“My ankle. I can’t seem to put any weight on it.”
“Why don’t I put my arm around you and help you walk.”
Jasper frowned. “Grace, I don’t think that’s going to work. I’d topple you over. I think it might be broken.”
She watched as Jasper grimaced and pulled down his sock. His ankle was red and swollen. There was no way he was walking anywhere on it. Their lighthearted adventure had suddenly turned serious. It would be getting dark outside soon due to the shorter days this time of year.
“I’m calling for help.” Grace bit her lip as she took out her phone from her pocket and looked for a signal on her phone. No reception! She looked around the cave, half expecting an answer to their dilemma to come out of nowhere.
“I can’t get any reception, Jasper. I think that I need to go get someone to help us.” With Jasper’s ankle out of commission and no cell service, their choices were pretty limited. Turning into a Popsicle out here in the wilderness wasn’t an option. There was no time to waste.
“This is all my fault. I’m so sorry our adventure turned out this way.” Jasper’s head hung down in a dejected fashion.
“Are you kidding me?” Grace said with a cheery smile and false bravado. “I always wanted to rescue someone. Now’s my opportunity.” Unless of course she fell into a snowy ravine or was eaten by a polar bear.
“Let me help you get oriented. When you head out of the cave go straight until you get to the fork. Take a left at the fork and keep walking until you see the tree with the twisted branches. Turn right at the tree and then head straight down the slope. You’ll run right into the area where my truck is parked. The keys are inside. Just take it nice and easy on the road if you can’t get a signal. There’s a house a few miles down the road by the entrance to the mountain.” Jasper began to rummage around in his side pocket. He pulled out a pair of mittens. “Take these. It will give you an extra layer of protection.”
Grace reached for the mittens and put them on over her own pair. “Will you be all right by yourself?” She hated leaving him all alone in this desolate cave.
“I’ll be fine. And I’m not by myself. God is by my side. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my savior.”
“I’ll be back in a flash,” she said, zipping up her coat all the way to her neck before she stepped outside the cave.
She traveled in a straight line, following the path they’d previously traveled. Jasper was counting on her and she wasn’t going to let him down.
Lord, please show me the way. Guide me out of this forest.
When she arrived at the fork, she tried to remember exactly what Jasper had told her. There was a feeling of panic rising up inside her. She couldn’t think straight. Right, left or maybe straight. Which way? She really had no idea. She should go back to the cave! Turning around, she realized there were several different paths to choose from. And she had not a single idea of which way to go. Now she was really and truly lost. And it was starting to snow. Big, huge snowflakes were falling from the gray sky. One landed on the tip of her nose. If she was safely inside her cabin with a big mug of hot chocolate, she might find them beautiful. Now they just seemed like obstacles to finding her way out of this forest.
Grace didn’t feel brave anymore. Not by a long shot! Fear had nestled its way right into her bones. She was frozen right down to her pinky toes.
This wasn’t a grand adventure anymore. It was cold out here—mind-numbingly cold—and she wasn’t exactly dressed to sleep out in the elements. This trek was supposed to be a short tour of the caves, a fun excursion that would give her some interesting fodder for her articles. Spelunking, Jasper had called it. For a city girl like herself, spelunking had sounded like a journalist’s dream. An adventure to recount in her golden years. Now, it had all the earmarks of a nightmare.
She brushed snow off a nearby log and sat down on it. She looked furtively around the clearing. Lions, tigers and bears. Oh, my! The thought ran through her mind. Even though she knew there might not be tigers in Alaska, she was pretty sure that bears and mountain lions freely roamed the tundra.
Please, Lord. Don’t let a wild animal mistake me for a snack. Please let me find my way out of this mess.
Tears pricked at her eyes. This wasn’t looking good. Not only had she sealed her own fate by venturing out on her own, but she’d left Jasper back in the cave all by his lonesome with a bum ankle. He was depending on her to get help. Maybe this was her just desert for poking her nose around in Love and for pretending that she was in town as a participant in Operation Love.
