As Sienna shivered, Devin scooted closer. It was chilly out here in the craggy mountains. The boulder behind them felt like ice, and the air was brisk. And sitting on this rock, not knowing what was happening around them…it was unnerving.
He would guess they were four miles from the road. They’d mostly gone downhill, so heading back would be even harder. The good news was that he had his gun. The bad news was that Sienna was hurt.
He pulled out his phone and frowned. Still no signal.
They waited silently as the minutes ticked past. There was no sign that the man had found them.
After an hour, he felt like it was safe to begin moving again. It was too risky to walk back to his SUV. Between the terrain, the gunman and the cut on Sienna’s leg, it was better if they stayed put—if possible.
But if they stayed here, they were going to need something to keep them warm. It was probably forty degrees out here, and neither Devin nor Sienna was dressed for the chilly weather.
If he was going to be proactive here, he had to get busy now.
Devin stood and began collecting dry sticks from the ground around them. The little cove they’d found beneath the boulder would be the perfect place to settle until the sun started to come up.
“What are you doing?” Sienna sat with a knee pulled to her chest, and exhaustion was written over her features. Every time she moved her leg, it was obvious she was in pain.
Devin wished there was something he could do to help her, but there wasn’t. There was nothing other than this.
“I’m trying to find wood to start a fire,” he said.
“Won’t that attract the gunman’s attention?”
“If he’s still out here. But if he’s not still out here and we don’t start a fire, it’s going to get cold. We can’t risk walking any more tonight. It’s too hard to see and with your injury…”
Sienna frowned. “I can’t believe I didn’t see that stick.”
“The terrain is treacherous, even for seasoned mountain climbers. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“It’s kind of hard not to when not watching my step could get us killed.” Sienna squeezed her eyes shut before dipping her head down into the crook of her arms, which rested on her knees.
Devin’s heart twinged with compassion. He had the strange desire to reach over and try to offer Sienna some kind of comfort. But this wasn’t the time. And it wasn’t his place.
Though something strange had been happening to his heart lately. He wasn’t sure what it was about Sienna, but she brought out feelings in him that he’d never thought he’d feel again.
And he didn’t like it. He shoved those thoughts aside.
Once he collected all of the sticks, he put them together in a temporary fire pit. He then pulled out a flint and tried to start the fire. Yes, he’d been a Boy Scout. Those skills still came in handy.
A few moments later, he saw the first spark, and before long, the entire bundle was crackling in front of them.
Still on guard, he went back to sit by Sienna. He told himself he should sit somewhere else. Yet he couldn’t seem to move.
“Life isn’t fair sometimes, is it?” Sienna said, staring into the flames.
“No, it’s not.” He understood where she was coming from all too well.
“A two-year-old boy shouldn’t have to go through this,” she continued. “I just wish that life worked the way we wanted it to, you know?”
“If life worked the way we wanted it to, then we’d never have the opportunity to grow. It’s the trials that make us stronger.” It was easier to say than it was to live.
“Who says we need to be strong? Why can’t we just be happy and superficial?”
He glanced over at her, Sienna’s words surprising him.
“I don’t mean that,” she muttered. “I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m thinking. It’s just tempting sometimes, isn’t it?”
“I know what you’re getting at, Sienna. But life is richer when we accept that there are going to be challenges.”
Even as he said the words, he wasn’t sure he’d lived that out. He’d spent a lot of time resenting the fact that he’d lost his wife and daughter. More than resenting it. He’d been angry. Angry at God. Angry at life.
He was just now starting to come out of the fog he’d been in for so long. And, in part, that was because of Sienna.
“He was stupid, you know,” Devin said.
“What?” Sienna asked, surprise written across her face as she turned to look at him.
“Your fiancé. He was stupid for leaving you at the altar.”
She let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, I can’t believe I didn’t see that side of him before. But it’s better that he realized he didn’t love me before we got married rather than after.”
“I can’t argue with that. It’s great that you can have a good attitude about it. But why did you really stay here? Was that the whole reason you gave me earlier?”
