Page 24 of Scent of Evil
Justin rummaged in the saddle bags for water bottles, then left their camp, heading toward the horses. Moments later, he was gone.
“Aunt Raine?” Ginny’s voice was hesitant. “Are we going to be here all night?”
“Yes. But we have more protein bars, water, and shelter, so we’re going to be fine.” Raine injected as much confidence as possible in her tone. “Justin knows what he’s doing. And we have the horses to ride out of here at first light.”
“My tummy still hurts,” Ginny said.
“I know.” She felt bad about the girl’s illness but didn’t have a way to make her feel better. “Just rest, okay? That’s the best thing for you.”
“Okay.” Ginny closed her eyes. “I love you.”
Hot tears pricked her lashes. “I love you too.”
When she thought Ginny might be sleeping, she stood and moved toward the woods. Thanks to the glow of the fire, she wouldn’t get lost now and was determined to do her part in helping them survive.
It wasn’t nearly as easy as Justin had made it look to find dry wood. The darkness wasn’t helping either. She’d rummaged beneath the logs that were on top, wincing as slivers of wood stabbed her fingers.
Still, she waited until she had a small armload of mostly dry wood before heading back to the beacon of the fire. Then she quickly fed a couple sticks into the embers.
Stone had taken up his position near Ginny. Her niece had her arm looped around Stone’s neck, and she was glad the girl had the K9 for comfort.
Just when she was getting worried about Justin and the horses, she heard one of the horses let out a neigh, along with hooves striking the ground. Justin left the horses in the meadow and made his way toward her. He smiled with appreciation when he saw the mound of wood.
“Nice job.” He dropped the water bottles on the ground near the fire and fetched a pan from the saddle bag. She wondered if he had a tent in there, too, but decided he must not have brought one or he’d have already pulled it out for Ginny. “We’ll boil the water so we can drink and use some to clean Ginny’s hand.”
“I can manage that.” She emptied the water bottles into the pan and set it on the fire. Justin took the empty containers and made another trip to the creek. How he could see in the dark she had no idea.
When the water came to a boil, she quickly wrapped one end of the saddle blanket around the pan holder to remove it from the fire. This was almost like being a pioneer, she thought with a hint of amusement, if she didn’t consider the way Justin had used a lighter to start the blaze. Besides, for all she knew, he had enough experience with camping to rub two sticks together to create a flame.
When the water had cooled just a little, she rested her hand on Ginny’s shoulder. “We need to wash your hand.”
“I’m tired,” Ginny complained.
“I know. This won’t take long.” She dipped one corner of the blanket in the water, then rubbed it across Ginny’s wound. The light wasn’t great, but she was able to see enough to determine she’d removed the last of the dirt. She didn’t have anything to use to wrap it, though, so she tucked Ginny’s hand beneath the blanket. “Rest now.”
Ginny nodded and closed her eyes again.
Raine drank some of the warm water, imagining it was soup as it helped warm her core. It was cold now that the sun had slipped below the horizon. Fall was normally her favorite season, but not when she was stuck camping outside without a tent.
Or a heater. Maybe food. Oh, and how about enough wood to keep a fire going all night?
With a sigh, she pushed herself upright and walked back out into the woods to find more dry timber. There was awhoo-whoosound as something dive bombed close to her head. She ducked, her heart pounding until she realized the bird was an owl.
Forcing herself to get a grip, Raine gathered wood. When she emerged from the forest, she saw Justin had returned to the camp.
“You didn’t have to do that.” He helped stack the new sticks on the pile. “I can handle it from here.”
“Just trying to do my part.” She fed a stick into the fire, trying not to shiver. The warmth wasn’t nearly enough to ward off the chill.
“I called Griff. He’s glad to know we’re all safe.”
“Great.” She was relieved to hear it.
“I gave him our location and the bit of information about Decker having a place in mind to go,” he continued. “Griff spoke with your boss, some guy named Rowe?” When she nodded, he said, “They’ll start pinpointing possible locations to search tomorrow.”
“I want to be there when they go to find him,” she said. Then she frowned. “If we’re back in time.”
“We will be.” He paused, then said, “I forgot to ask if there was someone you needed to call to let them know you’re safe. A husband or fiancé.”