Thoughts of her family raced through her mind. What would her parents think if she expired out here in the wilderness? She could just hear her father now. “Never thought a child of mine would freeze to death in the wilds of Alaska. I told her that job of hers was a waste of time.”
She felt moisture on her cheeks, and it wasn’t snowflakes melting on her skin. Tears. The fact that she was actually crying surprised her. She hadn’t even cried when Trey had called off the wedding. Nor had she shed a single tear when she’d stood in front of a church full of guests and announced the shocking news that the ceremony wouldn’t be taking place. Time and time again God had shown her that she wasn’t His favored child. She wasn’t worthy of His time or consideration. Her prayers were never answered.
Why should this time be any different?
* * *
Boone sighed as he riffled through the correspondence Shelly had placed on his desk. He sat up straight when his own handwriting jumped out at him. A big red stamp with the words Return To Sender had him heaving a great big sigh. The letter he’d addressed to Miss Honor Prescott hadn’t even been opened. Pain threatened to crack him wide open. His sister was still mad at him for sending her away to get her education in the Lower 48. She still hadn’t forgiven him for busting up her plans to elope with her boyfriend three years ago. She’d only been nineteen at the time and in love with a man who wasn’t worthy of her devotion. Ever since then she seemed to take pleasure in cutting him out of her life.
He shook his head, knowing if he had to do it all over again, he would make the same choices. Protecting his little sister had been his number-one goal. Perhaps, he realized, he could have handled it with a little more finesse. Maybe if he had, she wouldn’t hate him like she did.
His intercom began to buzz, jolting him out of his thoughts. Shelley’s voice came through loud and clear. “Sheriff Prescott, you have a visitor.”
Before he could even respond, his office door burst open.
Grace’s red-haired friend Sophie stood in the doorway, huffing and puffing as if she’d just run a marathon. “Sheriff Prescott. I’ve come down here to file a missing-persons report,” she blurted out.
Boone had to stop himself from smirking. He was waiting for the punch line. Had Miss Sophie Miller lost a kitten? Or a press-on nail?
“It’s my friend, Grace. I haven’t seen her since this afternoon when she went on a tour with Mayor Prescott. She should have been back hours ago.”
“A tour? Led by Jasper?” Boone folded his hands on his desk and lowered his head.
Sophie bit her lip. “Sheriff, you sound as worried as I feel.”
Boone stood up from his desk and reached for his walkie-talkie, holster and gun. “No need to worry, Sophie. I know this town like the back of my hand. I’m going to find Grace and bring her back safe and sound. You can count on it.”
* * *
Boone hadn’t wasted a minute mobilizing the search-and-rescue team. Thankfully, Jasper was as predictable as the tides. Boone knew exactly where he’d taken Grace. The caves at Nottingham Woods were the one place Jasper couldn’t resist showing anyone who was adventurous enough to accompany him.
Although for the life of him he couldn’t imagine what had happened out there to prevent them from returning back to town hou
rs ago. Boone had followed behind the search-and-rescue team in his cruiser, resisting the urge to speed. He’d been at the site of too many accidents not to realize the foolishness of speeding on snow and ice-slicked Alaskan back roads. If his truck ended up in a ditch, he wouldn’t be any help at all to Grace and Jasper.
By the time they reached Nottingham Woods, the adrenaline was flowing like crazy through his veins. With the team following behind him, he led the way toward the caves since he knew the route like the back of his hand. He’d grown up in these woods—hiking, adventuring, spelunking with Jasper. Fear lodged in his throat at the very idea of Jasper and Grace being in trouble out here. These woods were deceptive. One wrong turn and you ended up deep in the interior with no idea how to find your way out.
It was a blessing the two of them were together. If nothing else, Jasper knew Nottingham Woods better than anyone in Love.
A glance down at the trail revealed no footprints in the snow. Since snowflakes had been falling for the past hour, they’d covered up any tracks he might have been able to detect. He called out to the search-and rescue team as soon as he spotted the caves. One glance at the disturbed branches in front of the cave told him that someone had been here. He prayed Jasper and Grace were still inside rather than wandering in the woods.
