Megan was so bumfuzzled by riding close to James she didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh, cry or scream. Or all of the above.
The man perched behind her was evidently doing his best to keep from touching her, which might mean he wanted to avoid her as much as possible. Or, it could mean he cared about her, respected her high principles and didn’t want to do anything that would give her the wrong impression of his own standards.
Then again, maybe he was holding back because he was as unsure of her feelings as she was of his. All she’d have to do to find out was lean back a tiny bit and rest her shoulders against his chest. Just for a second. That would be long enough. And maybe lay her head on his shoulder?
The idea was so tempting it made her shiver. It was also risky. If James rejected her, she knew it would hurt terribly—not to mention embarrass them both.
What am I doing even thinking about my personal life at a time like this? Megan asked herself. What kind of monster am I? My sister’s missing. Roxy should be the only one on my mind.
But Roxy wasn’t the only one, was she? Like it or not, James Harris now occupied a major portion of Megan’s thoughts—and of her dreams. Falling for him wasn’t a choice she’d made by sensible reasoning. It had simply happened, slowly, unconsciously, yet more quickly than she’d ever imagined it could.
Love wasn’t nearly this complicated in her favorite novels, Megan reflected, frustrated by her indecisiveness. She was a bold, independent, educated woman, with her feet on the ground and career choices ahead. She didn’t need any man to make her complete. So what was she afraid of?
Moreover, what was James afraid of? If she didn’t gather her courage and force the issue soon she might never find out, and that would be turning her back on a God-given opportunity.
She sent out a silent Lord, help me and cleared her throat, preparing to tell James exactly how she felt about him. When she opened her mouth to speak, however, what popped out was “How much farther to the caves?”
“Maybe half a mile.” He pointed with the flashlight. “Take that path over there. It should lead down to the river.”
Down? her mind echoed. Down, as in steep? Had her unspoken plea been answered already? She certainly hoped so, because she obviously couldn’t count on herself for anything. What had become of the capable, levelheaded person she’d been just days ago? She wished she knew!
Bringing Buckets to the crest of the ridge, Megan halted. “Looks safe enough except for a few low branches. Keep your head down and hang on. This could get a little rough.”
Not wanting to give James time to come up with an alternative plan and spoil her chance to force him to embrace her, she nudged the horse with her heels and they started over the lip of the hill.
Head down, Buckets picked her way cautiously, stiffly, around protruding rocks. The motion was anything but smooth. Still, James refused to lay a hand on Megan. The more their momentum propelled them forward, the farther back he leaned.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s hard to stay… Uh-oh.”
Megan felt him start to slide sideways. “If you were hanging on like I told you to, you wouldn’t be having problems.”
“I didn’t think—”
Just then, Buckets’s foot slipped. The mare jerked to right herself, throwing both riders off balance.
Megan would have been able to cope with the abrupt movement if James hadn’t chosen that moment to finally make a grab for her. She screeched, “Let go!” on her way down.
The next few seconds passed in a blur. James hit the ground first. Megan landed partially on top of him.
Buckets skidded to a halt and looked back at them as if to say, “What’re you doing way down there?”
“Are you okay?” James asked, breathless.
“I guess so.” Scooting aside and sitting up, Megan rubbed her hands on her jeans to clean them off before wiping her wet face with the backs of her wrists. “You picked a fine time to take my advice.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who left camp without a saddle. At least you had her mane. There was nothing for me to hang on to except you.”
“Exactly. And you did your level best to keep from touching me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.” James stood and held out his hand.
Megan clambered to her feet without accepting his help, thankful the drizzle and the darkness masked her unsteady emotions. “At least you admit it.”
“I plan to admit a lot of things once we’re back in camp,” he said solemnly. “Right now, I can see it’s a good thing we fell off when we did. I almost missed that old corner post over there.”
He shined the flashlight for her. “See? Down by the big cedar? If there’s a surveyor’s mark on it we’ve found the right place.”
“I—I think I see a post.” She sniffled and took a disgusted swipe at the salty drops mixed with the rain trickling down her cheeks.
“That’s the landmark I was looking for. The cave entrances are a few yards south. We can walk from here.”
“Anything to keep from getting back on a horse?”
James snorted. “No. Anything to keep from going crazy trying to behave myself when I’m that close to you.”
