Christmas Stalking

by Margaret Daley

  He clasped her glove-covered hands and bent his head toward hers. A smile graced his mouth right before his lips grazed across hers once then twice. Then he kissed her fully. She returned it with all her needs and concerns pouring into the connection that sprang up between them.

  In a raw whisper, she said against his mouth, “Don’t you dare get hurt. We have things to talk about when this is over.”

  “If I hadn’t been motivated before, I am now.” He gave her a quick peck on her lips then departed, striding toward the cave entrance.

  Ellie watched him vanish around the corner, then went back to Winnie to make sure she was comfortable before she stood guard at the mouth of the cavern.

  “He’ll be all right,” Winnie assured her. “He knows these mountains well. Hopefully better than whoever is after me.”

  Ellie nodded at Winnie, remembering the grin Colt gave her before kissing her. The memory warmed her cold insides. “Yes. After all, he’s fought off pirates before.”

  Winnie chuckled.

  The warmth died out when a gunshot blasted the air and the mountain over them rumbled.

  ELEVEN

  Colt exited the cave, scanning the terrain for any sign of their assailant. Through the curtain of snow falling a movement caught his full attention. Suddenly a shadow rose from behind a rock and aimed a rifle at him. Colt dove for cover as the white-camouflaged figure got off a shot, the bullet ricocheting off the stone surface behind him.

  A noise rocked the ground—like a huge wave hitting shore in a thunderstorm. Colt had only heard that sound one other time, right before tons of snow crashed down the mountain, plowing through the forest, leaving nothing behind in its wake.

  The entrance of the cave a few feet away was his only chance. He scrambled toward it as rock, snow and ice began pelting him.

  * * *

  Winnie went white. “An avalanche!”

  Ellie hurried toward the entrance. “Stay put,” she said, realizing Winnie didn’t have a choice.

  As she rounded the bend in the stone corridor, she saw Colt plunge toward the cave, then a wall of white swallowed him up. The force of the avalanche sent a swell of snow mushrooming into the cavern.

  When the rumbling stopped, snow totally blocked the cave entrance and she couldn’t see Colt. She rushed to the last place he’d been and began digging with her hands. Cold and wet invaded the warmth of her gloves, leaving her hands freezing. She didn’t care. Nor did she care Winnie and she were trapped. She had to find Colt.

  Please, Lord, let me find him. Please.

  Over and over those words zoomed through her mind.

  But all she uncovered was more snow.

  * * *

  Stunned, with limited oxygen, Colt tried to unfurl his body so he could use his hands to dig his way out before he lost consciousness. But the snow encased him in a cold coffin. He had a small pocket of air, but it wouldn’t last long. He finally dislodged his arm from beneath him and reached it toward the direction of the cave, but he could move it only a few inches.

  Lord, help me. Winnie and Ellie are in danger.

  “I’m in here,” he called out, hoping that Ellie was free on the other side.

  “Colt!”

  The sound of Ellie’s voice gave him hope she could dig him out before he ran out of oxygen. “I’m here.”

  “I can hear you, Colt. Hang on.”

  He focused on those words and tried to calm his rapid heartbeat, to even his breathing in order to preserve his air. A peace settled around him as if God enclosed him in an embrace.

  * * *

  “Ellie, what happened?” Winnie called out. “It sounded like an avalanche.”

  “It was. I’m assessing our situation.” Ellie kept digging near the area where she’d heard Colt and prayed he wasn’t buried too deeply.

  If he was almost to the entrance of the cave, he would have been sheltered from the worst of the avalanche. Concerned for Colt, she hadn’t thought about their situation till now. They were trapped in the cave. It would be days before a search party was sent out, and then would the rescuers even realize they were trapped in the cavern? And if they did, would it be in time? She had a couple of water bottles and a little food, but what worried her the most was the cold. A chill infused every crevice of the cave.

  Although tired from shoveling the snow with her hands, she didn’t dare take a break. “Colt, are you there?”

