webbing, and I’ve never seen Uncle Paul as mad as he was then. Mack Dog had to bunk in my room for three days until Uncle Paul forgave him.”
Luca reached out a hand, his fingers grazing herown, momentarily bridging the chasm that separated them and sending a jolt of electricity through her bones. “You didn’t buckle this one right.”
“Thanks.” She pulled her hand away, ignoring the tingling his touch left behind, and fixed the strap. “Let’s go. The view from up there is the best vantage point,” she said more to herself than him.
They waddled their way upslope, crunchingover the snow. The air was so cold it made her eyes sting. Pines rustled above them. The sergeant was right. A storm was coming.
She increased her pace until she was breathing hard, ribs complaining and one knee beginning to stiffen. Months of teaching every available ski lesson and taking numerous shifts on ski patrol had gotten her no closer to saving Whisper Mountain, but it had takena toll on her body. The near drowning had only added more pain to the load. She forced herself to move faster until Luca was panting in his effort to keep up.
Odd projections of granite protruded through the snow. A bird, feathers puffed against the breeze pecked among the rocks, oblivious to the snow which had begun to fall.
Ava crunched as close as she could to the edge of the rockyplateau until the scenery played out beneath her. She was struck by the beauty of it in spite of the fear that bubbled in her gut. How could she be witness to something so grand? A glittering landscape so beautiful it could only have been made by God Himself? It made an ache inside her for a moment, a longing she couldn’t describe until darker thoughts took over.
God wasn’t welcome in herworld anymore.
She would not let Him back into her life. She would put Him away in that painful place inside her, boxed up with memories so anguished they must be contained so they would not cut her to shreds with their razor-sharp edges. She blew out a breath to clear her mind.
A nudge on her arm startled her out of her reverie.
Luca held a pair of binoculars out to her. “Theywere in the front seat of your car.”
She scanned until she picked out the yellow vests of the search and rescue team. But it was not the ravine that drew her attention as much as the area spreading out along either side, a gentle ribbon of ground that hosted a trickling stream in the summer. Now it was frozen under piles of snow, shrouded by pine and fir trees.
If he was alive, UnclePaul would make his way there, screened by trees and sheltered from the wind.
If he’d survived the crash.
If.
She’d never realized before how such a tiny word could hold such a world of hope wrapped up inside it.
If you’re alive, I’ll find you.
Ignoring the cold that had begun to seep through her jacket, Ava set off away from the promontory, into the curtain of fallingsnow.
SIX
L uca concentrated on keeping pace with Ava. He tried to push other thoughts from his mind, but they crowded in anyway. He’d flown over these mountains many times in his years of piloting a helicopter. Rugged terrain, made more inhospitable by winter conditions. He knew they would not find Uncle Paul alive. That left more grisly options to churn through his gut as they beganthe arduous descent.
The Sierras were home to black bears who, contrary to popular belief, did not fall into the dead sleep of hibernation. They emerged from their dens periodically and not in the most complacent of moods. He’d encountered one particularly angry female while backpacking with his brother. The mother bear did not appreciate their proximity to her sleeping cubs. Never underestimatethe power of a determined female protecting her family. He shot a look at Ava and then the sky, estimating the temperature to be somewhere in the low teens. The previous night had similar temps, but with the wind chill and active snowfall, it would have been dangerous to be
Luca reached out a hand, his fingers grazing herown, momentarily bridging the chasm that separated them and sending a jolt of electricity through her bones. “You didn’t buckle this one right.”
“Thanks.” She pulled her hand away, ignoring the tingling his touch left behind, and fixed the strap. “Let’s go. The view from up there is the best vantage point,” she said more to herself than him.
They waddled their way upslope, crunchingover the snow. The air was so cold it made her eyes sting. Pines rustled above them. The sergeant was right. A storm was coming.
She increased her pace until she was breathing hard, ribs complaining and one knee beginning to stiffen. Months of teaching every available ski lesson and taking numerous shifts on ski patrol had gotten her no closer to saving Whisper Mountain, but it had takena toll on her body. The near drowning had only added more pain to the load. She forced herself to move faster until Luca was panting in his effort to keep up.
Odd projections of granite protruded through the snow. A bird, feathers puffed against the breeze pecked among the rocks, oblivious to the snow which had begun to fall.
Ava crunched as close as she could to the edge of the rockyplateau until the scenery played out beneath her. She was struck by the beauty of it in spite of the fear that bubbled in her gut. How could she be witness to something so grand? A glittering landscape so beautiful it could only have been made by God Himself? It made an ache inside her for a moment, a longing she couldn’t describe until darker thoughts took over.
God wasn’t welcome in herworld anymore.
She would not let Him back into her life. She would put Him away in that painful place inside her, boxed up with memories so anguished they must be contained so they would not cut her to shreds with their razor-sharp edges. She blew out a breath to clear her mind.
A nudge on her arm startled her out of her reverie.
Luca held a pair of binoculars out to her. “Theywere in the front seat of your car.”
She scanned until she picked out the yellow vests of the search and rescue team. But it was not the ravine that drew her attention as much as the area spreading out along either side, a gentle ribbon of ground that hosted a trickling stream in the summer. Now it was frozen under piles of snow, shrouded by pine and fir trees.
If he was alive, UnclePaul would make his way there, screened by trees and sheltered from the wind.
If he’d survived the crash.
If.
She’d never realized before how such a tiny word could hold such a world of hope wrapped up inside it.
If you’re alive, I’ll find you.
Ignoring the cold that had begun to seep through her jacket, Ava set off away from the promontory, into the curtain of fallingsnow.
SIX
L uca concentrated on keeping pace with Ava. He tried to push other thoughts from his mind, but they crowded in anyway. He’d flown over these mountains many times in his years of piloting a helicopter. Rugged terrain, made more inhospitable by winter conditions. He knew they would not find Uncle Paul alive. That left more grisly options to churn through his gut as they beganthe arduous descent.
The Sierras were home to black bears who, contrary to popular belief, did not fall into the dead sleep of hibernation. They emerged from their dens periodically and not in the most complacent of moods. He’d encountered one particularly angry female while backpacking with his brother. The mother bear did not appreciate their proximity to her sleeping cubs. Never underestimatethe power of a determined female protecting her family. He shot a look at Ava and then the sky, estimating the temperature to be somewhere in the low teens. The previous night had similar temps, but with the wind chill and active snowfall, it would have been dangerous to be
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