Out of the Depths (15 page)

“Come on, boy,” Trudy Lynn said, tugging on Sailor’s collar to ease him away. “That’s clean enough. We’ll let you wash him off again later if you want.”

Jim was blubbering. “Get that monster off me.”

“You don’t want to be rescued?”

“Not by
that
.” He spit. “Untie me.”

Cody joined Trudy Lynn to look down on the captive youth. “Not so fast,” he said. “Your cousin and I almost got ourselves killed out there. Before we let you loose I’d like to know just what we’ve stumbled into.”

“Oh, like you don’t know,” Jim grumbled. “Give me a break, man. Everybody knows marijuana when they see it. What’d you think all this stuff was, okra?”

“The question is, who tied you up and why?”

“Never mind that. Just get me out of here before they come back.”

“They, who? Buford’s out of commission. Who else should we look out for?”

“What happened to him?” Jim was clearly frightened.

Cody chuckled and elbowed Trudy Lynn. “Some woman who doesn’t know her own strength gave him a bad headache. He’s stuck in the hospital for observation but he’ll be released soon. I suggest you cut the macho act and start talking. Otherwise, we may decide to leave you right where you are.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Cody drawled. “I don’t think you want to take that chance, do you?”

“No.” Jim’s glare was hard, then softened as it settled on his cousin. “I really was trying to help you, Trudy Lynn. They said they’d hurt you if I didn’t get you to sell or make you close down.”

Incredulous, she shook her head slowly. “Why couldn’t you have confided in me? I’d have helped you.”

“Who says I wanted help? I had a sweet deal—” his glance shifted back to Cody “—till
he
showed up and ruined everything.”

“In that case, we’ll be going.” Trudy Lynn took Cody’s arm.

“No! Wait! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Tears filled the younger man’s eyes. “Take me with you. Buford’ll kill us all if he finds you here. This is his biggest crop yet. He’ll do anything to protect it.”

Cody’s jaw muscles clenched. “I don’t doubt that. He nearly blew us up out there.”

“That’s why you need me. I can guide you back to the river. I know all the safe trails. I can’t believe you made it this far.” Tears were streaming out the corners
of his eyes and dripping into his ears. “Please? For Mamaw’s sake?”

“That does it,” Trudy Lynn told Cody. “Poor Earlene deserves to get him back in one piece, even if he isn’t worth half as much as her little finger.”

“If you say so.” Cody found a pair of lopping shears and cut the ropes.

Jim stood stiffly, sniffled and rubbed his chafed wrists. Sailor had edged between him and the other two. Jim eyed the dog. “Is he gonna bite me?”

“Not as long as you behave yourself,” Cody said soberly.

Trudy Lynn hid her face and stifled a snicker. That big moose was about as likely to bite as Widget was to become a cuddly lapdog. Of course, letting Jim believe Sailor might attack was advantageous, especially since they had no defensive weapons other than the dog’s teeth.

Give me a canoe paddle anytime
, Trudy Lynn mused. She was immediately penitent.
Sorry, Lord. I do love my neighbors. Honest, I do
.

Her thoughts broadened to include Cody Keringhoven. Now there was a neighbor she could easily learn to love.

Learn to? Hah!
Who was she kidding? She was already so smitten with the man she could hardly think straight, let alone function when he was around. She cared so much for him it hurt to even think about it.

And that’s not all
, she added ruefully.
He’s going to get well, just like I prayed he would, and then he’s going to leave. He’s much better already. It won’t be long before he goes back to California
.

That thought was enough to bring a lump to her throat and threaten tears. She blinked them back and squared her shoulders. California was where Cody longed to be, where he should be. Running rapids was his life. Weeks ago he’d been ready to give up and now look at him! Resuming the career he loved was going to provide the incentive to make a full recovery and she wasn’t going to do anything to ruin that. Not even confess that she was falling in love with him.

