River's Escape (River's End Series, #2) (9 page)

Ian continued working hard and got another pack saddle to put on the other horse. He glanced up at her and the tack room, and she could tell he was trying to figure out something, but she had no idea what that could be. Eyeing the tack room again, she saw the floor was filled with big boxes covered by straps.

“Let’s just wait until they get here. No sense killing you by lifting those.”

“I can lift them,” she replied quickly. She was definitely no wuss. She regularly moved furniture around in order to clean his freaking house. Of course, she could lift heavy boxes.

“They weigh eighty pounds each; and we need to lift them high enough to strap each to the sawbuck. We’ll just wait. No reason to make them stand there either. We’ll have to pack and saddle up the five horses Shane is bringing when he gets here.”

“Oh. So we just wait?”

He nodded and sighed before he started scooping away the fresh horse manure that had dropped since they began saddling. He threw it off into the grass beyond the clearing, and put the scooper away. “I’m going to unhitch the truck and go down to where I can get cell service. I want to see what’s holding them up this time.”

“Oh. And I should stay here? Alone?” She nearly gulped out loud. Sure, they were on the road, but there wasn’t another soul around. And there were wild animals in the woods. That she did know.

“I’d like you to stay here so the horses remain calm. I don’t like leaving them tied to the trailer, but they’re saddled. This is ridiculous. Stupid Shane. He should know better.”

He leaned down to quickly unhitch the truck and she watched his movements. There was no denying the man knew exactly what he was doing. Thank God, or she’d be lost. She couldn’t even tie the knot correctly to hold the horse. It was a bit of comfort to realize his expertise would be keeping her safe and secure despite whatever lurked on the deep face of the mountains. She was starting to have serious doubts now that she could actually handle the endeavor.

“I’ll be about a half hour or so. Don’t worry, I’ll return as soon as I can.”

She struggled to keep her inner groan to herself. Being stuck in the woods alone, with four horses and no cell service. Yeah, that sounded great. She couldn’t wait idly. She walked around, rubbing each of the horses nervously as his truck roared down the road, stirring up clouds of dust until it disappeared in the distance. Holy crap, it was silent. She kept glancing around while picturing a bear or wolf coming out of the woods. The day was brightening, but her heart still pounded painfully. The horses snickered and groaned as they stomped the ground, impatient to either get on with it, or be released, she supposed. Feeling bad for them, she kept going to each one and talking softly in an effort to comfort herself as well as them.

Finally, Ian’s truck came barreling back. He swung a quick U-turn and backed up almost an inch from the hitch. As he jumped out, his expression was not the normal dour, blank nothing. No, he looked pissed off. She never really saw Ian showing any kind of feeling, so she came up to the side of him, unsure of what was going on.

“Where are they?”

“Getting drunk. Decided to start a little early and now Shane, the shithead, is too buzzed to drive.”

She watched Ian slamming the trailer hitch back onto the hitch ball of his truck and noted his movements were jerky, using too much force. He straightened back up and his last words finally sunk in.

“They’re not coming? Not at all?”

He walked towards the first horse. “Nope. Well, perhaps tomorrow. But I told them to just fuck off. I don’t intend to go through this again tomorrow.”

Who does that? Who starts drinking at only ten o’clock in the morning? “And my brothers?”

“They’re with mine.”

She felt her legs growing rubbery as she sat down on the bumper of the truck. The disappointment was crushing. She literally put all her heart into the trip. And thought… well, she thought her life would actually change because of it. And now they glibly decided to get drunk and not even tell Ian and her? It was so thoughtless and rude, downright awful behavior, really. She couldn’t even spin it about Shane.

“So we did all this for nothing?”

“Yup,” he almost snapped. The side of his face was tight where he kept re-clenching his jaw. He started to work at the cinch before him.

“How can they do that? Forget to come?”

He stopped and looked straight across at her. “Because they’re irresponsible assholes who can only think about themselves. Somehow, it’s like that fact completely goes right over your head. How? I don’t know, but it does.”

She jerked her back and stood up straight. Did he just about call her stupid? Never mind, it was almost like he seemed to know the one whom she always forgave. Definitely neither of her brothers. But no; no way. He could not have known about that.

“So they’re really not coming?”

His scowl went darker. “No,
they’re really not coming,
” he replied, almost aping her tone.