“What I said earlier was true. I’d already moved in. Signed a contract for my new job. I just felt like I should stay and see this through. I guess…well, I guess it was a matter of prayer and listening to this internal voice telling me this was where I should be.”
“So it was a step of faith. Do you regret it?”
She shrugged. “It’s hard to say. But most days, no. I’ve met a lot of great people, and I love my students.”
“You obviously love Colby.”
She smiled. “I do. I really do. He deserves a chance at life, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” Their gazes caught, and Devin found himself leaning toward her. Drawn to her. Attracted to her.
No, that couldn’t be right. He couldn’t move on. To do so would be a travesty. It would be like leaving his wife and daughter in the past. Forgetting them. Forgetting how important they were to him.
So why did he want to kiss Sienna so badly?
As he looked at her, he saw the same desire in her eyes. She felt the same pull that he did.
What would it be like if he just let himself go? If he stopped worrying so much and instead embraced the fact that his future might have room for someone else? And that it was okay?
He reached for Sienna and skimmed his thumb along the edge of her cheek, then her jawbone.
“I’m sorry I acted like a jerk,” he said.
Sienna blinked with surprise. “You acted like a jerk?”
“All those months of living beside each other, and I hardly ever spoke.”
“Oh, back then.” She smiled. “I’d say you’ve made up for it over the past couple of days. You’ve gone above and beyond, as a matter of fact.”
“I hope so.” He couldn’t pull his eyes away. No, Sienna had the type of face and disposition that he wanted to study for hours upon hours.
His hand rested on her neck, he realized.
He reached forward with his other hand and slipped it around Sienna’s waist.
She didn’t object.
“Sienna?” he started, his throat achy with emotion.
“Yes?” She sounded breathless.
“You’ve really surprised—” Before he could finish the thought, he heard a twig snap in the distance.
Had the person trying to kill them come back? Or it could be a bear. A mountain lion. There were so many dangers out here that he couldn’t begin to name them all.
Instead, he jerked his hands back and pulled out his gun.
“What is it?” Sienna asked.
“Something—or someone—is out there. I need to figure out what.”
* * *
Sienna pulled her knees to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible there in the shadow of the boulder.
Please, Lord, protect us.
She watched as Devin slowly crept forward, using the trees for cover.
But it was so dark out here. It was so hard to see anything.
And her leg throbbed. Why did she have to cut it? What if that one mistake ended up costing them their lives? What would happen to Colby then?
She tried to put the thoughts out of her head. Instead, Sienna continued to watch everything going on around her.
If she saw something, she needed to signal to Devin that danger was approaching.
Sienna held her breath. Waiting. Anticipating.
Another twig cracked, followed by footsteps. Devin took off running after a fleeing figure in the distance.
Sienna pulled herself in even farther, wishing she could disappear. Wishing she could run after Devin and help. She didn’t know what she wanted—only that she couldn’t bear it if anyone got hurt.
The sounds of them running faded.
What was happening out there? Had Devin caught the man? Had the man caught him?
She closed her eyes and prayed more.
Thoughts of Colby rushed through her mind. Of Anita. Of their futures.
Her thoughts immediately shifted to the terrain in this area. With it being so dark outside, Devin could easily not see a cliff or other obstacles in his way.
Why did the thought of something happening to him make Sienna’s chest ache so badly? In these two short days since they’d been thrown together, had she really started to care about him?
No, the idea was crazy.
Besides, even if that were true, it didn’t mean Devin cared about her also.
Yet, he had almost seemed like he was about to kiss her. Sienna’s heart pounded harder.
Had she been imagining things? Had the stress of the situation played with her mind?
She didn’t know.
Sienna only knew she didn’t want him to get hurt right now. That she couldn’t handle the thought of it.
A twig snapped beside her. She gasped and looked up, fully expecting to see Devin.
Instead, a masked man stood there, pointing a gun toward her.
“Stand up. Make a sound, and I’ll pull the trigger.”