C
ody used a piece of the rope from Jim’s bindings as a makeshift leash. Sailor tolerated the restraint, though he plodded along looking thoroughly dejected. Jim was in the lead, followed by Trudy Lynn. Cody and his dog brought up the rear.

“Is Sailor sulking?” Trudy Lynn asked over her shoulder.

Cody chuckled. “I think so. He’s used to being able to choose his own path. I couldn’t let him do that here.”

“No kidding.” She lowered her voice and slowed to speak privately. “What are we going to do with you-know-who?”

“Now or later?”

“Either. I suppose he’ll be safer if he’s in jail.”

“I’d say so. We know there’ll be a raid on the greenhouse ASAP. Then the fur will really start to fly.”

“That’s true. How’s your leg?”

“Not too bad. I know it’s there.”

“You seem to be doing a lot better.”

Cody huffed. “Better than what?”

“Better than when you first came to Serenity. I’m amazed.”

“I’m a little surprised, too. The doctors told me I might need arthroscopic surgery eventually. Right now, I’m just glad to be on my feet again.”

“I’m happy for you,” Trudy Lynn said, smiling back at him. “I was afraid you’d given up.”

“On what?”

“Everything.”

“Oh.” Cody let his thoughts ramble as he kept pace. There was plenty of truth to her observation. Although his irrational anger had dissipated, he still nurtured a modicum of disillusionment. It was getting harder and harder, however, to pinpoint his problem, to give it a name and face. For one thing, he’d stopped blaming Stephanie for jilting him and was seeing their breakup in a new light. What if he’d married her? What a tragedy that would have been. He’d not only have taken sacred vows to honor her as his wife, he’d have been unable to freely enjoy Trudy Lynn’s companionship.

That’s what he and his sister’s best friend were, Cody decided easily. Companions. They’d gone from being mere acquaintances to being good friends in less time than it had taken him to convince Stephanie to accept their first date!

Which proves what?
Cody asked himself. That he really was meant to be there? Meant to meet Trudy Lynn? Meant to come to her aid? Well, why not? How else could he explain their harmony of thoughts and feelings, the way they argued, yet always ended up on the same side?

Cody smiled. He wasn’t ready to call their meeting of the minds divinely inspired, but it certainly had been interesting so far. He could hardly wait to see what happened next.

Jim halted at the shore of a brackish green backwater, just upstream from where Trudy Lynn and Cody had beached their canoe. A beat-up bass boat was moored to a stump. The only thing new about it was its powerful outboard motor.

“We can take this,” Jim said, grabbing the rope at the boat’s bow and tugging it closer. “It’ll make good time.”

Trudy Lynn’s brow furrowed. “Will we all fit?”

“Sure. No sweat,” the younger man assured her. “Buford and I haul…” He seemed to think better of it. “Never mind. Just get in.”

“Sailor, too,” Trudy Lynn insisted. “I’m not going anywhere without him.”

Jim cursed under his breath. “Let him walk.”

“He could swim the way he must have when he followed us,” Cody offered. “He’s never been in a boat before. I’m not sure how he’ll act.”

“He’ll be fine.” She was adamant. “We’d still be stuck in the woods, wondering if we were going to be blown to bits with every step, if it hadn’t been for him.” She looked to Cody for confirmation, then stepped into the boat, sat to one side and patted the bench seat. “Come on, boy.”

The Newfoundland shifted its feet in a nervous dance, acting unsure, until Cody said, “Okay,” and released the
tension on the improvised leash. Sailor leaped into the boat beside Trudy Lynn as if he’d been trained to do so.

The dog’s momentum pushed the stern away from the bank and made the whole craft rock wildly. Trudy Lynn laughed and hugged the dog’s neck. “Whoa! That was some jump. I thought you said he didn’t know how to handle himself around boats.”

“It must be a genetic talent,” Cody answered. He waded knee deep to pull the port side of the craft parallel to the sandy shore. “You two stay where you are. Don’t make any more waves. Jim and I’ll get in the back by the motor.”

