| |
Kitree rose the moment the sun gave enough light for her to walk up the mountain and fill the water bottles. “Come,” she said to Dog, and they headed up the mountain in search of the spring Hawke had told her about.
She’d walked about fifteen minutes when she spotted the greener, lusher bushes and grass. Dog trotted over and began lapping up the water in a small puddle where the spring splashed down over a rock.
“This is a pretty place.” She crouched by the water spilling over the rock and filled the three bottles and Hawke’s canteen.
The sound of a helicopter shot her to her feet.
“Come!” she called to Dog and stood beside the largest pine tree she could find, hoping its many branches would shield her from whoever was in the air.
“We left my sleeping bag and pack sitting out.” The fear of being discovered made her hands shake. To stop the shaking, she patted the dog’s head. “Well, not completely out. They are under the rock roof. They shouldn’t see them there, should they?” Kitree gazed into Dog’s eyes. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered about the helicopter. Since he was all she had at the moment, she took comfort in his not being upset. He was only a dog, but thinking he wasn’t worried helped her feel less frightened.
The sound of the propeller vanished. She moved away from the tree and finished filling the bottles. This time as she returned to her hiding spot, she stayed under the trees and hurried across any opening.
Back at the cave, she put the water bottles in the pack and rolled up her sleeping bag, shoving it into the pack. She hoped Hawke arrived this morning. The food was getting low. Only two granola bars and one fruit leather.
Dog’s hair stood up as he stared at the trees down the mountain from the cave.
“Come on,” She tugged on his collar and shoved her belongings into the cave. Kitree backed into the area she had been avoiding and pulled Dog in with her. “Shhh. Quiet,” she whispered, hoping they were in far enough no one could see her. The sun was up but this side of the mountain was shaded. She hoped the shade would keep her and the dog hidden from anyone’s view.
A man, much younger than Hawke, stepped out of the trees and continued up the side of the mountain toward the cave.
Dog quivered under her arm that held him.
Would he kill the man to save her? She didn’t like to think about Dog doing such a thing, but she also didn’t want to die before the police caught the man who had killed her parents.
The man walked up to within twenty feet of the opening. “Dog? Little girl? Hawke sent me.” He held out what looked like Hawke’s badge.
Her chest squeezed. What had happened to Hawke? Dog had stopped quivering. Did he recognize the voice? The person?
“What are the numbers on the badge?” she called out.
The man read them off.
It was Hawke’s badge.
She released Dog.
He ran out and greeted the man. “Hey boy. Are you doing a good job?”
Kitree crawled out. “Where’s Hawke?”
“He stayed to keep the men from following us.”
“Us? You and me?” She peered into the trees.
“Mainly the others who were at the lodge. The bas— bad guys were going to burn the lodge down.”
Her throat tightened. Had they set the fire with Hawke in the lodge? “Did they?”
“I haven’t seen or smelled any smoke, so I don’t think so.” He looked at the cave. “You have any belongings we need to take?”
“A pack. But I’m running out of food.” She crawled in and pulled out the pack. The badge still dangled in the man’s hand. Kitree grabbed the warm metal and hung it around her neck, dropping the badge inside her shirt like Hawke had worn it.
“If we hike and keep hiking until dark and then start out as soon as we can see in the morning, we’ll be at the guard station by late tomorrow.” The man picked up her backpack.
As he started along the mountainside, her gaze traveled downhill. She didn’t want to go to a guard station, she wanted to see if Hawke needed help.
«»«»«»
Hawke regained consciousness and wished he’d had his Kevlar vest on. Lucky for him the man without a weapon had yanked on the killer’s arm when he shot. Something about “I’m not killing a cop.” The bullet had hit Hawke in the shoulder. He’d banged his head into the door behind him as he went down. Both his head and shoulder hurt like hell. He wasn’t sure if his wooziness was from hitting his head or loss of blood. He wouldn’t die from either one. At least not if he didn’t get an infection or lose more blood.
The sound of a helicopter taking off gave him hope Dani had loaded everyone up and gotten away. He used the door he’d fallen backwards into, to help pull himself to his feet. His arm needed stabilized to lessen the pain. And he needed something to stop the bleeding. Flickering of light drew him into the great room. They’d started a fire in the fireplace and from the kerosene smell, had splashed it around to make the place burn. Most likely with him in it.
