn’t had to sit out there for another hour.
The car, no, it was a truck, pulled over in front of her. She covered her eyes against the bright headlights streaming in her windshield. The form of a man blocked the light for a moment, wide shoulders and stiff gait, like that of a cop, though it almost looked like he was limping. Fear pierced her at the thought of the creature lurking in the woods.
She rolled down her window enough that she could yell, “Derrick, watch out! There’s something in the forest, something big!”
The man jerked to a stop, his hand immediately going to his holster. His head cocked to the side as he listened. Then his shoulders relaxed, and his hand moved away from his hip. He stepped wide of the car, showing a definite slight limp, coming to the driver’s side but staying back about ten feet.
“You in trouble, ma'am?” a deep voice asked, an even deeper voice than Derrick’s.
Megan froze as realization crept up her spine. If this wasn’t Derrick, who was the armed man staring at her from the darkness?
“Are you one of Derrick’s deputies?” Her voice squeaked, sending an entirely new wave of heat into her cheeks.
The man glanced back at his truck and awkwardly squatted, one leg out wider than the other, to look at her through the window. He kept his hands loose and in front of him, far from his holster. “No, ma’am. I’m not.”
“Oh,” she said, her hand gripping the lug wrench all the tighter.
The man glanced down at the ground where the spare lay. He pulled out his phone, the soft light illuminating his face briefly, but the flash had been enough to make Megan inhale: strong jaw, full lips, and handsome features…rugged and honest. Could someone really have an honest face? The light flickered off something shiny on his chest.
She squinted. It wasn’t a badge, but as the light shifted, she saw it flash again on his chest and down a line of shiny buttons. Megan breathed a sigh of relief, instantly recognizing the military uniform.
He scanned the ground, the light from his phone illuminating her flat. “Do you have a jack?”
“I…I don’t know,” she said, berating herself for thinking she could change a tire on her own.
He gave her a quick nod and disappeared to his truck, where a few metallic bangs preceded his return to shimmy a jack under her car.
She watched him work, but the crunch of leaves and twigs came from the woods again. “You…aren’t scared… the…” Her voice trembled.
The man pulled himself out from under the car, turning his face toward her, now only a foot away. “No, ma’am.” The interior light of the car lit upon a half smile and straight white teeth. He stood, turning his light into the forest where something moved. “It’s nothing but a deer. A fine buck, in fact, but short of hunting season.”
The deer moved into the light, staring at them as it munched on something it had scoured from under the pine needles on the ground.
Megan sighed, the sudden tension leaving her so rapidly that she laughed. “Well, I feel foolish.”
“No need, ma'am. It’s best to be on the safe side.” His eyes darted back into the forest, and for a second, she thought they seemed haunted before they turned back on her.
“Thank you…for your help.” She nodded at the tire.
“Sure thing, except I can’t find the lug wrench.” He swept the light under the car again.
“You mean this one?” She held it up with a sheepish smile.
“Good to hold on to a weapon with unruly bucks roaming the dark woods.” He winked at her and lifted a hand toward the wrench. “You won’t need it with me around. I promise you that.”
Megan’s heart thundered in her ears, pounding so hard she felt as if she couldn’t draw enough breath to speak. She handed him the wrench through the window and watched him work, efficient and focused, letting her poor heart recover once again.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked once she felt she could speak again.
“No, ma'am,” he said as the car jerked a little. “Just about finished here.”
“I really appreciate this. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come up the road.”
He gave the lug nuts a final twist before tilting his hat back to look at her from his squat. “I expect that your Derrick would have shown up, eventually.”
“Oh…he isn’t mine. I mean, I guess in a way he is, but not mine mine, more like a…” She clamped her lips shut. “I’m rambling.”
He answered with a smile, then held up the wrench. “Do you want this with you or…?” He nodded toward the back. “Can I put it with the tire?”
“Oh,” she said, feeling the heat fill her cheeks as another sheepish grin pulled at her lips. “I think I’m safe now.”
“Glad to hear that,” he said. “May I?”
“Huh?” she said as he tried to open the trunk. “Oh.” She popped the latch, chastising herself while he put the flat in the back and closed the trunk.
“I wouldn’t go too far on that donut,” he said, nodding at the spare.
“I don’t have to. I live just down in town.”
His brow furrowed, but he gave her a slight nod.
She reached her hand out the window. “Megan. How can I ever repay you, uh…?”
“Durango, uh,” he cleared his throat. “Tyler Durango, and don’t worry about it. Glad I could be of service.”
Megan’s hand flinched the moment their fingers touched, not from pain or revulsion, but because the electricity that passed between them ignited her chest in a fire that felt all-consuming.
“Well, thank you very much for your service, Tyler Durango.”
Tyler paused, taking a moment to fully drink in the woman in front of him. It had been a long time since he had a conversation with a woman like this one, excluding the sweet older lady who had sat next to him on the airplane.
He glanced down at his uniform, wondering if the gal, Megan, had been thanking him for his service in the military or the service he had just provided her.
“Well, for that service, too,” Megan said, the blush warming her cheeks in the glow of the dash lights causing him to suck in a breath.
