3. Does a Moose Stand in the Woods?
CHAPTER THREE
DOES A MOOSE STAND IN THE WOODS?
AURORA
I was in Maine.
And it was… anticlimactic.
Devastatingly so.
To be fair, I hadn’t seen much of it. After a long flight delay the day before, we hadn’t gotten in until late afternoon. I’d hoped we’d see something that would explain my brain’s excitement for the state, but the airport, car rental counter, and hotel hadn’t offered any answers. Since that was all I’d seen, I was anxious to get out of the room.
After a sleepless night, I’d been up before the sun and had showered, gotten ready in my best dress, and taken time to do my hair and makeup just right.
Ryan didn’t seem to be feeling the same urgency. He’d already gone out the night before to meet the representative from Beacon of Absolutions’ headquarters who would be traveling with us, so he’d seen more than blurs out a car window. I still thought he’d be chomping at the bit to get to services and thrive on the pulpit, but he’d done everything he could to stall that morning.
When time was nearly up, he finally set aside his notes and gave me his attention. “Maybe it would be better if you stayed here.”
No way.
“Why do you say that?” I asked instead.
“It’s a lot of new. New place. New people. It’ll be overwhelming. If you say the wrong thing, it would be disastrous. It would ruin everything.”
“I won’t say anything, even to you.”
It’s an easy promise to make.
“The guy they sent is…” Hesitating, he rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s intense. Stoic and old-school. He makes Gideon seem like a teddy bear. I don’t want you alone with him, and you would be while I’m working.”
I chose my words carefully since bruising his ego wouldn’t help. “But if I’m not there to see anyone, your sermon?—”
“Will be fine,” he snapped with a cruel glare, making it clear I hadn’t chosen well enough. “I was a pastor long before I met you and a damn successful one. I don’t need you. It’s the other way around.”
‘I don’t need you.’
Ouch.
He gathered his notes and leveled me with a scowl. Whatever indecisiveness he’d been experiencing was gone. “You’re staying here.”
I thought about pushing, but something stopped me. The urgency I felt was to get out of the room. It had nothing to do with the church.
Keeping the peace, I smiled. “Okay. Maybe we can go out to dinner later to celebrate the first day of your tour.”
I knew that was the right thing to say by the way Ryan’s chest puffed out. “It’ll likely be a long day, especially if the church is in the kind of disarray they mentioned. I’m only here for a few days, so I have a lot to fix in a short time.” He approached and squeezed my shoulder. “Stay in the room while I’m gone.”
“Right.”
Yeah freaking right.
Despite my intention to sneak out like I was some stereotypical teen heading to a Friday night party, I stayed in the room.
It wasn’t because of Ryan’s order. Shockingly, that had made me want to leave the room even more. But when I’d walked down to the lobby, there were people.
Too many people.
From the view I’d gotten when we drove in, the hotel was located in a city—not the heavy wooded nature I’d pictured in my head. Since getting anywhere would involve talking to someone, I’d retreated to the room to watch TV.
Allllll day.
I was bored. Beyond bored.
I assumed I’d have more stretching hours of it, but it was early in the evening when the door beeped and pushed open.
“How’d it go?” I asked, knowing he’d want to relive the experience.
Or so I thought.
“Hi. How’re you? Oh, I’m fine, thanks,” Ryan shot back in a snarky tone.
“Sorry. Hi.”
He mumbled something that I missed before rubbing his palm across his eyes. “It was a stressful day. The congregation here is a lot different from what I’m used to in Georgia.”
“No Southern charm?”
He barked out a short laugh. “Far from it.” With a sigh, he dropped his hand and looked toward me. Not at me. Just in my general direction. “Let’s go grab dinner, and I’ll tell you more.”
“Sounds good.”
Even though I’d done nothing but rot in bed watching mindless TV, I’d stayed in my nice dress. My hair probably resembled a blond tumbleweed, but whatever. I finger brushed it as best as I could, then slid my shoes on.
I started for the door, but Ryan didn’t follow. With his back to me, I could see the tightness in his bunched shoulders.
“Ry?” I called softly.
In a blink, the tension was gone, and he strode into the bathroom. He came out a moment later with my toiletries kit.
“Why do we need that?” I asked, something pulling at the back of my mind. It was the most bizarre sensation.
Like dread mixed with exhilaration mixed with fullness and terror.
