Wilderness Target

by Sharon Dunn

  As they made their way toward the river, where the rest of the group waited, fear shook Clarissa from the inside. What if Don and the other thug had decided to search for her using a helicopter?

  She couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, she’d grab her pack and leave.

  * * *

  Ezra waited until Clarissa and Jan joined the group before he started talking. He braced himself for the anxious glances that passed between everyone. It happened every time he set up this lesson.

  The rushing river water created background noise as he talked. The sky remained overcast and gray. He’d brought a rain poncho that fit in his pocket, in case the storm turned into something substantial. He wondered if anyone else had taken that precaution. If not, it would be a good lesson in planning ahead. The river was about twenty feet across, and over an average person’s head in some spots.

  Ezra cut a willow branch and started to sharpen the end with his knife while everyone watched him. “There are tons of different ways to catch fish other than using the overpriced fishing pole you can buy at a tourist trap sports shop.”

  The group laughed.

  “Today, I will teach you two methods.” He held up the finished willow stick. “You can spear the fish. Make sure you tie some cording around this to retrieve it.”

  “Where are we supposed to get the cording?” Bruce crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Use a shoelace, whatever is available.” Ezra then demonstrated how they could catch fish by luring them into a net with bait. “Okay, choose the method that you think you can be the most successful at. Look for the calm eddies where the fish are likely to congregate. We’ll regroup back at the camp in two hours. Be aware of your surroundings, take note of the landmarks and don’t wander too far from this point.”

  Bruce grabbed a willow branch from the bank and disappeared around the bend. Leonard and Ken walked away, their heads bent close together as they pointed at a smooth spot in the river.

  Jan pulled Clarissa along the bank. They crossed the river on a fallen log and disappeared into a cluster of trees. He could hear the women laughing and talking. Their voices faded as they made their way up the rocky shore. Ezra was tempted to follow them, but decided against it. Though he continued to look for a chance to talk to Clarissa, he had other clients to think about. He made his way in the opposite direction, upriver, to check on Bruce, who seemed insistent on doing everything alone. Ezra had to find a way to draw him back into the group.

  He hiked a quarter mile with no sign of Bruce. The sky had turned a deeper shade of gray, and a few drops of rain landed on his shoulders. Shouts from downriver caused him to turn and run. He recognized Jan’s screams, and he quickened his pace. The cries were coming from the other side, so he hurried over the log and strode toward them.

  The screaming had stopped by the time he found Jan and Leonard huddled by the shoreline. Ken was dripping wet.

  “Guess who fell in?” Ken offered Ezra a wry smile.

  “Jan, take him up to the campsite. The fire should still be going. Get him dried off and warmed up. Where’s Clarissa?”

  Jan pointed farther downriver. “She wandered off that way. Said she needed quiet to catch the fish.”

  “Leonard, can you head upstream to find Bruce? We’ll meet back at camp.” Ezra stared down at the angled willow stick that held the one small fish Leonard had caught, then tilted his head, looking at the ominous dark clouds. “This storm is moving in fast. We might have to postpone the fishing lesson.” Ezra pulled his rain poncho out of its tiny package and slipped it over his head.

  Leonard handed the fish to Jan. “You can take this with you.”

  Ezra hurried down the river in search of Clarissa. Suspicion plagued his thoughts as he rounded bend after bend and didn’t find her. Maybe she was meeting up with her “friends” again.

  Lightning flashed in the sky, and the sprinkle of rain became a downpour. He continued along the bank, searching for Clarissa. His mission had changed from wanting to talk to her to knowing that he needed to get her back to the camp so the group could get prepared to deal with the storm, which was getting worse by the minute. They were going to have an impromptu lesson in staying warm and dry in a bad storm.

  * * *

  Clarissa looked around at the trees, trying to get her bearings. Rain soaked through her thin jacket. Once she’d broken away from Jan, her plan had been to travel far enough downriver to avoid notice, and then head back to the camp to retrieve her backpack. The thick brush she had to push through had gotten her turned around, muddling her sense of direction. She worked her way back to the river to try and figure out which way to go.

  The water has risen and was rushing faster than ever. Chunks of debris floated by. Would she even be able to get back across on the log? As she stepped closer to the edge, a chunk of the muddy bank broke off. Clarissa slipped and her foot dipped into the river. Strong hands grabbed her and jerked her up. Ezra’s arms enveloped her as he pulled her away from the bank. “Did your foot get wet?”

  She nodded. Her hand rested against his chest as she looked into his deep brown eyes. Now how was she going to get away?

  Lightning splintered the sky followed by the boom of thunder.

  “That’s pretty close. Let’s get away from the water.” He scanned the area around them. “If memory serves, there’s a cattle shelter around here somewhere. My brothers and I used to play in it when we were kids.”

  Again lightning split the sky. This time it struck across the river, slicing through a tree and tossing it into the swirling water.

  Clarissa pulled away from him. “Shouldn’t we head back to camp?”

  “Too far. We need to find someplace else to wait the storm out.” He started running before he’d finished his sentence.

