Page 36 of Honoring Lena

He slid his hand down her arm and threaded his fingers through hers. “I’d like it if it was.”

“Come on.” She pulled him to continue walking. She had a lot of thinking to do. The sound of calling Kentucky home, of seeing what could grow between her and Marshall, gave her a hope for the future she hadn’t felt in a long time. The offer from General Paxton to join his team to take down the organization pushed to the front of her thoughts, taunting her with guilt. The idea of leaving the Rands and working for Paxton felt like ash in her mouth. “We need to keep going.”

“How far is it to the settlement you’re taking us to?” Marshall stepped up beside her and squeezed her hand.

“It’s a ways.” She adjusted Carter on her shoulder. “We’ll probably get there tomorrow.”

“Want me to take him?” Marshall reached for Carter.

“Nah. Let him sleep.”

Most of the time, he wanted to walk on his own, but when he slept, he became deadweight. Yet she liked the feel of him, heavy in her arms.

She and Marshall walked side-by-side, their hands intertwined in comfortable silence. The wind teased the treetops above them, sending the fresh smell of pine to her. She took a deep breath, relishing how the need for idle chatter didn’t exist. The forest bustled with the flapping of wings and the chattering of squirrels. Though she hated their circumstance, she had missed being in the wilderness.

The trees opened up to overlook a valley with what she hoped was Little Jack Creek below. Bright pink fireweed covered the valley floor, while charred trees stood like ghosts of their past selves, still reaching for the sky. The beauty that could bloom from destruction was evident in nature’s rebirth. Would this be what her life became?

“Wow. This is gorgeous.” Marshall’s awe reflected her own.

Carter rubbed his nose against her neck and then glanced around, his eyes squinting in confusion. Then, as if realizing where he was, he perked up, his head whipping around as he took everything in. Lena squeezed him in a hug. She couldn’t believe how much of her heart he’d taken over.

“Eena!” Carter’s legs pumped against her body like he was revving up to take off. “It’s a bear!”

“Hey, good eyes, buddy.” Lena pulled Carter out of the sling and shifted him to her other hip to get a better look.

Sure enough, farther down the hilltop, a sow huffed, her ears turned in their direction. Lena stepped to the slope’s edge and searched the hillside for a way down. They might have to go the opposite direction from the bear before they could make it to the valley floor.

“Three bears, Eena!” Carter shrieked in her ear.

Lena whipped her head to the bear. Two cubs stood on their hind legs to investigate the strange animals on their turf. A mama bear was nothing to mess with. Getting distance between them and the animals just became priority.

As she turned to motion the way she wanted them to go, the ground beneath her feet shifted. Her stomach flew into her throat in a strangled gasp.

“Marshall,” she choked out just before the ground disappeared from under her feet.

The scream from Carter chilled her bones. She tucked her body around his, praying that he wouldn’t get hurt. Her back smashed into solid ground and searing pain shot up her arm. The air whooshed from her lungs as darkness engulfed her.

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