Rocky Mountain Showdown. Victoria Austin W.
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agreed on, however, was that they should not stand there and wait.
Seth heard Laura murmuring to Abby. He couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was maternal and loving. He turned and shut the tunnel door. From the outside, the exit looked like a root cellar. He searched for a lock on the outside of the door, but there wasn’t one. Old Man Grant’s paranoia had apparently not gone far enough to encompass their current situation.
That was a shame.
Seth scanned the area and found some large fallen branches. Dragging them over to the door, he began to place them on top of it. He had just positioned the last branch when a small rock was tossed on top of his pile. Surprised, he looked up and saw Abby grinning at him. One chubby fist was empty and one was still gripping a small stone.
“I help,” she said. She was beaming like she had welded the door shut.
Seth couldn’t stop his smile. “Good job. You’re a big help.” His smile dimmed when he saw Laura walking toward them, struggling to carry a large boulder. Seth hurried to take it out of her arms.
She released it to him without a fight. “I thought some of these boulders would go well with your pile. They’re certainly heavy enough.”
Seth moved to place the boulder on top of the branches. Once he was done, Abby tossed her second rock. “One, two, three.”
Seth laughed. “Yep. Three rocks. Let’s get a few more, okay?”
Abby gave him a serious face. Or at least he thought it was supposed to be a serious face. “Get more.” She started scanning the ground by her feet, exclaiming in delight when she found another pebble.
Seth went over to where Laura was, seeing several other large rocks. “Let’s stack on a few more of these and then get moving. The weight will slow them down, but they’ll get around it eventually.”
Laura nodded, carrying a rock over and placing it in the pile. “Headed where? I’m not crazy about the idea of walking into a forest fire.”
Her tone indicated that was an understatement.
“Me, neither. But we can’t stay here. Those men will eventually figure out we’re not inside the cabin. And since there are only so many places to search, they’ll find the tunnel. We need to get far away from here.” Seth looked into the forest as though that would provide some kind of answer.
Laura lifted her face and watched at him. Her expression wasn’t exactly warm, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to punch him again. That was probably a good sign.
Seth was comfortable in the woods. He was good at navigating them. Surviving in them. But this was Laura’s mountain. She had grown up here. She was the one with the expertise right now. “We need a plan,” he said. “Well, we need a safe place to go while we make a plan.”
“What about the fire?”
Seth considered what he had seen of the fire. The way the scent of smoke wafted on the air, just hinting at its existence. “I still think it’s moving slow. Hopefully, firefighters are putting it out right now. Maybe it will end up being a nonissue. Or a way for us to find some emergency personnel to help us.”
“It’ll be dark soon. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but night is coming.” Laura was sounding like the practical and self-sufficient daughter of a mountain man. Seth liked it.
“We really need to get away from here,” Seth said. “I don’t like the idea of waiting around to see what comes out of that tunnel. Any ideas?” Seth was willing to consider just about anything at this point.
Laura stared up the mountain. “Maybe.” A pause. “There’s a creek not too far from here. Well, it’s more like a river actually. If we walk on its banks, it should cover our tracks. Make us harder to find.”
Seth felt savage satisfaction in his grin. “Yes. I like that idea. Lead the way,” he said.
Laura picked Abby back up and started making her way through the forest.
“Do you want me to carry her? I don’t mind.” Seth asked the question to Laura’s moving back.
“No. I’ve got her.” Laura answered to the trees in front of her, not slowing or turning around. She was heading into a part of the forest that looked just like—well—every other part of the forest. Seth was suddenly very thankful. If he had to be trapped on a burning mountain with an assault team after him, at least it was with a woman who was raised in this wilderness.
Seth tried to think through their next steps, but he needed help. “Once we get there, we’ll have to decide whether to go up or down the creek.”
Laura turned around, surprise on her face. “What?”
“The creek. We’ll have to decide which way to walk.”
Laura continued through the trees. Her voice was contemplative when she spoke. “We can take the creek for a mile or so—long enough to lose any trackers. There’s a place upstream where we should be able to get out without leaving too much evidence.”
Seth nodded even though Laura couldn’t see it. “That sounds good. Then what?”
“I know of a shelter not too far off. It was a place my dad used when he was hunting and didn’t want to come all the way back to the cabin. It’s sparse, but it’s well hidden and has supplies.”
“I like the sound of hidden and supplies.” He hoped those supplies included weapons and ammunition. His service weapon was not going to provide a lot of protection against an armed team.
“I think I should head there with Abby.”
Seth jolted. “You? With Abby?”
Laura did not turn around and look at him. “Yeah.” She went on as though that was not a startling statement. “The creek is just over this rise.”
Seth heard the creek before he saw it. It was perfect. Active enough to cover their tracks but shallow enough on the edges to allow them to walk without getting soaked.
They started trekking upstream, making sure to stay where the water would cover their tracks. Abby was watching the water, pointing at something every once in a while.
Laura spoke quickly, blurting her words out in a torrent of emotion. “Look. These guys are after me.” She glanced at Abby, and the anguish on her face hurt Seth. “And Abby.”
Seth waited. He did not see how agreeing with her would help anything. Laura continued, still talking quickly, her voice thick with sentiment. “You should go. You can probably make it back to town safely, especially if you’re not with me. You don’t need to get caught up in this.”
Seth stopped walking. There was no way he could process what she had just said and keep moving at the same time. She thought he would leave her to save himself.
Filled with disgust at the very idea, Seth’s voice was now heavy with emotion. “I’m not leaving you alone. I don’t care what makes the most sense—I’m not leaving you two alone. We’re going to get out of this mess together.”
Laura looked at him. Oh, how he wished he could read that expression in her dark eyes. Did she believe him?
She opened her mouth, but Seth cut her off, angry that she thought he would be so cowardly as to save himself while letting a woman and child die. “No. I will march back to that tunnel and try to take care of that assault team by myself before I leave you two out here alone. We’re all going to the shelter. We’re all going to make a plan. We’re all going to make it out of this.”
She still looked like she wanted to argue. “Besides,” he said, “they were watching the cabin and saw both me and my truck. They know we were in there together, and I’m sure they think you told me everything. I’m as big a liability as you are at this point.”
Laura’s voice was soft, but not defeated or angry. For that, at