Chapter 20
Three full days trapped in the mountains, and now they were well into their fourth.
Max had expected to be able to leave by now. At the very least, he had anticipated that a rescue operation would have arrived. But they had not seen a single living creature since arriving, not even a bird.
Emberly had speculated that the wind conditions had prevented an air rescue and that the arctic temperatures and heavy snow accumulations had halted anyone from reaching them by land.
With her fishing line down the crude hole they had sawn in the ice, Emberly peered up at the sky—the first blue, sunny sky they’d had since the start of their journey. “Kade could at least drop off more supplies for us, even if he can’t land his chopper.”
After rationing what little food they’d had, they had eaten the last morsels the previous evening. Now, today, their hunger was keen.
The snow was too deep for the snowshoes. But with the clearer weather, Emberly had hoped they might be able to ride out on the snowmobiles. Unfortunately, the batteries on both would not start due to the below-freezing temperature.
They had also turned on one of the phones and attempted to make contact again. But still they had not been able to connect to any service, not even for a simple text.
After their failed attempts at rescuing themselves, Emberly had suggested they do a little ice fishing.
Max hadn’t objected, especially because his stomach was protesting its lack of sustenance.
Thankfully, the cabin had a pair of fishing poles, extra fishing line, as well as a small tackle box with artificial bait.
Dressed in as many layers as they had, he and Emberly had used the snowshoes and managed to hike to the lake through the trail they had shoveled. The ice had been difficult to break through, but Emberly knew a few tricks, and eventually they had created a hole big enough to allow them to fish.
He jiggled his line again, hoping the fish below would not notice that the colorful minnow was fake.
They had been outside the cabin for less than an hour, and already his fingers and toes stung from the cold. They would not be able to stay much longer before having to go back inside and thaw out. He just prayed they would catch fish first.
The rod in his hand bobbed, and he gripped it tighter with both gloved hands. “I do think I have a nibble.”
Emberly’s attention shifted to his pole just as it bent and the line turned taut. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold, and her eyes filled with sudden excitement. “Hurry, jerk upward.”
He did as she’d shown him that day on the ranch when they’d gone ice fishing. He tugged the rod and could feel the fish digging into the hook, wiggling and trying to break free.
He held on tightly, hunger driving him to be careful and yet strong in his quest to catch the fish. If they were stuck at the cabin for another day, he not only wanted the sustenance for himself but for Emberly and Braun and Winzig. But mostly Emberly.
As he strained to lift the rod, a fish glistened on the end of the line.
“A brook trout.” Emberly grabbed onto his rod too. “And it’s at least sixteen inches!” Her smile was brilliant and beautiful.
For a second, he wanted to stop time and stand there and admire her.
As dire as their situation was becoming, she had maintained good spirits and did not become easily discouraged.
She always enjoyed whatever they were doing, whether playing cards, shoveling paths, looking for kindling, or simply sipping coffee.
Now, though cold and hungry, she was having fun ice fishing.
Although he was naturally more of a worrier, he was learning from her to take one day at a time, to find the little things to be thankful for, and even to appreciate being at the cabin, where they could focus much on each other without the distractions of real life.
Surprisingly, the days had gone quickly, and the nights had flown by as well.
He would not deny that he loved the nights best of all, when he had the chance to be alone with her.
They lay on the couch together, kissing and talking and kissing some more.
They slept off and on, waking to kiss again.
He could never get enough of her, and he was glad that she seemed to feel the same way.
He bent down, touched her lips with his, and stole a quick kiss.
Her smile only widened, and the sunlight turned her eyes amber. She reached up and kissed him back.
Then she began to take the hook out of the fish’s jaw. “This will easily feed all four of us.”
It was big, but he did not have the heart to tell her he could eat the whole thing himself and still have room for more.
As she dropped his line with the hook and bait still intact, she nodded at her pole, which she’d propped up in a drift. “I want to see if I’m able to catch something too, but I have to be honest. I can hardly feel my toes and fingers and should probably head back.”
He frowned as he began to gather their supplies. “Why did you not tell me you were so cold, darling?”
