“Hey there,” Tessa said when she stopped in front of Brielle.
“Hi. How was the geyser basin?”
“Really cool. Have you seen it?”
“No. Not yet.” Brielle paused a beat. “So, can I still get a lift?”
Tessa glanced at John, then turned to Brielle, “We, uh, we decided not to go to West Yellowstone after all. I’m really sorry.”
Hopes plummeting right into her stomach, Brielle bit her lip to keep tears of frustration from welling. “Where are you going, if I can ask?”
“Up to Mammoth Hot Springs.” Tessa’s eyebrows rose. “We can take you there.”
That wouldn’t work at all, and with a mix of worry and excitement, she knew she would have to call Tyler. “Thanks anyway, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Brielle watched them walk to their car, climb in, and drive off, then she turned her phone on, ready to call Tyler and beg him to come get her even though she’d been ignoring him.
After her phone booted up, she tapped the phone icon, but then her eyes strayed to the top of the screen to see how strong her signal was. She had no cell service.
Chapter Forty
Tyler was getting more frantic by the minute. With no idea where Brielle had gone, he’d randomly chosen to drive south, which would take him past West Thumb and eventually to Old Faithful. That’s where the most tourists were, so it made sense that if she’d hitched a ride, that’s where the person would be headed.
Every ten minutes or so he tried Brielle’s cell number, but it kept going straight to voice mail. Either she was in a dead spot within the park—and there were plenty of those—or she’d turned her phone off. Either way, not being able to get in touch with her was driving his anxiety through the roof.
Once he reached Old Faithful, he wasn’t sure what to do next. The main parking lot was huge, and the geyser area itself was enormous. Should he park and walk around to try to find her? But if she was trying to get home—which he assumed she was doing—she wouldn’t stop to see the sights, would she? And it seemed unlikely she would be able to get a room at the pricey hotel there. Certain they were completely booked, he decided to check anyway.
On the chance he might spot her among the throng of tourists, he decided to park in the main parking lot rather than the one for the Old Faithful Inn. Keeping his head on a swivel, he hustled across the lot, past the visitor’s center, and toward the hotel. All the while he continued trying to call her.
When he reached the hotel, he strode across the lobby and up to the counter. After a brief conversation with the man behind the counter, he was able to determine that Brielle had not checked in.
Sighing in frustration, Tyler went outside, then he went to the visitor’s center to see if she could possibly be in there. When he didn’t find her, he took a few minutes to walk around the area surrounding Old Faithful.
His phone rang.
Heart pounding, he ripped it out of his pocket, but when he saw Mom on the screen, he audibly sighed before swiping to answer. Then he realized that maybe his mom was calling to tell him Brielle had turned up at their campsite.
“Did she come back?” he said in greeting.
“No. I’m sorry. I was calling to see if you’d found her.”
Though touched by his mom’s concern, he wished she hadn’t gotten his hopes up. It made the crashing of those hopes all the more painful. “No. I haven’t.”
“Where are you now?”
“Old Faithful, but I’m gonna continue on the loop and, I don’t know, see if I can find her somehow.” It seemed pretty hopeless, but he had no other choice but to keep looking for her. At least until he could talk to her. Why wouldn’t she answer her phone?
“Okay. Keep us posted.”
“I will.”
He put his phone in his pocket, walked back to his car, then headed back out on the road.
Panic swelled within Brielle. She had no cell service, and the only ride she’d had was now gone. And to top it off, the afternoon would soon turn to evening, which would turn to night.
She should have called Tyler after she’d talked to Cara. No. She should never have left on her own in the first place.
Frustrated with herself and frightened, she spun in a slow circle as the building panic made her heart hammer painfully against her ribs. She pulled the map of Yellowstone out of her back pocket and looked over the route she had left to cover. Twenty-eight miles to West Yellowstone.
Her eyes slid across the map. What if she found a ride back to Bridge Bay? Or even just to Canyon Village where she knew she had cell service? It was twelve miles to Canyon Village and another twenty or so back to the Bridge Bay campground. Thirty-two miles total. She was nearly halfway between Bridge Bay and West Yellowstone.
A sliver of hope slowly began to replace the panic, because now she had two options.
“Excuse me,” she said to a family that was nearby. “I’m looking for a ride to either West Yellowstone or Canyon Village. Are you going to either of those?”
The man looked at her like she might be a lunatic. “No. Sorry.” Then he hurried his family away from her.
Brielle could feel the desperation coming off of herself in waves. Of course the man wouldn’t want to expose his family to the crazy woman looking for a ride.
Taking several slow, deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down.
It will be okay. I’ll find a ride and I’ll be safe. It will be okay. It will.
Her self-talk didn’t help, especially when she pictured that grizzly bear from the day before, live and in full-color. Wild animals were everywhere in Yellowstone. If she didn’t get out of there immediately, who knew what would happen to her.
Without realizing it, she had begun to hyperventilate. Stumbling to a curb in the parking lot, when she reached it, she sank onto it and put her head between her knees, using all of her self-control to slow her breathing.
