by V. A. Dold
Alone again, Carol poured herself another cup of tea, stared out her front window and pondered Krystal’s advice. She tried to remember if Joe had made any attempts to tell her, but nothing came to mind.
She sat in her cabin for what seemed like hours. Her mind spun through memory after memory, recalling every minute she’d spent with Joe. She felt like she was missing something crucial. She rubbed the back of her neck and stretched her back. Maybe if she got some fresh air she would feel better.
*****
It had been days since Joe tried to confess to Carol. He was heartsick, and it was making him surly. He knew he was acting like a bear woken in the middle of winter but couldn’t seem to help himself. He had finally sent the men off to do another job so he could wallow in his misery alone.
Carol was avoiding him. He’d knocked on her door and called her phone numerous times. He was so desperate he’d even talked to Kensie and asked for her help. He couldn’t make this right if she refused to talk to him. He stashed his tools in the barn and headed home for a shower. Maybe if he was clean with a clear head he could come up with a plan that would actually work.
He was so lost in thought he stood under the spray until the water went cold.
Surprise, surprise, still no miraculous inspiration. He ached for Carol with a fierceness unlike anything he had ever known. He missed her sense of humor, warm heart, and sweet smile. He’d only known her for a short time, but somehow she’d become his best friend and the most important person in his world.
Joe walked aimlessly through his house. He was on his ninth lap around when he came to an abrupt halt and slammed his hands on the kitchen counter. He was in love with Carol Duffy, and by God, he was going to make her listen to what he had to say. Now he just needed to locate her.
*****
Living like a hermit was exhausting. Carol could only avoid speaking to Joe for so long. So far, she’d managed to get to and from work without running into him. And knowing he would lay in wait in the dining hall, she’d been eating dinner for one in her cabin.
She was torn. On one hand, she was head over heels in love with Joe. On the other, she struggled with her ability to trust him. She threw her hands up in the air. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew she had to figure it out.
Today was the day she would make a decision. Should she give him another chance? She had to admit, Kensie had some very good arguments in his favor. What she needed was some fresh air to clear her head so she could honestly review both sides of the situation. A ride to the river was just the ticket.
She changed her clothes, packed a lunch, and headed to the barn. Kensie mentioned that Joe would be at a cattle auction today so she didn’t have to worry about running into him. A few minutes later, she had Oreo saddled and was on her way. That’s when she remembered the rules of riding she’d learned as a child. Always let someone know where you’re going in case of emergency. She pulled her phone from her pocket and called Kensie. Voice mail. Oh well, a message should be enough. She tucked the phone away and raised her face to the sky. The sun might be hiding, but the day was warm and the wind was light. All in all, the weather could be worse.
Halfway to the river, she sighed and hung her head. It was time to be honest with herself, she was miserable. Her plan was failing epically. During the day, she was depressed and sullen, and when she slept, she had erotic dreams of making love with him, which only made her waking hours harder. It occurred to her, the only thing she was accomplishing was punishing herself.
The gentle sway of Oreo’s gate and the rhythmic plodding of her hoofs lulled her into a daydream. Her mind wandered back to Joe. He’d been so good to her. She smiled to herself as she visualized her ecstatic expression when they accomplished the final step of her homework. Before the shit hit the fan, they had graduated to pulling her from Oreo’s back. They had both been thrilled when she was able to get through it without a panic attack.
Before she knew it, Oreo drew her from the daydream. She hadn’t realized they had reached the river until Oreo came to a halt and pulled on the reins to nibble on the tender blades of grass.
Carol patted the horse’s neck and slid from the saddle. “Great minds think alike, girlfriend.” She’d brought a rope with her from the barn for the sole purpose of tying her out to graze. She slipped the bridle off and tied the rope to Oreo’s halter. With her horse happily chewing her lunch, Carol unpacked her own from the saddlebag.
She laid out a blanket under a tree and leaned back against the trunk to watch the river flow by. Within minutes, she knew she’d made a good decision to take a ride today. The gurgle of the water running over rocks and the breeze on her face brought peace to her soul.
She closed her eyes and began to take stock of not only her relationship with Joe, but Terry as well. She compared the two situations point by point. Where Terry was cold and hurtful, Joe had been warm and supportive. Where Terry had outright lied to her, Joe had simply held off telling her about the children. And the biggest difference, where Terry had cheated on her, Joe had been faithful.
All in all, Joe had been pretty darn good to her. She had to admit, Kensie was right. Joe must have his reasons for keeping the kids a secret. Suddenly she felt like a total bitch for the way she behaved. When she got back, she would find Joe and give him the chance to explain himself. If he had a good reason for what he’d done, she would give him another chance.
With her mind made up, she pulled a ham sandwich and apple from her lunch bag. Then she popped the top on a can of soda and settled in for a relaxing meal. She took a bite from the second half of her sandwich and paused mid-chew. Out of nowhere, the wind turned the gently swaying tree limbs hanging around her into dangerous whips lashing at her skin.
