Page 89 of Out of the Cold

Chapter Sixteen

Gabe groaned and reluctantlyaccepted the last-minute conference call invitation for twelve-thirty. Eddie had been trying to schedule this meeting since December, so there was no putting it off. Unfortunately, it meant that for the first time in over a week, he wouldn’t be able to snowshoe with Lucy at lunchtime.

He was already on his call when Lucy set out with Hilde, heading down the driveway and across the street. By the time he hung up, it had started to snow lightly, which hadn’t been in the forecast. But it was nothing Lucy couldn’t handle. The two of them loved cavorting in fresh snow.

He’d known she was doing ambitious hikes, but it wasn’t until he went with her on one that he understood how far she’d come. Two months ago, she wouldn’t do more than walk down the road, and now she was going into the backcountry like it was nothing. He’d thought he’d have to go slower for her, but she churned along with boundless energy.

She’d also become something of a tracker. She kept a field guide to animals of the Sierra Nevada range in her backpack, but by now she knew most of the tracks they saw without having to open it.

Their treks, combined with the incredible sex, made for a potent combination. Every day was almost too good to be true.

But some days reality intruded, and this was one of them.

He was looking forward to dinner, when she could tell him what she’d written today and what she’d seen on her hike. Hell, maybe he wouldn’t even wait until dinner. As soon as she got home, he’d head over there. That was the great thing about being his own boss.

At two-thirty he started looking up every few minutes, expecting to see her coming up the driveway. She had a strict schedule for weekdays and always came back by two-thirty.

At three he began to think he’d missed her return. He called a couple of times, but got no answer.

He tried the satellite phone, but it only rang and rang. She’d probably left it off to conserve the battery, and he’d never thought to ask her to do otherwise. He hadn’t imagined needing to callher.

No big deal.

She hadn’t been gone that much longer than usual, and the new snow could have made the going slower. If she was in trouble she’d have called, and she couldn’t be lost when she had the phone’s GPS.

But what if she ran into the kind of trouble that happened so fast, there was no time to make a call?

It was warmer than usual today. What if she’d gone outside the borders he’d drawn on the map and gotten too close to an unstable slope? What if she was out there in trouble and unable to call?

He might already be too late.

His heart began to pound in his chest, and he was starting to sweat.

Think, Gabe think. You can’t help her if you panic.

He also couldn’t sit in his cabin waiting any longer. He got dressed quickly, pulled on his snowshoes, and headed out.

There were no fresh tracks on the driveway, so they hadn’t come back yet. Which meant she was still out there somewhere.

Turning around, he went down the driveway and crossed the street to the same place she’d started out. He looked the ground over, and it was as he’d feared—the new snow had covered their tracks. He kept going anyway. Every time they’d gone out together this past week, they’d headed east about half a mile until they came to a little clearing. At that point they’d either turned north, east, or south, depending on their mood.

He reached the little clearing and scanned the snow, but every direction appeared the same as the others. They all had tracks from other outings, so they all looked the same. It would be stupid to keep going. He could end up miles from where she was.

It was three-thirty. She had an hour to get back before it grew dark. If she wasn’t home by then, he’d call the Forest Service and start a rescue.

Because this was how it started. First they were late, then they were missing.

By the time they were found, there was no saving them.

He turned around and headed back, calculating and planning, praying the entire way.Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay.

He was breathing fast now, and not from exertion. Bending over, he forced himself to take deep, slow breaths.

Standing back up again, he continued on toward home, dread dragging at his limbs. But he didn’t go back to his cabin. He went to hers, so there was no possible way he would miss her. She didn’t lock her door during the day, so he was able to walk right in. Everything was as it had been when he left earlier.

He sat on the couch where they watched movies, then stood up and looked out the window at the far end of the kitchen—the only one with a view of the road.

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