Page 53 of Thunder Pass

“Oh, just…hoping we don’t have to use our cover story. It might make Luke mad too.”

“When you say ‘mad’ … I remember seeing marks on your back that day when I picked up you and Sarah. Was that him being mad?”

A slow wave of heat came across her face. “No. Well, sort of. He says he doesn’t use the lash in anger, only to discipline. But it hurts just the same. And sometimes it feels like he is angry, he just doesn’t want to admit it.”

“Fuck,” Gunnar said, in such a deep and heartfelt tone that she put a hand on his knee. “Now I want him to catch us so I can punch him in the fucking nose.”

The visual of Gunnar slamming his fist into Luke’s face was so satisfying that she took a moment to savor it. “That could get ugly, so please don’t do that,” she told him, a little regretfully.

He heaved a long sigh. “Fine. I’ll just have to fantasize about it.”

“That’s better. You might not know this, but I’m a big believer in fantasizing.”

“Oh yeah? Tell me more. Anything sexy in there?”

“Sometimes.” She shot him a wicked smile. “You might have made an appearance yourself, after that first time we kissed. I believe you were wearing a kilt and nothing else.”

“A kilt? I wonder where I could get my hands on one of those. Gotta make your dreams come true. Especially the sexy ones.”

She giggled, feeling more free and comfortable than she could remember. She could say anything to Gunnar; he was so easy to talk to.

“Mostly they’re not like that. My chickens would be surprised to know they double as lords and ladies in a ballroom. Do you know that I miss my hens more than anything else at the compound, except for the kids? Look, we’re almost back!” She pointed excitedly at the first outlying building at the edge of town, an old storage shed with moss sprouting from every crevice.

“Good old Firelight Ridge.” Gunnar grinned along with her. “Just a little more decrepit every day that passes.”

“Well, I like it that way. I wouldn’t want to change a thing. Except maybe we could use a karaoke machine,” she added thoughtfully. “And it would be nice if Bear carried sake.”

A horn honked behind them; a truck impatient to pass. Gunnar edged to the side of the road to give it space. The truck roared past them, much faster than most vehicles traveled on this road. As it passed by, Ruth saw it was painted in a camouflage pattern and had especially rugged tires.

“Don’t see rigs like that around here,” Gunnar muttered. “Those tires could climb up a ravine.”

“Did you see the driver? Who was it?”

“All I saw was sunglasses and a black beanie type hat.”

“Let’s follow him,” Ruth said on impulse. “Stay back so he can’t see us, but those tire tracks are hard to miss.”

“Sure thing.”

It felt like an extension of their adventure as they followed the marks in the dusty road. There hadn’t been much rain lately, which worked to their advantage—the dust plume the truck kicked up probably hid them from view.

But Ruth’s sense of excitement turned to something more serious when they realized that the truck was headed for the Chilkoot compound.

Gunnar pulled over to the side of the road but kept the engine running. “I don’t want to set off any alarms in Chilkoot-land. We should either turn back here or continue on foot like we talked about.”

“Are we ready to do this?” Ruth twisted her hands together anxiously. “We need binoculars, we need…” She couldn’t even think of what they needed.

“I have binoculars in my emergency bag. I even have…” He reached across her, into the glove compartment, and pulled out a little velvet box. “For you.”

She opened it, and her eyes went wide at the sight of the gold band nestled inside. “A ring?”

“It was my mother’s engagement ring. I also have her wedding ring, but we haven’t done the deed yet.” He gave her the sweetest smile in the world. “I brought it with us in case we needed to pretend we were a couple at the correctional center. It’s our cover story, remember?”

“Gunnar.” Her voice trembled, as all this started to seem very real. “Are you sure you want to use something that means so much to you as a cover story?”

“I’m very sure,” he said firmly. “Hopefully we won’t get caught, but if we do, we need to look legit. ”

“Right. Okay.” She curled her fist around the ring. It gave her a sense of security that surprised her, a reminder that she wasn’t alone in this. She wasn’t the old Ruth Chilkoot anymore. She’d grown, changed.

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