Colder Than Ice (31 page)

Making his decision in that instant, Bryan crawled into the tangled mass. He sat on the cold, damp ground, his coat around him, drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He tugged his hood tighter around his head and bent his head to rest it against his knees.

And then he waited and he worried. He probably shouldn't have stopped. He really shouldn't rest for very long. He could easily freeze to death if he spent the night, so he would only rest for just a short while. Maybe give Mordecai time to move on past him in the darkness, and then he would get moving again. Keep his circulation going, keep his body temperature up.

He yawned. God, he was tired.

What if Mordecai found him? Did he really want to sit there and just wait for the man? Did he really think that lunatic wasn't going to see right through all this?

Maybe he should move now.

No. No, he had to wait. Wait it out. He had to rest, and he wasn't going to find a better place than this. He was even starting to feel a little less cold than he had before.

God, he wished his father were there. He sure hoped Dawn had made it home okay. He hated to think she might be outside in the cold, in the dark, hiding out the way he was. So he just wouldn't think it. He would picture her safe and warm, instead. He would picture her rallying the troops to come after him.

Yeah. That was better. And her crazy bastard of an old man wasn't going to find him, either. His guides weren't going to
tell him shit, because if a buggy fuck like Mordecai had spirit guides, then a decent human being like Bryan must have some, too, right? Maybe he couldn't hear them. Maybe they didn't impart secret information to him, but they must be out there. And if they were, then this would be a real good time for them to get active. Maybe toss some kind of a veil over his hiding place and outmaneuver the other guy's guides.

Yeah, right. Now
he
was thinking like the lunatic. He didn't believe in any of that crap.

He yawned again. It was hard to stay awake. At least he was far less cold than he had been before. How long had he been out here now? Six, seven hours? Maybe he was adjusting to it. Like when you went in swimming and the water felt cold at first, but then you got used to it, and it started feeling warmer. It must be like that.

He sighed and let his eyes fall closed. This was really much better than trudging through the woods and freezing. Just resting, just for a few minutes. He would feel a lot better later on.

J
osh heard motors rumbling and turned toward the sound to see a beam of light far in the distance but bouncing ever closer. It picked its way through the trees, and he moved cautiously toward it.

Then another light came behind the first one, bounding and jumping, the motor sounds growing louder. He took cover behind a tree and watched, until the light from the rear showed him the source of the light in the lead: an ATV. He realized that was what both vehicles must be and kept watching until the front one stopped. The rear vehicle pulled up beside it and stopped, as well, and then the motors went silent.

Voices rose, calling for Bryan. And then they called out for him, as well. “Joshua!”

Among them, he heard women's voices—Beth's voice.

Josh stepped out into the open and shouted back at them.
“I'm here,” he called, and trudged closer to where the vehicles waited. As soon as he stepped into the glow of the headlights, Beth ran toward him, and he caught her in his arms, amazed at the power of her embrace. How tightly she clutched him. How good it felt. How much he'd managed to miss her in spite of everything else. Or maybe because of it. Maybe he needed this woman to get through the crises in his life.

“Is there any sign of Bryan?” she asked, searching his face, her cheeks pink, eyes glistening.

“No, not yet. You shouldn't be out here, Beth, it's cold, and Dawn is—”

“Dawn is with us.” She released her hold on him, so she could look him in the eye. “I can't keep her home, Josh. She sneaked out and took off to join the search the first time I turned my back. I went after her on foot, and then Frankie and Arthur caught up with us on the ATVs.”

He looked past her to see Arthur Stanton on one of the four-wheelers. The man was sixty; it had to be a tough ride for him. On the other was Chief Frankie Parker, looking as comfortable as if she'd been born bounding through the woods on a four-wheeler. Dawn was riding behind her.

Frowning, Joshua slid an arm around Beth's shoulders and walked over to the waiting vehicles. “What's the situation?” he asked.

Arthur said, “We've got twenty locals with ATVs combing the woods. I split my men up among them. Other groups are searching on foot. One person in each group has a radio. A local hardware store owner brought us a bunch of extras for the civilians. We're coordinating on channel nine. What's the range on these things, Chief?”

He didn't address her as if he were doubtful of her skills or
humoring her, but like one professional addressing another. A colleague.

“Five miles, give or take,” Frankie said.

Josh focused on her. “Did you check out the house where Mordecai was staying?”

Frankie narrowed her eyes, and her face went tight.