  Lightning struck directly behind them. The nearness of the blast rattled her nerves. She slipped her hand into Ezra’s. He pulled her through the tangle of trees toward the shelter. The three-sided shed was in disrepair and leaned to one side, but at least it was a roof over their heads.

  She slipped in beside him. “What is this place?”

  “It’s a shelter for cows to go into when the weather is bad. A lot of the land around here is government property that is leased out to ranchers. Must not be any cows running on it right now or they’d be in here with us.”

  Rain drizzled in from holes in the roof. Clarissa tilted her head and a drop fell on her face.

  “Are you still getting wet?” He chuckled and pulled his poncho up, lifted the edge and stretched out his arm. “It’s a little dryer under here.”

  She scooted under the shelter of the rain poncho, but still maintained some distance from him, uncomfortable with being so close.

  “I can’t hold my arm straight forever,” he said.

  She glanced at him and then edged nearer, close enough to feel his body heat. He adjusted the poncho so it covered them both. She pulled her knees up to her chest. Her wet foot felt like a block of ice. The downpour was so heavy that it looked like gray sheets of rain rather than drops. The opportunity to get away from the group was lost for now.

  “I hope the others are okay,” she said.

  “Me, too. If they made it back to camp, they’ll be able to keep warm and dry.”

  “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get back across the river.” She couldn’t hide the worry she felt.

  “There’s always a way, Clarissa,” Ezra said.

  She forced herself to smile. “That’s right, we’ll build a rope bridge with our shoelaces.”

  He laughed at her joke. “You don’t need to worry. As soon as the rain lets up, we’ll find a way across. Are you a little warmer?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but my foot is still frozen.”

  “Take your shoe off, and I’ll
see if I can warm it up,” he said.

  She slid out of her hiking book and pulled the wet sock off. He gathered her foot into his hands. The warmth of his touch enveloped her.

  “Better?” he asked after a while.

  She nodded. The heat transmitted from his hands made her dizzy.

  He let go of her foot. “Slip it into the boot. Don’t put the sock back on. FYI, wool socks are better. They pull the moisture away from your skin.”

  After she put her boot back on, she sat listening to the rain, knowing that sooner or later Ezra was going to come around to asking her why she had left the tent two nights ago. She was trapped here with him until the rain stopped. It was no longer a question she could avoid. But how could she answer without admitting that she’d put him and the rest of the group in danger?

  * * *

  Ezra could feel her shivering next to him. He knew, though, that offering to wrap his arm around her for warmth would only send her to the other side of the shelter. The tension that filled the tiny space was almost palpable. She must sense that he wanted to ask her for an explanation of the shenanigans two nights ago. He dived in with both feet. “So who were those guys the other night?”

  She hung her head. “They’re after me. I don’t know why, exactly. I think it has something to do with my former job in California.”

  Not the answer he had expected. “What did you do in California?” He braced himself for the answer and prayed that she would come clean with him.

  She let out a heavy breath and shook her head. “I was the assistant to a man who sold real estate and managed property. There must be something—something I saw, or overheard or something he thinks I know—that could get him in trouble. I don’t know what it is, but it must be serious, since when I left California, he sent someone after me. The man at the airport is named Don. He works for my former boss, and he tried to abduct me as soon as I got off my flight. Then later that night, he tried to kill me. I joined the class to get away from him, but he followed me here. I overheard him in the woods two nights ago, talking with his partner. They were planning to snatch me from my tent. I let them spot me so I could lead them away from the camp and then hid out for most of the rest of the night.”

  In that moment, Ezra was struck by her vulnerability. She seemed to be telling the truth, which meant she hadn’t been lying to him when she said she wasn’t a criminal. Though that seemed to be his default position to explain her actions. Guilt washed over him.

  “I didn’t think they would find me out here.” Her voice faltered. “I don’t know if they’ll be back or not. I was going to try to get away, so the others wouldn’t be hurt. I think they just want me, but I don’t know the extent to which they would go.”

  “Clarissa, why didn’t you tell me in the first place?” Ezra leaned a little closer so he could see her face in the dim light. She stiffened but didn’t pull away.

  Her eyes searched his. “It’s my mess. I’m the one who needs to deal with it.”

  “You don’t have to do everything on your own. What makes you think I wouldn’t have understood?”

  She rested her forehead against her hand. “I know I made it worse by thinking I had to fix it on my own. I see that now, and I worry that those guys might hurt someone to get to me.”

  Ezra cleared his throat. “There is the rest of the group to think about.” He wasn’t sure how to solve this problem. His responsibility wasn’t only to her.

  Outside, the rain continued to fall, creating puddles around the wood structure. She was still shivering.

  “If you pull some of this loose straw around you, it’ll warm you up a little.”

  She gathered the straw around her lower body.

  “Here, hold this.” He transferred the poncho to her and bunched up the remaining straw around her. “Take your wet jacket off.” Then he removed his flannel shirt, which was still dry, and draped it over her shoulders. All he had on now was his long-sleeved T-shirt.

