Chapter Eleven
Sierra adjusted the straps of Beau’s backpack she was wearing and glanced at him, standing a few yards away under a massive oak tree.
She didn’t know how he was managing their hike up the mountain with his large bag from the truck strapped across his back.
It made her much smaller backpack seem paltry in comparison.
And the man wasn’t even breathing hard, dang it.
She leaned against an equally massive oak tree to the one where Beau stood, trying to catch her breath.
It had probably been around since long before she was born.
At any other time, she’d have treated it with reverence and awe, gaping up at the thick canopy overhead.
But not today, or tonight really since the sunlight was rapidly fading.
She clutched her aching side as she tried to recover enough to continue the grueling pace up the mountain that Beau had set.
“Plan B is going to kill me,” she accused. “What’s your goal? Hike the Appalachian Trail all the way to Maine?”
He grinned. “We haven’t been hiking all that long in the grand scheme of things. We’re almost there.”
“Seriously? I feel like I’ve hiked a full marathon. Uphill. In heavy brush, with no real path to follow after you ditched your truck. And that amazing monster gun of yours. I still wish you’d held onto that.”
“I didn’t want to ditch the truck. Even with four-wheel drive there was no way it was getting through the thick forest up here.
Next time, I’ll take a Jeep or something similar.
Or better yet, drive up the backside of the mountain.
That’s the easiest and best approach. But we didn’t have a choice.
As for that so-called monster gun, it’s a SIG Sauer AR-15.
And believe me, I hated to leave that behind too.
But I ran out of ammunition for it. A heavy empty gun isn’t worth toting, especially when I knew we had quite a hike to make.
Hopefully I hid it well enough that I can come back and retrieve it later.
” He arched a brow. “You’re still breathing hard. Are you okay?”
“What do you think? You’ve been driving me like the meanest of sheepherders. My legs are cramping. My side hurts. I’m thirsty and starting to get hangry.”
“Starting?”
“Watch it or you’ll find out just how mean I can be.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “Duly warned. It isn’t much farther now. I’m hoping to get there before the sun sets. I don’t want to have to use a flashlight since its light would be visible a long ways off.”
His concerns had her stomach dropping with renewed worry as she glanced around. “Do you think they’re actually in the mountains looking for us?”
“Count on it. But even if they eventually find my truck, they won’t find our tracks or figure out that we used a tunnel under some boulders and popped up a hundred yards away.
The tunnels in this area aren’t on any official maps because they were never used for mining.
They were created by moonshiners and smugglers decades ago, long before Mystic Lake was around. ”
Her breaths were coming easier now, her side barely hurting. She wiped the perspiration off her brow and straightened. “Then, how do you know about them?”
“The knowledge has been passed down through generations in my family. The land belongs to another family whose great-great-grandfather was best friends with my great-great-grandfather, on my mother’s side.
” He glanced at the darkening sky. “You think you can hike a little bit farther now? There won’t be much moonlight tonight to help us find our way once the sunlight’s gone. ”
“How long? How much more torture do I have to endure?”
He shrugged. “Depends on how fast you can hike.”
She frowned at him. “There had better be a soft bed, hot food and a solid roof over my head at the end of this ordeal.”
“That might be expecting a bit too much, for today. I didn’t realize I’d need this place anytime soon, so I didn’t get to stock everything. But I promise there’s a soft bed. And a solid roof.”
“Food? Water? Come on, Beau. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“I’ll get supplies tomorrow. I can’t feed you a hot meal. But I promise I won’t let you go to sleep on an empty belly.”
She grumbled beneath her breath.
“What was that?”
“Forget it. Lead the way. My blisters and I will trudge behind you at our own pace.”
“Poor, Sierra. You’ll be able to prop your feet up soon.”
She shoved away from the tree. “Which way?”
He reached for her hand. “Want me to carry you?”
“Did you forget the hangry part?” She slapped his hand away. “I don’t need anyone to carry me or coddle me. I can handle anything you can.”
“I have no doubt. That way.” He pointed.
“Up? Again?”
“Just over the next rise.”
“Didn’t you say that the last rise?”
