Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sleeping under the stars was nothing short of magical. Never in her life had Kat seen so many stars. Even living out in the mountains where there wasn’t a lot of ambient light to interfere with the view, that was still nothing compared to being on top of a mountain with no light at all except for the moon. The stars were like a blanket over her as she lay out in her sleeping bag.
The whiskey had made her a little tipsy, so she’d only had a few sips. She’d surprised herself by getting as comfortable as she had in the wilderness alone, but she still wanted to be sure she had a clear head in case of emergency.
Or wild animals.
Although she’d tried her best not to think of that at all. And soon, she didn’t.
Instead, she spent her evening talking to her dad as if he sat right next to her, and it was all the companionship she needed. Anyone else would have thought she’d completely lost her mind, but Kat couldn’t remember the last time she felt so close to him.
She lay in her sleeping bag, cuddled up against the cool summer evening, and told him all about Andy and how she’d always had a crush on him, but her crush became a full-fledged love affair over the last few months. She shed a few tears as she told him how Andy had fought with Craig and how mad the others had been. And then how she stood there and let him walk away from her even though her heart was breaking the entire time.
Right as Kat was drifting off to sleep, she could have sworn she heard her dad tell her it was okay, and to follow her heart because life was too short to do anything else and her dad was right, it was important to love hard, with no regrets.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky was the milky gray of predawn and her sleeping bag was covered in dew. Kat carefully slipped from her bag and moved herself into her tent to get a few more hours of sleep before she faced the day. When she woke again, the sun was high in the sky. Her phone, although it had no service, told her it was already nine. She’d slept far later than she’d planned.
But then again, she had nowhere to be.
She stretched her arms over her head as far as she could in the tiny tent and relished the feeling of freedom.
She didn’t have any clients. No appointments. No one expecting her. No emails or phone calls to answer. And best of all, none of her siblings were there to give her the third degree about her relationship choices .
Maybe unplugging and going camping was okay after all.
She laughed at herself and reluctantly pulled herself out of her sleeping bag. Her plan had been to wake up, pack up, and get the hell out of there as quickly as she could.
But that had been before.
Kat unzipped her tent, tugged her boots on, and went to stand on the lakeshore.
Before she realized just how purely spiritual it was out there.
She turned and slowly took in her surroundings. The lake was so still that the surrounding mountains gave off a perfect mirror reflection on its surface. Birds chirped all around her; the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, with only a handful of fluffy clouds. There would have been no one more surprised than she was that she didn’t want to go home.
Steven had mentioned that her dad hoped she’d stay for two nights.
Kat’s eyes fell to the more than half-full mini bottle of whiskey she’d dropped the night before. “I do have enough whiskey for one more night.”
She did a quick count of the food rations she had and discovered she had more than enough. Kane had given her a variety of dehydrated meals to choose from, and instead of picking, she’d stuffed them all into her bag.
“I guess there’s no reason not to stay.”
He’d done his best to keep busy.
After informing Symon, who fortunately was much more understanding than he’d expected, that he would not be getting on the flight to Switzerland in the morning with the rest of the team, Andy had driven the backroads until he knew exactly which hiking trail Kat had taken.
He’d found her car parked at the trailhead for White Swan Lake and was secretly very proud of her for choosing the longer hike. She’d either been very determined to take on the challenge or just that willing to get as far away from him and her family as possible.
He’d spent the rest of the day and night in her apartment, pacing and trying to sleep when he wasn’t repeatedly listening to the voicemails she’d left when he didn’t have his phone.
Kat: Andy? Call me.
Kat: Where are you? Why aren’t you answering?
Kat: You’re mad. But it wasn’t fair, Andy. Don’t be mad.
Kat: Okay, fine. Be mad at me if you want. But I’m mad at you!
Kat: Could you just call me ?
She sounded sad the last time she called, the anger from the previous message gone. More than anything, he wished he could pick up the phone and call her back the way she wanted. But he knew that even if she had her phone with her, there was no cell service up in the trails. And he had no intention of leaving a message. Not when talking to her face-to-face would be so much better.