She was all set to go camping, to the point of being thrilled about it. She was taking her life into her own hands and making something new happen, for once. Something good. She was tired of wallowing in her own self-pity. She had grown weary of not pursuing something different and better, and this trip was pivotal for her. Now it was all over? Gone? Like every other hope in her life? That’s all she seemed to experience: one disappointment after another.

No! Damn it!
She was the one who allowed everything and everyone to control her life. Her dad’s martyrdom, her brothers’ laziness, and her own terror at leaving the familiar.

“We should just go on without them.”

Ian was turning toward the tack room and stopped dead as he lifted his gaze to her. “What? Us? Alone?”

Okay, so he was not her first choice for this epiphany: her first real effort to take her life’s reins and put it under her own control. But Ian was here, and they were here together, so why not? What did she have to lose? Going home simply meant more cleaning and waitressing. Here, at least, there was something new and different for her to experience. She hadn’t had any kind of new and different in over four years.

“Yes. Screw them. Don’t you think? Unless, you believe I can’t do this.”

“Oh, you can do this. Yeah, sure. I’m always up for doing this. That is, as long as you feel comfortable.”

No, not even a little.
But her unease was less than how pissed off she was at her brothers and Shane, not to mention, her regular life in general. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, standing up and throwing her shoulders back confidently.

IAN SENSED KAILYNN’S DEFIANCE when he observed her posture as she straightened her back. She acted like a prisoner about to walk to the gallows, determined not to cry, and fully ready to do herself proud. He bit his lip and turned to conceal a smirk of amusement. He also observed her disappointment over the news Shane wasn’t coming. She practically shrank into the trunk of her body and huddled there for a long moment. Somehow, her anger and disappointment over his brother worked to motivate her to go ahead and take the trip with him. He knew that was her only motivator and sensed how ill at ease she was being with him. She all but jumped whenever he walked near her or moved around her. There was no sense that they had known each other for their entire lives. He really couldn’t understand why she had the odd reaction to him that she did.

Okay, he might not have been the funniest guy in the room, but he wasn’t usually made to feel like an oddity, or an aberration, or a complete ass, which was how Kailynn seemed to think of him. He had it for the one girl who considered him a strange creep. He wasn’t a creep at all, however, and quite well liked. Most people considered him very easy to be around. But for some reason, Kailynn found it very hard to ever be alone with him.

Maybe he would get the chance to change that, or end his interest in her, once and for all. In all honesty, her incessant fascination with his brother was slowly killing his romantic interest in her. A woman letting a man treat her in such a careless, offhand manner as Shane treated Kailynn just revealed that she didn’t have a lot of confidence in herself. Not if she still wanted the jerk. He was almost ready to tell Shane what the hell was up just to let them have at it.

Except, here they were. Alone. Five days. Together. Yeah, might be time to see what the hell,
if anything,
existed between them.

“Well, luckily, I have plenty of food for the horses, and our food and gear, so we are good. I put Shane and your brothers’ stuff in their rig.”

“You packed for them?”

“Mostly. I pictured them getting up there with no beds, sleeping bags, pots… well, you’ve already observed their carelessness.”

She nodded, and her eyebrows scrunched together. At last, she realized how often Shane and her brothers screwed up, and worse, screwed her over. Why did any of that surprise her? Ian noticed when they were an hour past the agreed upon meet time. He could have punched a few faces in, if they’d been in front of him, when he finally got a hold of his brother on his cell.

“Let’s see if you can lift any of these boxes.” Ian tugged the first brown box out and had Kailynn take one side. He could easily have handled most of the weight, but while snapping the strap around the metal hoop on the sawbuck, he needed her help in holding it up. She leaned over and pulled hard, her expression registering some strain and surprise, but she did not utter a word of complaint.

They managed to leverage the box against the horse’s side. Roxy braced under the pack-saddle’s weight as Ian quickly worked to buckle the strap. Kailynn used her shoulders to support the box and held it with the trunk of her body. By the time they were done, both sweating, Kailynn threw her coat off. Only three more boxes to go. He felt bad, but there was no other way to do it. After an hour, all the horses had the boxes loaded and the top packs over them. He spent a rather long time tying the pack set-ups down in order to keep them secure for the long trek in. They nevertheless wobbled and moved as the horses made their way over steep hills and rocky terrain. The pack gear always started out looking secure, but a mile or so in, you could easily see the beating it took. More than once, the entire rig slid off to one side or the other. Straps even broke, and the top packs once slid off. Ian had endured every disaster at some point. As he helped Kailynn mount her horse, after stashing her gear in the saddlebags, he checked to be sure it was all tied down good and tight.