  “Yes,” his faint response came back and a surge of adrenaline pumped energy through her body.

  Her hand broke through the snow and touched him, and relief trembled down her length. She doubled her attack as though sand was running out of an hourglass and she only had seconds left to free him. Soon his arm was revealed. He wiggled it to let her know he was okay. She kept going, uncovering more of him until he could assist her.

  When he escaped the mound of snow, Ellie helped him to stand, then engulfed him in her arms. “Are you all right? Hurt anywhere?”

  “I feel like an elephant—no, several—sat on me, but other than that, I’m in one piece.”

  She leaned back to look into his dear face, one she had thought she would never see again. “I heard a gunshot then the rumble of the avalanche. What happened?”

  “Our assailant found us and shot at me when I came out of the cave. That must have triggered the avalanche. I dove back into the cave. He might not have been so fortunate.”

  “Then he could be buried under tons of snow?”

  “It’ll depend on where he was and how fast he reacted, but it’s definitely a possibility.”

  “Come on. Winnie is worried.” Ellie grasped his gloved hand in hers and relished the connection. She’d almost lost him. That thought forced her to acknowledge her growing feelings toward Colt. There was no time to dwell on them now, but she would have to in the future. Every day she was with him, the stronger those feelings grew.

  Winnie’s face lit up when she saw Colt. “You’re alive.”

  “Yes, thanks to Ellie.” He slanted a look at her before stooping by Winnie. “Are you doing okay?”

  “Now I am. What happened?”

  As Colt told his grandmother, her face hardened more and more into a scowl.

  “I hope he’s trapped in the avalanche,” Winnie blurted out at the end. “Evil begets evil.”

  One of Colt’s eyebrows lifted. “No forgiveness for the man?”

  Winnie pursed her mouth. “I’m working on it, but his actions are making it very hard. It’s one thing to go after me, but he was trying to kill you. He needs to be stopped, and if the avalanche did it, so be it.”

  Ellie sat, her legs trembling from exhaustion. “We need to come up with a plan to get out of here. Colt, you said there’s only one way into this cave. You’ve explored this place completely?”

  “There’s another way in that is blocked on the other side. This system goes through the mountain we are on.”

  “What do you mean by blocked?”

  “Years ago there was a rockslide. There’s an opening, but it isn’t big. I’m not sure I can fit through it. For all I know the rocks may have shifted and closed it completely off.”

  “Or opened it up some more. Would the assailant know about the back way into this cave?” Ellie slid her glance to Winnie, who pulled the blanket around herself, her lips quivering.

  “Unless you’re really familiar with the area, you wouldn’t know about it. Like I said, this is Winfield property.”

  “Let’s hope he isn’t because I don’t think we can wait around to see if anyone finds us and digs us out.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Winnie, if Colt and I help you, do you think you can make it through the cave to the other side?”

  She lifted her chin. “Don’t you two worry about me.
I’ll do what I have to. If I can’t make it, you can leave me and come back to get me after you find a way out.”

  “We can’t leave you alone.” Colt wrapped his arms around his grandmother.

  “I’m not afraid. The Lord will be with me.”

  “It may not be an issue if I can carry you.”

  Ellie gathered up all the backpacks and supplies and led the way Colt told her to go while he carried his grandmother in his arms. Dripping water and their breathing were the only sounds in the cavern. The chill burrowed into Ellie’s bones the deeper they went into the heart of the mountain.

  “How long ago were you last here?” Ellie asked as the passage became narrower and shorter.

  “At least ten years ago.”

  Ellie glanced back at Colt. Winnie’s head was cushioned against his shoulder, her eyes closed. “Was there any crawling involved?”

  He nodded. “Come to think of it, the cave gets tight in one area.”

  When Ellie reached a fork in the cave system, she stopped. “Which way?”

