Page 39 of Wild Child
Ellie turned back to the map, all rigid professionalism now.
"The place you want to see is about two miles from here, but we'd have no trails and would have to cross a couple of ridges. I know them. I've been to the top of most of them before, but it'll take most of tomorrow with terrain like that, because you can't always go in a straight line. There's ups and downs and unknowns. We could get there in the evening at the pace we took today."
Kimball clapped his hands together. "Sounds great! Isn't that better than a boring trail?"
"No. There are shale fields that get slippery and hold mountain lions, not to mention thick brush and forest to move through. A broken ankle isn't unlikely. Do you really want to do it?"
"Yes."
"Steve?" Ellie asked.
He shrugged.
She stared hard at him for a moment, then back to Kimball. No doubt she was torn between the common sense of sticking to the plan and known routes, where Daniel would be aware of her movements, versus abandoning them to a whim. But how to please the customer? Particularly when he proved to be a wild card. For a moment, I wanted to ask to talk to her. To pull her aside and convince her out of this utter madness. The deeper we trekked into difficult territory, the harder to extract—or get away from them. But that would make her lose respect and she was the decision-maker here.
"Can I see the map?" I asked quietly.
Thankfully, when my arm pressed against hers, she didn't give me a dirty glare or move back. If anything, she'd scooted closer to me now. Whether subconscious or not, I felt grateful she didn't shy away. Our legs pressed together. Her stability against me was more powerful than I expected.
Just like old times.
"This spot?" I asked Kimball to verify. He glanced at the map and nodded.
"Yeah."
"Probably has a shale field above it," I murmured to Ellie.
"Doesn't seem like a safe spot for any house," Ellie said, more to me than him, her brow creased in thought. Her finger touched a line. "We can make it to this ridge, I'm just not sure how to get down."
"This person you spoke with about the haunted cabin with treasure," I asked Kimball, "what was their name?"
"Can't remember."
"When did you talk to them?"
Kimball shook his head, his gaze on the fire in a should-be relaxed pose that didn't fool me. "A few days before we came."
"Huh."
Another silence fell on the group, burdened this time with questions. Of course there was no person that he talked to. Ellie and I knew everyone in town, which is likely something he didn't bank on. The holes in his story would make his boat sink because now I was onto him.
There wassomethingat that cabin, all right. But I doubted it had anything to do with ghosts or treasure. Even Steve kept his gaze away now and I wondered what he'd have to say if he cracked that thick shell and came out a bit. Maybe if Kimball wasn't around, I could get the big guy to open up.
Tomorrow, there may be a way to do that.
11
Ellie
Adistant rumble of thunder accompanied us to bed.
The thick, rolling sound felt eerie against the hiss of Devin dumping water on the fire and the rolling clouds of smoke that billowed out of it. Embers winked out, leaving darkness in the wake of warm light. I reached up to turn on my headlamp but stopped to let my eyes acclimate to the dark first. When I could make out what I needed to by starlight, I left it off.
Devin moved next to me but didn't say anything. I felt his presence like a band of warmth at my side. Although I didn't entirely acknowledge it, he made me feel safer.
"Steve," I said and broke the quiet. "I think it's safe to say that we should expect rain at the very least. More likely hail and lightning. I'm not comfortable with you sleeping outside without any protection."
"He'll be fine," Kimball said.