They didn’t speak except for his instructions to her on what to do next. She suddenly made an odd sound.

“What about sleeping bags? Bedding? I-I didn’t think about it. I mean, you kept talking about gear… I’ve just never done this before, so I didn’t really think about having to bring everything in.”

Her face looked stricken. He had already gotten the packhorses untied and had one lead rope tucked under the other pack saddle. They weren’t tied very tightly, for safety reasons, and he expected the second horse would follow without needing the rope too much. Kailynn wasn’t ready to lead a pack horse in. They were cumbersome to tow and their giant packs in tight spots could make things very precarious. Sometimes they shied, or got startled, and weren’t even aware as to what their packs might be hitting. Ian had seen more than one person get hurt on the trail.

“Don’t worry; I got it all,” he said, mounting his horse before pulling on the lead rope for Roxy, who stood between Samson and him.

He caught a glimpse of her mouth flattening, and she shook her head. “I’m an idiot. Really. How could I forget about that stuff?”

“Because you’ve never done this before. I knew that when I agreed to let you come. I got you covered. As well as the idiots that you refer to as your brothers.”

Digging his heels into Commander’s side gently, they started their long journey. He quickly locked his truck remotely with the keys before tucking them into his horn bag. And they were off. He glanced at his watch: three hours from saddling. Not too bad, considering Kailynn wasn’t very strong and had no idea what she was doing. He took things at a slower pace, and kept looking back to see how all the gear was traveling; but more importantly, how Kailynn was riding. Her jaw was locked, and her eyes were wide. She was scared, but determined. Her eyes followed the trail when it dropped down unexpectedly to a grassy meadow and straight to the creek below. Heights didn’t bother Ian, and he sure as hell hoped they didn’t bother her. The horses clung tightly to the trail as they cautiously made their way.

It was a pleasant day, and the weather was forecast to be nice all week. He didn’t expect much to go wrong. It would be a lot easier trip for him without Shane and his friends. Kailynn worried she would be a problem? As if. She was quiet and obeyed exactly as he said. She didn’t buck or try to argue with him. And obviously, she trusted that he knew what he was doing. She wasn’t too proud to listen to him.

He kept a constant watch on her and the other two horses. They made a lot of stops. Lead ropes fell, the gear had to be tightened, and the horses acted up. Finally, after about two miles, the horses settled down and they managed to cover a couple of miles without stopping. Midday, they reached a small clearing, where they stopped and let the horses graze for awhile. Ian kept hold of the two mounts, and made her hold the lead rope of her horse. The fourth wouldn’t likely wander from the others. They ate the sandwiches Kailynn packed. She didn’t say much as her eyes constantly scanned the surrounding terrain.

“So there are bears around here, right?”

“Yes,” he replied as he smiled at her timid tone and the way her eyes darted around when she said it. “There are bears roaming the hills around your trailer too, however.”

“Yes, but I can run inside if I see them. I’m not exposed to the outside with nowhere to go. And wolves? Aren’t there wolves around here too?”

The recent reintroduction of gray wolves to the area made a few packs of them now prevalent. They were blamed for causing some mayhem down in the lower valley by farmers and ranchers with livestock. But attacking humans? It was so rare, Ian had never even heard of a documented case.

He reached into his saddlebags. “Would it ease your anxiety if I wore this?”

She glanced at the gun he pulled out, which wasn’t loaded. He checked the chamber to be sure and drew his shoulder-holster out, sliding it over his shoulder so as to keep the weight off his back.

Her breath came out in a gush. “Would it kill them?”

“At close range, but I hope to never find out.”

“But it is a possibility, right? They could…”

He loaded the gun and tucked it neatly into the holster, smiling as he shook his head. “You’re not going to get eaten by a wild animal. There’re only black bears, not grizzlies. They rarely attack humans. And look around you; why would they bother with us? They have all the space in the world to avoid us, and horses are very loud when tromping down the trail. We’ve most likely scared away anything and everything.”

“I didn’t know you had a gun.”