He gave her a nod, not trusting himself to do more than that, and reached up to tip a hat he wasn’t wearing, a habit that even years in the military hadn’t taken from him.
“Wait,” the woman said as he rose to a stand.
He followed her command, feeling his lips twitch slightly. Every fiber of his being wanted to say something flirtatious, to test the waters, see how attached she was to this Derrick guy who wasn’t quite hers.
A pain shot down his leg with a twinge that caused his jaw to clench. Perfect timing, as always, to remind him he was no good to anyone anymore, too damaged…in body and in mind.
“Have a good evening, ma'am.” He pushed to a stand, his leg throbbing, and turned back to his truck.
“Megan,” the woman corrected him, her open, friendly tone insisting that he turn back to her. “Are you just returning?”
He paused before finally answering. “Yes.”
“I’m sure your family is excited to have you home,” she said, leaning out the window on crossed arms.
The thought of the desolate ranch that awaited him sickened his stomach. He had no one…well, almost no one. He let his eyes travel further up the road.
“Drive safe,” he told the woman, needing to put that distance between them. Becoming familiar enough to call her by name, even in his mind, would give him a hope he wouldn’t allow himself to have.
“Maybe we’ll run into each other again,” she said, her voice definitely holding a flirtatious quality that almost had him turning back.
He kept his feet rooted to the gravel, but he couldn’t keep his lips in check as they twitched into the half smile he knew he had but rarely felt in the last several years. “Maybe,” he said, his voice low, and for a moment, he swore he heard a lilt of hope within it.
He stepped away from the woman’s car, extinguishing that tiny spark of hope as he climbed into his truck. The woman still watched him. He could feel her eyes roaming over him as he walked to the truck, and even now, though the headlights blinded him from confirmation. He gave her a slight nod and waved down the road, wishing she would just leave–and stop torturing him.
He blew out a breath as he started his truck, waiting, waiting, until finally the woman put her car into gear and pulled onto the road. A groan of dismay came soundlessly from his lips as she pulled up right next to him, looking expectantly out her window. His window was already down, so he grit his teeth and leaned out to gaze at her tire in the dark.
“Everything working okay?” He flicked his eyes back toward her, wishing that she hadn’t been a blonde…why couldn’t she have been red or brown hair or anything besides his favorite? Or ugly? No, she had to be drop-dead gorgeous with eyes he wanted to see in the daylight. He was sure they would be blue, probably a crystal clear blue.
“Oh, yes, thank you.” She bit her lip, causing him to clench his hands and stiffen against the rolling desire to prolong their time together. “I just…I just feel like I need to repay you. Could I offer you dinner sometime?” Her voice slightly quivered as she asked, but her chin jutted a little further out as she ended her words.
Her vulnerability and stubbornness combined were a direct hit to his heart. He opened his mouth, a yes forming before his mind kicked in and clamped his lips shut.
“Too forward?” she asked shyly.
“Ma'am,” he started, an exasperated sigh leaving him with more desire than he thought he could feel.
“Megan,” she corrected again.
“Megan.” A soft chuckle shook him as he shook his head. “I’ve just returned and, well,” his eyes found hers as she listened, truly listened. “There’s a lot I still need to process.”
She waited silently, patiently, her shadowed eyes searching his. When he didn’t continue, she smiled, a dazzling smile full of understanding. “It’s okay. The things you soldiers go through out there,” she gestured to some ethereal space, “is beyond what any of us can comprehend.” Megan cocked her head, looking at him even more intently. “Thank you, again, for fixing my tire and for your service to our country.”
“My pleasure, ma…Megan.”
“You know, my friend is always telling me that hope fills this place, and I have to believe her because something tells me we’ll see each other again.” She put her car into gear. “Until next time, Tyler Durango.”
She waved as she pulled away, and he lifted a delayed hand, watching the gal turn the corner. Shaking his head, he put his own truck into gear and slowly made his way up to the camp he hadn’t visited since he was a kid himself coming as a camp counselor. Without thought, he glanced back in his rear-view mirror, looking for a sign of the woman he had helped. Megan.
He swallowed and forced himself to focus on the situation at hand. He needed to think about his niece, talk with the Camp Director, and figure out what would be best for her. His last memory of the girl was of a gangly pre-teen who looked just like his sister, full of smiles like her, too.
His heart clutched at the memory of his sister. How could she be gone? How could they all be gone?
He was alone.
Rubbing his chest, he parked his truck next to the one cabin with its light still on, reflecting on the white sign that said Office. He sat in his truck for a few moments, collecting himself, until he saw a cowboy walking from the stables toward him, his wary gait obviously suspicious of Tyler just sitting in his truck.
Tyler grunted as he exited the truck, landing on his injured leg. The doctors had told him it would take at least a year for the pain to lessen, but the reality of it was harder to deal with than he thought. At the time, he had wished he had died right along with the rest of his command.
“Good evening,” Tyler threw his voice at the approaching man, doing his best to make it sound non-threatening.
“May I help you?” the man said, his swagger reminding him of some of the traveling cowboys that used to work the family ranch during the summers.