He hurried across the room to assess the situation. There was a broken kerosene lamp on the hearth. He’d pull the rug it was on away and get a bucket of water to douse the fire.
Bending to grab the rug, his eyesight blurred and blackness tried to descend. He dropped to his knees. When his head cleared, he grasped the corner of the rug with the hand on his good arm and started crawling backwards on his knees. He’d made it about ten feet from the fireplace when he heard banging and voices.
Tuck hurried by him with a bucket of water, followed by his wife and Dani. They all threw water in the fireplace, sputtering out the flames.
“Hawke, are you okay?” Dani asked, dropping to her knees beside him. “You’re bleeding!” She and Tuck helped him to his feet. “Sage, go get the first aid kit. Mr. and Mrs. Harvell sit down and relax.”
Dani maneuvered him into a chair.
“I thought I heard you leave,” Hawke said, putting a hand on her arm.
“It wasn’t us. They tampered with my aircraft. The plane and the helicopter wouldn’t start. I was getting ready to try theirs when I heard a gunshot.” She eased his arm out of his long-sleeved shirt and used his knife to cut his t-shirt away from the hole the bullet made just under his collar bone.
“Ouch!” He ground his teeth together as she dabbed at the wound with a piece of his t-shirt.
“I ducked behind a tree when they ran out to their helicopter.” She turned her attention to Tuck. “I’ll need alcohol.” He nodded and disappeared from Hawke’s sight.
“They took off, so I rounded up everyone to make sure they hadn’t been shot. Tuck spotted the smoke in the chimney. I had a pretty good idea what they’d done. We grabbed buckets of water and came in here.”
He nodded, taking in all she was saying. “Tyson. Did he get off to get Kitree?”
“Yes. He told me what you said to him.”
“Good.” His eyes popped open. “Do you think he’ll have enough sense to stay off trails and out of sight?”
Dani shrugged. “Some days he’s mature, others...”
He hoped the young man listened to Kitree. She had good survival instincts. But as soon as Dani had him doctored, he was grabbing Jack and Horse and heading out after them.
«»«»«»
Kitree headed straight down the mountainside.
“Hey! Get back here. I’m supposed to take you to the guard station.” The man, who hadn’t even told her his name, came bounding down the mountain behind her. He grabbed her by the arm. “You can’t run off like that. Hawke told me to get you to the guard station. That’s where I’m going.”
“Who are you? I don’t know your name and how do I know you didn’t hurt Hawke and take this from him?” She put her hand on her chest over the badge.
“I’m Tyson Singer. Dani’s cousin. She’s the lady who owns the hunting lodge.” He released her arm. “What’s your name?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know my name? You’re supposed to help me but you don’t know who I am?”
She spun away from him. “Dog, come!” she called and took off through the trees and brush, hoping to get away from the man. Something had happened to Hawke. This man could have been the one to do it. She wasn’t going anywhere with him. The only people she trusted on this mountain were Hawke and Dog.
When she didn’t hear anyone crashing through the brush behind her anymore, Kitree slowed her pace and followed Dog, who seemed to know where he was going. His tail was wagging as he kept a steady pace straight down the mountain.
«»«»«»
Hawke lifted the saddle onto his horse with one arm. The good news about his wound, it wasn’t in his dominant side. He could still do most anything he wanted to do. That was if he hadn’t lost so much blood.
“This is asinine. Tyson will get the girl to the guard station.”
“What if that’s what those two in the copter think? She and Tyson will be sitting ducks as they walk up to the guard shack.” He shook his head. “I promised that little girl we’d catch the person responsible for her parent’s deaths. And I’d keep her safe.”
“Let me go with you?” Dani said, putting a hand on his arm.
He gazed down into her concerned eyes. There would come a day when he’d lean over and kiss her, but this wasn’t it. The more he was around the woman, the more he respected her. Thoughts like he’d just had would get him in trouble and deplete his brain. He didn’t like working with people who were so smitten with their love interest that they made stupid mistakes. His days of being stupid were over.