He wrapped his free arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “Because I’m in a new city with my best girl and want to explore. Celebrate, like you said. In case we stay out late, I figured you’ll need your meds.” He shook the pouch. “Grabbing the whole thing was easier than rummaging through for your pill bottles.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, not quite believing him but also not having any clue why he would lie.
I also didn’t spend too much time obsessing. I was finally getting out of the hotel.
“Where are we going for dinner?” I asked as we stepped outside. The busy street was packed with other hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants—and that was just what I could see. “I can run back in for my coat, and we could probably walk somewhere.”
It might have been winter, but there wasn’t any snow like I’d hoped to see. The fading sunlight and fresh air were already doing wonders for my head.
“One of the members recommended a small local place. It’s a bit of a drive.”
Yes .
My chest felt like it was tingling behind my ribs, and that restless energy zipped down my legs like I needed to stretch them.
To run.
I ignored both as I got into the rental car before he started driving.
“How’d it go?” I tried again when the silence stretched for too long. Even though he’d been peeved earlier when I’d asked, if I waited too long before asking again, he’d accuse me of not caring.
“They need a total overhaul, but they’re fighting me on the basics. They don’t even have a streaming setup.” His voice was filled with outrage, like not broadcasting the intimacy of a worship service was a sin that would earn the whole congregation an express ticket to Hell. “But I’ll work through it. It’s my purpose .”
It wasn’t the first time Ryan had said something like that, but it was the first time something about it sent a chill down my spine.
Tearing my gaze from the window, I shifted in my seat to look at him. Really look at him.
His jaw was clenched as he drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel. His usual pristine hair was messy, like he’d been ruffling it while my attention was locked outside.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I told you, they’re old-school here, and?—”
“Not with them. What’s going on with you?” When he glanced at me with something resembling sorrow and grief in his brown eyes, I amended, “With us ?”
“Nothing.”
My gaze shot from him to look out the window to search for a sign of… something. Someone.
But we’d long ago left the city, and the only thing around us were trees. It was how I’d pictured Maine—but a lot creepier when that dread I’d felt returned tenfold.
“Tell me the truth,” I ordered.
But I didn’t need him to.
A vision of Ryan shaking hands with a burly man filled my head. I watched as he handed over my toiletries bag to him.
Right before he handed me over, too.
The vision faded, but the panic that seized my heart remained.
“Who is that man?” It was a stupid question since he hadn’t been able to see my vision. “Light brown hair, dark brown eyes. Looks like he’s in the military or law enforcement. Angry .”
“No one.”
“You’re lying.”
He pushed out a hard exhale. “Steve Jones. The representative from Beacon who’ll be traveling with me.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Ryan to subconsciously speak in I’s and me’s . His world was him, and I was just along for the ride. But the way he said it that time was different. Purposeful.
I tried to stay calm, but betrayal dripped from my words. “Why are you bringing me to him?”
“It’s my purpose. My divine purpose.” The angst he’d been grappling with shifted to excitement. I could almost feel his adrenaline and pride filling the car. “I’m going to save the world, Aurora. Not just your soul or the congregation’s souls. All of them. The entire world.”
Oh no.
He’s had some kind of break.
Even if he was delusional, my vision was very real. “What does that have to do with me and that man?”
“I told him about you.”
“ What ?” I shouted, more stunned by that than anything else that’d happened.
I’d always worried I’d accidentally slip up and say the wrong thing to the wrong person. It was why I never spoke. Silence was easier than measuring every carefully phrased word I said. But in all my stressing, I’d never once worried that Ryan might inadvertently spill my secret. I certainly never dreamed he would do it on purpose .
“This is just temporary. Leader Jones wants to make sure you’re ready and dedicated enough to God to help fulfill my destiny.”
Run.
Run through the woods.
Run!
“Stop the car.”
Ryan tilted his head to give me a patronizing smile. “He said you’d fight this. He speaks to God himself. It’s how he knows things.” His voice lowered, and something dark crossed his face. “So many things.” His expression smoothed out just as fast. “Like that the sinner in you would try to take control. But think of everything I’ve been able to do. To accomplish. Just imagine how I could serve the Lord with more reach.”
For a moment, his enthusiasm nearly got to me. It was the same magnetic charm and palpable faith that had an arena’s worth of people hanging on his every word each Sunday.
A month before… Heck, even a week before, I might’ve fallen for it. Actually, there was no might . I would’ve trudged along and done as he said because I believed in him.
And because it was easier than fighting.
But that little hint of rebellion in me had only grown stronger. I wasn’t numb enough to ignore the warning bells that sounded in my head. “You might as well stop?—”
Stop.
