Christmas In the Cove

by Carol Ross

Eli nodded, waiting for more.

  “Border collie tails aren’t docked,” she supplied.

  But he was already convinced. In his experience with search and rescue, eyewitness information was different where dogs were concerned. Because people who loved dogs usually remembered them better than they did people.

  * * *

  WHY HADN’T SHE thought to ask if the woman had had a dog with her? Aubrey’s pulse was racing. It had to be Nina. But why wouldn’t she have taken her phone? If she’d forgotten it, surely she would have noticed by now and headed back. Especially since she knew Aubrey was coming out to see her...

  She forced herself to calm down and listen to Eli’s questions. The way he asked them seemed to elicit more details. Ones she hadn’t thought about. Apparently this woman was wearing a green scarf and carrying a camera. She was struck by the thought that he’d make a great detective.

  He seemed to be wrapping it up and Aubrey was ready to take off when the man offered another fact, this one not nearly as helpful as the others. “You guys know about the weather, right?”

  “What about it?” Eli asked.

  “Rain and a high wind warning.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” Eli said. “Heard about that. We’ve got our rain gear. Hopefully, we’ll be out before those high winds kick in.”

  “That’s good,” he said. “The trail is washed out in some places. It depends on which way you head at the fork, but it can get a little dicey in spots if you decide to head up to the lookout.”

  It went without saying that “dicey” didn’t scare either one of them. They thanked the couple and started up Daisy Trail. The path followed Daisy Creek for two miles before it veered east and looped around the base of a large monolith. It met up with the creek again where you could either continue to Daisy Creek Falls or cross a suspension bridge that would take you deeper into the Tyee Forest. Backpacking country, Aubrey thought, which meant enough gear to stay overnight in the woods. No way Nina would have taken off for the night without telling her. Although she knew at this point she needed to rule things out with evidence as well as her thoughts.

  They stopped to put on their rain gear because along with the wind, droplets of rain were now falling. The path up to the lookout was long and considered steep for most hikers. Nina enjoyed the challenge, often grousing good-naturedly at Aubrey when they reached the top because she would be barely out of breath while Nina would be struggling.

  Aubrey glanced up. She’d been okay, relatively, up to this point. Because she’d been moving. Doing. Solving this problem. But now the familiar trail suddenly looked daunting and felt ominous. What would she do if something terrible happened to Nina? She’d never be able to forgive herself. She’d known it wasn’t a good idea for her to move out to the farm by herself and...

  Next thing she knew Eli was standing in front of her, his hands lightly gripping her elbows. “Aubrey? Are you okay?”

  She tried to swallow but her mouth was too dry.

  “Let’s take a second.”

  Tears boiled behind her eyes but she managed to contain them. He handed her a water bottle. How did he know what she needed? He always seemed to know what she needed. She took a drink.

  “I’m fine. We need to get going. We need to keep moving...” She heard her voice crack and tried to cover it with a cough.

  Before she could protest, his arms were around her, holding her tight. “We’ll find her,” he said, his breath warm in her hair. He sounded so positive.

  “I want to believe you,” she whispered. “I do. It’s just that... None of this makes any sense to me. Nina can be impulsive but she’s not stupid. She’s actually really smart and I... Eli, I am so scared.”

  She knew she should move away from him, but she couldn’t. It felt too good to be wrapped in this cocoon that he had created for her, if only for a minute or two. Her anger at his removing her from duty didn’t compare to the love she felt for her sister. Besides, here he was, helping her, searching with her. That was enough for now.

  * * *

  THEY CHOSE THE route based on what the couple had told them. The woman who might be Nina had mentioned the lookout, so they headed that way. The rain was now falling in fat, pelting drops. Fog had formed in reaction to the cold wind and visibility was severely limited in places. They moved much slower than she would have liked. The trail was muddy and slick in places and the guy in the parking lot had been right—they had to skirt around a few spots where the footing had washed away. In places, Aubrey could see the cliff plunging off to their right. Every step took them up, increasing the distance, and the potential fall, to Daisy Creek below.