Boone stepped inside the cave, his eyes peeled for two figures in the dark. The yellowish glow from the limestone lent a slight amount of illumination to an otherwise pitch-black cave. He pointed his flashlight in all directions and called out in a booming voice, “Jasper. Grace. It’s Boone.” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of movement.
“Boone.” The sound of Jasper’s voice sounded as sweet as honey to his ears. “Here I am. Way over here.”
He moved quickly toward Jasper, who was leaning against a cave wall with his leg propped up on a rock. His grandfather grimaced as he pulled up his pant leg. There was no question he was injured, judging by the red and swollen appearance of his ankle.
“Are you okay, Jasper?” Boone asked, crouching down so he was at eye level with his grandfather.
“I’m fine, Boone,” Jasper answered. “My ankle just aches a bit and I’m a little chilled.”
“Where’s Grace?” Boone looked around the cave with his flashlight before turning back toward Jasper.
Jasper’s eyes widened. “Grace? Isn’t she with you? She went for help hours ago.”
Hours ago? Everything went still for a moment as the implications of Jasper’s statement sunk in. Grace, who had no knowledge of the Nottingham woods or the conditions out here, was all alone after leaving the caves to seek rescue. His throat went dry as he thought of all the various ways that this could end in disaster. Panic gripped him by the throat. Reminding himself to keep calm, he swallowed past the fear. Turning toward the search-and-rescue team, he said, “Grace Corbett is out here in the woods, presumably lost. She’s been out in the elements for hours, and she’s not familiar with this terrain or how rapidly the weather can change. We need to find her...as fast as we possibly can.”
* * *
It was getting darker by the minute. A big fat moon hung in the sky. Stars began to fill the nighttime sky. And it felt even colder than it had five minutes ago, if that was possible. Although she was thankful for her two layers of mittens, her furry hat and her comfy down jacket, Hazel’s fur-lined boots were the real blessing. She could still move her toes. But she was freezing. Her fingertips were beginning to ache, and she couldn’t feel her face anymore, with the exception of her nose. It felt as if it had been wind burned.
How she wished she had a piece of paper and a pen. If she was going to meet her demise out here in the Alaskan wilderness, it would be nice to be able to write a goodbye letter. Perhaps she could pen one last column for the Tribune. “Alaska: The Final Frontier.”
“Hello. Goodbye. From Alaska.” She began to giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. None of her acquaintances in New York City would believe that she’d perished in Alaska in a town called Love.
“Grace! Grace!” Frostbite was setting in, as well as delusions. The sound of Boone’s voice was now streaming into her consciousness. If she was going to perish out here she might has well have her last thoughts center around a scrumptious lawman. Too bad they’d never kissed. It would have been one memorable, earth-shattering kiss, she imagined.
She felt someone shaking her. Her eyes blinked open. Boone. He was next to her, his dark chocolate eyes full of concern. “Grace! Are you all right? I need to get you out of here and see that you get checked out by a doctor.”
“You’re here. You’re really here,” she said as she reached out and pinched his arm through his jacket. “I thought I was seeing a mirage.”
“You can thank Sophie later. She raised the alarm when you didn’t return to the cabins.”
Sophie had noticed she hadn’t made it home. The very thought of her new friend hunting down law enforcement on her behalf made her chest tighten with emotion.
“Jasper! I left him in the cave when I went to find help.” How could she have forgotten about poor, sweet Jasper?
“He’s been found by the rescue team. He was sheltered from most of the elements by sitting in the cave right where you left him. He’s beside himself with worry about you.” His eyes flickered with emotion. “We all were.”
“I never thought it would be so easy to get turned around,” she said sheepishly. “Then I figured it was best to stay put so I wouldn’t get even more lost.”
“Can you feel your fingers and toes?”