Stop.
Stop!
Run.
Run.
Run!
“—the car because I’m not going,” I said, my volume steadily increasing so I could hear myself over my literal running thoughts.
“You have no choice,” he shouted right back.
“Fine, but I’m not talking to him. Ever . I’ll sit in silence?—”
For the second time in just a few days, Ryan hit me. Only instead of a backhand, it was his full fist that connected with my jaw.
“I didn’t want to have to do that,” he said like he hadn’t sucker-punched me, “but Leader Jones is right. I’m too soft with you. I coddle you and protect you when I need to be protecting the world. They’re depending on me. God put me here to save them, and I can’t let you stand in the way.”
Shit.
Fucking shit.
I never swore, not even in my own head, but if that wasn’t a good time to start, I wasn’t sure when was.
“Ryan…” I began, but my words trailed off when nothing came to me. I had no plan.
Stop now.
Stopstopstop.
With a frantic impulsiveness, I reached for the steering wheel and wrenched it to the side. Ryan yanked it from my hold while adding another punch for good measure. For a moment, the car rocked so violently, I thought it would roll. Or slam into a tree.
Or worse, he’d get control of the car easily and punish me worse than he already had.
For once, I got lucky. He might not have slammed on the brakes like I’d hoped, but he did slow down.
Now!
After half a second of hesitation, I acted like I was going to grab the wheel again. The distraction worked, and he didn’t notice me unbuckling. Not until I threw open the door.
And threw myself from the moving car.
I tried to keep my feet going, but apparently, cartoons weren’t accurate representations of the laws of motion, gravity, or physics. My body crashed to the asphalt, scraping up my palms, knees, and who knew what else. I did my best to maneuver a last-minute tuck-n-roll, but I was too late. I ended up rolling in a painful mess of slammed elbows, shoulders, and knees.
Landing on the side of the road, I wanted to stop to catch the breath that’d been knocked from me, but I couldn’t. I ignored every ache and pain that had instantly set in and forced my body to move. My first few steps were unsteady, but I pushed on because the squeal of tires let me know he’d stopped.
It was time to run.
Finally .
Despite my fear of the woods, I took off into the trees that lined the road, waiting for them to break into a backyard or for a street to come into view. But the longer I ran, the denser the darkness became. The space between the trees grew narrower, and the dim light disappeared until I could barely see my own feet. Every time I thought about slowing, I’d hear a twig snap or brush rustle, and it would push me on.
It wasn’t easy.
I stumbled.
I fell.
I slammed into tree trunks and was scratched by sharp branches.
My memories of waking up cold and alone after my accident flooded me, adding previous traumas to the very current ones.
But I kept going because if Ryan caught me…
Run.
Run in the woods.
At least I finally understood my brain’s demands. It was to get me away from Ryan.
To save me from whoever that mean-looking man was.
I reached a small clearing and hesitated to pick a path. Not that there were marked trails or anything as helpful as a neon sign declaring that way to civilization. But there were multiple breaks in the overgrowth, and I was tempted to take the biggest one.
Not wanting to get turned around and end up running in circles, I decided continuing straight ahead was the smarter choice. I took a few steps.
And then I let out a strangled yelp.
Holy…
A beast moved from the darkness to block my way.
A giant beast.
It took me a long, panicked moment to realize that it wasn’t some magical, mythical creature.
It was a moose.
I read they were bigger than people pictured, but this is unreal.
I stayed rooted to the spot until something sounded in the distance.
Willing to risk a moose attack over a Ryan one, I inched forward. I hoped that my appearance would freak out the moose —because he sure as hell freaked me out—but he just blinked at me.
“Damn,” I whispered before jolting at a loud noise behind me.
A close noise.
I was about to dodge around the moose, but then he moved. Not away from the narrow path I wanted to take, just his head. He jerked it to the side like he was using his antlers to gesture to the other route.
I’m losing my mind.
I took another shuffling step forward, then jumped back when he slammed his heavy hoof down. He jerked his head the same way again.
Coincidence or not, he made it clear he wouldn’t flee from me, so I had no choice but to change my course instead. I took off in the direction his antlers pointed, throwing caution to the moose.
And then I immediately wiped out on slick mud, slamming my face into a protruding root.
“Stupid moose,” I muttered as tears spilled down my cheeks.
My arms shook as I pushed myself from the ground, and it didn’t improve once I was on my wobbly legs. I had to keep going. First at as fast of a run as I could muster. Then at a steady jog. When that became too strenuous, I slowed to a normal walk before a sluggish one.