“That helps?” He wasn’t really much for guns. Not like some of the guys around there. Even Jack liked to shoot and hunt more than Ian did, although he wasn’t against having one, just in case. But not the kind of cases Kailynn was imagining. His was a more gruesome reason: if something happened to one of the horses and there was nothing more to be done… His brain shut down at the very thought of it. He could never really picture the rest of the scenario.

“Yes. It helps. It seemed easy when I thought about wild animals, but now that we’re out here…”

“Whole new feel of wilderness than at home, huh?” She nodded, her eyes still darting around. He put a hand on her shoulder, “Relax. I swear you’re not going to get eaten by a bear.”

“Or by wolves?”

He choked on a laugh. She was serious. “Or by wolves. Or a cougar.”

“A cougar?” Her eyes bugged out.
Shit.
He didn’t mean to scare her any more than she already was.

“You’ll never see them, even if they’re there.”

“Oh, that’s good. They can just stalk me.” She shivered before studying the landscape around them even closer.

“Do you want to go back? Scrap this?”

Her startled gaze met his. “You’d do that? Just because I’m scared?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been up there. I don’t need to go again. If you’re not going to have fun, why bother?”

She studied his face, and shook her head finally. “No. I want to have fun. I want to do this. I’ll just stick close to your side.”

“Do you like riding?”

She smiled for the first time in hours. “Yes, I do, although I’m a little stiff.”

He pictured what kind of hell she’d be feeling by tonight after the ten-mile ride. Her saddle sore butt would be far worse than stiff; but he liked her moxie. Grabbing the halter, he held her horse steady, indicating for her to remount. It took her some effort. Tommy, her horse, though gentle, was rather high at eighteen hands. She had to really pull hard to get her body up and swing her legs over, but finally managed to get settled. She smiled when Ian let her go and she gathered the reins.

He rearranged the three horses before mounting one and starting off again. Up ahead lay the first of three creek crossings. Shallow, but rather wide, the flowing creek rushed past them. If she could overcome this obstacle, she’d surely manage the rest of them. He prepped her while they ate their sandwiches on how to cross and what to expect. He halted when they reached the creek, and checked on everyone again before going first and tugging Roxy and Samson through. Happily, they both sprayed and splashed their heavy loads while slogging through the water. Kailynn’s horse started dancing, it was getting antsy to follow them. Her face paled as her horse started down the small embankment and she finally closed her eyes while white-knuckling the saddle horn as the horse rushed across the watery barrier. Ian had to chuckle at her wild ride, and seeing that she did it all with her eyes closed. It worked though. When her horse stopped behind Samson, she quickly popped her eyes open and smiled with a wide grin, declaring, “I didn't die!”

“You didn’t.” He didn’t even try to correct her form or technique. He was more impressed that she just went for it and obeyed his words without any arguments. Despite her reluctance and fear, she was trying to follow his instructions and doing a damn fine job. Far better than either of her brothers. They held up Ian’s progress by hours, not mere minutes, which was all that Kailynn did now and then.

Heading off again, they were seven miles in before the next creek. This one was even wider and deeper with fallen logs jamming it up. Kailynn eyed it warily and yelled behind him, “Just keep going. Don’t stop, or I might not be able to make myself go across it.”

He glanced back and saw her face was strained. He did as she asked and trampled through the water. Water splashed over his boots and he stopped mid-stream to let his horse drink, as well as Roxy and Samson. Kailynn shrieked, “Why are you stopping?” Her horse’s front legs were in the water with the back legs still on land, leaving her awkwardly sprawled too far forward on the horse.

“They need to drink. Let yours have some.”

She nodded, sucking her lips anxiously into her mouth. Her eyes closed as she loosened her grip on the reins to let Tommy’s head drop so he could drink. Eventually, the horses had their fill and quit drinking. Ian started out again, which caused her horse to startle and suddenly bolt around the pack horses and Ian’s mount. Tommy trotted up the embankment, spraying loose dirt into the river as he stomped up the incline. Kailynn screamed and grappled with the reins, only to drop one in order to cling to the saddle horn. Then her horse stopped dead, only ten feet up the trail, and began breathing hard. Kailynn didn’t wait another second before dismounting.

She leaned over as if ready to puke. Ian spurred his horse forward, stopping behind her and jumping down. He quickly walked toward her, touching her back gently, while asking, “Are you all right?”