The Coltons: Fisher, Ryder & Quinn: Soldier's Secret Child. Caridad Pineiro

him and took hold of his hand as she witnessed the sight. “I wish that one day…”

      He didn’t need her to finish. He knew what she wished and inside of him, something had been slowly taking root since last night. Something that said maybe what they both wished wasn’t so far apart.

      Looking up the trail, he said, “You mentioned a cave?”

      She nodded. “There’s quite a few of them up ahead, but I think the biggest one is quite a ways up. Probably past the overlook and closer to the bridge.”

      Once again concern rose in him as he cast his gaze upward at the thickening clouds above. Inhaling deeply, he could smell the coming rain and hoped the forecasters were wrong about the force of the storm.

      “Let’s get going. The rain will be here soon,” he said and they once again set off, following T.J.’s sneaker prints in the dust of the trail.

      They had been on the winding path for another half an hour when the first fat raindrop plopped on the brim of his cowboy hat. He quickly removed two large rain ponchos from one of the pouches on his pack and helped Macy ease hers on over the backpack. Then he slipped on his own as the drops grew more frequent and quite heavy in a matter of seconds.

      There was little shelter on the trail as they continued upward, just an occasional stand of oaks here and there, but they couldn’t pause for any delayed shelter under the trees. The impressions of T.J.’s sneakers vanished quickly beneath the onslaught of the rain. The trail in front of them became a difficult morass of mud.

      As they struggled ever onward, he kept his eyes trained on the areas around the trail to make sure T.J. had not detoured off the path. There wasn’t any sign that he had deviated from continuing up the trail. If anything, up ahead he found an impression protected by a thick oak beside the trail. Bending down, he examined the footprint more closely just to make sure. It was T.J.’s.