  Colt shut his eyes, his forehead wrinkled. “I think to the right. This probably isn’t the time to tell you I’m lousy with telling you the difference in right or left.”

  “There’s no good time to tell me that,” she said. “I could go a ways and see what I find.”

  “No, we’ll stay together. If it’s the way, you’d have to track back.” Colt shifted Winnie some in his embrace and winced.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I hurt my arm when the whole mountain came down on me.”

  “Just your arm? Let’s take a rest, eat something and drink some water.”

  “We should keep going.”

  “Our bodies need the rest, food and water.” Ellie plopped the backpacks down on the stone floor and helped Colt lower his grandmother onto a blanket.

  “You two don’t have to stop for me,” Winnie murmured, pain etched into her features.

  “We’re stopping for all of us.” Ellie delved into her backpack and found the granola bars and a bottle of water. “It may be freezing, but we still have to keep ourselves hydrated.”

  “Just a short break.” Colt removed his gloves and rubbed his left arm.

  Shivering, Winnie took the first sip of water then passed it to Ellie. When she gave it to Colt, the touch of his cold fingers against hers fastened her attention on him. In the dim lighting his light blue eyes looked dark. Shadows played across his strong jaw. But the sear of his gaze warmed her as though she sat in front of a flaming blaze.

  “I wonder if the cabin caught fire.” Colt bit into his granola bar.

  “If it did, maybe someone will see the smoke and investigate. They might be concerned about a forest fire.” Winnie began unlacing the shoe she had put back on when they’d started the journey through the cave.

  “Maybe, but we’re isolated up here and the conditions down the mountain might be worse than up here.” He popped the last bite into his mouth.

  Winnie took off her boot to reveal a swollen ankle, worse than before. “I can’t wear this anymore. It’s killing my foot. Oh, dear, that was a poor choice of words.”

  “But true. I’ve had a sprained ankle, and it does hurt to wear close-fitting shoes.” Ellie unwound her scarf and wrapped it around Winnie’s foot.

  “I can’t take your scarf. You need it.”

  “Nonsense, you need it more than me. One layer of socks isn’t warm enough. I find feet, head and hands get cold faster than other parts of your body. If you keep them covered it helps you feel warmer.”

  Winnie smiled, but the gesture didn’t stay on her face more than a second. “I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

  “Then keep them closed. I’m carrying you, anyway.” Colt rose. “Ready.”

  “Are you sure?” Ellie mouthed the question to Colt, touching his hurt arm.

  He nodded.

  “If the cabin is gone, I won’t get to see what you brought in the sack for me and Ellie.” Winnie snuggled close to Colt’s body.

  “What if it isn’t burned down?”

  Ellie replied, “I think you should tell us, anyway. Don’t you, Winnie?”

  “Yes.”

  He exaggerated a sigh, but the corners of his mouth quirked up, his left dimple appearing in his cheek. “Doug carved a German shepherd like Lady for me to give to you, Winnie, and I found my mom’s locket in my belongings in the closet when I put my speargun back.” His gaze fastened onto Ellie. “I hope you’ll accept it.”

  Her throat closed, emotions she couldn’t express rushing to the surface. “I shouldn’t. It’s your mother’s.”

  “She’d want you to have it. You’ve gone above and beyond your duties as a bodyguard.”

  “I totally agree, Colt,” Winnie said. “I hope you’ll accept it, Ellie, if it didn’t burn.”

  “I’d be honored,” she murmured.

  Colt cleared his throat. “We’d better get going.”

  As Ellie continued their trek, the ceiling dropped more until Colt had to bend over while carrying his grandmother through the passage. When Ellie peered at the pair, she noticed Colt’s back kept scraping the roof of the cave. Strain marked his features as he struggled to stay on his feet with Winnie in his arms. Ellie rounded a corner in the passageway and came to a stop.

  “Does this look familiar, because if it doesn’t maybe we should try the other path?” Ellie waved her hand ahead of them at a tunnel about four feet wide and three feet tall.