Cody swung aboard and inched to the starboard side. “Okay, Jim. I’m set. Climb in.”

The younger man shook his head, his eyes wide and frightened, his fists clenched. “No way. I ain’t ridin’ with that monster.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Cody said. “You either ride with him or he has you for lunch. It’s your call.”

It was the tears welling in her cousin’s eyes that spurred Trudy Lynn to suggest, “Maybe Jim could sit in our canoe and we could tow him behind.”

“If we knew where it was,” Cody said. “Got any idea?”

“Yes. I think it’s right down there.” She pointed. “Jim can walk along the bank to get it while we follow.”

One of Cody’s eyebrows arched quizzically. “You trust him that far?”

“Of course I do,” she said sweetly. “If he tries to run you can always sic your man-eating beast on him.” She had to turn away and bite her lower lip to keep from
giggling. Now that the worst was over she was giddy with relief.

“That should work. I haven’t fed him today.”

His quip was almost too much for her. She pressed her fingertips to her mouth. Her shoulders shook. Laughter threatened to bubble out, as unstoppable as the Spring River emerging from Mammoth Spring.

Cody saved the situation by saying, “I know you’re upset, Trudy Lynn, but don’t cry. It’ll be all right.”

She kept her face averted and nodded silently. Cody was right about one thing. Tears were running down her cheeks. Only they weren’t from sadness, they were from the pleasure of being there with him. Of sharing another private joke, a moment of joy meant only for them.

Nothing could ever steal the memories of this amazing encounter from her. Not even the passage of time.

Sniffling, she regained a shaky bit of self-control and began to lecture herself. She had a million things to be thankful for. It was wrong to brood. Wrong to borrow trouble. And wrong to anticipate missing Cody when he was still there.

His warning to not rock the boat took on a deeper meaning. She wouldn’t make waves, wouldn’t upset him when he was in such high spirits. And if—when—he left her, she’d wave goodbye and smile no matter how much her heart was breaking. He’d rescued her from her troubles. The least she could do was see that he triumphed over his, as well.

Becky and Logan were among the crowd gathered at the county line landing when Jim was finally taken into custody. Will was there with Jim’s weeping grandmother, Earlene. A few straggling reporters had heard the police dispatch on their scanners and had shown up, too.

Becky hugged Trudy Lynn, then led her far from the newshounds who had begun to pester the sheriff for details.

Logan shook hands with Cody and thumped him on the back as they walked away. “Good job, man.”

“Thanks.” Cody was beginning to feel the strain. “I’m glad it’s over.” He felt a gentle nudge and reached down to pet Sailor.

“Did the kid explain where he was all this time?”

Cody nodded. “Yeah. He was skipping out on Trudy Lynn and me when he first disappeared. His cohorts decided he was too big a risk to have running around loose, so they tied him up till they could decide what to do with him.”

“Sounds like Jim was lucky you found him.”

“That’s what the sheriff said.” He looked back at the harried lawman. “I’m glad those reporters are leaving us alone. I’ve just about had it with their stupid questions.”

“I imagine you have. How’s Trudy Lynn doing?”

“Okay, I guess.” Cody took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. “We almost got killed out there. I was never so scared in my life.”

“But you made it through,” Logan said quietly.

“I don’t know how.” Cody blinked back telltale mois
ture. “If Sailor hadn’t shown up when he did we’d probably still be looking for a safe escape route.”

Staring into the distance and focused on nothing in particular, Cody began to speak as if he were narrating a documentary. “I’d nearly had my head blown off by a booby trap. Trudy Lynn wouldn’t listen to me. I told her to stop. To freeze. To let me make the next move. But she just kept coming. And then…” His voice cracked with emotion.

Logan rested a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Take your time.”

