Page 15 of Scent of Peril

She nodded, more than happy to go along with that plan. They turned to head back to their tent. Breaking down their camp took longer than she liked, and Jess found herself glancing over her shoulder frequently to make sure nobody was out there.

They had Teddy as a watchdog, but remembering how the gunman had fired upon them with a rifle made her think the intruder could have retreated far enough to set up someplace, waiting for them to head out again.

“I wish we could follow those footprints.” She glanced at Logan as she filled Teddy’s bowl with food. “I keep thinking he’s positioned somewhere nearby where he might try to take another shot at us.”

“I’m concerned about the possibility too,” Logan agreed. “I don’t like knowing we’re vulnerable out here.”

Vulnerable was putting it mildly. Shoving items into her backpack, which was slightly lighter this morning after feeding Teddy twice since they’d started this adventure, she watched as Logan made quick work of packing his tent and sleeping bag in the larger pack. He worked quickly and efficiently. Then he stood and helped her with her backpack. When Teddy finished eating, Logan added the collapsible bowl to her gear.

She’d almost suggested leaving the tent behind but knew that would be foolish. If something happened and they didn’t get off this mountain, they’d need shelter. Food, too, but shelter was more important than anything else.

And while she knew her family was likely hitting the road this morning to find them, she wasn’t sure how successful their efforts would be. If Logan’s Mayday call hadn’t gone through, her siblings would only have a vague flight plan to work from.

That hadn’t worked so well in finding her parents’ plane. Over five years later and they still hadn’t recovered their plane or their remains. She knew only too well the same thing could happen again here.

“We’ll eat our protein bars later,” Logan said, breaking into her thoughts. “We need to get as far away from this location as possible.”

“Okay.” She knew he wanted her to head out first, so she strode forward. Teddy stayed close to her side. “We’re still heading southwest?”

“Yeah,” Logan agreed. “For now.”

If she’d thought hiking yesterday was difficult, today was worse. They didn’t have snowshoes, which would have made it easier. There was only about four inches of snow covering the ground, so she knew it could be worse.

But the snow covered the potential hazards of rocks and fallen logs. She also kept glancing over her shoulder, fearing they’d be targeted by gunfire at any minute.

Thankfully, nobody shot at them. And after they’d walked for a full hour, Logan called out, “Break time.”

“Thank you, Lord,” she whispered. She stopped and turned to wait for Logan to catch up to her. “We should be safe by now.”

“I think so.” He took off his pack and rummaged inside. “Here.” He handed her a protein bar. “Let’s eat now.”

Her stomach was rumbling, and the protein bar didn’t do much to take the edge off her hunger. She didn’t complain, though. They were alive and unharmed.

Based on the footprints located near their camp, she knew the outcome could have been much worse.

“Maybe we should try the radio.” She tucked the wrapper of her protein bar in her pocket. “Or our phones. Looks like the sky is clearing up, maybe we’ll get a signal soon.”

Logan glanced around. “Let’s go a little farther before we take the time to do that. I want to be sure we’re safe.”

Teddy stood, his nose to the air sniffing intently. Since his initial barking frenzy, he’d been calm and quiet. She rested her hand on Teddy’s head. “I’m trusting you to alert us to danger, okay, big guy?”

Teddy gazed at her with his dark-brown eyes as if in agreement.

She turned and continued walking, staying within the shelter of the trees as much as possible. The going was slower than she liked, but every step was progress.

They walked in silence, partially because she needed her strength to keep moving and also to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Their movements weren’t completely silent, though. Twigs snapped and snow crunched beneath their feet.

After another forty-five minutes of walking, Logan called for another break. She gratefully dropped onto the horizontal surface of a fallen tree. “This is quite the workout,” she muttered.

“I know.” Logan sat beside her and pulled his phone from his pack. He held it up and peered at the screen. “No service.”

She wasn’t surprised. “What about the radio?”

He shoved the phone into the pack, then drew out the small radio. After fiddling with the controls for a few minutes and hearing nothing but static, he finally found a channel. “Mayday, this is pilot Logan Fletcher. Anyone read me?”

“I read you, Fletcher, where are you?” a voice asked.

“We’re northeast of Snowshoe Mountain.” Logan grinned, and she found herself grinning back. “We’re on foot but will need someone to meet us if possible.”

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