“I insisted on it, Joshua,” Beth said. “I know you said not to, but I thought Mordecai might try to take Bryan back there, if he had him.”

“Cagey bastard was ready for that, though,” Frankie said.

“What do you mean?”

“He torched the place. That house was engulfed before we ever got there. A neighbor had called it in, but the fire department couldn't do much but keep it from spreading to the surrounding houses. Burned to the ground. More than a century old, a landmark. It's still too hot to dig around, but I'm betting he had it rigged. Might have even set it off by remote control.”

“Jesus.”

“That's not entirely bad news,” Arthur said. “If he torched the house, he likely didn't do it from up here on this mountain. He would have had to get closer. Probably gave up chasing after the boy hours ago.”

“That's small comfort, Art. My son is still out here somewhere, and it's getting colder by the minute.”

“We're going to find him.” Arthur got off his ATV. “Take this one and go on. I'll catch a ride with the next machine to come by.”

Joshua wasn't going to argue. He got on the four-wheeler, unsurprised when Beth climbed on behind him.

“Chief, you go with him. You know these woods better than any of us,” Arthur added. “But don't go too fast, now, or
he'll never be able to keep up.” He leaned over Josh. “The way she rides that thing, I suspect she races them cross-country on her days off.”

“You sure you'll be all right here, Art?” Joshua asked.

Arthur nodded, holding up his walkie-talkie. “I'll be fine. Beth's got a radio, and so has the chief. Contact me the minute you find Bryan.”

Josh nodded, looked at the controls in front of him, turned the key and hit the start button. The machine roared to life. He kicked it into gear and started forward as Beth's arms tightened around his waist.

 

Bryan was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming, because he was warm and safe, and because his mom was there. And even though in some part of his mind he knew the past six months had happened—she had died, and he'd lost everything—it felt as if they hadn't. As if all of that were just a dream, and he was home in his own bed, and she was leaning over him, the way she used to do when he was smaller. Kissing his cheek and whispering, “Wake up, Bry. It's time for school.”

He smiled a little. His mother hadn't woken him that way since fifth grade. As he got older, she'd started treating him older. She would open his door and call softly to him, and later still, she would just knock. But when he was little, this was always the routine. Her soft kiss on his cheek, her warm breath tickling his ear. “Come on, honey, wake up now. You don't want to be late.”

Smiling, Bryan lifted his head, opened his eyes.

He wasn't in his own bed. He was in a dark forest. The damp ground had soaked through the bottom of his coat and
his jeans. His arms were wrapped around his knees and covered in a light coating of snow. It was cold. He could see his breath.

And he could hear something. A dull, distant roar.

Bryan looked at his watch, but there wasn't enough light to tell the time, and it didn't have one of those light-up dials. He made a mental note to get one that did, then tried to clear his head and make a guess at how long he'd been sitting there, huddled under the mass of roots. A while, judging by the snow that now coated everything in the woods. An hour, at least, maybe more. Man, it was really coming down.

Was the madman still lurking out there somewhere?

The sounds of the motors grew louder. Then they faded, maybe stopped, and he heard voices. People…calling his name.

Frowning, he sat up straighter, and the roots around him rustled as puffs of snow fell around him and down the collar of his coat.

In a moment the motors started up again.

God, that had sounded like…

“Dad?”

Hell. He couldn't stay here. Even if Mordecai Young was lurking out there somewhere, he had to risk it. He had to get the hell out of here.

He started to move, only to realize that movement brought pain. His muscles had tightened and cramped. Probably too long in his huddled position in the freezing temperature. He forced his legs to unbend, wincing at the throbbing in his knees but otherwise ignoring it.

Move, he commanded his limbs. And they did. It hurt, and it took a long time, but he managed to work himself free of
his shelter, and by the time he was out and able to stand upright, the motors were louder, closer.

God, he thought, keep coming in this direction. Please.

Step by painful step, he began moving toward the motors. It seemed to take forever, but eventually he saw lights. No sound from behind him. He was almost afraid to think he'd given the bad guy the slip, but it was starting to seem as if he might have done just that.

The motors stopped, but the lights stayed on. Voices called his name again. He heard his father's. He heard Dawn's. He called back, but the only thing that came out was a hoarse croak. Swallowing, he cleared his throat and tried again with slightly more success. This time it was a squeak. And still he lumbered forward.

Finally he stepped into the beam of one of those lights.

