Page 73 of A Cowboy's Claim
“Somewhere between here and the road we’ll be able to send out an SOS,” he assured her.
The first part was easy. They followed an abandoned logging road, overgrown and strewn with puddles and debris from the storm. The second part was tougher as they hit a section of forest where a fire had gone through, and Sydney felt as if she was constantly climbing over fallen trees that were just the wrong height. Too low for her to go under, and too high for her to do anything except sprawl her way over, her clothes catching on sticks and twigs.
Declan confidently led them forward, compass in hand. Always willing to help her over any obstacle when she asked.
“Are you sure you’re not a wilderness guide?” Sydney teased at one point.
“The horses are supposed to be the ones walking,” Declan told her earnestly. “This is not my favourite thing. Except the company’s pretty good.”
He paused before offering her a granola bar out of his pack, leaning in to kiss her, soft and sweet, the way he’d been doing all week. Sydney felt something inside her expanding, warming her from the inside out.
Her phone pinged. His phone beeped.
“We’ve got a connection,” she said excitedly, as both of them dug through their pockets.
She flipped past a number of old messages to the very bottom one, sent two hours earlier.
Petra: We saw your GPS markers move away from Nagy’s cabin. Jake, Aiden, and I are on the way. Once we get closer, we’ll message until we connect. Assume spotty internet, but don’t worry. I can see you.
Petra: By the way, thank God you’re safe. We missed you. See you soon.
Declan still hadan ongoing love-hate relationship with technology, but over the next two hours he had to admit this was one of the times he was damn grateful for it.
Not only that it existed, even though there were frustrating moments when they lost the signal and once again wandered blind for thirty minutes, but the fact that when they finally popped out onto the forestry service road four hours after leaving the cabin, both Jake and Aiden’s trucks were right there waiting for them. It was damn near miraculous.
“Sydney. You okay?” Petra rushed forward, arms outstretched, and enveloped Sydney in an enormous hug.
Then Declan couldn’t see her because he was getting an equally enthusiastic rib-cracking treatment from Jake. “Bad time to pick for a house call,” Jake teased when he finally stopped pounding Declan on the back.
“Any word on how the old man’s doing?” Declan asked.
Petra had her arm linked through Sydney’s and was guiding her toward the truck. “He’s okay. Lexie said to tell you that whatever the infection was, they caught it in time. Mr. Nagy needs to stay in the hospital for a couple more days, though, because they’ve got him on an IV.”
Sydney dipped her chin. “Sounds about right.”
“We’ll have to head up tomorrow again and take care of his animals,” Declan told his brothers. “And make sure somebody knows about the road.”
“Department of highways has already been informed,” Jake told him. “When you didn’t come home on Saturday, we drove out the next morning to see if it you’d had truck issues. The road’s washed out a good distance from the homestead, so we went home.”
“Your truck is stuck for a while,” Aiden informed him.
“I can deal with that.”
Petra had the door open to Aiden’s truck and was handing out offerings of water and sandwiches. “If you guys need anything other than this, let me know. Tansy packed an entire picnic. She might think you’re not capable of cooking for yourself.”
“We’re fine,” Sydney insisted. “Declan took good care of us on the hike out.” She wiggled her shoulders. “I am looking forward to a hot shower.”
“Hop in. It was slow going for a bit, but the roads are in decent shape from here all the way home,” Jake assured her.
Petra opened the back door for Sydney to crawl in, and Jake pressed on Declan’s shoulder to guide him to his truck.
Before anyone could take a step, Sydney caught Declan’s hand. She stared up at him with those bright eyes and such a hopeful expression on her face. “I’ll ride with you.”
The other three froze for a moment, then Petra offered up a wicked grin, nodding happily. “Hop in with Jake. We’ll meet you guys at home.”
“Wait. Really?” Aiden headed to the truck, Petra pushing him on his back. He pivoted his head to glance behind him, confusion clearing as realization sunk in. “Oh. Okay.”
Jake had also connected the dots. He grinned widely as he dipped his chin and gestured to his truck. “Other than I’m not giving up the driver’s seat, pick your place.”