Her eyes widened. Did that mean what she hoped it did?
“You weren’t trying to stay away from me because you didn’t like me?”
“Ha! I should be so lucky.” He grabbed her hand and started off. “Come on. We’ve wasted enough time.”
The logical side of Megan’s mind kept insisting they were on a wild-goose chase, no matter what James had dreamed or imagined. The side that believed in divine intervention wasn’t nearly as convinced, especially since they’d taken their tumble in such a fortuitous place.
She struggled to keep pace with his longer strides while Buckets trailed them both, head hung low, like a faithful dog following its master.
“Don’t you feel a little silly racing around the woods like this?” Megan asked. “I mean, nobody’s given us a good reason to think we’d find anything here, have they?”
“I told you I couldn’t explain the urge to investigate. Call it intuition if you want.”
“Suppose you’re wrong.”
“Then I’ll feel silly and you’ll get to gloat,” James said. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
“Good for you.” She held tighter to his hand. “I like a man with the courage of his convictions.”
“Do you? Well, well. I thought you hated my stubborn streak. Didn’t you call me opinionated?”
“Yes. Just because I admire your character doesn’t mean I think you’re always right. You can be self-confident and still be dead wrong, you know.”
“Are you speaking from experience, Ms. White?”
“Not me. I’m never wrong, remember?”
James started to chuckle, then abruptly stopped. “Listen. Hear that?”
She strained. “No. What?”
“Voices. Over that way, I think.”
“I don’t hear a thing.”
“That’s because you’re always talking. Hush.”
“Yes, sir,” she mumbled, half-disgusted. He must have the ears of an owl if he could hear anything over all the background noise. The heart of the storm had moved on, taking most of the thunder and lightning with it, but rain was still beating down on the trees and the rush of the river had become a roar.
Megan jumped when James suddenly cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Zac! Zac, it’s me.”
She looked up at his profile silhouetted against the gray sky. For his sake, let him get some kind of response, even if it isn’t the one he expects.
Struck by the negative tone of her appeal, she wondered if maybe she hadn’t been viewing this situation through the murky veil of her own pride. Right now, it seemed James’s faith was a lot stronger than hers. Even if he was mistaken, the least she could do was give his efforts her full support.
“Roxy!” Megan called.
Beside her, James momentarily froze, then took off running. “This way!”
Though she still hadn’t heard anything to get excited about, she followed. The beam of his flashlight bounced over the uneven ground and danced among the trees up ahead like a sunbeam riding a bucking bronco. And speaking of horses, Megan wished she was aboard Buckets instead of picking her own way on foot across a forest floor littered with rocks and recently downed branches. No telling what dangers lay hidden beneath the carpet of wet leaves—not to mention the usual complement of ticks and chiggers.
Caution slowed her enough that James reached the riverbank before she did. He threw himself to the ground, facedown, head and shoulders hanging over the edge.
Megan was worried he’d fallen until she heard him shout, “Roxanne!”
Her breath caught. Her heart raced. The certainty in his voice said it all. They’d found her sister!
Woozy with relief, Megan was afraid she was about to keel over. Before her emotions could overpower her will, she dropped to her knees next to James, hoping to see what he was seeing. It was no use. She was too short. She thumped his back to get his attention. “Is it really Roxy?”
“Yes.” James raised on one elbow. “Zac, too. They look okay so far but they won’t be for long. I’m an idiot. I left my rope on the ATV.”
Rope? Rope? Think! “How long a piece do you need?”
“The longer the better. Why?”
“Buckets’s reins might work. Wait. I’ll get them.”
She returned with the whole bridle. “Let me unfasten the reins from the bit. It’ll just take a minute.”
“No time. We’ll use it like that,” James said. “Stretch it out and tie one end to that little hickory tree. It may bend some under my weight but it won’t break. It takes a tornado to snap a hickory that size.”
“What’re you going to do?” Her eyes widened when she realized he’d already removed his boots. She stared past him at the river. Broken patches of white froth were clear indications of how fast the water was now traveling. “You’re not going in there!”
“Unless you have a better idea. Those kids don’t dare try to climb out by themselves.” He whipped off the slicker and threw it aside. “They’d be swept away the minute they set foot in the water.”