She stood to gather her things and head for home. She tucked what was left of her lunch into the saddlebag and untied Oreo to put her bridle on. As she coiled the rope, she heard the strangest noise. It sounded like a continuous rumble from somewhere upriver. What the heck was that?
*****
Kensie blasted through the barn doors with Lucas close on her heels. “Joe! Joe, where are you?”
“I’m right here. What’s got you in a lather?” he asked as he stuck his head over a stall door.
“Carol. She rode out to the river and hasn’t come back.”
“Why would that have you all worked up?”
“Haven’t you been listening to the weather reports? We’re about to get hit by a storm. The storm system dumped over eight inches of water upriver a couple hours ago. I got a call from one of the ranchers. That dam about ten miles upstream couldn’t withstand the pressure and it failed. Carol’s from Minnesota, she’s never dealt with our weather and has no idea the dam broke. She won’t know that she needs to get away from the river.”
“Shit! I’ll take Blu and go after her.”
“We’re coming too,” Lucas threw over his shoulder as he saddled Elvis.
Kensie headed for Marigold’s stall and started tacking her horse. “I tried to call her phone, but it goes directly to voice mail.”
“So, she could be headed home?” Joe called under Blu’s belly as he grabbed the cinch.
“Maybe. I have no way of knowing,” Kensie called back.
Lucas led Elvis from his stall. “Let’s get out there as fast as possible. Maybe we’ll get lucky and meet her along the way.”
Joe led Blu out of his stall and glanced at Kensie. “Do you have anyone keeping an eye out for her here? She might wander off the main trail and come back a different way.”
Kensie followed him with Marigold in tow. “Yeah, Krystal is staying behind.”
They mounted up and took off at breakneck speed for the river.
The closer they got to their destination the harder the rain fell. Joe prayed he would see the silhouette of Carol riding toward him. Not only did his prayer go unanswered, Carol’s riderless mount trotted toward them. Was she hurt? God help him, was she alive?
He watched Lu
cas gather Oreo’s reins. “We’ll need her when we find Carol.”
Joe nodded and urged Blu to pick up the pace. Now that they knew she was on foot or worse, in the water, they needed to get there fast.
About eight feet from the river’s edge, Old Blu shifted his weight to his hind legs and skidded to a halt. The horse stood, chest heaving, ears flicking toward his rider on alert for his next command as Joe stood in the stirrups and scanned the churning waters of the Colorado River. He shielded his eyes from the driving rain searching for a sign. The scene that met his eyes was like something out of a natural disaster movie or one of his nightmares.
Chapter 8
“Do you see anything?” Lucas called from a few feet away.
“I see a blanket hung up in the flood waters,” Kensie hollered and pointed about seven feet down river. “It’s over there, snagged on a tree branch.”
Joe dismounted and commanded Blu to follow him. He made his way along the perilously slippery bank of the river that threatened to crumble from under his feet at any moment. “Carol!” He listened hard and prayed for a response that never came.
He stopped and stared at the blanket Kensie had spotted. The torn sodden fabric strained against the rush of water a good five or six feet from shore. Please, God. Don't let her be in the water.
“Carol!” he yelled again. He strained to hear her precious voice. All he heard was rushing water and pouring rain.
He looked downriver and gasped. Jagged outcroppings of rock held the raging waters from further widening the already swollen river. Razor sharp stones that were normally harmless and sat well away from the river's edge were now deadly riverbanks.
The trees, shrubs, and ground cover that made up the natural edge of the river were being torn from the earth, filling the roiling rampage with lethal debris. This was Mother Nature in all her fury.
Terror, like he'd never known before, shook his body. Holding onto hope even though the odds were against Carol being found alive, he turned to see where Lucas and Kensie were searching.
Lucas cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted. “Joe! We need to split up. You should continue to go down river. Kensie and I will expand the search away from the water’s edge. Carol may have managed to get free of the water. We might find her wandering lost and unsure which way to go. If you find her, call me. We’ll do the same.”
Joe waved his acknowledgment and turned to continue his search. His heart hammered at the thought of what lay down river. Her odds looked bad from where he stood, and they only got worse a mile down. There was a waterfall with huge jagged rocks in the pool below. The ranch hands knew to avoid the pool as a swimming hole. Carol may not be given a choice. The rushing current could be pounding her broken body on the rocks at that very moment.
*****
If Carol had known what the roaring was, she would have run for her life. Instead, she had walked to the riverbank, leaned over to get a better look, and a wave of water came out of nowhere.
Arms flailing like a windmill she’d gone down hard. With the wind knocked from her lungs, she’d sputtered and gasped for a breath of air while she got her bearings.
The weight of her wet clothes made it impossible to move efficiently through the water, and she was in danger of being dragged under. Before she knew what was happening, she was fighting for her life. Painfully and yet, thankfully, a log had crashed into her side. She had been able to wrap and arm around it and use it as a float.
She’d been bashed into rocks and scratched by floating branches so many times she’d lost count.
“Oh, shit!”
