Crossing the Deep (4 page)

“Getting you back to Deep Creek Trail where you're supposed to be. Apparently, you can’t be trusted to stay on the straight and narrow by yourself.” He grinned when she pulled her arm free and stomped ahead of him.

Given the lesser of the two evils, Rachel decided it best to walk with Asher, since he didn’t know her well enough to tease her like Sid did. “How did you know where I was?”

“Saw the sign. Figured you’d be nosy.” He looked down at her with a gleam in his eye.

“Guess you figured right.”

“Looks that way. Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yeah,” she said, unsure how much she wanted to say. Talking about her father always made her cry, and she wasn’t comfortable enough with Asher to get that emotional. A sentiment she thought he’d appreciate. “I can’t believe I walked this far…”

“Eh, it’s always quicker going than coming back.”

“It is?”

“No, I think it’s the other way around actually.”

Rachel stopped and looked up at the trees. Things were known to look similar in the woods. Still, she had this feeling. She couldn’t put her finger on what, but something felt out of place.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked around some more, trying to figure out what was bugging her. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

“Yeah, we’re next to a trail on a path that we aren’t supposed to be on,” Sid said, passing them.

“I’m serious. I don’t remember this place.”

“It’s a forest, Rachel,” Sid turned around with an exaggerated sigh. “It all looks the same. You probably weren’t paying attention when you snuck down it. Too busy daydreaming or whatever.”

Asher passed both of them. “Let’s just stay on this path and see where it takes us. We’re in the Smokies right? All roads lead to Gatlinburg.”

“I don’t think this is the right way,” Rachel called out, trying to catch up.

“Your thinking got us in this mess. We will keep going this way, meet Deep Creek Trail. Then we can go down to the van, and David can yell at you for being a big sinner,” Sid said.

Rachel groaned. She didn’t want to have to deal with David, but at the moment, he was the least of her worries. “I’m telling you this path doesn’t lead to the trail. We’ve missed the turn-off somewhere.”

“Patience, girl. Patience,” Asher yelled back to her. He and Sid continued on the path, not looking to see if she followed or not.

Part of her wanted to just stay put, or at least stick her tongue out at the two know-it-alls. Instead, she sucked it up and followed behind them.

She felt the pain before she saw the hole.

“Ow… ow… ow… ouch!” She screamed. She fell to the ground and grabbed her right ankle.

“What’s wrong?” Sid ran back to her.

“Owwwwwwwww!”

“Yeah, I got that part. What did you do?”

“I fell in that hole.”

“What hole?” he asked, looking around.

“
That
hole!” she yelled, pointing to the small opening in the ground a few inches from her. At about the size of a small shoebox, it didn’t appear dangerous. But her throbbing ankle told a different tale.

“Can you walk?” Asher offered his hand to help her up.

She stopped worrying about the pain long enough to stare up at him. It took her mind a moment to register that Asher Jenkins actually seemed concerned about her.

“Well?”

“I—I don’t know,” she stammered. “I don’t even know if I can stand up.”

“Here, we’ll help you. Sid, grab her other arm.”

The guys each grabbed an arm and helped her stand on her uninjured foot. “That really hurts,” she said, through gritted teeth. It felt like knives attacking her ankle without putting any weight on it. She balked at the thought of actually walking on it.

“I imagine it does,” Asher said, putting her arm over his shoulder. Sid did the same on the other side. Amid the pain, Rachel felt embarrassed that she had to be carried like a baby out of the woods.

Sid was shorter than Asher which made limping a bit difficult, but she managed. After about five minutes of walking, Rachel wanted to cry. The limping made her ankle hurt worse. Crying would do no good, though. It wasn’t like she had any other way out of the woods. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to keep herself calm.

Each step hurt worse than the one before it until even her jaw ached. “Are you okay?” Asher asked. Again with the concern.

“Uh-huh,” she grunted.

“You’re lying.”

“Does it matter?” Even in the cool weather, sweat beaded on her brow. She couldn’t see herself, but she could imagine she was getting pale from the pain.

“It does matter,” Asher stopped, causing Sid and Rachel to stop also. “You’re gonna pass out if we keep going like this.”