After several minutes, she felt slightly calmer and decided her best bet would be to try to hitch a ride back to Canyon Village where she would call Tyler. But what if he refused to come get her? Then she’d still be stuck.
He wouldn’t do that. She had to believe that. Had. To.
Making her way to the main road, she stood on the side that would take her back to Canyon Village and held out her thumb, then arranged her expression into one of optimism. It wasn’t easy. If she let her expression show how she really felt, it would be a study in desperation and fear.
Car after car drove by and the sliver of hope she’d felt earlier began to disintegrate.
Maybe I should go to the other side of the road and try for West Yellowstone.
Paralyzed with indecision, she sat on a nearby rock and let her head fall into her hands.
Tyler couldn’t remember ever being this frustrated. It felt like everything was completely out of his control—because it was. Brielle wasn’t answering, he had no idea where she’d gone or where to look for her. It was intolerable.
He’d driven through the campground at Madison with no luck, and now he was at the intersection that would either take him west to West Yellowstone, or north, up to Norris and on to Canyon Village, then back to Bridge Bay.
As he debated which way to go, he wondered at what point he should give up. But what if Brielle was in trouble? What if she needed him? She’d never been to Yellowstone before. She didn’t know her way around. The thought of her being out there all alone, with no one to turn to, no car to take her where she needed to go… It made Tyler’s gut churn.
He gnawed on his lower lip, his gaze shooting in all directions as he tried to decide what to do. Then, with a loud sigh, he decided to drive the road to West Yellowstone. Just in case. Then he’d come back and make the turn north and head back to Bridge Bay via Norris.
Brielle’s tears fell freely. Trying to gauge how long it would be before the sun set, she looked at the lengthening shadows, then glanced at the s
un as it hung in the sky. Maybe three hours. That was how long she had before she wouldn’t be able to see the wildlife when they approached her, ready to attack, ready to make her their meal.
It didn’t help that the forest was right at her back.
The tears came harder, her whole body beginning to tremble.
After several minutes she unzipped her small suitcase and dug around until she found a mini package of tissues. Dragging in several deep breaths, she managed to slow her tears, then she wiped the dampness from her cheeks and blew her nose.
No one was going to pick her up as long as she sat in a heap on the side of the road. How would they even know she wanted a ride?
Gathering herself, she stood up, straightened her shoulders, then marched across the road so that she’d be facing people heading to West Yellowstone, then she held out her thumb. At this point in the evening, she hoped most people would be heading out of the park. If she could only get one of them to stop and pick her up.
Cars came by fairly steadily, but apparently none of them were interested in picking up a stranger from the side of the road.
Brielle’s arm was getting tired. Holding it straight out when she was already exhausted was nearly too much. But she had to keep going, had to try.
The road to West Yellowstone had been a bust, and now Tyler was headed back to Bridge Bay. Yellowstone was so large that he still had plenty of ground to cover before getting back, but his hopes had fallen pretty low. He’d backtracked, passing Madison, and was now heading north, toward Norris.
An occasional open meadow broke up the forest, and whenever he saw a car pulled to the side of the road and people around it, he slowed, searching for Brielle. He even stopped at the larger pull-outs, the ones that were like a long pull-through. No luck. And though he kept trying her cell, there were times where he had no cell service and had to wait to try.
As he drew closer to Norris, he kept looking, kept searching, kept hoping.
And then he saw a woman whose back was to him. A woman who had her thumb out. A woman who had silvery blonde hair and a small suitcase.
It was Brielle.
Stunned that he’d actually found her, at first he couldn’t believe it. He pulled off of the road across the street from where she stood, his heart pounding, his smile huge. She hadn’t noticed him yet, her focus on the cars coming toward her.
Chapter Forty-One
Why was no one stopping? What was wrong with these people? Couldn’t they see she needed help? Didn’t they care?
Obviously not.
Arm aching, she let it fall to her side, just to give herself a break.
At that moment she sensed something behind her.
A bear! It’s a bear!
Terror crawled up her spine and blasted into her skull as she stood stock-still. Maybe if she didn’t move it would leave her alone, but she knew the scent of fear had to be pouring off of her, drawing it to her.
“Brielle.”
Wait. Bears didn’t talk. And that voice was familiar.
It can’t be. Can it?
Eyes widening in shock, she spun around. Tyler! Confused at how he could be there when she needed him the most, yet thrilled beyond her wildest imagination to see him, she couldn’t speak. Instead, she flung herself into his arms with wild abandon as hot tears filled her eyes.
His arms went around her, holding her tight, and her arms curled around his neck as she pressed herself against him.
“You came,” she whispered. “You found me.”
“It’s okay,” he murmured into her hair. “I’m here now. Everything will be okay.”
And she knew it would be.
He couldn’t believe he was holding her in his arms, that she was safe. The happiness he felt was beyond anything he’d felt before. After several moments he released her, smiling down at her.
