Page 108 of One Last Shot
Boo nodded.
“I remember the map—I think if I keep going south it will connect with the river, and maybe I can get ahold of Moose. If not, then I’ll hike up the riverback to the lodge.”
He caught her face again. “But I will come back for you.”
“I believe you,” she said.
The fourth time she’d said it, and again it reached in and hooked him, held him fast.
He might love this woman.
The thought rushed through him, latched to his bones.
Yes.Yes, he mightlovethis woman.
Okay, just calm down. Get back to civilization and then...
Then figure out what the future might hold.
Easing Hannah off his shoulder, he held her as Boo dragged herself over and took her in her arms. Hannah stirred and opened her eyes just as he left.
The wind howled above the cut of the ravine. Securing them in the cleft of the rock had surely protected them from exposure. Snow tumbled through the air but had died to just flurries.
He retraced his steps from last night, climbing up and out of the crevasse via a tumble of slippery rocks. Then he found more pine branches, broke them off, dropped them into the space, and climbed back down.
At the cave, he stirred the fire to life, blowing on it, building it back up, and resetting the windbreak with more sticks. The fire crackled, growing.
He crept into the space. Hannah was awake, her face pale and drawn.
Emptying the pack, he found a couple protein bars and gave them to Hannah and Boo.
Boo insisted on sharing hers with him.Fine.
Then he loosened the straps on the pack. “Okay, Hannah, we’re getting out of here. I’m going to put you on my back and carry you out. I’ll do my best not to jostle your leg.”
She nodded, her eyes wide.
Then he worked the backpack straps over Hannah’s legs so that the pack was to her back. He knelt in front of the cave, ducking to meet Boo’s eyes. “I’ll hurry.”
“Just stay alive,” Boo said.
“That’s the plan.” He dearly hoped God agreed.
Then he sat on the ground in front of Hannah, scooted back, and slipped his arms into the straps. The pack also had a hip strap, and now he angled that underneath Hannah’s body and drew it around him, loosening it, then snapping it in place.
Hopefully her body would settle into the pouch of the empty bag. She put her arms around his neck.
“Okay, here we go.” He gripped her thighs, holding her legs up as he moved one leg under him, rose, then pushed up.
She whimpered but hung on.
Then he put his head down and headed south.
As they walked, Hannah nestled her head against him.
Moose stepped back in his head.“You can trust that God loves you and that he’ll carry you through the storm.”
He walked for an hour, the visibility short, narrow. Ice formed on his eyelashes, and for the first time, he truly appreciated the face mask. The ravine flattened out, the shoreline morphing from cliffs to banks, and finally he emerged out to the river.