“A little bit.” She tried to wiggle them as a shooting pain speared through her fingers. “Ouch. That hurts. These boots saved my b-bacon.” She felt a warm sensation on her cheek. There was a dog with Boone. And he was licking her. She nuzzled her face against his neck, appreciating the love fest.
“Kona! That’s enough,” Boone ordered, his voice stern and authoritative.
“No, Boone. He’s fine.” She turned toward Kona and nuzzled his head. “Thanks for helping to find me, Kona.”
Boone pulled out a walkie-talkie and began to speak. “Hank. I found her. I’m going to take her to be evaluated for hypothermia. Tell the team thanks for all the help. And make sure you let Sophie Miller know Grace has been found. She’s staying up at the Black Bear Cabins.”
A crackly voice came across the line. “That’s good news, Boone. Jasper was taken to the clinic to see about his ankle. He’s in good shape. I’ll let him know about Grace.”
“Thanks for the update.” Boone signed off and placed the walkie-talkie back in his hip pocket.
“Let’s get you out of here.” Boone reached down and swung her up against his chest. Her face was so close to his she could see the copper colored flecks in his pupils.
Suddenly, she didn’t feel half as cold as she had a few moments ago. There was a warmth spreading through her chest like wildfire.
“Boone. Thanks for rescuing me,” she murmured. “I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do since my grandfather was the one who got you into this predicament.”
The gruffness in his voice startled her. He wasn’t warm and fuzzy in the slightest. He seemed...angry. Perhaps he was upset because town resources had been used to locate her. He’d mentioned a rescue team. Surely that wasn’t cheap. And from everything she’d heard, Love was a town struggling to stay afloat.
She couldn’t help but feel a little crushed. Steeling herself against the pain caused by Boone’s behavior, she focused on getting back to a warm cabin and her comfy blankets. Investing herself in a temperamental town sheriff was dumb. And there were many things people might call her, but dumb wasn’t one of them.
* * *
For most of his adult life, Boone had been firmly in control. Of his career. Of his siblings. And of his emotions. The one time
he’d thrown caution to the wind and tumbled over the edge had been when he’d fallen in love with Diana. Although it had been an absolute train wreck, it taught him to listen to his inner voice. Something was telling him not to trust Grace. And he was now caught between a rock and a hard place because he liked her. He really, really liked Grace Corbett.
Suddenly, it felt as if he was out on that ledge again, teetering between safety and the danger zone.
When he’d realized Grace wasn’t in the cave with Jasper he’d been in the grip of a gut-wrenching fear that had threatened to swallow him up whole. It hadn’t let up on him until he’d spotted her sitting on the log with her eyes closed, as if she was an ice queen frozen in time. Joy had risen up inside him at the sight of her. And he didn’t quite know how to process that wealth of feeling. It was making him feel a little cranky.
Lately, he’d felt as if God was testing him. All the relationships in his life were at a crossroads. Honor wasn’t speaking to him. His brother Liam had holed himself up in a little bubble where nothing and no one could reach him. And his relationship with Cameron was still fractured. His grandfather seemed to have aged suddenly in the past few years, and he was scared of losing him.
And now, out of the blue, his heart was beginning to open up again. All because of Grace. Beautiful, mysterious Grace, who seemed as ill-suited to Love as he would be to the concrete, high-rise world she’d come from. But sometimes, he reckoned, the things that didn’t seem to make sense were the very things that turned out to be wonderful.
When they reached the edge of the woods, he walked quickly over to his car and opened the door while holding Grace against him with his other arm. As soon as the door was open, he set her down in the front seat and buckled her up. He opened the back door for Kona and let out a whistle. Kona ran out of the woods and made a beeline for his car, jumping right inside.
After a few minutes of rummaging around in the truck, he settled himself into the driver’s seat. He turned toward Grace and covered her up with a fleece blanket. Her teeth were chattering. He struggled against the impulse to cradle her in his arms and give her some of his body warmth. Getting her the medical attention she needed was his main priority.
An Alaskan Wedding Page 7