Time moved painfully slowly. Andy did the math in his head. If she woke up with the sun and had a simple breakfast before packing up, she should be on the trail around nine at the latest.
According to Kane, with a lighter pack it should only take a few hours to make her way back down the trail, which meant that even if she got a late start, Kat should be back to her vehicle by around two o’clock at the latest.
Which was a good thing because the storm was forecasted to start blowing in around five. They should be down the mountain and with any luck, wrapped up in each other’s arms and cozy in bed by then.
Just in case she moved faster than he expected, Andy was waiting at the trailhead by noon. But by two, when there was still no sign of Kat coming down the trail, he started to worry.
Overhead, the clouds were starting to close in and the wind was picking up.
By reflex, Andy started to hike up the trail but stopped himself. He was wearing running shoes and he didn’t have so much as a sweater with him. Even if Kat was hurt on the trail somewhere, he wouldn’t be any good to her if he wasn’t even a little bit prepared.
But he couldn’t sit around and do nothing. A decision made, he drove as fast as he safely could on the gravel mountain roads as he raced back to the town and ran through the plaza to get to Kane’s shop moments before the man was locking up for the day.
“We close at?—”
“She’s not back.”
“What?”
Andy shook his head. “She’s not back. She should be back by now.” He pointed to the sky. “The storm.”
Without another word, Kane reopened the store and went inside.
Andy followed him. “I need shoes. Size twelve. A pack and a first-aid kit. And maybe a rain jacket.”
Kane shook his head. “You can’t go up there.”
“The hell I can’t.”
“Not now. It’s not safe. Not with the storm. I’ll get Search and Rescue?—”
“Give me the shoes, Kane.” He held the other man’s gaze until finally, Kane looked away.
“Fine. But I’m still calling in S&R. You’re not equipped, Andy. It’s going to turn into a two-man rescue.”
“It’s not. I’ll get her.”
Kane moved quickly and helped Andy with shoes, a jacket, and a pack that included a handful of food rations, a first-aid kit, and even a change of clothes.
“I owe you. ”
“You sure as hell do.”
“For the record, I know it’s not a good idea.” Andy lifted the pack. “But I can’t not go, Kane. I need to go.”
“I get it, man.” Kane nodded and handed him a small device. “This is an emergency locator and communicator. It works on satellite signals. I should have insisted Kat take one.” He shook his head. “You can communicate with text just like a phone, and that button there is a direct line to Search and Rescue. If you push that, they’ll know exactly where to find you, okay? And if I don’t hear from you by nine, I’ll call them myself.”
“Thank you.” Andy nodded his appreciation and tucked the device safely away before taking off. He needed to get to his woman.
She spent her day exploring the shoreline, but not straying too far from her campsite. She’d grown bolder, for sure, but she still wasn’t completely comfortable out there alone. The sun was out and it turned into a gorgeous, hot summer day. With no one around, Kat stripped her clothes off and danced around the shore naked before diving into the glacier-fed water to cool off.
Her swim only lasted seconds before she ran out of the water, laughing and shrieking, having vastly underestimated how cold the water would be. It didn’t take long for the hot sun to warm her again and lull her into an afternoon nap.
A cold breeze woke her hours later. She didn’t know how long she’d been sleeping, but long enough for the weather to have changed completely. The wind was howling and the once completely still lake had whipped up into whitecaps over the surface.
Overhead, the sun was obscured by dark clouds and the previously bright, sunny summer sky had turned gray and angry.
It was cold and getting colder. And way too late to pack up and head down the mountain. She’d only be stuck in the storm in a worse spot than she was now.
At least if she stayed put, she’d have shelter. Kat’s tent was whipping from side to side in the increasing wind, but it was holding strong.
She quickly checked the stakes and ties she’d used to pin her tent down and made one last trip to the stream for some fresh water before taking cover in her tent, right as a crash of thunder sounded overhead.