“I’m fine, Max.” She set the fish aside and began to strap on one of her snowshoes. “Numb fingers and toes are worth it now that we have something to eat.”
She’d hardly spoken the words when she froze and spun to face the western edge of the lake.
“What is it?” He scanned the thick woodland, the pine boughs bent under the weight of heavy blankets of snow.
“I hear a chopper.”
Max paused his breathing and strained to listen. In the silence of the high mountain lake, he caught the faint sound of a motor and blades. Relief swelled inside and made him suddenly weak. Help was finally on the way.
She finished strapping on her other snowshoe. “We need to try to flag Kade down. I think he could land on the lake and the ice would hold him.”
Max hurriedly donned his snowshoes and joined her away from the trees and out in the open, where hopefully Kade would be able to see them.
As the helicopter grew louder and then came into sight, Emberly started to wave her arms. “Kade! Here!”
Max joined her in flailing his arms and shouting, although he doubted anyone could hear them above the noise of the helicopter.
The helicopter was too far away during its first pass and did not notice them.
As it circled back, he and Emberly began waving again, and this time the helicopter flew closer.
It was clear the moment someone spotted them, because the pilot swerved around and made a direct line toward them.
As it hovered lower, they could see two figures through the front window: Kade and Tyler.
Emberly was hiking and motioning toward the shore, probably an area that had thicker ice than out where they’d been fishing.
Max followed after her. A moment later, Kade seemed to catch on to her silent instructions and directed the helicopter to a smooth stretch of the frozen and snow-covered lake.
Since the snow was so powdery, the power of the blades caused the snow to swirl and fly in every direction, blinding Max and Emberly and forcing them to stop.
Thankfully, within minutes, Kade had landed the helicopter in the clearing.
As soon as the blades stopped whirring, Emberly was once again racing toward the helicopter as fast as her snowshoes would allow her.
Tyler jumped out first and tried to move through the snow toward them. But he sank nearly thigh-deep in the snow and could hardly move. Kade climbed out next and tried to wade toward them but was unsuccessful too.
Emberly reached them first and fell into Tyler’s arms.
He hugged her tight. “You all right?”
“We’re just fine.” She pulled back and was swept up into a hug by Kade.
Both of the men were bundled in heavy winter gear and boots, clearly prepared for the harsh conditions.
Tyler met Max’s gaze and nodded what appeared to be a friendly greeting. At the very least, he was not scowling at Max as he usually did.
Max nodded back. His nerves were already tightening in defense, knowing he would have a battle ahead when he revealed that he and Emberly had gotten married. Tyler would likely be displeased, to put it mildly.
Kade drew Emberly into the crook of his arm and squeezed her. “We’re sorry we couldn’t make it up here sooner. But the wind didn’t let up until the middle of last night. We wanted to start out right away, but Dad told us to wait until daylight.”
“Don’t worry.” Emberly leaned into her brother. “I figured you’d come when you could.”
“The others?” Tyler asked, his eyes still filled with worry.
“They are at the cabin,” Max replied.
Emberly glanced back toward the center of the lake. “Max and I came out to fish since we ran out of food last night.”
“So you just ran out?” Kade was examining them both as though making sure they were okay. “Dad thought the place was stocked enough to get you through a few days.”
“We had to ration the supplies to get us to today, and we’re hungry. We caught one fish, a sixteen-inch brook trout. But we were too cold to stay out and catch more.”
Tyler turned back to the helicopter. “Come on. We’ve got hand and toe warmers.”
After unstrapping their snowshoes, Emberly and Max were hoisted into the helicopter and told to warm up, then Tyler and Kade strapped on their own snowshoes and set out to the cabin to retrieve Braun and Winzig.
While they were gone, Max did his best to help Emberly warm her fingers and toes. Once she was well on her way to thawing, they began eating the nuts and energy bars Kade and Tyler had brought along.
“Are you getting warm now, darling?” Max had drawn Emberly against him on the seat, hoping to lend her his body heat.
“I’m doing better.” She had only eaten half of her bar and handed the remainder to him. “Here. I’m done.”