Wilderness Secrets. Sharon Dunn

she was starting to come around, regardless of what she might think of him. “Going back for your gear is not an option. The fire is dying out in that plane. I’ll go back in there and see if there’s anything we can use.”

      A raindrop hit his nose. Good for drowning the fire, not so good for staying dry.

      Abigail jogged toward the forest. “We can stay drier in the trees.”

      He liked the use of the word we. She seemed to understand the need for them to stay together. Really, he needed her more than she needed him. She was an experienced guide. She probably knew how to defend herself against man and animal. He was a city boy and could not navigate his way out of a paper bag in an environment like this.

      By the time he reached the edge of the forest, the drizzle had turned into a downpour. The fire would be put out that much faster. Unless other people were close by, the chance of the smoke alerting someone other than the criminals that a plane had crash-landed was close to zero. The fire hadn’t burned long enough and the smoke hadn’t risen high enough for it to be seen in town.

      It was possible that there were other hikers in these mountains who might alert authorities once they returned to Fort Madison. But Fort Madison was a three-day hike away. Help from the outside was not something they could count on.

      Abigail found shelter underneath the long branches of an older evergreen. She crouched down and pulled her knees toward her chest. He sat down beside her. The rain pelted against the higher branches, but he and Abigail remained relatively dry.

      “We need to assess what we have to work with. I have a Swiss Army knife I always carry with me, an energy bar in my jacket pocket and waterproof matches,” Abigail said matter-of-factly.

      He liked that she was thinking about how they were going to get off this mountain. “I have a gun with eight bullets left in it.” He rifled through the pockets of his jacket. “And a metro pass, a very old piece of hard candy, a couple of paper clips, a pocket Bible and a tire gauge I forgot to put back in my toolbox the last time I checked my tire pressure.”

      She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “That is not very helpful. Even MacGyver would say that’s not much to work with.”

      He laughed. “You watch that show, too?”

      The faintest hint of a smile, a spasm almost, lit up Abigail’s face. “I might have caught a rerun a time or two. That show’s been around forever.”

      He liked her smile, however brief it had been.

      Her expression turned serious once again, eyebrows drawn close together. “You didn’t follow my instructions. When I told you how to pack, I said there were some essential things you needed to have on your person at all times.”

      “I know. I didn’t think I’d be hiking out,” he said.

      “Rule number one about being in the mountains—you always hope for the best but plan for the worst.”

      “Yes, I remember you said that.” He leaned a little closer to her. “Sorry I’m such a bad student.”

      She pulled away. She was still a little prickly. Maybe her coldness was about something more than just him.

      “By landing where we did, we have gotten quite a ways from the main trail, which is the most direct route back into town,” she said.

      “But you can get us back into Fort Madison?”

      She rolled her eyes. “Of course I can. It’s what I do for a living.”

      “We can’t wait here much longer. Hopefully, that fire will die out.”

      He listened for a moment to the rain falling on the higher branches, creating a sort of melody.

      “Yes, I suppose we need to get moving as quickly as possible.”

      He imagined that she was thinking the same thing he was. Though they had a head start on the three men, waiting for the plane to stop burning would cost them valuable time, but hiking with no supplies could be costly, too. It was just a matter of time before the men tracked them to this spot.

       THREE

      With the rain still falling, Abigail ventured out of the trees to look at the plane wreckage. She was grateful for the baseball hat she wore and the waterproof jacket. Though it was spring, the mountain temperatures could still dip into the teens. She had dressed in layers. She was grateful to be warm and mostly dry.

      Jesse followed behind her as they stepped out into the open. The plane was smoldering, and the stench of smoke and melting plastic was still heavy in the air. Her eyes watered.

      She removed the bandanna from around her neck and placed it over her mouth.

      Jesse coughed. “You think of everything, don’t you?”

      “It’s called being prepared.” There was a slight edge to her voice that caught her by surprise. Searching a drug plane for something that might help them survive with a man who might be a criminal was not her idea of a good time. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound snippy.”

      “It’s all right.” He touched her shoulder. “I should have listened better when you gave me instructions before we left town for this trek.”

      Again, that stab to her heart sent waves of anger and sadness through her. Brent had destroyed her ability to trust her own judgment. She had no idea if Jesse was being honest with her or not about being framed. He seemed apologetic and almost...nice. She clenched her jaw. Nothing is as it appears.

      She was certain of only one thing—they needed to work as a team if they were going to get back to town. When she stepped into the plane, the toxic smell of burnt plastic was even stronger.

      Jesse drew up his jacket collar over his nose and mouth. “Whoa, we better get this over with as quickly as possible. I’m sure breathing this stuff isn’t good for our lungs. I’ll look toward the back. You search the front.”

      She opened a box behind the copilot’s seat and the storage pouches beside each of the seats. After searching for several minutes, she came up with a water bottle, several packages of candy and a hat. She tossed the hat toward Jesse. “Put that on. It will help keep the rain and sun out. What did you come up with?”

      He caught the hat and placed it on his head. He pointed at the tarp that covered the drugs. “We could use that for shelter if we had to.”

      The drugs looked like they had been only partially damaged. The fire had consumed some of the plastic the bricks were packaged in. She shivered but not from the cold. How had she gotten connected to drugs and drug dealers? She had lived a really sheltered life and hadn’t even rebelled as a teenager like her brothers had. All of this was so out of her frame of reference. Maybe if she hadn’t been so naive, she would have realized what a player Brent was. And maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess with Jesse. “Yes,” she said, “bring the tarp.”

      She grabbed a lined jacket that was hanging over the back of the copilot seat. She could fashion a makeshift backpack out of it.

      “Also, I found this.” He held up an unopened energy drink and a bowie knife. He put the energy drink in his pocket and zipped it shut.

      The knife gave her the shivers all over again. “Let’s get out of here.” She pushed open the pilot’s door and jumped out.

      Jesse didn’t follow her. He must have still been searching for something—what, she didn’t know. A cold wave of fear washed over her. Was he looking for drug money?

      She tilted her head toward the sky. Dark clouds all around, no sign of blue sky. The storm was probably going to last awhile.

      Abigail retreated toward the trees. She pulled out her Swiss Army knife and slit the lining of the jacket she’d grabbed at the bottom hem. She cut holes at