Even knowing he’d made the right decision, Megan had to fight the urge to beg him to reconsider. She nodded. “Okay. How can I help? Tell me exactly what to do.”
“Make sure your end of the rein doesn’t come loose. I’ll have to climb partway, then swing in. I don’t want to end up floating downriver instead.”
“Got it. What else?” There was a telltale tremor in her voice.
“They’ve got a little fire going in the cave so I’ll be able to see. You keep the flashlight. I’ll bring Roxy out first. Be ready to help her climb after I boost her up.”
He hesitated, laid a hand tenderly on Megan’s arm. “Just don’t fall in, okay? I don’t want to lose you.”
She managed a slight smile. “Be careful.”
“I will. We have a date to discuss some important things and I don’t plan to miss it.”
Before Megan could reply he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, levered himself over the bank and disappeared from view.
Teeth gritted, muscles straining, James eased closer to the water and prepared to leap toward the cave opening. He must do this perfectly. Failure was unthinkable. Everybody was counting on him. Especially Megan.
Was this what it was like to trust God? He sure hoped so because he was about to do something totally crazy.
With a muttered “Here goes,” he jumped.
The makeshift rope stretched but held. His wet hands started to slip, then gripped.
Roxy was crouched in the cave opening, waiting. She snatched at his ankle to stop him from going backward.
James dropped to the ground beside her. The sobbing girl clutched his hand. “Oh, Mr. Harris, am I glad to see you. I didn’t know what to do. The water kept coming up. I was afraid we’d drown.”
“You still might if you don’t do exactly as I say.”
“I will, I will. I promise.” Her tears glistened in the flickering firelight.
James wanted to throw his arms around both kids and hug them senseless, but that kind of reunion would have to wait. So would recriminations. First, they had to escape the rising flood. And the sooner the better.
He spotted Zac in the rear of the cave. The boy was wrapped in Megan’s missing red jacket and reclining next to the fire. “Zac. Get over here. I need your help.”
“Sorry,” Zac said. “I can’t.”
Roxy grabbed James’s arm and tugged him forward. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, Mr. Harris. Zac’s hurt. He can’t walk. See? It’s all my fault.”
“What do you mean he’s hurt?”
“His leg. I tried to put a splint on it but I couldn’t get it right. And I couldn’t leave him and go for help. What if I got lost? What if I couldn’t find my way back? He’d die!”
James had dropped to his knees beside the boy as Roxy chattered on. Gently, he probed the injury site to assess the damage. “It might be just a bad sprain. Did anything break the skin?”
“No,” Zac said, flinching. “Ouch!”
“Okay. How do you feel otherwise?” James laid his hand on the boy’s forehead. “You’re feverish. When did you hurt your leg? Right after you two ran away?”
“We didn’t… Oh, never mind. Yeah. That same day.” Zac’s teeth chattered. “Man, it’s cold in here. Can we go home now?”
“That’s the plan,” James told him, straightening. “I’m going to hand Roxy up to her sister first, then come back for you. Think you can wait that long?”
“Like, where am I gonna go?”
James huffed. “I see you haven’t lost your sarcastic sense of humor.”
The teen gave him a knowing grin. “You’d wonder what was wrong with me if I didn’t give you a hard time.”
Touched by Zac’s candor and warmed by his smile, James nodded. “You’re right, you little hoodlum.”
“Hey, watch it with the ‘little’ stuff.”
“Right now,” James said, sobering, “I’m glad you’re not any bigger. Looks like I’m going to have to pack you out of here on my back.”
“No way.” The boy folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll just wait for the water to go down and get me a crutch or something.”
“Then I hope you can swim,” James replied, pointing. “See that line halfway up the wall? That’s how deep it’s going to get in here.”
Behind him, he heard Roxy’s sharp intake of breath. “We have to get out!”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” James said. He took her hand and led her back to the cave opening. Water was beginning to slosh in, wetting the floor in a widening circle. The river was rising even faster than he’d expected. There was no time to waste.
He grabbed the end of the leather rein and gave it a tug to make sure it was still solidly anchored, then leaned out and called, “Megan. You ready?”
When there was no answering shout, James thought his heart was going to pound its way out of his chest.
“Megan! Answer me.”