Page 37 of Burning Escape

“Dunno. I guess she has moments of being completely lucid, and then she’s back to speaking gibberish. They arranged transportation and were able to get ahold of her husband and kids on his satellite phone on their fishing trip.”

“Good. I’ll go and check on Joann and bring her some food.”

“I’ll wait here for you.” He passed off the bag of food and gave her a reassuring smile.

She went back and found Joann, who held Josiah close as a nurse showed her how to use a specialty bottle to feed him.

Joann smiled up at Tori. “He’s eating.”

“Way to go, little man.” Tori ran a light finger over his downy hair.

“He’s doing it. Praise God.”

Tori wasn’t sure about the praising God part, but the peace and joy in Joann’s face was a beautiful change. “He’s doing great.” Tori sat in the chair next to Joann.

“They helped me express milk with a machine, but there’s one I can do manually. And the doctor said when Josiah gets older, we can do that surgery you mentioned. There’s even a ministry that does it for children around the world. We might qualify for their help.”

“That’s incredible, Joann. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you for being God’s answer to my prayer.” Joann smiled with tears in her eyes, grabbing Tori’s hand and squeezing tightly. “He’s good, isn’t He?”

Tori didn’t have the heart to tell her she wasn’t anyone’s answer to prayer. She didn’t want to dim this woman’s happiness.

But Godhadbeen good to Joann, and Josiah had the help he needed. So maybe there was hope.

But there was a lot more evidence of darkness in this world, including her own past. So what could she do about that? Especially when it had come back to taunt her.

EIGHT

After beingwith Tori almost constantly for the last forty-eight hours, it felt weird to Orion to go their separate ways. But here he was, riding back to base camp with Cadee and Vince—who apparently were getting along really well for a change, maybe too well—while Tori stayed in Copper Mountain with Joann at the clinic overnight.

The difference in these two since the last time he’d seen them was astounding. What on earth had happened to Cadee and Vince the last couple of days?

Orion didn’t like leaving Tori in town. Especially after all she’d shared with him. Losing both parents. Razor. Horrible church experiences. No wonder she’d been leery of God and anything to do with faith. Looking out at Denali in the distance, he wished she could see the vastness of the One who’d created the mountains, and more so, the depth of His love.

Lord, help her to see the truth of who You are and how much You love her.

“You need anything before we leave town?” Vince asked from the driver’s side.

“I’m good. Even grabbed a new phone before you arrived.” Orion held up the box to show them, but they were too busy making puppy eyes at each other to notice. “And thanks for coming to get me.”

“It worked out. Everyone else was busy, but we had some follow-up police business here anyway.”

“Police business?” That didn’t sound good.

“It’s a long story. Got tangled up with some militia guys, and it led to more trouble, but it’s fine.”

“So what else did I miss at base camp?” Orion asked the couple. He was definitely getting some third-wheel vibes. He needed to keep the conversation going, or Vince and Cadee would continue sneaking glances and smiling at each other.

“We’ve been grounded until we get another plane, so we’ve been busing out with the hotshots. Saxon has been working on a backup plane though. If they get it running, we’ll be back in business.” Vince glanced back in the mirror.

“And everyone made it okay with the plane crash?”

“Saxon managed to get Neil out of the plane after it hit the ground, which was a miracle all on its own, though Neil’s condition is still serious. Logan and Jamie are working to track stuff down with the militia and figure out what they’re doing. Her brother is still out there. You and Tori were the ones we were worried about. Everyone else made it back to base camp before nightfall the day of the crash, though it took us a little longer.” Vince reached over and held Cadee’s hand.

Cadee turned around to face Orion. “And what Vince is totally glossing over is that while you were gone, he was arrested by the FBI for embezzling funds. But it was actually an old coworker of his from the DEA who was involved in a real-estate slash money-laundering scheme and was framing him.”

“Wow. You guys have all the fun without me.”

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