  It seemed like days before they finally emerged into a small meadow. The old cedar-planked cabin was just ahead. Before she could run around Eli and sprint the remaining distance, he stopped and turned to face her.

  “Don’t fight me on this. I’m going to go inside and look around. Stay here.”

  He took off before she could argue. The fear crept over her again, weighing on her with the force of a million pounds. She knew why he didn’t want her to go with him—what if Nina was in there and...not okay.

  Despair nearly overwhelmed her. She considered letting her tired body sink to the ground. Instead she forced herself to study the area, looking for any sign that Nina or Marion had been there. Walking back and forth across the grass, she analyzed the tracks. There were canine prints, but she quickly realized they were much too large to belong to a petite border collie.

  The remains of an old fire sat at one edge of the clearing. She could make out a half-burned Graham cracker box among the gray, soggy ashes. Not long ago, someone had been having fun here, roasting marshmallows and making s’mores. Not looking for their lost epileptic sister...

  Eli came out of the cabin. He held his phone up to his ear and seemed to be looking for her. She wondered if he was talking to his dog friend or to Gale or Commander Pence or worse...

  His eyes latched on to hers. He lifted a hand and headed in her direction, but she couldn’t read anything on his face.

  “Perfect. Thanks, Gale. Yeah, I’m going to tell her right now.” He clicked off the phone. “Nina’s been found. She’s fine. I mean alive, but...”

  She bent at the waist and placed her hands on her kneecaps. Alive. Her head felt light as relief blasted through her. Wait... “But?” she repeated.

  “She’s mostly fine,” he amended quickly.

  The words felt like a brand-new punch to the gut. “What do you mean ‘mostly fine’?”

  “She’s alive. Injured, but alive.”

  “Injured? Where is she?”

  “She’s at the hospital. Gale found her.”

  “Found her where? Hospital? How is she injured?” She could hear her voice all shrieky and shrill. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “She was in a car accident. She’s in and out of consciousness. She has a head injury, a fractured wrist and some broken ribs. They’re checking for internal injuries, but it’s her head that they’re most worried about.”

  “Where? Where did he find her?”

  “He decided to walk along the road. He heard barking and spotted a pickup over an embankment. Any idea why she would she be driving a pickup?”

  Aubrey lifted her hands to squeeze her now-throbbing temples. “She mentioned she was going to buy one because that’s what farmers drive, but she hadn’t told me she’d bought one yet. Probably planning to surprise me. I’m getting really tired of her surprises, by the way. In and out of consciousness?” A bout of nausea threatened.

  She paused to swallow it down. “Head trauma can be a trigger for seizures. Was she wearing her epilepsy bracelet? Is there any sign she had a seizure? Who is with her? Where’s Marion?”

  “Yes, she was. Marion was lying beside the pickup. That’s how Gale knew... The neurologist hasn’t seen her yet. Gale and Alex are both there. Alex called your parents. They’re on their way home. Apparently, Camile is already in Pacific Cove. A friend picked
her up in Seattle this morning and she’s on her way to the hospital. And Marion is with Carlisle and Heather.”

  Aubrey’s entire body started to shake. She began nodding as she thought aloud, “Okay. Okay, that’s good. Camile will stay with her until I can get there. Let’s go. We need to get going.”

  She took a few determined steps toward the trail. Eli reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Aubrey, I don’t think we should.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s already getting dark. We both heard the weather report. This wind is going to get way worse before it gets better. Way worse. Gusts of one hundred miles per hour plus are possible.” He gestured around them and she realized the light was already waning. “Trees are going to blow over and limbs will be falling. If that happens at the wrong moment while we’re on that ridge trail?

  “Our best bet is to stay here in the cabin until it passes. It’s dry in there. We have plenty of food and water.”

