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“Shouldn’t the sun be in front of us?” Allie asked, her breath so labored she could barely push out the words. She and Janet had been alternately running and jogging for what felt like hours. She didn’t know the exact time—her watch and phone had been confiscated before the race. But it was definitely the afternoon and if they were supposed to be heading west, something was wrong.
“Don’t be stupid,” Janet muttered. But she stopped, dropped her pack and yanked out the compass.
Allie slumped to the ground, too tired to remove her pack. The tent had seemed light when first added to her load. Now it felt like a hundred pounds. The straps of the pack cut into her shoulders and sweat ran down her forehead, the salt stinging her eyes. She unscrewed her water bottle, took several gulps then dumped the entire contents over her burning face.
“Don’t waste your water,” Janet said, not looking up from the map. “We should have brought more bottles.”
“Yeah,” Allie croaked. It was astounding how much water they needed. Even though they filled their bottles at every stream, they always ran out. At least there was running water close by, along with a slab of rock so they could keep their feet dry when refilling.
Her gaze narrowed on the grayish black rock. The slab looked familiar, much like the one they’d seen hours ago when Janet had commented it was the same height as an Olympic podium. She was always making remarks like that, as if intent on reminding Allie of her supremacy. But maybe the woman wasn’t so superior at reading a compass.
“I think we’re going in circles,” Allie said.
“Impossible,” Janet snapped, but there was a hint of panic in her voice along with something far more worrisome—resignation.
“Let me take a look at the map,” Allie offered. “And the compass.”
“If I can’t read it,” Janet said, “someone like you certainly can’t.” But she tossed both the map and compass on Allie’s lap before stomping toward the stream.
Allie flattened the paper over her thigh. The map didn’t show the smaller hiking trails but all the wider logging roads were marked, along with the Mustang River. They’d only run into several small streams, certainly not the huge river. So that meant they were only slightly off course or else they had somehow circled back and were moving in the wrong direction.
Kate always said anyone could use a compass, just point the black needle to the north, so Allie lined up the compass and stared at the quivering needle. She stared a long moment, reluctant to accept her findings. Then she rechecked the bearings and studied it a second time. The truth couldn’t be denied.
They had traveled in a circle. All that running had been a colossal waste of time.
She dropped her head in her hands, trembling with exhaustion. If only Janet hadn’t been so secretive with the map, acting as if Allie was a competitor rather than a partner.
“So what do you think, Einstein?” Janet walked up from the stream, pausing to sip from her water bottle.
“We’re only a mile away from our starting point,” Allie said dully. She wanted to yell and scream but lacked the energy to point blame, still struggling to accept all those agonizing miles. Wasted miles.
Janet huffed and grabbed the map. She didn’t speak for a moment then began cursing the race organizers, the trackers and everyone else employed at the ranch. “These are terrible directions!” she snapped. “It’s like they wanted me to lose.”
The woman was completely self-centered and Allie was getting sick of it. She lay on the ground, staring at the darkening sky, too tired to care about ticks or ant nests or even spiders. There were still patches of blue, but clouds were skudding in and the sun resembled a bruised raspberry. Another few hours and it would be sunset.
They might make it back to the ranch in time for supper. At least now they didn’t have to worry about snapping branches or speaking in whispers. Clearly Carter and Monty were nowhere in the vicinity. Monty had probably never chased such a clueless pair.
Janet still paced in a circle, ranting about how fickle sports fans were and how an Olympic gold medal meant crap. One thing for sure, the woman had stamina. But she didn’t seem at all contrite about her navigation failure. “I’ll never land any endorsements now,” she whined. “This sucks. If Rebecca were with me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Allie closed her eyes, shutting out the woman. Soothing such a narcissistic personality was draining. Besides, she’d be home soon, where she could have a good meal and a relaxing soak in the hot tub and there was no doubt she could find a helpful wrangler or two to rub her feet. Carter and Monty would win, and that was just fine because Janet didn’t deserve to beat them.
On the other hand, it would be a quick and hollow victory...and maybe not enough to land Carter a permanent job.
She cracked open her eyes. Janet was still pacing, still griping about the poorly drawn map and lost endorsements, and how Rebecca had promised this was a chance to regain some media attention.
“Maybe you can still win,” Allie said. “It’s not like we’ve been caught yet. So it’s not really over.”
“You mean keep racing?” Janet scoffed. “Even with a whole day wasted?”
“We’re definitely at a disadvantage,” Allie said. “We have to make up a lot of ground. But we can stick to the main trails now because Carter and Monty aren’t anywhere close.”
The men would never imagine their quarry was back at the starting point. They’d be going up and down abandoned logging roads, searching for sign that would never be found. That was actually quite convenient.
“So it would come down to speed,” Janet said, finally stopping her agitated pacing. “I suppose as long as we’re behind them, we can really motor.”
“Exactly,” Allie said, checking the horizon. “We might be able to walk until midnight if the moon gives enough light.”
“And there’ll be no need to hide our trail,” Janet said, “since the men are way ahead.” She stuck the compass in front of Allie’s face. “But first, show me our route. Convince me this instrument isn’t broken.”
“I assume Rebecca intended to be the navigator,” Allie said. It was rather ironic that she was the expert now, especially since she’d never used a compass before.
“Yes.” Janet’s nod was grudging. “And we were going to separate by the river so she could act as my decoy.”
Allie shuddered. She couldn’t imagine being out here alone. “Well, I’m not Rebecca. And we have to stay together. Besides, you don’t need a decoy. Monty and Carter are miles away.”
She took the compass from Rebecca and rose to her feet. “In fact,” she added, “I expect those men are far more confused than we are.”
