Page 122 of Love in the Wild

“I’m going to trust you on this one,” she whispered back.

They drove toward the forest until a small clearing came into view. It was wide enough for the truck to fit through with some extra space on both sides, and it ran about a hundred feet into the woods.

Mr. Benson parked before they reached the end and shut off the truck. “This is as far as we’ve gotten. We probably need another two hundred feet that way and three hundred in that direction. Just look for the pink tags. Anything worth salvaging gets chopped and piled in the truck bed for firewood.”

Travis hopped out of the truck first. “I call the ax!”

“I guess that means I’m climbing trees,” Gage said. “Be sure to stay back in case something falls.”

“The only thing falling better be limbs. Are you sure about this?” Hadley asked, trying not to panic at the idea of Gage working up in a tree.

“How do you think this part got cleared?” he asked as he got out of the truck.

Gage started tying himself to a tree at the edge of the clearing, and Hadley tried her best to pay attention to Mr. Benson’s tutorial on how to use the trimmer. It was basically a smaller chainsaw, which only made her a little uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry about him,” Mr. Benson said. “He’s always careful.”

“I’m not sure he can be careful enough to ease my worries.”

Mr. Benson showed her how to start the trimmer and handed it over. He pointed to a section she could clear before picking up the other trimmer and heading for a different part of the woods. Small trees, bushes, and briars covered every inch of the forest floor, and she took her time cutting everything in her path.

Before long, her arms were aching from holding up the trimmer, and the muscles in her arms twitched and spasmed. She turned off the machine and rested it at her feet to shake out her arms.

“Need a break?” Mr. Benson called loudly to be heard above the whine of the chainsaws.

“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”

She headed back to the truck and grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler. Taking a few sips of the cold liquid, she watched Gage as he hung from the top of a tree and moved the chainsaw against a limb. He’d shed his top shirt, and the muscles in his arms pressed tight against the sleeves of his white T-shirt.

On the other side of the clearing, Travis bent over to cut through a fallen tree with the chainsaw. They’d accomplished a lot already.

Hadley looked at her phone to check the time. They’d been at work three hours already. A text from Cheyenne lit up the screen, and Hadley opened the message.

Cheyenne: Mom is great today. She had a long therapy session, so she’ll probably sleep for a while this afternoon. You might want to come after dinner if you make it over here today.

Hadley: Sounds good. I might be late–

A cold hand pressed over her nose and mouth while a strong arm wrapped around her torso, lifting her to her feet. The phone fell to the ground as she kicked her legs and pulled at the hand on her face. Panic beat a quick drum in her chest as she tried to breathe, but the hand was too tight.

She tried to scream, but she couldn’t force even a small breath in or out. The lingering metallic scent stopped up her nose, only making her stomach roll as vomit churned in her gut.

Flailing her arms and legs, Hadley fought to escape the hold. The loud whine of the chainsaws faded as she lost sight of Travis and Gage. Her limbs grew impossibly heavy, and a burning in her chest rose until everything around her fell into darkness.

35

GAGE

The last top cut of the tree fell to the ground with a crash. Dirt and leaves rushed up around it before settling back to the earth. Gage adjusted his rig and climbed down the rest of the tree trunk. He could finish the rest from the ground.

Another tree down, and dozens to go. After that, they’d have to do something about stumps before bringing in fill dirt to level everything out. It would be a good spot for stables, but the work was moving slowly.

As worried as she’d been about not being able to help, having Hadley around would definitely speed things up. Every little thing moved the whole project along.

Mr. Benson stepped into the clearing holding the trimmer and looking from one side to the other.

As soon as Gage’s feet were on the ground, he pulled the safety goggles off his face and wiped his brow. “Everything okay?”

Mr. Benson’s frown deepened. “Where’s Hadley?”

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