A huge log was rushing toward her and she was helpless to avoid the collision. With what felt like the force of a battering ram it struck her shoulder and drove her under. When she surfaced, she was within reach of the riverbank. She struggled against the pull of the current and stretched as far as she could. In the end, she’d been able to grab a low hanging branch with one hand. That hadn’t been enough.
Before she could grab it with her other hand, another large chunk of debris crashed into her, knocked her several feet from shore, and spun her around. She was finally able to right herself and grab another floating chunk to stay above water. That gave her a few minutes to rest and assess her next move. She noticed a series of larger branches and small trees between her and the shore.
If she negotiated them like the frog that hopped through traffic in that old-school video game, she could move from limb to limb. She might be able to get close enough to grab another branch along the shore.
She was one, maybe two hops from the edge of the river when she saw the waterfall looming before her. There was no way she was going to make it before she went over. This was it. She was going to die.
*****
Lucas waited until Joe rounded the corner and was out of sight. “We know she hasn’t headed back on the trail we came, and she wouldn’t go up river so we have to face the fact that she was swept away in the water. I’ll shift and see if I can find a trace of her.”
As a human, he had a better than average sense of smell, but as a wolf, he would pick up the smallest trace of Carol’s scent. And they needed every advantage they could get. A moment later, a wolf stood where his human form had been. Normally he didn’t sport a collar, but he needed somewhere to carry his cell phone.
Why don’t you take the horses and range out about twenty feet from the water’s edge, I’ll stay as close to the river as I can, Lucas directed.
Got it, Kensie said and moved the horses further away.
Lucas stayed in a fairly straight line and searched the brush and grass for a trace of Carol exiting the water. Kensie searched in a more zigzagging pattern for a clue as to where she would have gone.
Kensie, I found a spot where she managed to get hold of a small branch but there’s no sign of her coming onto the bank. She must be further down river.
Did you sense if she was bleeding? Is she hurt?
I didn’t smell blood so let’s stay positive. You might as well join me along the river until we find where she was able to pull herself out.
Good idea.
They were about fifty feet from the waterfall when Lucas thought he heard something. Hold up, darlin’. He cocked his head and listened. There it was again, the gasp of a woman taking a breath. She’s alive and close by. I’ll shift back so we can pull her out when we locate her.
*****
Joe made his way along the edge as quickly as he could, which wasn’t fast enough for his peace of mind. He had to watch where he placed his feet as he searched for signs of Carol. He had to find her before she got too far down river. In his rush to get to her, he lost his footing. He felt as if he was falling in slow motion. His guardian angel must have been working overtime because he managed to grab a tree limb before he hit the water. Teetering on the edge as it dissolved beneath his boots, he pulled himself from death’s yawning jaws.
Bent over, with his hands on his knees, he took a second to catch his breath as adrenaline rushed through his veins. But Carol needed him, so instead of taking time to shake off the scare, he got moving again.
Hurry, her grip is failing! Jacob whispered in his mind.
“Oh, God. No! Please, Lord, keep her safe,” he prayed as he caught sight of the falls. There was no doubt about it. She’d gone over. The only question was, did she crash onto the rocks below, or were the angels with her? There was a small area to the far right of the falls clear of rocks, where the water was deep enough for a person to safely plunge into the pool below. She would have gone into the water on the right side, so he held onto that thought and a sliver of hope.
*****
Carol was utterly exhausted. She wasn’t sure how she would manage it, but she was determined to live long enough to tell Joe she loved him. Going over the falls had been the scariest thing she’s ever experienced. A heartbeat before she fell over the edge, she’d looked at the pool below and saw the jagged boulders. If she hadn’t already been terrified—
she would have been, well, terrified. There wasn’t another level of fear to go up to. She had already topped out.
She sucked in a deep breath and clamped her mouth shut. Then screamed in her mind as she fell to what she thought was certain death and plunged beneath the icy water at the bottom.
Once her head broke the surface again, she’d sucked in a breath and grabbed the closest thing she found to hang onto, which was a large, solid rock. Shivering, she took a minute to rest before looking for a way out of the large pond she’d landed in.
After a couple of minutes, she glanced around for an escape route. The current was extremely strong, and it would be difficult to swim to shore before she was swept to the far end of the pond. The last thing she wanted was to fall short of shore before she was pulled into the pond’s exit. At the opposite end from the falls, the water emptied and became a river again.
The saying, curiosity killed the cat, had never struck so close to home for her. She turned away from the splashing water falling only inches from her face and grabbed a breath of air without getting a mouthful of water. She’d swallowed enough dirty water for a lifetime.
Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer and gathered what little strength she had left. She needed to swim for shore sooner rather than later. Her legs and feet were going numb, and if she didn’t go for it now she wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making it.
*****
Joe squinted and wiped the raindrops from his eyes to see clearly. His heart lurched, and he leaned forward to get a better look. Was that a bit of yellow in the water? Had Carol been wearing yellow today? He hadn’t thought to ask anyone what she was wearing. He swore he saw the shape of a head next to one of the rocks.
