“So you’re leaving us after all,” he said.
I felt Flint watching us, but I reached out and hugged Dean tightly. Despite Flint’s jealousy, the cowboy had been a true friend to me. I wouldn’t forget that. Dean’s arms wrapped around me as he pulled me into his warm embrace.
“Take care and tell Coal I’ll miss him,” I said in muffled words into his shoulder.
Dean’s arms tightened. Scents of hay, horse and sweat surrounded me. “I will.” He paused yet he didn’t seem in a hurry to let me go. “I’m gonna miss ya, Lena.” His voice was gruff.
“I’ll miss you too.”
When I pulled back, I glanced self-consciously at Flint. He stood at the edge of the porch, watching us. An unreadable expression covered his face. I could feel his possessiveness in the energy that rolled off him, but he didn’t make a move to stop me and Dean. Love swelled in my chest. I knew Flint hated the closeness Dean and I shared, yet he’d never asked me to stop talking to Dean or stop seeing him. He put up with it because he knew I cared for the cowboy.
“You take care, ya hear?” Dean said. He cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“I will. You too.”
By the time we all piled in the Suburban and waved our last goodbyes, it was mid-morning. Everyone was quiet as Di drove down the driveway.
Our one security disappeared behind us like a dream upon waking. We drove ahead, not stopping, not looking back. I could only hope the hidden cabin in the Forbidden Hills held the answers we so desperately craved.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We drove from the ranch to a remote area in the National Forest and parked off an old logging road. From what Di and Flint had been able to piece together on the map, it was the closest area to the hidden cabin in the Forbidden Hills. At least, where we thought the cabin was.
That didn’t mean it was close. Flint guessed it was at least a twenty mile trek through the mountains, and from the topography on the map, the going wouldn’t be easy. I just hoped we’d find it.
When we stepped out of the Suburban, fresh pine scents and singing birds surrounded us. Melting snow dripped from the trees, the occasional drips sounding on the forest floor.
“Forecast is for warm weather all week,” Jasper said. “With any luck, this snow will be gone in a few days.”
“And then we’ll have mud to hike in.” Jacinda sighed. “How lovely.”
Mica double knotted her boots and slung her pack over her shoulders. Between the eight of us, we carried enough food for a week.
“Let’s get a move on,” Di said. “With any luck, we’ll get there by sundown.”
THE HIKE THROUGH the forest was pleasant for the first couple hours. I wasn’t used to carrying a heavy pack, but I didn’t mind it as I got caught up in the sounds and feel of the forest. Slushy snow crunched underfoot while our quiet breathing puffed around us amidst the singing birds and scampering chipmunks.
It was mid-afternoon when we entered the Forbidden Hills. I knew when it happened. That funny feeling again took hold, as if time stood still and everything felt upside down. I now understood why scientists traveled from around the world to study this area. In a way, it felt as though we’d stepped into another dimension.
“I wish I had a camera,” Mica said at one point in the afternoon. Flint walked ahead of her. Between the backpacks he carried on his back and chest, and the two huge suitcases he carried in each hand, it did look rather impressive.
“You really don’t get tired?” she asked him. He’d been walking like that all day, not once complaining.
Flint shrugged. The movement should have been awkward, considering what he carried, but he managed to make it look graceful and easy. “Not really.”
“Are we there yet?” Jacinda huffed. She stopped and braced a hand against a tree. Her chest rose with each breath. We’d been hiking for over two hours since we stopped for lunch yet I had a feeling we’d be lucky if we were halfway there.
Jet clapped her on the back. “Nope. Not even close.”
She glared at him which only got a laugh out of the twin.
If it weren’t for Flint and Amber, I’m not sure if we’d have made it to the cabin. Amber tracked the cabin’s scent, keeping us from getting lost in the crazy hills. While Flint carried the heavy bags as if they weighed nothing at all.
