Montana Standoff. Sharon Dunn

can pull me up,” he said.

      Down below, she caught a flash of movement. Deep Voice was wearing a bright yellow shirt, easy to see amongst the evergreens. And easy to realize that he was catching up. “Where are you taking me?”

      “Some place safe where we can call for help.” He glanced down the mountain.

      She hesitated.

      “Trust me, I know this part of the forest,” he said. “Come on, we can’t stop.” He laced his fingers together, indicating that she should put her foot in them.

      What choice did she have? She’d prayed for God to send help and He had. Now it was up to her to make the most of it. Sarah put her foot in Bryan’s hands. He pushed upward as she reached out for a handhold. God must have a sense of humor. Of all the people in the world, He’d sent Bryan. Ten years was a long time. She’d been a sophomore in high school and he a senior when they’d fallen in love. Or what passes for love in a sixteen-year-old’s heart. She couldn’t say now if she had loved him or had just been desperate to be loved. But at the time, it sure had felt real.

      With Bryan pushing her up from below, she reached for a gnarled tree sprouting up close to the rock. She pulled herself up, gripping the tree with both hands. Bryan gave her a final push. She turned and reached down for him.

      “I think I can get a foothold.” He grabbed her hand, their eyes meeting momentarily.

      The love between them had shattered when she became pregnant. They had agreed that the best thing for their little girl was adoption. But Bryan had been so angry afterward, had blamed her as though the decision hadn’t been made together.

      Bryan strained to get up the cliff face. “Other hand,” he groaned.

      She held both his hands and pulled as he struggled to get some traction with his feet. The muscles in her arms strained. “Almost there.”

      She pulled with all her strength, dragging him to the flat top of the cliff face. She leaned back, breathless from the exertion. Bryan scrambled to his feet.

      “Come on.” He held his hand out to her. The August sun beat down on them, the air thick with heat. Down below, the two thugs were weaving their way up the mountain, choosing an easier but less direct path.

      “Where are we going, anyway?” Sarah still hadn’t caught her breath.

      “We need to get help, call the sheriff,” he said.

      She stared up at the rocky terrain. “Isn’t there an easier way?”

      “Sarah, would you trust me? I work here—I know where I’m going. Those guys won’t be able to follow us. They’ll give up.”

      It was the first time he’d said her name. The warmth in his voice only reminded her of ten-year-old wounds. “I really don’t have a choice here. I’ll do what you say.” She wasn’t so sure about the men giving up, though.

      They crawled over rocks and through thick brush. A branch flicked across her forehead. She kept moving despite the stinging pain and the warm ooze of blood. The fire tower came into sight. So, he was some kind of forest ranger? By the time he’d left town to go to college, he hadn’t spoken to her in months.

      He led her up the narrow metal stairs into the tower, then stepped over to a small stand that contained the radio. He keyed the radio explaining that he needed a replacement and then said something about notifying the sheriff. He gave a brief but accurate description of the two thugs and their car.

      While he talked, Sarah wandered around the sparse room. A double burner for cooking rested on a counter. Canned goods and gallons of water were stacked against the wall. An instrument of some sort with a map was in the dead center of the circular room. There was a desk and a chair in one corner, a cot in another. She sat down on the chair. A stack of books rested by the bed. He must stay up here weeks at a time. Yet, the place was utterly impersonal. Why had Bryan chosen such a solitary life? What had happened in the ten years since she’d seen him?

      Bryan signed off and placed the radio back on the hook. He turned to face her. Those same warm brown eyes looked out at her, though they were edged with crow’s-feet and worry lines now, and there was a hint of weariness in his expression that hadn’t been there ten years ago. They had both been so naive and full of hope back then.

      “What now?” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

      He walked over to the windows, picked up the binoculars and peered down the mountain. “We catch our breath.”

      “We wait?” Fear returned, sending a shock through her system. Those men meant to kill her.

      “The forest service will notify the sheriff’s department. They’ll get those guys.”

      The memory of the gun pressed against her temple returned. Her throat constricted and her heart raced. “Do you think it’s a good idea to just sit here?”

      “We’re not just sitting here.” He handed her the binoculars. “Look, they’ve already left. I figured they would give up.”

      She walked over to the windows and peered through the binoculars at the shimmering water below. No car. She focused on the road where she saw the light-colored SUV heading away from the lake. So he was right. “Can they drive up here?”

      “It will take them over an hour. And if they don’t know these roads, they’ll never find us.” His voice was filled with reassurance.

      Sarah let out a breath, relaxing a little.

      He leaned close to her and touched her forehead where the tree branch had cut the skin. “I’ve got something for that. Go sit down.” He pointed toward the cot.

      Sarah put the binoculars down and wandered to the cot. She tried to take in a deep breath. Those men had meant to kill her. Would they give up that easily? After grabbing the first-aid kit from a storage box, Bryan walked across the room and sat close to her. She could feel his body heat.

      He handed her a piece of leather. “Tie your hair back, so it’s out of the way.”

      She gathered her hair into a ponytail.

      He pulled disinfectant out of the first-aid kit and touched the end of the tube lightly to her forehead. “It’s going to be okay, but we should get moving. After I deal with this cut, we’ll hike over to my truck.”

      She closed her eyes as he gently pressed the bandage against her forehead. Memories of his touch all those years ago awakened old feelings. The power of the attraction made her forget the pain of how everything had ended...for a moment.

      “There’s a little country store eight miles up the road. You can call for a friend to come and get you.” He wadded up the packaging the bandage had come in. “By that time, the sheriff will catch those guys.”

      The warm feelings evaporated. So he meant to ditch her as quickly as he could, just like old times. He’d only been doing his duty. It was the kind of person he was. But now that his duty was finished, he wanted nothing more to do with her. “I suppose I should go to the police.” She hoped her voice didn’t give away the hurt she felt.

      “Yeah, you’ll want to report this.” His voice was tainted with a bitterness she didn’t understand. “But not to the city police. This happened in the county. You’ll want to talk to the sheriff.”

      “But they grabbed me at my house...in town.”

      He rose to his feet and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. He spoke without turning back to look at her. “If you don’t mind my asking, why were those guys trying to kill you? What did you do?”

      His tone was disconcerting. Did he actually think she was mixed up with something illegal? It had been a sore spot with them when they dated. His parents had never thought she was good enough for their football star son. His lawyer mother and business-owner father viewed her as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. By that time, Crew was already having problems, too.