“How’d you find me?” she asked.
Shaking his head as he grinned, he said, “I’ve been driving around for hours looking for you. Why’d you leave?”
She stared at the ground, but after a moment she met his gaze. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I just…I didn’t want to ruin your family’s vacation.”
“Ruin their vacation? How would you ruin their vacation?”
“They hate me. I mean, how awkward would it be for them to have me around for the rest of the week?”
She really believed that. He could see it in her eyes. The thought made him incredibly sad. Tugging her back into this embrace, he said, “They don’t hate you. In fact, you should have seen how worried they were when we couldn’t find you.”
“But I duped them,” she said as she pulled away. “I lied to them from the start.”
“We both did, but they’re over it.”
“How can you be sure?”
There was only one way to prove it. He took his phone out to call his mom so she could tell Brielle herself that she didn’t hold it against her.
“There’s no cell service here,” Brielle said.
Tyler saw that she was right, so he put his phone away. “Come with me. Back to camp.”
She hesitated, but he knew she didn’t have many options.
“Where else will you go?” he said, pointing out the obvious.
Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug.
“That’s what I thought.” He paused. “Tell you what. Let’s go back to camp and talk to my family. If you still think they hate you and you don’t want to stay, I’ll take you home in the morning myself.”
Her eyes shone. “You’d do that? End your trip early? For me?”
Did he really want to do that? But as he looked at her sweet face, he knew he would do whatever it took to make her happy. He’d fallen for her that much. “Of course.” He gazed at her a moment. “What do you say?”
Could he really be that wonderful? But she could see by the sincerity in his eyes that he meant it. Not only had he come for her, searching for hours until he’d found her, but he was willing to cut his family vacation short for her.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll go with you.”
His smile grew and he lifted her chin with one finger before planting a gentle kiss on her lips. “Thank you.”
He was thanking her? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“You shouldn’t be thanking me. I should be begging for your forgiveness.” His eyebrows tugged together but he didn’t speak, so she went on. “I’m so, so sorry I left without telling you. And I’m so sorry I ignored your calls. I know you must have been worried.”
Fear washed across his features. “You have no idea.”
She slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. The steady beat of his heart calmed her, and when his arms went around her, she savored the feeling of security that enveloped her.
“Let’s stop for dinner at Canyon Village,” he said after several moments. “You’re probably starving.”
She nodded against his chest, then she stepped back. “Thank you.”
As they drove away from Norris, he asked her to tell him when she had cell service, and when she did, he pulled off the road.
“I need to let my family know I found you.” He glanced at her with a smile as he typed into his phone. “They’ll be relieved.”
While he sent his message, she sent a text to Cara letting her know she was safe and with Tyler. Soon, they were back on the road, and when they got to Canyon Village, he led her to a restaurant. There was a wait, and as they waited with the other diners, one man approached Tyler and said, “You’re Tyler Brandrick, right?”
Brielle watched with fascination as Tyler chatted with the man, who said he was a big fan. She’d completely forgotten that he was famous.
Once they were alone, he turned to her with a small smile. “Sorry about that.”
“No. It’s fine.” Being interrupted by fans was something she would have to get used to—assuming they continued seeing each other when they got back to real life. And she couldn’t imagine them not continuin
g their budding relationship.
Once seated at their table, Brielle decided to bring it up, although she was nervous. What if he thought she was being presumptuous? But after the rough day they’d had, it didn’t seem such a crazy assumption.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked after they’d ordered, evidently reading her mood.
After a brief hesitation, she said, “When we get back to Sacramento, do you, that is, will we keep seeing each other?”
His face lit up, and she knew he wanted that as much as she did. “Of course. I mean, how else will I get to see Luna?”
Brielle laughed as happiness flowed through her. “If that’s what it takes.”
After dinner, as they arrived at Bridge Bay, Brielle’s nervousness climbed. Tyler must have sensed it, because he put his hand over hers and said, “Trust me, okay?”
Nodding, she tried to calm herself as they turned down the loop where his family was camped. As they got closer, she could see his family sitting around the campfire, although it was too dark to see their faces clearly.
Tyler angled his Range Rover into his spot, and as Brielle was unbuckling her seatbelt, she looked up to see his entire family rushing toward the SUV. Were they there to yell at her? Brielle’s nerves climbed several notches, but when they got closer she could see relieved smiles wreathing their faces.
Maybe they were just glad Tyler had made it back. He said he’d been gone for hours. But they didn’t come to Tyler’s side of the car. They came to hers.
Heart and eyes brimming, Brielle opened her door and stepped out. Without a word, Ann pulled her into a tight hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said as she held her close. “We were so worried.”
Incredibly touched, Brielle basked in Ann’s warm embrace, and when she finally released her, Brielle said, “I’m so sorry. About everything.”
Ann waved her hand like it was no big deal, but before Brielle could respond, Mia threw her arms around her, and then Jeff and Rob each gave her a quick hug.
Game On (Fair Catch Series, Book Six) Page 17
