Page 62 of Burnin' For You
“You probably do.” She’d dropped his jump pack near the woodpile. “I need to get the pack—stay here.”
“Be careful.”
Crouching, she skirted the edge of the forest, keeping an eye out for Brownie against the illumination of the blaze. When she reached the edge of the woodpile, she darted out.
The pack lay on the ground, protected from the flames by the stump. She grabbed it, shouldered it—
And that’s when she saw the figure moving around the house, watching the flames. No—not one, but two, the firelight revealing their faces, grim, angry. She crouched behind the stump, her heart in her throat.
The pair got into the station wagon, leaving the house to burn. Cinders cascaded around her, lit scrub around the house aflame.
It occurred to her that this blaze could turn into a raging forest fire.
The car drove away, down the trail, and her heart fell. She had no doubt of their destination.
She waited until the vehicle disappeared in the woods, then she stumbled back to Reuben. “We gotta go,” she said as she rustled through the pack for a headlamp.
Reuben was on his hands and knees, his head to the ground.
“Can you walk?”
He lifted his head, tried a nod, winced.
“Okay, I’ll help you.” She fitted on the headlamp then stood and helped him up. He immediately leaned over, breathing hard.
“Just give me a minute here—”
She put her hand on his shoulder, aching for him. But this forest was tinder dry, and—
A bush nearby had trapped flying embers and now flamed to life.
Reuben looked up, the fire glowing against his eyes. “This entire forest could go up!”
What she was thinking, exactly.
She wrapped an arm around his waist. “Let’s go.”
Funny, she’d forgotten about her knee in the adrenaline of the fire. Now it burned as she put weight on it. And Reuben swayed against her, balancing against trees as they limped away.
“I might have to crawl to the Garver lookout tower,” he said.
“No. We’ll get someplace safe—”
“Pete Creek should be not far from here, to the east.” He stopped, looked up at the stars, the moon now risen in the east. He pointed at it. “Follow the moonlight.”
Romantic words in a different time and place. Now, simply practical. She kept an eye on the moon, centered herself on it, and picked her way through the forest, leaving behind the crackle and heat of the fire.
The forest closed in against their wan light from the headlamp. Reuben grunted, moaned as he leaned on her, bracing himself on trees, stumbling now and again.
And every time he did, her knee threatened to buckle. Tears welled in her eyes as she dragged herself over downed logs and boulders.
“I’m sorry,” Reuben said after a while.
“For what?”
“For not listening to you when you didn’t want to get into the car with Brownie. I should have—”
“What are you talking about? We needed help—and why wouldn’t we trust Brownie? We didn’t know he’d turn on us, that they were behind the arson. I can’t believe it—the crash. I’m still in shock.”