  Gratitude shone in her eyes as she slipped out of the wet jacket and into the flannel shirt. “Aren’t you going to get cold?”

  “I’ll be all right.” He pulled the poncho over his shoulders. “Long as I keep dry.”

  The rain fell relentlessly, and the puddles outside grew larger and deeper. He spoke some about growing up with his four brothers and his time as a marine. Clarissa offered only yes and no answers to his questions about her life.

  Gradually, though, she eased closer to him, seeming to trust him more, until their shoulders were touching, and he could feel her body heat through his thin cotton shirt.

  She spoke up. “I don’t know if those men will come back for me or not.”

  He was glad she trusted him enough to share her concerns.

  “Maybe once this storm lets up and we are all back together, the group can be told the situation and then decide whether they want to continue or head back down the mountain.”

  “Really? We’re going to involve everyone?”

  “Those people care about you already. Jan treats you like you’re her long-lost daughter.”

  Clarissa turned to face forward, obviously thinking deeply about what he had said.

  “All of this is because of me. It’s me they’re after. I’m the one who should head back down the mountain.” Despite the resolve in the words, he could hear that her voice was filled with fear.

  “Clarissa, we make these decisions as a team.”

  “Maybe you could point me toward that little town you said was on the other side of the mountain. I think I would be safe there.”

  “It would be irresponsible of me to send you off alone. What kind of a man do you think I am?”

  “It’s just that all these people paid for a wilderness adventure, and my problems shouldn’t get in the way of that. I don’t know if those men will even come back.” Her eyes glazed with tears and he was struck by the guilt that he saw there.

  His fingers grazed her cheek, and he spoke more tenderly. “We’ll figure this out together as a group.”

  The drone of the rainfall was interrupted by a cry. Both of them turned to face outward.

  She gripped his upper arm. “Was that human?”

  He leaned out a little more, listening and studying the landscape. They were surrounded by trees except for a path that led back to the river. Another cry rose up. This one was more distinct, but still far away.

  “That might be one of our group. I have to go check it out.”

  She moved to follow him.

  “You stay here.”

  “But it’s raining buckets out there. You’ll get wet.” She moved to take off the shirt.

  “Keep it. I’ll take the poncho.” He slipped into it and put up the hood while he crouched beneath the roof of the shelter.

  Rain gushed over him as he stepped out into the wind. He looked back to see Clarissa huddled with her legs drawn up to her chest and her head down. She wouldn’t stay dry for long with that leaky roof. He found some fallen tree branches and placed them on the roof, then bent over and looked in at her. “That should help keep you dry.”

  She hugged her knees with her arms. “Thank you.”

  “Promise me you’ll stay here until I get back. This is the safest place for you until this storm lets up.”

  He heard another cry. This time he could discern the word help. The sound was coming from upriver. “Promise me, Clarissa.”

  She looked up at him and nodded. That look in her eyes was like that of an animal caught in a trap, filled with desperation.

  “I’ll come back for you. Just stay here.”

  With only a backward glance, Ezra plodded toward the river. The water had risen and was rushing even faster. He made his way along the bank toward where he’d heard the call for help.

  He prayed that he’d m
ake it in time to rescue whoever was crying out, and that the others were safe and dry on high ground. More than anything he prayed that Clarissa would stay put until he could come back for her, and wouldn’t think she had to go off on her own.

  SEVEN

  Clarissa slipped back into a corner of the shelter where it didn’t seem to be leaking as much. She gathered the straw around her. Her shivering had subsided thanks to Ezra’s warm flannel shirt. The heat from his body had seeped through her skin when she’d put it on. His kindness had caught her off guard.

  He’d been angry at her deception, and rightly so. But the care he took with her, making sure she was safe and dry, confused her. Sending her packing down the mountain alone after what she had done would have made more sense to her. She had hurt his business and could have jeopardized the safety of the others in the group.

  Max Fitzgerald was not Ezra Jefferson’s problem. And yet he was willing to take it on. What if Max’s thugs did come back? The memory of Jan helping her, of laughing and joking with her, caused guilt to wash over Clarissa again. She couldn’t risk harm to these good people.

  After ten minutes, the rain finally showed signs of letting up. She dived out into it, determined to find a way across the river and over the mountain. The water had risen several inches and was rushing fast. She remembered the log where she and Jan had crossed in the first place and ran in that direction, seeking the cover of the trees as much as possible. When she came to the log, she found it completely submerged. Clarissa stood with the wind and rain whipping around her, and tried to fight off a feeling of despair. There had to be another way across.

  She retreated deeper into the trees to escape the worst of the storm while still following the river. She heard what she thought was Ezra’s voice, though it blended with the wind. Maybe it was only her hopeful heart. She didn’t know what to do with the kind of consideration he had shown her. Part of her did not want to leave him or the group even though she knew she had to.

  She walked farther upriver, bent over to resist the worst of the storm. When she poked her head through the trees to assess crossing the rapidly moving water, she saw a flash of color ahead of her: Ezra’s rain poncho hanging on a tree. Fearing the worst, she ran toward it.