By the time Amber found the hidden home, the sun had mostly fallen, and I was more than ready for the hike to be over. My legs ached in a way that reminded me of my homeless days when I’d walked for miles and miles if I wasn’t able to get a ride. A sharp twinge plagued my side, and my shoulders felt stiff.
I grinned in relief when the trees thinned and the camouflaged cabin appeared. Amber stopped sniffing.
“Finally,” she said.
Jasper hugged her. “I knew you’d find it.”
Jacinda, however, collapsed against a rock and let out a loud sigh. “I . . . never . . . want . . . to do . . . that again,” she said in between breaths.
I bit back a smile but couldn’t stop my muffled laugh. Jet laughed too and then Jasper joined in. Before long, we were all laughing as packs fell from our shoulders and shoes flew off. Nobody seemed to care when muddy, slushy snow squished between our toes. In a way, it felt good and refreshing. It soothed my swollen feet.
“No lights are on,” Di commented after our laughter finally died down.
“Looks just like it did when we left it,” Jasper replied.
“Let’s get inside.” Di shrugged off her pack. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving.”
THE CABIN INDEED looked the same since we’d left. The cereal bowl still sat in the sink, only now the milk smelled curdled and bits of film stuck to the sides. Jacinda rinsed it out and cleaned it before putting it with the rest of the dishes.
Nobody said much as we ate a simple meal and got ready for bed. The long hike and tearful morning seemed to take its toll. I could barely keep my eyes open when we climbed the ladder for bed. The guys went to the room with the three beds while the five of us went to the larger bedroom. It wasn’t until all of us pulled back sheets and burrowed under the covers that I realized something.
“We all just climbed into a bed as if we knew exactly which one was ours,” I said.
I lay on the top bunk. Mica had the one beneath me. Across from us were Di and Jacinda. Amber was in the single.
“You’re right.” Di’s dark eyebrows drew together. “All the more reason to stay here until the owner returns. Maybe we’ve slept here before.”
I buried myself under the warm blankets while moonlight filtered through the curtain. Had this been my bed once? Had I lived here at one point? It was frustrating yet exhilarating. Once again, it was as if my body remembered something my mind could not. I knew this bedroom. I knew this cabin. Only for some reason, my mind couldn’t remember.
THE NEXT TWO days, nothing happened. We hung out at the cabin and jumped every time we heard the slightest sound. Each time it would only be a tree scraping against the house or a bird landing on the roof. Not the cabin’s inhabitant.
To pass time, we played games, read books and hung out outside. In a way, it felt as if we were at a secluded retreat. However, there was nothing relaxing about waiting for the cabin’s mysterious owner to return. At times, it felt as though I’d jump right out of my skin I was so anxious.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Flint asked.
We sat outside on the porch step. I’d been tapping my foot nervously and only stopped when I realized what I was doing.
“Yes!” I jumped up. Sitting around was killing me.
“I’ll tell the others we’re leaving in case we get lost.” Flint sprinted inside and returned with a device in his hand.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A GPS I found. We’ll see if it works.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“I asked Amber to find us if we haven’t returned within an hour.”
&
nbsp; We set out through the trees. It had to be mid-morning by now. It felt good to move again. I was still stiff from our arduous hike to the cabin. Exercise was exactly what I needed.
Warm, autumn air swirled around. Temps in the fifties had melted most of the snow. Only the shaded areas held traces of the October blizzard.
“Do you hear that?” I asked as we tromped through the trees.
Flint cocked his head. “Hear what?”
“It sounds like a helicopter.”
Flint shrugged. “It’s probably a rancher rounding up the last of his livestock.”
We carried on. I slowly relaxed into the hike. “What are we going to do when we run out of food?”
“Amber and I will hike out, and whoever else wants to come, to do a grocery run.”
“I bet Jacinda will go.”
Flint chuckled and held up a branch so it wouldn’t hit me in the face. “She does seem to love hiking.”
We meandered through the trees, and despite the crazy feelings these hills evoked, I didn’t feel fear. In a way, it felt like home. My breathing relaxed into a steady pace, my legs moved steadily beneath me. Flint and I soon fell into easy banter.
