Page 30 of Chasing Dreams
“What guy?”
“That guy on the radio. He’s out there.”
“A deejay in the woods?”
“No, the student they said was missing.”
Austin laid down the sledgehammer and pulled off his gloves, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs. He stepped close to her.
“You’ve seen him?” he asked, realizing it wasn’t a sight she’d seen in the physical, natural realm.
She nodded.
“A dream?”
“A dream, yes. But then just now, when he was talking—” she waved toward the phone. “—I felt him.”
“Damn,” he said under his breath. Some poor dead hiker was lying out in the timber. He could just imagine animals getting to the body. “Well, let’s call a ranger.”
“How long will that take?”
“I don’t know.”
She came down the steps toward him and circled his wrist with her cool fingers. “Okay, let’s call, but you know these woods, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Then we’ll just go get him.”
“Just go get him! Shaine, we’re in the middle of a forest, in case you haven’t noticed. A search like that has to be done methodically.”
She shook her head. Then she released his arm, took a half step away and seemed to be listening. After a minute, she pointed. “There. That direction. There’s a clearing with a natural windbreak. His ankle is sprained, or broken maybe, and he’s dizzy and out of breath, like I was—no, worse than I was that first day.”
“I don’t doubt your sense of direction. I don’t doubt any of the details you just gave me.”
“Good—”
“Except your use of present tense.”
She frowned up at him.
“You’ve surely seen it all just as it happened. But by now the guy is dead. Or will be by the time someone gets to him.”
“No. He’s not dead.”
“Shaine, he is.”
“Stay here then. I’ll go.” She ran into the house.
Austin followed and called up to the loft. “You can’t tear off into the woods by yourself, unprepared. Let’s just call the rangers and let them handle it.”
She hurried back down, pulling on her denim jacket. “Call the rangers. But I’m going.”
“I won’t let you go alone.”
She turned and faced him. “What are you going to do, sit on me?”
He glared at her, tempted.
