Page 36 of Falling for the Enemy

Norm laughed nervously. “Railing? It’s not a railing. It’s rope, and it’s moving around like a jump rope on a playground.”

I moved past him, and my foot slid through the mud. My shoes were so covered with mud, I couldn’t see them anymore, and they made my footsteps heavy and clumsy. “I’ll go first andshow you the best path. Just stay behind and focus on me … not the river.”

I stepped onto the bridge. It was no longer swinging freely in the wind but shifting up and down like the deck on a boat. The river washed over it and took away some of the sticky mud on my shoes. I looked back at Norm. “One foot in front of the other and hold on tight.”

Norm grabbed the rope and took his first step onto the bridge. It was going to be a long crossing.

I took a few more steps, and Norm followed behind. Jack looked worried as he watched us inch across. We were halfway. The river raced beneath us in muddy torrents. We had the undivided attention of people on both sides of the river.

I looked over my shoulder. “Halfway there, Norm. I hear there’s pizza waiting at the other end.” That seemed to energize him. He took another step.

I turned forward and knew something was wrong the second I looked at the opposite shore. One of the poles holding the netting and straps of the bridge collapsed and fell into the raging water. As it was dragged off, the second pole got pulled along with it. The far end of the bridge began to sink into the water.

“Back, Norman! Go back!” I yelled.

Jack was waving wildly. It took Norm a second to understand what was happening. Norm spun around and raced back toward Jack. I followed closely at his heels. I could feel the tension in the rope go slack as the bridge fell away behind me. Norm leapt toward shore and yelled out as his foot wedged between the last two planks. I bent down. He yelled again as I yanked his foot free. Jack leaned dangerously out over the bank and the collapsing bridge and grabbed Norm by the shirt. He pulled him roughly to shore and then turned around to help me.

The bridge was taking its last breath of life. My heart pounded as the muddy river raced past my legs. Jack held out his hand. “Take it!” he yelled.

“I’ll pull you in,” I yelled back.

He lunged forward. I grabbed his hand, and he yanked me off the last plank as it got sucked into the water. I landed against his hard chest. His first reaction was to wrap his arms around me and hold me. After the last few seconds, I didn’t mind. My heart was thumping but not nearly as fast as Jack’s.

It took both of us a minute to get over the shock of what had just happened. I was as reluctant to leave his embrace as he was to release me. I peered up at him, and the look in his eyes was different. Something had changed between us in those last few seconds, but I wasn’t sure if it would last or if it was just the explosion of adrenaline and fear that had caused it. But right then, it felt as if a connection had grown between us, a connection I never would have predicted.

I turned around and stared down at the river that rushed past us like an angry sea. I was an excellent swimmer, but I could not have survived falling in. I looked across the river. Harold, Mia and Ian stared back looking pale and stunned. They’d had to watch helplessly from the other side as the river swallowed the bridge right out from under us.

Harold put both hands on the sides of his mouth to make a megaphone. “I will radio you to see how you’re doing.”

We waved them off. Ian looked back with a sweet, worried expression. I waved again to him. Norm was sitting fully in mud holding his ankle and groaning. “How will we get across now?” he asked.

It was a good question. Jack and I exchanged glances. We both knew the answer, and Norm wasn’t going to like it.

“We’ll have to wait for the water in the river to recede, so we can wade across,” I said. I squinted up into the wet mistfalling from the clouds. “At least the rain and wind have slowed. Hopefully, we’ve seen the worst of it.” I surveyed the campsite and sighed. “What a mess.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

JACK

The storm had passed and only a light, somewhat pleasant breeze remained. The river was still impassable, and it seemed it would be that way for a few days, maybe longer. I stared down at the rushing water. It was murky and filled with debris. I’d seen more than one good-sized tree trunk float past. As I stared into the churning water, the moment of terror came back to me. Ava came dangerously close to being swept away in the deadly current. Just thinking about it formed a knot deep in the pit of my stomach. When I pulled her into my arms, all I could think was that I never wanted to let her go. I never wanted to lose her.

Ava was busy wrapping Norman’s ankle. It didn’t appear broken, but it was definitely sprained, so he’d be stuck in his cot for the next few days. I decided to pull out one of the shovels from the small shed behind the mess tent. A shovel seemed my best option for cleaning up the debris. The mud was thick. I started with the firepit and the sitting logs. We were going to need both if we were stuck here a few days.

I managed to uncover what was left of the firepit and was busy getting started on the logs when a large, leafy branch on the ground began to move on its own. The wind had died downcompletely, so there could only be one explanation for a broken branch moving on its own. I assumed a snake, so I used the shovel to move the leafy branch aside. Big, sad eyes stared up at me. A baby sloth, not more than a few weeks old, made a high-pitched squeak as it dragged its body across the muddy ground. Sloths could move vertically up and down trees with ease but walking across the ground like other terrestrial mammals was nearly impossible.

I put down the shovel and walked toward it. It squeaked as it stared up at me with a look that broke my heart. It seemed that, if nothing else, this trip was proving to me that my heart was not as encased in stone as some, including me, liked to believe.

I picked the frail creature up, and it immediately gripped my arm and climbed higher toward my neck where it finally settled, apparently feeling safe for the first time since the storm began. I headed to the mess tent where I’d heard Ava moving around, preparing some food.

“I was going to rehydrate some chili mac. I don’t know about you, but I’m—” Her words fell off as she spotted the little critter tucked against my neck. She squealed with delight, something I wouldn’t have expected from Ava Lovely.

“Let me have that little darling.” She reached greedily for him.

“Uh, hold on, I have to release the claws; otherwise they’re liable to leave big grooves in my neck.” The tiny sloth squeaked as I unfastened him from my neck.

Ava’s face nearly split in two with an adoring smile. She hugged the sloth to her, and the baby immediately snuggled against her. She stroked his head gently. “You poor thing.” She looked up. The baby sloth had wiped away the earlier angst we were all wearing heavily, like a wet wool coat. “Where did you find it?”

“Well, interesting story. I was digging the firepit out from the mud, and I noticed a leafy branch making its way across the ground. Frankly, I was expecting a snake, one big enough to move the branch. But no snake. Just little Buster.”

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