It wasn’t until we stepped into a small clearing that I stopped short. All happiness and tranquility the hike created—vanished.
An older man walked toward us, his head down, a device in front of him that he seemed to be studying intently. Before I could say two words, Flint grabbed me and flew us behind a rock. We hunkered down, our breathing heavy.
“Do you know who he is?” I whispered.
Flint shook his head, his mouth tight.
I straightened just enough to see over the rock. The man continued to walk toward us, his head still down. He didn’t seem to know we were there. I switched my vision. His cloud appeared, and my mouth fell open.
“What is it?” Flint asked. His energy pulsed into me.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I watched, mesmerized by the cloud flowing around the older man’s shoulders. It was . . . strange. I didn’t know how else to describe it. A rainbow of very faint colors danced and flowed above his body. Red, violet, magenta, green, indigo, pink, gold, orange, silver, navy, yellow. The list went on.
At least twenty colors intermingled in his cloud. All of those colors were faint, like they’d been washed out in a spring rain. The oddest part, however, were the two bright colors in the faint rainbow: blue and pale green. Those two bright colors, mixed with the fainter ones, made it the most beautiful cloud I’d ever seen. It was also the most perplexing aura I’d encountered.
I switched my vision back to normal and rapidly assessed everything else about him. The man looked ahead now. I frowned and tried to remember or recognize something about him. He had a normal face, from what I could see of it. Sharp hazel eyes stared straight ahead. Deep wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes. Gray hair covered his head, slightly wispy at the top. He moved quickly and strongly.
From the gray hair and wrinkles, he had to be in his fifties or sixties. For all intents and purposes, he looked like somebody’s grandfather. Harmless, benign, your average normal older man, albeit fitter than most.
My frown stayed put. I knew he was anything but normal.
“Lena,” Flint hissed quietly. “What’s wrong?” His energy pushed into me again.
The man stopped. His head cocked as if listening. I frowned. There was no way he could have heard Flint. He was still ten yards away.
“He’s different,” I whispered.
The man turned in our direction. His gaze scanned the trees.
I hunkered back behind the rock. Was it a coincidence that a man with a rainbow cloud was walking in the Forbidden Hills? It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know it wasn’t.
I stepped out from behind the rock before Flint could stop me. “Hello,” I called.
The older man’s eyes widened. “Galena!”
Galena?
The man dropped the device he was carrying and hurried to me. I again marveled at how swiftly and easily he moved. Dressed in tan hiking pants, sturdy boots and a lightweight jacket, he looked like a hiker out for a stroll, yet he was here, in the Forbidden Hills. Nobody hiked in the Forbidden Hills.
Before he could get within ten feet of me, Flint blocked him. I peeked around Flint’s side since his broad back was about six inches from my face. The man had stopped, his eyes widening even more.
“Flint!” the man breathed.
Flint’s shoulders tensed. Hot, raw energy poured off him. “How do you know my name?”
The older man’s gaze swung around the clearing, worry lines deepening his wrinkles. “What about the others? Are they here too?”
“What others?” Flint said through clenched teeth.
“Diamond, Jacinth, Mica, Amber, Jet and Jasper. Are they here too? Are you all together?” The man stumbled over his words. Despite my heart hammering, I wanted to reach out and comfort him. He seemed so worried.
“How do you know our names?” Flint asked tightly.
The man took a deep breath and then another. “Of course,” he said. “I’m sorry. You have no idea who I am.”
An image of the cereal bowl flashed through my mind. The bowl that someone had eaten from the other day. I switched my vision again and watched the beautiful cloud surrounding the older man’s shoulders.
I knew without a doubt that we’d just found the owner of the mysterious cabin.
“I’M NOT ASKING again,” Flint said. “How do you know our names?”
The older gentleman shook his head. He took a few more deep breaths, as if composing himself. When finished, he held out his hand. “Let me introduce myself first. My name’s Conroy Fielding, or Dr. Fielding to some, but I prefer Conroy.”
