Page 12 of Scent of Peril

“We won’t allow that happen.” He glanced up at the sky. “Although we’ll need to pray the snow holds off a bit. At least until we can make camp.”

She shivered, even though she wasn’t cold. Their hike had kept her warm, but that could soon change.

They didn’t need fresh snow on top of being stranded on the side of the mountain. She lifted her eyes to the sky and prayed for God to guide them to safety.

Logan battledguilt as they continued their trek down the mountain. He hoped that following the creek would make things easier. He had noticed Teddy seeming to lag behind a bit and knew they wouldn’t be able to push on for much longer. He wished they could get farther away from the plane, but he took some comfort in the fact that the gunman wouldn’t want to hike through the woods at night any more than they did.

And maybe the gunman didn’t have camping gear either. When he’d dropped Craig Benton, or whatever his name was, off here in the Bighorns, he’d assumed the guy was meeting up with his buddies at a hunting cabin. He hadn’t seen one, but figured there must be one close by. If that was true, the guy wouldn’t want to get too far away from his home base.

Unless he was that determined to kill them.

Logan knew better than to dwell on what-if scenarios. As a pilot, he knew how to create an alternate plan—one made by facing the facts as they were presented.

The good news was that he hadn’t heard anyone moving through the woods as if following them. Either the gunman had given up the chase or he was far enough back that he couldn’t be heard.

He was hoping for the former.

“Logan, is that a cabin up ahead?” Jess gestured toward the east. “Maybe there’s a fireplace or wood-burning stove.”

He quickly identified the structure she was talking about. “Yeah, I think that’s an old hunting shanty. The DNR put several of them up decades ago. None had woodstoves as far as I know. The few I’ve seen up close were falling apart.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked depressed. “I was hoping we could use it.”

He hated disappointing her. As they continued to walk, he considered their options. If the gunman was on their trail, the shanty would be an obvious spot to search for them. Then again, if the gunman had given up trying to track them down, the shanty would offer some shelter from the snow he felt certain loomed on the horizon.

Finally, he relented. “Okay, let’s head over to check it out. If the roof isn’t collapsing in on itself, we can consider staying inside. Or we can set up the tent nearby using the structure to block the wind.”

“That would be great.” She gestured toward Teddy. “I can tell he’s getting tired.”

“We all are,” he agreed. “We’ll need to find a place to cross the stream.”

After another seventy yards, Jess stopped. “This should work. See that flat rock? We can use it as a steppingstone.”

“Okay, but it’s going to be slippery. We need to find a stick too.” He turned to scan their surroundings.

Jess picked up one stick, then another. “They’re too short,” she said with a frown.

He walked a little farther and found a stick that was almost five feet long. He quickly carried it back to her. “Here, use this. You go first.” He glanced at the dog. “Teddy might have to get wet.”

“He should be okay, if we can start a fire so he can dry off.” She took the stick from his grasp. “I’ll cross first with Teddy. Then I’ll toss the stick back over to you.”

“Sounds good.” He would have offered to carry the dog, but with his pack and the slick rock, he didn’t think that would work. “We’ll definitely start a fire.”

“Okay, let’s do this.” She turned toward the narrow spot of the creek. “Come, Teddy.”

Logan found himself holding his breath as she extended her leg to reach the slick rock. Using the stick as a lever, she managed to shift her weight from the foot on the bank to the one on the rock. With the grace of a dancer, she then pivoted to reach the other side. Teddy splashed through the creek without concern. Then he quickly shook himself off.

“Stand back. Stick is coming your way.” Jess threw it like a javelin. He let it hit the ground, then reached for it.

He quickly joined her on the other side. He kept the stick, knowing it would be helpful in building the fire.

Twenty minutes later, they reached the shanty. He followed Jessica inside, only to hear her groan.

“Half the roof is gone!” She gestured up at the gaping hole over their heads.

“I told you it would be in rough shape.” He glanced around the interior where many forest animals had clearly made themselves at home. “The wind is coming in from the west. We’llset up the tent on the east side of the building. That, along with the fire, should help keep us warm.”

“Okay.” She managed a smile. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. Especially now that we can rest for a while.”

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