With his breath held, he raised the gun, aimed and squeezed the trigger, all in one fluid movement, hitting the reptile, which was poised to strike.
“C’mon. Now, Kit. Move it. I’ve got you covered.”
She struggled to stand on the boulder, then leaped to the ground a few feet from him. Red scored her cheeks. She tried to steady herself as she landed, but instead stumbled. He caught her, shoving her behind him.
Although dusk eroded the daylight, he inspected the ground around the huge rock for any signs of more rattlers. Relief sighed from his lips when he saw nothing.
“Let’s get out of here.” With one eye on the boulder, he turned toward her.
“My backpack is over there with my water.” She gestured to the dirt not far from the massive stone she’d sat on.
“Too dangerous if more snakes are under that rock. We’re leaving it.”
“But my water! I haven’t had anything to drink in hours.”
He unhooked his canteen and thrust it into her hands. “Drink while you walk.”
He didn’t turn his back on the area until he was around the bend. Although the urge was strong, he would wait until they made it to their vehicles before giving her a piece of his mind.
Once they were ensconced beneath the towering cliffs on either side, night fully descended, and Hawke flicked on the flashlight.
“Walk behind me. Step where I step.” His command charged the air with his controlled terseness.
Although Kit couldn’t read his expression, she didn’t have to see it to know anger marked his every feature. “I only sat down on the rock to rest before heading back to the car. I didn’t know I was going to disturb a family of rattlesnakes. Believe me, if I had—”
“You may think this is the time to have a little chitchat, but I don’t.”
“But how did you know about me—”
“Kit, in case you haven’t figured it out, walking around out here during the day, let alone at night, isn’t always the safest thing to do. We’ll talk later. You wouldn’t want me to tell you what I think at the moment.” He took her hand and settled it on his shoulder, then set out again down the path.
Cold darkness closed in around Kit as she gripped Hawke and followed in his footsteps. His flashlight illuminated only the small space in front of him. Her imagination ran rampant with what might lie beyond the inky shroud surrounding them.
After her unfortunate encounter with the rattlers, she pictured them poised ready to strike at any second along the path. Her legs tingled, vying with the patches of burned skin she hadn’t managed to shade from the sun. Funny how a few hours ago she had been hot. Now she was chilled.
Exhausted, dehydrated, her head pounding against her skull, she put one foot in front of the other. If she had known what was going to happen, of course, she would never have hiked away from her car. At least while sitting on that rock, waiting for the snakes to slither away, she’d had time to think about this whole situation. She had to convince Hawke Lonechief to help her…somehow.
Then suddenly, in the midst of her fear and weariness, a thought took hold. She had to turn this over to the Lord. He would make it possible if it was meant to be. One of the hardest things she’d had to learn—was still learning—was to give control over to Him.
A movement to the left made Kit gasp and jump to the right. “What’s that?”
“Any number of animals.” Concealed in shadows, Hawke came to a stop and swung around toward her. “Probably a rabbit.”
“A rabbit I can handle.” She relaxed her rigid stance.
“Running from a predator.”
“Predator!” she squeaked.
“You sound worried now.”
Although she knew he couldn’t see her expression, she scrunched her mouth into a tight line of displeasure. “And you sound smug.”
“I guess some good came from this. Now you know what can happen if you go off by yourself.”
She had to convince him she was still serious about going to Desolation Canyon—with or without a guide. Otherwise she didn’t have a chance of convincing him to help her. The only good thing she saw from today’s incident was that Hawke had come after her. That gave her hope.
“Yes, you’re right.” She nearly choked on those words as she stepped closer to him. “I had a little dress rehearsal of what could happen if I’m not better prepared. I have learned a valuable lesson. Next time I’ll be better prepared.”
“Next time!” He snorted and spun around forward, shining the light down the path.
In the glow she saw him shake his head. “You didn’t think I was going to give up my plan, now, did you?” She infused just a touch of mockery into her question. “You obviously don’t know much about me.”
When she settled her hand on his shoulder as he continued toward the road, his muscles beneath her fingers bunched up. He didn’t say a word for a good ten minutes. She didn’t like the idea of being this close to him, either, but one bad move in a day was her limit.
He halted abruptly, pivoted toward her and pointed the flashlight at the small space between them. An eerie radiance cloaked his harsh features. Anger vibrated off him.
“Make me understand why this trip is so important to you that you’re willing to risk your life for some myth.”
His clipped statement rivaled the nip in the air. Shivering, she hugged her arms to her chest. “It’s getting cold and this isn’t the place to have that conversation. Remember?” She could still imagine that rattlesnake’s mate stalking her escape.
“Fine. Let’s go. We’re almost to your car, then we can have that conversation.”
Not out here, if she had anything to say about it. She trudged behind him. Although the clouds raced across the face of the moon, for a brief few moments its rays bathed the end of the road, revealing his Jeep parked behind her car.
A sigh escaped her. She’d made it back safely. She’d had her doubts a couple of hours ago when a crispness set in as the sun began its descent in the sky. Trapped, thirsty, with water within arm’s reach but unattainable, she’d curled up on the flat part of the boulder to retain what heat she had while she’d prayed for the rattlers to get tired and leave.
Heat. She needed heat. At the beginning of Black Horse Pass she hurried forward, relieved that her keys were in her pocket, not her backpack. After digging them out, she unlocked her door and dived inside, trembling as she tried to start her car.
Nothing.
How could this be happening? With her teeth chattering, she tried again.
“What’s wrong?” Hawke appeared in her open door, bending down to look inside.
“I don’t know. It won’t start.”
“Here. Let me try.”
Kit clambered from the driver’s seat, and Hawke climbed in behind the steering wheel. He turned the key, then glanced down at the lighted dashboard.
“I don’t know why I’m surprised. You don’t have any gas.”
“Sure I do. That can’t be it.” She stretched in front of him to stare at the empty gas gauge in shock. “I filled up a few days ago and haven’t driven much. I don’t understand.” He was too close; she quickly jerked back.
Removing the keys, he handed them to her, then pushed to his feet and slammed the door. “Well, there isn’t much we can do tonight. I’ll drive you back. You can see about your car tomorrow. It certainly isn’t