“I have a meeting with the Camp Director,” Tyler nodded toward the cabin, lowering his voice as the man came out of the shadows to him. “Name’s Tyler Durango.”
“Ah,” the man said as he held out his hand. “Cody James. I’ll take you to my wife. I forgot she said she was expecting you.”
“Thanks,” Tyler said, falling into step with Cody. He glanced at the man from the corner of his eye, appraising the new director’s husband.
Cody mounted the steps, knocking on the door before opening it and stepping in, holding the door so Tyler could follow him. “Found your last appointment.”
Tyler scanned the small room, noting the boy on the couch raising his head and seeing no one else than the woman behind the desk, who also glanced up. Her eyes immediately looked to her husband, and when she turned to Tyler, she was still glowing from the love in her eyes. Newlyweds?
“Dad!” The boy jumped up from the couch and launched himself into Cody’s arms, which made Tyler reassess his initial thought.
“Hey Champ,” Cody said, slinging the boy up to his shoulder. “How ‘bout you and I rustle up some grub while your mom talks with this gentleman?”
The boy’s eyes widened. “Is he a soldier?”
“Well, they don’t give that suit out to just anyone, you know,” Cody said, setting him on the ground.
The boy came closer to Tyler, reaching out like he wanted to touch him before dropping his hand. “Did you have to shoot people?”
“Wylie,” the lady spoke, her warning voice making the boy’s eyes widen. “Go on with your dad. I’ll be along in a few.”
Wylie dropped his head in a way that made Tyler’s guts churn. Without thinking, he dropped to a knee, pulling something out of his pocket as he did.
“They gave me a medal. Want to see it?” Tyler said, opening his hand so the medal they had awarded him upon his honorable discharge shone in the lamplight.
“Whoa,” Wylie said, a tentative finger reaching out, pausing as he asked with his eyes. At Tyler’s nod, the boy touched the medal. “That’s awesome.” Then he looked at Tyler as if he could read whatever his soul might hold. “I bet you are really brave.”
Tyler searched the kid’s eyes, seeing something in the mature way he stood and a darkness shadowed deep within them. “I think we all are when put to the test.”
Wylie’s shoulders squared, and he gave the man a nod. “Mom will be safe with him.” He ran over and kissed his mom on the cheek before pushing open the door.
Cody gave a nod to Tyler and blew a kiss to his wife. “We’ll walk so you can take the Rhino. See you soon.”
“Thank you,” she said, giving them a wave. As the door shut, she brought her gaze to Tyler. “Glad to see you met my son’s approval. He’s quite protective.”
“Not a bad thing, ma'am.” Tyler stood before her.
“Josie, please,” she said, and motioned to the chair in front of him.
“I apologize for not being punctual. I ran into some…trouble…on the road,” he paused, his mind stalling on the subject of that trouble.
Josie cleared her throat. “Well, if we all had trouble that made our eyes twinkle like that, I’d say we wouldn’t run from it near as much as we do.”
Tyler stiffened. That’s exactly what he planned to do, though, run from it.
“So, you’re Krista’s uncle.” Josie leaned forward, taking him in, and he couldn’t help but hope the mother approved of him as well as the son had.
“I am. She is my sister’s daughter.” His throat tightened, but he kept his back straight and eyes on hers. “I’ve come to ask about her welfare.”
“Her welfare?” Josie raised an eyebrow. “You do understand that she is here only for the summer…as a camp counselor. Maybe the place to go is her foster agent?”
Tyler shook his head. “I know about you, ma'am. You were recommended by practically the entire county.”
Josie sat back in her chair, her lips twitching into a smile. “Oh, I was?”
Tyler nodded. “That’s why she’s here. I made sure of it, for every summer since…since…” He cleared his throat. “Since we lost my sister and her husband.”
Josie studied him before leaning forward again. “And now you have returned? On leave,” she nodded to his leg, “or for good?”
“For good.” The words sickened his stomach, but they were a taste that he needed to get used to. Feeding yourself lies never worked for very long.
“Are you planning on taking custody of Krista, then?” Josie’s voice sounded impassive, but a forced impassive as if she had her own thoughts on the subject.
Tyler met her stare, holding her gaze. “That is a decision that is not to be made in haste.”
Josie’s eyes flashed in what he thought was approval as she relaxed slightly. “So, how can I help you, Mr. Durango, right?”
He nodded, resisting the urge to pull at the tight collar on his uniform, and licked his lips, resting his arms on his knees and leaning forward. “How is she?”
He listened intently, soaking up every word that Josie told him about his niece, his heart sinking at the horror she must have endured at feeling so alone in the world and then rising, hearing how the camp has helped her find her place…at least for the summers.
On the drive back down the mountain, he repeated Josie’s words over and over, looking for any clues about what he should do. Josie’s advice was to return when he could meet with Krista’s therapist. His mouth twisted on the word. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a therapist, and that his niece was in therapy tainted the taste even more.
Still, nothing prepared him for that dark and bumpy crawl up the long driveway. When his headlights hit the decrepit house, with its siding falling off and paint peeling, his foot hit the brake as his chest constricted. This wasn’t home.
The house was as dead as his family, and as dead as he thought he should be.