Page 54 of Clumsy in Love

“Bennett to base,” Holly said into the radio.

“Bennett,” a female voice replied. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Got stuck up on Windy Ridge. I’m holed up in the old park cabin and will hike out in the morning. No cell coverage, and I don’t have much battery left on the radio, so I’m turning it off.”

“Ten-four. Thanks for the update. Stay dry.”

She turned to Cole. “Since there’s no signal, we should turn off our phones to save power for tomorrow.”

“Good thinking,” he said, digging out his phone and hitting the off button.

“I’m gonna test out the restroom,” she said. “You know how to start a fire?”

“Oh,” he said. “I was a Boy Scout for about two minutes. Let’s see what I remember.”

He carried the lantern to the fireplace and surveyed what materials he had to work with. Luckily, everything he needed was stacked neatly next to the hearth. He wadded up some newspaper, made a teepee out of kindling, and struck a match. Before lighting the paper, he had a brief recollection of a movie he’d seen where someone forgot to open the flue. He blew out the match and pointed his flashlight up the chimney. Hah. The contraption was closed. Thinking he was so clever, he reached for the handle to open it, but screamed and recoiled when several spiders attacked in defense of their perch.

Holly came out of the bathroom just as he lost his balance and fell back on his butt. She took in the scene. “Ya good?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, righting himself. He tried the flue again, this time using a piece of wood, and once he was sure it was open, lit the newspaper. He watched for a minute to ensure the kindling started, then laid a larger log on sideways.

Holly had moved to stand behind him. “Good job, Kit Carson.”

“Who’s…Never mind.” Cole dusted his hands on his pants and stood. “I still got it,” he said triumphantly. “Feel that heat?”

“Yes. I’m very impressed. You got skills, Robinson.”

They kicked off their shoes, propped them up by the fire to dry, then dug into their packs to take stock. Between the two of them, they had six protein bars, three sleeves of trail mix, and four water bottles.

“Can you survive on a protein bar and a bag of nuts and raisins?” he asked. The way she packed away food, he had his doubts.

“I’ll have to,” she said, digging into the bar. “That’ll leave us each one more for breakfast and two for an emergency. We can split the last trail mix for a snack later.”

“So, what are the accommodations like?”

“Good news is the toilet flushes, so the well’s hooked up. I wouldn’t drink the water though.”

“Noted.” He got up to look around. “Kitchen. Check,” he said, opening a cupboard. “Any chance there’s food here?”

“Maybe cans but nothing to attract animals.” She came over to help him look through the cupboards. “Pull out any pots and pans you find.”

“What? Why?”

She placed a pot on the floor a few feet away, and he heard the tinnysplat,splat,splatof raindrops hitting the steel bottom. “I have a feeling there will be more.”

“The roof’s leaking?” She shrugged in response. “Great. We’ll be lucky if this place doesn’t fall down around us during the night.”

“It’s a distinct possibility,” she said, putting a second pan under another leak. “Hey, hey. Jackpot!”

He turned to see her holding a bottle of wine. “Think that’s okay to drink?”

“Only one way to find out.” She whipped out a pocketknife. The kind that had a million other tools on it, including a corkscrew. Within seconds, the bottle was open, and two dingy glasses poured.

“To the kid being found safe,” she said.

“To us not having to hike off this mountain in the rain,” he said.

They clinked and sipped. It was fresh and fruity. Not really his thing, but it would do in a pinch. He took the glass, walked to the door next to the bathroom, and pushed it open. Something lay on the bed. Something that moved when he shone his flashlight on it. “Hol-ly?”

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