“You need to figure out what they did to your aircraft and get these people out of here. I hope the rangers have stopped people from coming up the trails. The two men out there—”
“Just heard from the Standley Guard Station.” Tuck interrupted. “They have the two men in custody that you sent down on the horses. Two more game wardens are coming up on horses and the search and rescue are spread out coming up the canyon.”
“See. There is no reason for you to go off looking for the girl and Tyson.” Dani grabbed his saddle to pull it off his horse.
“The two men in the helicopter can find her and land before any game warden or search and rescue members find her. And Search and Rescue aren’t trained to confront the type of man that is after Kitree.” Hawke retrieved his saddle from Dani and flung it up on Jack’s back.
She threw her hands in the air. “You’re impossible. If you need to play cat and mouse with these people, I’m going to fix the plane and fly these people out of here. I’ll come back for the helicopter to pick you and the girl up. And you damn well better be on the top of Jim White Ridge between Jerry and Jungle Creek with that girl when I get there.”
He watched her straight back and head held high as she marched out of the barn.
Tuck whistled under his breath. “That sounded like an order to me.”
Hawke grinned. “Yeah, to me, too.”
The wrangler scratched his head. “She does know that Jim White Ridge is the opposite of where everyone thinks you’re headed?”
That was what told him that Dani would be waiting for them. She had figured out everyone would be looking for them between the lodge and the trailhead. Not going the opposite direction. “That’s why she said it.”
Hawke grimaced as he tightened the cinch.
“You want a saddle on Horse instead of the packsaddle?” Tuck grabbed one of the youth saddles off the rack. “Wouldn’t take but a minute to loosen the cinch and make if fit him.”
“That’s a good idea. Thanks.” Hawke finished bridling Jack as Tuck saddled up Horse. The mule laid his ears back but put up with the change of tack.
Hawke led the two animals out of the barn.
Dog came running up to him whining.
“Where’s Kitree?” he asked, patting the dog’s head and staring the direction the animal had come from.
He spotted movement in the trees. It was the girl and twenty feet behind her was Tyson.
When she spotted him, she burst forward at a run. She flung her arms around his waist. “I thought you were...” She didn’t finish the sentence.
“I told Tyson to take you to the guard station.” He narrowed his eyes at the young man loping toward them.
Tyson bent at the waist and put his hands on his knees. He gulped in air.
“Why are you chasing her?” Hawke asked.
“I’m not.” Tyson drew in two long breaths. “She didn’t believe you sent me and took off. I was just trying to keep up with her.”
Hawke knelt.
Kitree’s eyes widened as her gaze landed on the bandage holding his arm in one place. “You were hurt.”
“Why didn’t you listen to Tyson?” he asked, drawing her gaze from his shoulder.
“He didn’t know my name. He didn’t know anything about me.”
“Did he show you my badge?” Hawke glanced up at Tyson, who nodded.
Kitree pulled on the chain around her neck and drew his badge up over her small head. “He did. But he should have known more about me if you sent him.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to tell him much. He had to leave before he was caught.” Hawke took the badge from the child’s outstretched hand, pulled his hat off, and placed the chain around his neck. “This works out better anyway. I don’t have to find you. We’re getting some food and heading to the top of a mountain where Dani, Ms. Singer, will come get you and take you to the authorities.”
“You’re not coming with me?” Her eyes glistened as if tears were going to begin.
“I have to bring Jack and Horse down off the mountain. They are getting lonely for their friend, Boy, back at the stables.”
Her tearful eyes dried up. She glared at him. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.”
Tyson grinned at him.
“I’m not. I’m telling you the truth. Jack and Horse miss my other horse when they are gone too long. I don’t want to leave them up here for who knows how long.” He stood and grasped her hand. “Tyson, tie these two to the hitching post. Kitree and I are going to raid your cousin’s pantry.”
He led the girl over to where Dani was decked out in overalls and checking out the plane. “Dani, Ms. Singer, I’d like you to meet someone.” He knew he was being overly polite but he wanted the child to meet and remember Dani. Just in case he wasn’t able to make it all the way to the top of the mountain with her.