“I really mean it this time.”
She stalked past him, letting loose with a litany of insults in Spanish about his parentage, his upbringing and anything else she could think of to vent her frustration.
“Hey, now,” he teased as he followed behind her. “I happen to know a few of those words. You’re not being nice.”
“And you’re lucky you wouldn’t let me take out one of those pistols you’re hoarding in your backpack.
Quit picking at me and acting like you’re enjoying this miserable climb or so help me, I’ll…
” She continued her tirade in Spanish again, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other without tripping over a tree root or getting slapped in the face by yet another low-hanging branch.
The hardest part was trying to walk without limping.
Her feet felt bruised and sore and burned when she walked, no doubt because of blisters.
She hadn’t exactly worn shoes for hiking.
Not that she had any shoes appropriate for that kind of thing.
She was just grateful that she’d changed into low-heeled leather shoes before they’d headed out rather than the spiked heels she’d had on when she’d first approached Beau at his home.
She lost track of time as she coaxed her aching muscles to keep climbing.
But she was certain he was wrong about it not being much farther to finally reach their destination.
Insects were buzzing or chirping or whatever it was called when the sun began to set at night.
She wasn’t exactly an outdoorsy type. And in spite of her exhaustion, she forced herself to speed up.
She didn’t want to be out here when it got completely dark any more than Beau did.
Maybe less than he did.
One of her many fears plaguing her today was that they might just be lost and Beau was pretending he knew where he was.
Since her sense of direction was pretty much nonexistent, she didn’t even want to contemplate being lost out here and having to rely on herself to find her way back to civilization.
“Sierra, you’re limping. I really don’t mind carrying you, at least for a little while, to give your feet a rest. I can shift my duffle bag to the side and you could climb on my back and—”
“No. I told you. I can handle anything you can.”
He sighed and didn’t ask again.
She steeled herself against the pain and tried harder to walk as normally as possible.
When they finally approached the crest of their most recent incline, she braced herself for disappointment.
She fully expected that they’d head down the other side of this most recent mountain, or hill as Beau had teased so many times, and see that there was yet another rise to tackle before ending up wherever they were supposed to go.
But when they reached the top, she froze.
Not out of disappointment but out of astonishment.
Her eyes misted with unshed tears as she stared at the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen: a little log cabin with gleaming windows and what appeared to be a brand-new porch running across the front.
The roof also looked brand-new and had rows of solar panels.
A large propane tank off to one side along with those solar panels promised working electricity, which meant a hot shower.
Or, if God was answering her prayers tonight, maybe even a long soak in a bubble bath.
When Beau stopped beside her, she looked up, searching his gaze. “Please. Please tell me we get to stop at this cute little cabin. I don’t think I can make it any farther.”
“This cute little cabin is our destination. Sierra Covington, welcome to Mystic Lake Police Department’s first ever safe house. Welcome to plan B.”
“I absolutely love plan B. As long as there’s hot water—”
“There is. And all the windows have black-out blinds so we’ll be able to use the lights without worrying that someone will see them. We’ll have electricity, fresh hot coffee, bottled water and a few nonperishable snacks to tide us over.”
“Snacks don’t equal a meal, but everything else sounds far too good to worry about real food.”
He squeezed her shoulder, smiling. “You’re a trouper. Tomorrow, you’ll have a real meal. Promise. Come on. Let’s get you inside with those feet propped up.”
She smiled in response, her mood lightening. Even the idea of the gunmen in the mountains looking for them didn’t bother her. Not when she was about to get off her aching feet.
She started forward, then immediately fell to her knees, face heating with embarrassment. Her feet were so sore that stopping to stare at the house had been enough for them to give out on her when she’d tried to move again. She braced her hands on the ground to push herself to standing.
“Pride goeth before the fall,” Beau said. “Isn’t that the saying?”
She looked up at him. “What?”
“Never mind. Just don’t hit me, okay?”
“Hit you? Why would I—oh!” He scooped her up and strode toward the cabin.
She automatically put her arms around his neck to hold on. Before she could decide whether to demand that he put her down or thank him for helping her, he was jogging up the stairs to the front porch.