“I heard this terrible explosion. I saw her fall. I thought…” A tear slid down Cody’s cheek. He quickly wiped it away. “I thought I’d lost her.”

“What did you do then?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, exactly. I remember running to her.” His gaze shifted to Logan. “I think I was praying.”

“And your prayers were answered.”

“Before I asked. Sailor was already on his way. Guess I was wasting my time, huh?”

“Not at all.” Logan smiled. “The important thing is that you proved you haven’t lost your faith. If you had, you wouldn’t have turned to God when the going got rough. Deep in your heart, you trusted Him to help you.”

Cody was shaking his head. “I don’t know why I should have. He didn’t answer my prayers when my passenger and I were tossed into those rapids.”

“Didn’t He?”

“No. My client died. Drowned.”

Logan was nodding. “I’d figured as much.” He paused, then went on sympathetically. “We all tend to put the same limits on God that we experience as human beings. Because we can’t look ahead and see what’s in store, we forget that He knows our future, knows what’s best for us. In spite of the fact we may disagree with God’s answers to our prayers, they’re still answers, even if we don’t understand them at the time.”

“I’ll never understand why that kid had to drown. He was just starting to live.”

“I don’t have the answer to that, either,” Logan said.

“So, I’m supposed to just trust? Blindly? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Why not? You do it all the time.” He gestured with a sweep of his arm. “Look around us. You breathe the air because you sense that it’s here and you need it, yet you can’t see it. You assume morning will come when you close your eyes to sleep because it always has.”

“There’s more to it than that.”

“Of course there is. There’s more to God and His universe than any mortal will ever be able to comprehend. We think we’re geniuses when we supposedly figure out one tiny secret. Then, years later, somebody else comes along and contradicts what was once considered a brilliant discovery and proves it was wrong. All any of us can do is muddle through.” Logan smiled. “I’ve chosen to do it by following the Lord’s teachings as best I can.”

Cody sighed again. “I used to feel the same way.”

“Search your heart,” the preacher said. “See what’s in there now. Be honest with yourself. You may be surprised.”

“Surprised? Hah! I’ve been astonished by just about everything that’s happened since I hit town. One more amazing thing will fall right in line with the rest.”

“Around here, they call that being
bumfuzzled
. Becky tells me it means you’re so bewildered and confused you’re practically speechless.”

Cody chuckled quietly and glanced across the parking lot to where Trudy Lynn and Becky stood. They were obviously rejoicing over the turn of the day’s events and, as usual, Trudy’s voice carried best.

“That’s one thing my landlady doesn’t have to worry about,” Cody said wryly. “No matter how bumfuzzled she gets, she’s never speechless.”

Trudy Lynn pressed her fingertips to her temples. “What an adventure. I hope I never have one like it again.” She gave Becky a smile of heartfelt appreciation. “I’m so glad you and Logan came to meet us. I need a friend, especially right now.”

“I’m here for you, kiddo. Would you like to spend the night at our house? I know Logan wouldn’t mind.”

“Widget would,” Trudy Lynn said. “He’s probably been driving poor Annie crazy while I’ve been gone. Besides, he’ll need me there tonight to let him out.”

“You could just have Cody’s dog take care of it for you,” Becky joked. “He seems to love opening doors.”

“Or running right through them. You should have
seen him go charging into that greenhouse after Jim hollered for help. He was a real hero.”

“I thought Cody was your hero.”

“Okay, him, too.” She blushed. “I’m going to miss him.”

“Why? Did he say he was leaving?”

“No, but…”

“Then stop borrowing trouble. He’s made enormous progress since he’s arrived. Maybe he’ll decide to stay.”

“Why should he?”

“I don’t know. Can’t you think of a good reason?” Becky grinned. One eyebrow arched. “I can.”

“Don’t look at me like that. There’s nothing going on between your brother and me.” The corners of her mouth twitched with a repressed smile. “Well, almost nothing.”

“Aha! I knew it.”