I wonder if I can find a spot to rest?
Or would that result in a tortoise-and-the-hare situation, just with a lot more dire of an ending?
I continued forward as long as I could, hoping for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I would settle for another clearing.
But neither came. It was nothing but darkness, making me realize it wasn’t as bad as when I’d woken up in the woods after my accident…
It was so much worse.
This was a mistake.
I thought about Ryan’s plan and the vision I’d seen.
Never mind.
Dying in the woods is preferable.
When I found a dry spot, I sat and leaned against a thick tree to rest. The cold air against my flushed skin felt wonderful at first, but since my thin dress offered little protection, it quickly shifted from refreshing to feeling like I was an icicle. I didn’t want to think about the bugs and who knew what else that were likely inching closer. If I had any luck, my shivering would keep them off me.
My blinks became slower until my heavy lids refused to open, but I didn’t sleep. I stayed alert.
And that was how I heard it in the distance.
Rustling.
Loud rustling from something heavier than a cute chipmunk.
Ryan?
The moose?
Something else?
Of those options, I hoped it was the moose, but I wasn’t about to sit around to find out.
It took effort, but I eventually got to my feet. Not for the first time, I wished I’d grabbed my coat. Or changed from my dress and cute flats into something functional.
Like running shoes and a sweatsuit with full-body mesh bug protection.
I took off in a run, going the opposite direction of the noise’s source—or where I guessed it to be—before eventually slowing again so I could hear over my pounding heart, embarrassingly dramatic pants, and the blood rushing in my ear.
Shit, I’m out of shape.
Shit, shit, shit.
Stopstopstop!
Even as I swore in my head at the rustling that seemed closer than before—I was clearly not a skilled outdoorswoman—my exhausted brain tried to tell me to stop.
To stay where I was.
To wait .
For what, though?
If it was a wild animal, I would be waiting for death.
And if years of training were demanding I obediently wait for Ryan? It wouldn’t be so he could guide and help me—what he’d always claimed to do. It would be so he could hand me over to the man from my vision.
Not about to let that happen, I didn’t run, but I walked as fast as I could while being as silent as possible.
I thought I was doing a good job until I heard growling.
It wasn’t right behind me, but it was too close for comfort.
Stop.
Wait.
Continuing my stealth attempt would’ve been the smart thing, but instinct took over, and I bolted . Every ounce of willpower and strength I had went into fighting. First, against the repetitive demands my brain was issuing for me to stop and wait. And then fighting to keep moving when my legs wanted to give out and my stomach threatened to empty the small amount I’d eaten that day. I kept stumbling, my steps wobbling as I tried to look around while still moving.
There wasn’t light in the distance, but it was slightly less dark, so I took that as a good sign. I zigged to the left and headed for it. When I got closer, I could see it was another clearing.
I wasn’t sure what my plan was when I reached it, but it seemed like a good spot to pause and assess.
So close.
Almost there.
I’d barely finished my thought when I was tackled to the ground mere feet away. I braced for impact.
Or teeth and claws.
Or a fist.
It was unnecessary.
My attacker wrapped around to cushion the fall that they’d caused. I may have been protected from the ground, but whoever or whatever wasn’t exactly made of memory foam. The air was knocked from my lungs, and it took me a few tries to fill them again.
I scrambled, my fingers digging into the dirt as I worked to crawl out from under the heavy weight. When that didn’t work, I kicked and launched my elbows backward.
One connected, and I heard and felt a rumbled, “ Oomph .” I tried to take advantage of any opening that might have given me, but whoever was on top of me didn’t budge.
Stop.
Wait.
My heart slammed painfully in my chest. Not from exertion, panic, or the impact from the fall. It was like it was trying to burst through my ribs. Reaching toward something.
Him.
Him?
My question went unanswered as my brain went uncharacteristically silent.
For a quick, terrifying moment, I feared it was Ryan, but it wasn’t the familiar scent of his cologne that surrounded me. It definitely wasn’t his body. It was too big. Too hard. And, oddly, too protective in the way it had acted as a buffer rather than using me as one.
I wasn’t sure if that should make me relieved or alarmed, and I didn’t have time to sort it out. Whoever it was lifted away just enough to roll me over.
In the darkness of the woods, I couldn’t see any details other than my attacker was more man than beast.
Barely.
Because the huge shadowy figure looming over me looked and sounded pretty damn beastly when he growled one word.
“ Mine .”