Page 6 of High Frequency

The trailhead is actually almost directly across the Fisher River from my little piece of property, so rather than loading the horses onto the trailer and driving around the long way, Wolff, James, JD, and I saddled up and crossed the river on horseback.

James Watike is part of the original High Mountain Trackers and married to Ama, who rules the roost back at the ranch. Of all of us, James is by far the best actual tracker. He could pick up the trail of a field mouse.

James, Sully, Bo, and Fletch were all part of a special ops tracking team under Jonas Harvey’s command, and when each of them aged out of special forces, they all followed Jonas to the High Meadow Ranch.

JD is James and Ama’s son, and he, Lucas Wolff, and myself are the more recent additions to the HMT team, which is now eight men strong. I know Jonas would eventually like to add one or two more, but the one person he has his sights on—his own stepson, Jackson—is playing hard to get.

“JD, did you get the rope anchored?”

I turn my head to catch him give the thumbs-up, while Wolff double-checks my gear. Then I test the rope, leaning my weight against it. It feels sturdy enough. Time is of the essence and my main concern is getting to the girl, I have to trust my teammates to get me back up.

“Ready?”

At Wolff’s nod, I step back so my heels are hanging over the edge. Then I lean my body back, letting the rope take my weight.

As I rappel down, I kick loose a few stones that bounce down the rock face, narrowly missing the girl. I freeze, worried she might startle and let her tenuous hold slip, but she doesn’t even seem to notice. The poor girl appears almost catatonic. I don’t notice until I’m at face level with her how young she really is. She’s no more than a teenager.

I can hear the clacking of her teeth chattering, and her whole body is trembling. I expected to find her eyes closed, so I’m surprised to find them wide open but empty. She appears to look right through me.

The girl’s fingers are jammed into a crevice running just above her head, and only the toes of her white sneakers rest on the narrow ledge. Very carefully I position myself behind her, bracketing her body with mine. This way, if she lets go for any reason, I can use my body to prevent her from falling.

“Hey. I’m Dan. I’m going to put a harness on you, okay? All you have to do is stay still, and I’ll have you out of here in no time.”

There is no response, and no reaction when I secure her in the extra harness. There is no way I can send her up on her own so I fasten her to my front. My legs are long enough, I’ll be able to walk us both back up the wall.

“Wolff?” I yell up.

“Yup.”

“We’re ready to come up. Together,” I add.

It takes a bit to pry her cramped fingers from the rock crevice, and once I do, her entire body goes limp in my arms. When we’re pulled over the edge a few minutes later, the only thing keeping her upright is my arm banded around her waist.

“This is Lucas,” I mumble to the girl. “He’s going to help you out of your harness, okay?”

“Spoke to Ewing,” JD says in a soft tone as he walks up. “He’ll be waiting at the trailhead with the EMTs.”

Good, because this poor kid needs medical attention. I don’t know what happened to her, or how she got out here, but I suspect it was nothing good.

While Wolff takes charge of the girl, James, JD, and I pack up the gear. Then we mount up—Wolff has the girl in front of him—and, barely half an hour later, James leads us into the small parking lot at the trailhead. An ambulance and two sheriff’s vehicles are waiting for us.

It’s not until Wolff has carefully lowered the girl into the hands of the waiting medics, and they finish securing her to the stretcher, I notice the blond woman on the far side of the ambulance, standing beside Sheriff Junior Ewing.

I’d tried hard to ignore the glimpse I caught of the blond hair behind the wheel of that Jeep last week. Sully didn’t mention anything, and I convinced myself I must’ve been wrong. It couldn’t have been her turning into the driveway.

Except, there she is.

“Is that…?” JD starts.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” James mutters beside me.

I don’t have words.

There was a time I thought we were friends, but friends don’t take off without a word, which is exactly what she did. I tried a few times to get a hold of her, maybe get an explanation from her, but she never got back to me. I may not be college-educated or book-wise, but I’m no fool, I can tell when I’m not wanted.

Since then, the few times her name came up I removed myself from the conversation. I should be long past what felt like a betrayal at the time, but seeing her standing there, just steps away, still burns in my gut.

I know the exact moment she recognizes me, when those blue eyes of hers widen slightly and she instantly pushes her shoulders back and juts out her chin.

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