“I’m fine,” she argued, although her head was swimming and little black dots began dancing behind her eyes.

“You’re not fine. Sit down,” Asher ordered, lowering her arm from his neck.

“Stop,” she protested. How dare he tell her to do anything? “We have to keep going. You said yourself that it will be dark soon.”

Asher took her chin and angled it toward him. He made sure her dizzy eyes locked on his. “You. Can’t. Walk. We have to stay here and think of another plan. Now sit down before you hurt yourself more.”

Rachel felt the warmth rush to her face and not in the same way it had before when she thought he might kiss her. How dare he tell her what she could and couldn’t do? She wasn’t an invalid or a horse that needed to be shot because of a lame leg. A sprain didn’t mean she couldn’t walk. It just meant it would hurt like the dickens.

With a sense of “I’ll show him” coursing through her, Rachel took a step without his help. When the pain hit, she realized how bad an idea it had been. She fell down to the ground; her foot screamed for some relief. When she heard footsteps coming behind her, she hung her head, expecting an “I told you so.”

****

Asher had to admire her spirit. Sure, her methods were all wrong, but she did have spunk. He liked that in a girl. “Did you hurt it worse?” he asked, kneeling down beside her.

“I can’t walk on it.” She sounded defeated.

“I was afraid of that.” He didn’t want her to give up, and missed the fire she’d had a few seconds before.

“What are we gonna do?” Sid fixed his red cap on his head, his telltale nervous twitch.

“I don’t know,” Asher said, running his fingers through his hair to get it out of his eyes. He had no idea what to do. “We could carry her. It’s not like she weighs a ton.”

“Carry her? All the way back to the van? With her pack and ours? Are you crazy, man?”

Asher glared at his friend. Sometimes Sid didn’t think of anyone but himself. It wasn’t like they had many options, and they didn’t have time to argue. “Do you have any better ideas?”

When Sid didn’t say anything, Asher took it to mean that he had won and bent down to scoop the girl up. He felt her tense in his arms making him wonder if the rumors of her “purity” were true.

“I’ll be careful,” he said, smiling to let her know he meant it.

She nodded and relaxed a bit. The fact that she trusted him, even a little, meant a lot.

Right when he started walking, Sid blocked him and said, “Yes, in fact, I do have a better idea. You stay here with the girl, and I’ll run down the trail, get my brother, and bring help back.”

“What? No. No. It will be dark before you get back.” Asher shook his head. It was one of the worst plans he’d ever heard. They had to do this together, or they would all be lost in different places. That wouldn’t be good.

“It doesn’t get dark until about four-thirty, and it’s just…” Sid looked at his watch. “Well… it’s just… yeah, I’d better get going.” He took off running down the path, his crimson pack flung over his shoulder.

“Sid! Sidney Andrews! Get your butt back here right now,” Asher yelled as he watched his untrustworthy friend run down the path. His coat stuck out like a sore thumb among all of the fall colors. For pulling a stunt like that, a sore thumb was what Asher planned on giving Sid the next time he saw him. What was he thinking?

“Sid, I can’t carry everything myself! Get back here!”

He swore under his breath, trying to keep his temper in check. It wasn’t easy, and he didn’t succeed.

Chapter Four

Rachel watched Asher pace lines in the dirt. His constant motion made her dizzy, and she wished he’d just stop. When she didn’t think she could hold her tongue any longer, he sat down hard — defeated, but still angry.

“Why did you have to come this way, anyway?” He glared at her.

“I don’t know. I saw the sign and had to check it out.”

“Well… Thanks for that.” He picked up a stick and drew hasty, angry figures in the worn dirt.

“You’re not mad at me,” she said. “You’re mad at Sid.”

“I’m mad at everybody,” he said, and she could tell he meant it.

“I just thought it was a bit of coincidence that the trail David just happened to pick for us had a cemetery full of my ancestors.”

“One, that trail didn’t have it; the side trail you were told not to go on did. Two, you don’t know for sure they are your ancestors. Harker isn’t the most unusual name ever.”