Dani turned from the aircraft with a wrench in her hand. “Hello, you can call me Dani. What’s your name?”
“Kitree. Wow, you work on planes?”
“And helicopters, and I fly them, too. Did Hawke tell you I’ll pick you two up on the ridge later, when I get the aircraft running?”
The child shook her head. “He said, you’d pick me up. He has to bring Horse and Jack home.”
Dani narrowed her gaze on him, but returned it back to the girl. “Well then, I can give you a lesson on flying without any interruptions from him.”
Kitree giggled.
“We were going to raid your pantry for food to last us until we get to the top of the mountain and you show up.” Hawke tipped his head toward the aircraft. “How much damage did they do?”
Dani’s lips turned up in a smug grin. “They probably thought I’d be grounded until someone could bring a part from down below. Surprise is on them. I have two of every part this thing needs in my tool room.” She closed the cover on the helicopter. “But they ripped things out. It will take time to dismantle the part they sabotaged and then put the new one in. We’ll be headed out of here as soon as I get this fixed. I’d say in two or three hours. You better get going in case those guys come back. We’ll be ready for them this time.”
“We better go. We’ll wait for you to show up down in the tree line.” Hawke turned Kitree toward the lodge. “Did you get any sleep last night?” he asked, noticing her steps weren’t as springy as when he’d met her. He was glad they would have horses to carry them to the top of the mountain.
“Yeah, some. But I’m more hungry than tired.”
He led her into the lodge.
Sage jumped up from her seat in the great room. “Where did you come from?” Her eyes lit up as if she’d found a diamond ring.
“This is the person those men were looking for,” Hawke said. “We need food to keep us full until tonight.”
“Come on.” Sage put her arm around Kitree’s shoulders and led her into the dining room. Hawke followed, wondering at how motherly Sage seemed. He hadn’t asked Dani or the couple about their family.
In the kitchen, Sage handed Kitree two sugar cookies and began digging through the cupboard. “I can make up some peanut butter and jam sandwiches.”
“That will work,” Hawke said, stealing a cookie from the jar in the middle of the prep table.
“I have some granola bars...and here,” she handed Kitree a plastic bag. “Put as many of the cookies in there as you think you’ll need.”
Kitree took the bag and filled it, leaving only six cookies in the jar.
Hawke winked at her. “You don’t happen to have any dog food around here for Dog, do you?”
Sage spun from making the sandwiches. “Actually, there were four cans left behind by someone with a dog. I think they’re in the barn. Tyson should know where they are.”
Hawke grabbed another cookie. “You wait here for the food. I’ll go make sure Dog gets something to eat.”
Kitree nodded and pulled a cookie out of the bag she’d filled.
Hawke walked into the great room and found Tyson hauling the older couple’s bags out of their room. “Sage said there should be some cans of dog food in the barn?”
“Yeah, in the tack room. A guest left it.” Tyson hauled the bags off toward the plane.
Hawke wandered to the barn. Dog appeared from the shadow of the barn near the horse and mule. “Come on, I’ve got something good for you.”
The dog followed him into the barn. Hawke found the cans easily and was happy to see they had tabs to open them. He opened one and dumped the contents into a grain pan. Dog gobbled it up in seconds. “We’ll take the others with us. You’ve missed too many feedings. I bet you caught some rodents though, didn’t you?” He scratched the dog’s head and walked out to the horses.
He put the cans in his saddlebag and turned in time to find Kitree and Sage carrying out their food.
“Here you go. I gave you more than you asked for. It sounds like Kitree hasn’t had enough to eat since taking out on her own.” Sage put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Now don’t forget, you should come back and see us when things are settled down.”
Kitree handed the cookies to Hawke and hugged the woman around the waist. “Thank you.”
Hawke took the food from the cook and put it in the saddlebag as Sage hugged the girl.
“Take care of Hawke. As you can see by his sling, he gets into trouble.” Sage grinned at him and helped Kitree up onto the mule as if she’d helped children mount up before.
“I will. Thank you for the food,” Kitree said, as Hawke kneed Jack forward and led Horse. They had several miles to cover and mostly uphill to be at the ridge when Dani landed to pick Kitree up.