Flint arms stayed at his side.
Conroy dropped his hand. “I’ve known you all for a long time. That’s how I know your names.”
I squeezed Flint’s arm and tried to push him aside. He didn’t budge. If anything, he stepped farther in front of me. His body felt like a hot rock, hard as stone, yet brimming inside with fire. I sighed and sidestepped him. I knew he was suspicious of this man, but his cloud was similar to ours. I didn’t think Conroy would hurt us.
“You’ve known us for a long time?” I asked.
“Yes.” Conroy glanced around again. “Now please, tell me. Is everyone else with you? Are all eight of you together?” His tone sounded so worried. “Please, tell me. I promise to explain everything.”
Flint’s jaw clenched. I put a hand on his arm.
“Yes,” I replied. “We’re all together. Everyone else is back at a cabin we found. I’m guessing it’s your cabin?”
Conroy sighed, his shoulders relaxing. “Yes. I own the cabin.”
“Are you going to explain now?” Flint said through gritted teeth. “You still haven’t said how you know us.”
“Yes. Yes, of course. This must be very confusing.” Conroy walked back to his device to retrieve it. “Let’s go back to the cabin and I’ll explain everything to all of you.” He began walking and waved us to join him.
I pulled at Flint. He didn’t budge. “Flint, his cloud’s like ours,” I whispered.
That got a raised eyebrow. “It is?”
“Yes, please let’s go.”
Conroy stopped when we didn’t follow him. He watched us with worried eyes.
“Please, Flint. He’s not going to harm us. I feel fairly certain of that.”
Flint’s energy continued to roll off him. “Okay, but stay behind me.”
We followed Conroy through the woods. None of us said a thing. A few times, I wanted to ask Conroy about how his gadget worked. It didn’t look like a normal GPS, but I kept my mouth shut. From the hot energy rolling off Flint, I knew small talk wasn’t something he’d appreciate.
When we approached the cabin, I spotted Di and Jacinda. Both were seated on the porch. They jumped to standing when they saw us.
Conroy smiled, another relieved sigh esca
ping him. “Diamond, Jacinth.”
Diamond? Jacinth? That’s what he’d said before when he named us.
Di glanced at Flint, a questioning look in her gaze while Jacinda merely cocked an eyebrow. “Do you know this guy?” Di asked.
Flint shook his head. “No, but he seems to know us.”
Di tensed. “Who are you?”
Conroy didn’t reply. “Where are Amber, Mica and the twins?” A worried expression again appeared on his face. He seemed constantly concerned for our whereabouts despite me telling him we were all together.
“Probably inside,” I replied.
Di shot me a look.
I shrugged. “I think he’s harmless.” I inched closer to her and whispered, “His cloud’s like ours.”
Di frowned suspiciously. “Who are you?” she asked again.
The strange man held out his hand. “Dr. Conroy Fielding.”
Di merely stared at him.
Jacinda studied Conroy curiously just as Amber, Mica and the twins barreled through the door.
“I just beat these three at cribbage!” Mica exclaimed. “And I’m thirty dollars richer for—” her words died when she saw Conroy. “Oh, hello,” she said.
Conroy smiled, a relieved expression on his face. “It’s good to see you all well.”
“Okay, you’ve got to stop that,” Di said, although her voice wasn’t quite as stern. “Who are you really? Not just your name. Tell us now.”
“You’re right,” Conroy said. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t remember me, so this is probably very confusing. Let’s go inside, and I’ll explain.”
Di turned stiffly. The rest of us followed.
We entered the cabin. Scents from breakfast lingered in the kitchen. Dirty dishes lined the counters. Conroy didn’t seem fazed that we’d made ourselves at home.
When everyone was in the living room, we all sat. “Okay, tell us who you are,” Di demanded.
Conroy sat near the fireplace. “Like I said, my name is Dr. Conroy Fielding. I’m a biomedical researcher. I used to work for O’Brien Pharmaceuticals.”
We all stared.
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 25