“It’s unusual enough.”

“Maybe, but still…”

“But still,” she agreed. He had a valid point. If not for her, they would be back in Gatlinburg playing miniature golf, riding go-carts or something equally fun. She turned her attention back to her foot. The pain hadn’t eased up, and it made her sad how many activities she would miss now on the trip thanks to it. More than anything, she needed Sid to get back soon — preferably with help and some pain relievers.

“What’s wrong? You got quiet.”

“Just my foot. It hurts.”

“I bet,” he said, looking down the trail. He took a deep breath and broke the twig he had been drawing with into tiny pieces. “We need to get you out of here.”

“He’ll be back soon enough.”

“Sid isn’t known for his promptness.”

Rachel watched as Asher looked toward the sky and again at their surroundings, which consisted of trees and more trees. “We can’t wait much longer. It’s gonna take at least an hour — hour and a half — to get down this trail and with your bum leg, it will take a lot longer.”

“I can try to walk, but it won’t be pretty.” The thought of walking made it hurt worse.

“You’ve already tried. And no, it wasn’t pretty.” He stood up and wiped the dirt from his jeans.

Rachel took offense to that. She’d show him if it was the last thing she did. Dreading the pain, but determined to show Asher up, she rolled over to her knees and tried to stand.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just what you told me to do. I’m getting up and walking down this blasted mountain.”

“You can’t walk,” he reminded her. Like she needed it. The next thing she knew, he had her up in his arms in the way a husband carries a bride over the threshold.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

“Walking,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. With her in his arms, he scooped up the packs and threw them over his shoulder.

“You told Sid you couldn’t carry everything yourself.”

He shrugged the best he could carrying so much weight. “Guess you never know until you try.”

“You can’t carry me all the way down this mountain. You aren’t exactly Samson.”
If he even knew who Samson was.

His only response was a grin, a sly little knowing grin that was as cute as it was annoying. The way his lips curved made the little moon scar on his chin stand out. Rachel wondered, not for the first time, how he had gotten it. There had to be a backstory.

A fight, she guessed. Over a girl? More than likely. She had to wonder what the other guy looked like once it was over. Asher didn’t seem the type that would give up in a fight.

“How did you get it?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“What? My awesome good looks?”

“No — that.” She pointed to the small scar on his chin.

Like water flowing out of a cup, his face fell and his mouth hardened. “That happened a long time ago.” He looked away from her and focused on the path.

Rachel felt horrible for prying. It was none of her business. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but you did. And now it’s over.” He didn’t yell, but he didn’t sound happy.

He continued walking in silence. Rachel wasn’t sure what to do or how to act. She was closer than she had ever been to a boy, but she felt so distant since asking about his scar. Getting away from stress had been one reason she agreed to go on the trip in the first place. She was glad
that
worked out.

Over time, the light began changing in the sky from bright blue hues with a few clouds scattered in to a deep purplish-pink with streaks of gold speckled in. It was both beautiful and scary. Rachel prayed that she and Asher would make it back before the light was gone completely. She didn’t want to be in the woods at night.

****

Asher’s legs were getting tired, but he kept pressing on. He was not going to be stuck in those woods all night. Camping hadn’t been what he signed up for. Of course, neither was carrying Rachel Harker romance cover style through the woods.

Rachel intrigued him as much as she frustrated him. Her curiosity had gotten them in the position they were in. Well, her curiosity and the hole she fell in. But he liked and admired her stubbornness, which kept her from being a weeping wallflower.

Asher wished she hadn’t honed in on his scar, though. More than that, he wished he didn’t have it. It wasn’t like he needed the physical reminder of the day God abandoned him. He could remember every second of that camping trip eight years ago. If he tried hard enough, he could still feel the rock slicing his chin when he fell, running away from his aunt’s boyfriend, who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

Asher pushed those unpleasant thoughts aside and focused on Rachel. It was obvious she hadn’t been around many guys. Truth be told, he hadn’t been around many virtuous girls himself. He figured he should act somewhat different around her than he did his normal female companions — those that looked at him like there was only one thing they wanted from him. Not that he minded much.