“Bryan!”

“Hi, Dad.” He sank to his knees.

And then his father was there, bending over him, lifting him up, talking so fast Bryan couldn't really follow the words. But his arms were around him, tight and hard, and in the headlights' glow, Bryan saw something he didn't think he had ever seen before. He saw his father cry.

 

Beth watched Josh turn with his son in his arms and carry him slowly toward the ATVs. In the twin beams of the headlights, the tears on his face glittered like diamonds. And that was the moment, Beth thought, when she realized that she didn't care what secret he was hiding: she loved him. The emotions swamping him…she knew them well. They were her own. She'd felt them, and she knew their depth.

She went to him, vaguely aware of Chief Frankie speaking
rapidly into her radio, but she could do nothing to offer Josh any comfort. Their eyes met, though, and she knew that he saw the kindred emotions in her own. It was as if a dam broke, allowing his feelings to flood into her mind and hers into his, until the waters met and melded into one swirling pool.

“Oh, God, is he all right?” Dawn cried, rushing forward, breaking the spell.

“I don't know.” He looked past her. “We have to get him down off this mountain.”

“It can be done,” Frankie said, joining them. “I've had to do it before, hunters have accidents up here all the time. Bring him here, Joshua.”

Josh carried his son to the ATV, though it was difficult with Dawn in the way, hovering, touching Bryan's face, speaking to him. Frankie said, “Put him down on the seat. Here, let me help.” She guided Bryan's leg over the seat, helped Josh ease him down. “There, let me hold on to him while you get settled in front of him.”

Josh looked at her doubtfully.

“Go on.”

Josh complied, and then Frankie leaned Bryan against his father's back. Bryan roused a little, lifting his head, looking around as if confused, his eyes unfocused.

“He'll never stay on,” Josh said.

“I told you, I've done this before. Beth, come here, and get yourself on behind Bryan. It'll be tight, and you'll have to hold on for dear life, but he won't fall off.”

Beth got on behind Bryan, her rear end barely on the seat. Josh shifted forward as far as he could, and Beth slid Bryan ahead, as well, then scooted closer, pinning the half-frozen teenager between her body and Josh's.

Chief Frankie took Beth's hands and guided them to the bars just below hip level on either side. “You hang on here.”

“I should hold on to Bryan, shouldn't I?”

“Your body will hold him in place. You don't hold on, you'll be the one getting bounced off the back of this thing. It's not a smooth ride.” She sighed. “I'd do it myself, but you're smaller and probably a little stronger.” She winked. “Not much, but maybe a little. I'll lead the way. Dawn can still ride with me.”

Beth nodded, holding on to the bars.

“Follow me,” Chief Frankie said. Then she jumped on the other machine and started it up again.

Josh turned his head, looking back at Beth. “Ready?”

She nodded. “Let's get him home, Josh.”

 

Dr. Granger might not have shown up if he hadn't been so fond of Maude. House calls were obsolete, even in small towns like Blackberry. But Beth knew this was different. Hell, the entire town had been rallying around her since the newspaper article had come out. She had been Maude's dear friend, her heir, and apparently she had inherited more than just a house from the old woman. She'd inherited an entire community. Now Joshua and Bryan were included in the goodwill being sent her way, so the doctor had come, and was upstairs in the bedroom with Bryan now.

Arthur and two of his men were downstairs, pacing and talking. So were Chief Parker and a handful of her officers. They were handling all the locals. Folks had been coming by in groups ever since the search was called off and word spread that the missing boy had been found. The volunteers and others wanted to know if he was all right and, more than that, whether the evil man who'd destroyed two Blackberry homes
and maybe murdered its most beloved citizen was still lurking somewhere.

Between them, the chief and Arthur were doing a good job of reassuring people, thanking them for their concern and sending them on their way.

Beth was grateful for their help. And grateful, too, for the food that had been contributed earlier, since it kept everyone well fed. That gave her more time to hover outside Bryan's door, worrying with his father and Dawn.

Dawn was doing double duty, worrying outside the door while speaking to her irate mother long distance.

She'd just hung up when the bedroom door opened and the doctor came out.

He smiled at their expectant faces. “Bryan's suffering from exhaustion and exposure, but nothing's broken, and there's no frostbite. He's going to be fine.”

Beth thought Josh might collapse in relief, and she moved closer to his side, slid an arm around his waist to offer her strength.