  As much as it pained her, she knew he was right. Even now, she could feel the force as the wind shoved and jostled her backpack. She could hear it howling and snapping branches in the surrounding trees. Although... They were both extremely fit. She had a headlamp in her pack and a powerful flashlight. And extra batteries. She chewed on her lip and tried to think this through. It was the first time she’d ever questioned the logic of her search-and-rescue training.

  Eli stepped closer, threading a hand around the back of her neck. “Hey,” he said. “Look at me.”

  She did.

  “I have my phone. We have service. I have a portable charger. If anything changes, Gale or Alex will call. There’s nothing you can do for her right now.” Something in his tone, in the feel of his hand on her skin, managed to soothe her. His next words convinced her. “And there won’t be anything at all you can do for her if you try to hike out of here and get injured yourself.

  “Let’s just rest and eat something. We’ll see how it looks in a few hours, okay?”

  She gave him a reluctant nod and he led the way to the little cabin.

  Eli was right. It was dry and significantly warmer out of the wind. Aubrey removed her pack and took off her rain shells. She gave the jacket a shake and stretched it, along with her pants, over a broken chair lying on the floor. She rummaged in her pack for her spare fleece top, which she slipped on over the layers she already wore. As she settled on the floor, her back against the wall, she realized how exhausted she was. Why was emotional fatigue so much more draining than physical hardship? A half-mile swim in the freezing surf was nothing compared to this.

  She watched Eli rustle around for several minutes, no doubt checking every nook and corner for anything that could be useful for them.

  “What are you doing?” she finally asked.

  “I’m going to light us a fire.”

  “Where?”

  He gestured at the little potbellied wood stove in the middle of the room. “Here. Then I’m going to fix us some soup.”

  She couldn’t help but smile at his optimism. “What are you going to burn? Everything is soaking wet.”

  “Energy logs.” He pointed across the room. “I’m guessing park staff or hikers stashed them in anticipation of a repeat visit. They probably won’t be happy we’re using them, but I think this officially constitutes an emergency.” He added an eager grin and said, “I have chicken noodle.”

  Aubrey didn’t argue. A warm fire and a cup of something hot sounded like heaven on earth.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  GRATEFUL FOR THE tinder he kept in his pack and the dry cardboard box someone had left in the cabin, Eli soon had a hot fire burning in the wood stove. He kept an eye on Aubrey, but couldn’t read much in her expression. She was good at keeping her feelings contained. Coast Guard training would do that to a person. Any military training helped with that. And Aubrey had always been skilled in that area, anyway.

  As a teenager, he hadn’t even known that she’d had a crush on him. Not until his own feelings had welled up to the point where he couldn’t stand it one second longer. He knew exactly when things had shifted for him; the first day of school his senior year. Aubrey had been a sophomore. Somehow over the course of the summer between ninth and tenth grade she’d turned into this...this siren.

  Walking down the hall, he’d been looking for her to tell her he’d arranged his schedule so he could have study hall with her and Alex. And he’d seen it—her—standing by her locker. Tall, with those long, toned legs encased in snug jeans, she’d been laughing, talking to a friend. As he’d neared her, she’d turned and smiled at him and he’d been struck by her beauty. And he’d already known her, worshipped her in a way, and knew the inside was even better than the outside.

  Problem was, it seemed that every other guy suddenly saw her, too. He’d made it his semisecret mission to thwart every romantic attempt by his peers. The scheme had been semisecret because Alex had helped. They’d agreed that no one was good enough for her. Eli had kind of included himself in that notion, not wanting to admit his crush to Alex.

  He’d managed to keep his feelings under wraps until Christmas Eve that year. He still remembered what she’d been wearing that night; a silver dress, fitted at the waist, with tiny, delicate straps over her swim-sculpted shoulders. The skirt had swirled around her knees, shimmering at her slightest move. She’d worn her hair up, silver threads intricately woven into a complicated twist. Elegant, he remembered thinking, like some kind of Christmas angel. He remembered marveling over the fact that she rarely wore fancy clothes, yet when she did she pulled it off like a veteran on the red carpet.