  Colt paused behind her and put his grandmother on the floor. “Yes. I’d forgotten I had to crawl part of the way toward the end. I’ve been in a lot of caves through the years. They kind of all run together.”

  “Let me wait here while you two check it out,” Winnie said. “I’ll be fine. I can catch a catnap. If it turns out to be a way out, you can come back for me. If it doesn’t, then we don’t have to try and get me through there.”

  “I don’t want to leave—”

  “Ellie, we’re trapped in a cave with a mound of snow standing between us and the person after me. I think I’ll be perfectly safe here by myself.”

  “I’ll go alone, and if it’s the way out, I’ll come back and get both of you.” Colt moved toward the narrow passageway. “Rest, Winnie. It’s not far from here so I shouldn’t be gone long.”

  Ellie helped make Winnie more comfortable. Since this ordeal had started, she had appeared to age a couple of years. Ellie was concerned about her. Winnie had been working so hard the past year on the Endless Youth products and then to have to run for her life... It might be too much for even a tough lady like her.

  Although her eyes were closed, Winnie huddled in the blanket up against Ellie and said, “Since this began I’ve been thanking God for sending you to me. Now I’m thanking you for staying for Christmas. I doubt it’s your idea of how to celebrate Christmas, but I’m mighty grateful you’re here, and if I’m not mistaken, so is my grandson.”

  “Here we are trapped in a cave and you’re matchmaking.”

  “You can’t blame a grandmother for trying. I’ve got a captive audience,” Winnie said with a chuckle, some of her fight surfacing.

  “I like Colt.” A lot.

  “What I’ve seen makes me think it’s more than just like. Or is that wishful thinking on my part?”

  Ellie opened her mouth to say, “Yes,” but the word wouldn’t come out because it wasn’t the truth. “No, there is more, but Winnie, I just don’t see how...” She didn’t know how to explain her mixed-up feelings even to herself, let alone someone else.

  “I know you both have separate lives, but even when two people live in the same town and their lives mesh together, a relationship can be hard. Colt needs someone like you in his life.”

  “You’re right about the hurdles betw
een us.”

  “Thomas and I had hurdles, too, but we overcame them. He’d just divorced his wife a couple of months before we started dating, but we’d known each other and worked together for several years. People took our openly dating as a sign we’d been having an affair while he was married, especially his ex-wife. She made our lives unbearable for a while, then thankfully she decided to move away and we began to have a normal relationship. Thomas was a wonderful stepfather to my son. In fact, he adopted him when we got married.”

  Marrying. Having a relationship. Where does that fit in my life? She’d spent her years just trying to survive and have a life with meaning. Her work and faith had given her that. But if she gave in to her feelings concerning Colt, everything would change. So much of her life had been one change after another and she had needed some stability, which her vision for her life had given her—until now.

  * * *

  The passageway narrowed even more. Colt flattened himself and pulled his body through the stone-cold corridor. Although pain stabbed his left bicep, he kept going because a freezing wind whipped by him, indicating there was a way out of the cave up ahead. Reaching forward to grasp something to help him slither through the tunnel, he clutched air. Nothing. He focused the small flashlight on the spot in front of him and saw a drop-off.

  Dragging himself to the edge of the opening of the passageway, he stared down at a black hole where the floor of the cavern should be. Across from him, not thirty feet away, light streamed into the darkness. He swung his flashlight toward the area and saw the rocks he remembered piled up where the second cave entrance used to be.

  So close with a thirty-foot gap between him and freedom.

  * * *

  “What’s keeping Colt? He should have been back by now.” Winnie’s teeth chattered.

  Ellie rubbed her gloved hands up and down Winnie’s arms. “It might have been farther than he thought. It hasn’t been that long.” She infused an upbeat tone into her voice because she knew the cold was getting to Winnie. “Tell me some more about your marriage to Thomas. It sounds like you two were very happy.”