Page 26 of A Rugged Beauty
"Promise you'll look after my brother?"
H turned an unsmiling gaze on her and nodded. "You have my word."
He'd thumped Joseph on the shoulder and they'd gone, disappearing into the crowd as they boarded the train.
Sparrow blinked and the memory receded. H had been friends with her brother. There was something about his manner… a sadness she didn’t recognize.
Where had Joseph gone?
Lightning cracked, cutting through the sky in a jagged line. Before she could brace, or even breathe, it seemed as if the whole world was crashing with thunder.
That had been close.
Shaking, she flexed her hands on the tree. She was safe, wasn’t she?
Her mind clung to the distraction of her most recent memory. Was it strange that the H in her memory had barely glanced at her? He hadn't kissed her goodbye, hadn't looked at her with the affection and warmth he'd shown the past two days.
Perhaps they'd become close later, a time after the memory had taken place. Maybe Joseph had connected them.
But she couldn't quite shake the uneasy feeling that had taken root in her gut remembering the shadows in the memory-H's eyes. What had hurt him?
Another flare of too-close lightning flashed. Another crash of thunder. She cried out, the sound swallowed up by the roaring wind. This time when the wind swirled, the scent of smoke made her eyes water.
Was the river rising? The waves over the rocks had white caps now. Perhaps it was raining upstream?
Her heart thudded loudly in her ears. H had tucked her into this outcropping for safety—but he surely hadn't thought about the storm affecting the river. An awful feeling that something was wrong rolled over her in waves. It had been too long since he'd gone.
Lightning struck again, illuminating a tree branch hurtling downstream. Her lungs protested the smoke, and she couldn’t help coughing.
She couldn't wait here. Not now.
Urgency knotted her stomach as she stepped away from the tree to go back up the path, in the direction H had gone.
What if the camp was abandoned, but H couldn't find his way back to her?
What if he'd been injured?
Thoughts tumbled and spun as she ascended this rise. And the hazy smoke grew thicker. Her foot slipped and without something to hold onto, she fell to her hands and knees. She forced herself back to her feet. She coughed again, breathing hard. She needed a better viewpoint.
In the dark, she strained her eyes to see through the smoke. This was more than a campfire, more than the bonfire she and H had created yesterday. Where was he?
She could barely make out the thinning trees—was this where she and H had stopped as he'd watched the camp? Beyond, a glowing red lined the horizon.
Fire!
Lightning struck again, illuminating two dark shadows moving in a jagged, awful dance through the smoke.
Fighting. Struggling.
And then it was dark again.
Fear held her immobile. H had told her to wait?—
She forced her feet to carry her up the embankment, though she had to scrabble for footing. “H! Fire!”
Thunder rolled again. Frightened, she crouched and covered her head with one arm.
A jagged streak of light split the sky and illuminated someone—not H—with arm raised over a bundle on the ground.