  When he’d found her alone downstairs in the family room at the St. Johns’ house, he hadn’t been able to help himself. He’d kissed her by the Christmas tree. Expecting shock, possibly even a slap, he’d been overjoyed when, without hesitation, her hands had slid around his neck and she’d kissed him back.

  Those months they’d been together had been the best of his life. Of course, he’d been young. Too young to realize how just wanting something—or someone—wasn’t enough. There were those things that happened in life that made your own wants and needs take a backseat. There were also those things that completely and entirely obliterated them. That’s what fate had done to them. He hoped that wasn’t happening again now with this investigation. Had he done the right thing by removing her from duty?

  He had planned to tell her tonight. As soon as he’d called Nivens, he’d known he was going to tell her. He was going to tell her about the investigation, leaving out their suspicions about Alex for the time being.

  Studying her now as he waited for the water to heat, he could see the sadness tugging at her features. It killed him to think that he’d probably contributed to it, even though he knew she was focused on Nina right now. He had to believe she would understand why he’d done it.

  “Soup’s on,” he said as he handed Aubrey a steaming cup.

  “Thank you. Can’t believe you managed this. Mmm, delicious,” she added after taking a sip.

  “Amazing how dehydrated vittles can taste like a five-star entrée under the right conditions. Something to be said for keeping these search-and-rescue packs updated, right?”

  He was treated to a warm smile. “I, for one, am grateful for your anal retentive behavior.”

  He chuckled as he retrieved his own soup and settled on the floor beside her. He’d taken three sips when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out and studied the display. “Message from Gale.” He read it quickly. “Good news. Camile is there. And...the neurologist said she has an excellent chance of making a full recovery.”

  Aubrey squeezed her eyes shut and kept them closed for a few seconds. Eli imagined he could see a bit of the worry lift from her weary features. She opened her eyes and asked, “Is she awake?”

  Eli tapped out the question and hit Send.

  They waited in silence until the phone buzzed again. “Not right now. She’s been in a
nd out. She doesn’t remember much from the accident, but the doctor says that’s normal after what she’s been through combined with the pain meds.” He reached over and gave her knee a gentle squeeze.

  Aubrey nodded slowly, as if absorbing it all. She hissed out a long breath.

  “She’s going to be fine, Aubrey.”

  “You don’t know that, Eli. You do know how much I despise platitudes, though.” She softened her words with a sad half smile. “I appreciate you trying, though. I really do.”

  “I do know the second part. And, as for the first—you know I wouldn’t do that. If I didn’t believe she was going to completely recover, or if I doubted it, I would say so. But the circumstances, including the information we have from the doctors at this point, are telling us that she will, in fact, eventually be fine.”

  She patted his hand. He was pleased to hear her chuckle, hoping this meant her worry had lessened to a degree.

  “Finish your soup.”

  “Don’t boss me. We’re not on duty.”

  “Please finish your soup. You—we—need our strength.”

  Keeping her eyes glued to his, she raised the metal cup to her lips and drained it.

  “Thank you,” he said, his own lips twitching with humor. “Do you remember the time we went camping with Alex’s family over by Sun River in eastern Oregon?”

  Laughter erupted from her along with a shake of her head. “Still can’t believe they called that camping. I love the St. Johns, but a six-bedroom cabin on the Deschutes River with a hot tub is not camping. Remember how we brought all our backpacking stuff? You had your propane burner and I had my new water filter, and we both brought sleeping bags?”

  “There was maid service.”

  They reminisced about the camping trip that had turned into three days of playing tennis, shuffleboard and swimming at a nearby resort, and how Alex hadn’t bothered to inform either of them that they’d need something suitable for a dinner at a five-star restaurant.

  “We went shopping, but we couldn’t afford anything from those boutiques.”

  “Hey, you rocked that dress we found at Second Time Threads or whatever that place we finally found was called.”