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MOUNT BAKER RANGER STATION:
Three hours later, Jamie drives into the parking lot at the station and stops next to Larry’s SUV. He called off the search ordered her to return to the station or she would have searched all night.
She climbs out of the Hummer and walks inside. “We still have two hours of daylight left. Why are we stopping?”
Larry looks at Frank. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He waits until Frank leaves, then leans back against the counter and looks at Jamie. “It’s been a long day. The one thing I’ve learned since I’ve been in the park service is tired minds make mistakes. Wesley knows this mountain better than anyone does. If he’s still alive, I’m sure he’s found shelter for the night.”
“I know, but he’s injured, remember?”
Larry knows she’s frustrated and worried, but also knows they are doing the right thing calling off the search. “Why don’t you stay at his place tonight? There’s a chance he might try to make it home.”
Jamie’s shoulders sag. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I’ll see you back here in the morning, okay?”
She gives Larry a nod and leaves the building. She looks over at her black Mustang in the parking lot, but climbs back into the hummer. As she drives out of the park, she realizes she does not even know where Wesley lives, only that it is north of the park entrance.
Jamie stops at the store to get directions from Carrie Sorenson, who hesitates to tell her how to get there. She explains what happened. “I’m hoping he might try to make it home and I want to be there for him.”
“Good grief! Yes, of course I’ll tell you where he lives.”
Jamie expects the directions to be complicated, but learns there is only one way in and out of Wesley’s place, and heads up the road behind the store. Upon entering the meadow in the last of the remaining daylight, Jamie’s mouth drops open at the sheer beauty of the lake and the surrounding evergreen canopy reflected on the surface of the deep blue water.
She follows the edge of the lake and parks next to Wesley’s cabin. When she shuts off the engine and climbs out of the vehicle, a gaggle of geese begin honking. What a lovely place to live.
She unlocks the door to the cabin and walks around the inside. She notices the pictures on the fireplace mantel and goes over for a closer look. She smiles when she sees the picture of a beardless Wesley and the pretty woman in his arms. She is right. He is a very good-looking man without the beard and scraggly hair. She wonders if he’s divorced or widowed.
She continues through the cabin and finds his bedroom, then sits on the edge of the bed. Tears blur her vision and she lays her head on his pillow. When she breathes in his aroma, she can’t hold back the tears and lets them flow.