Page 62 of Ghost of Talon Mountain
They stabilize our injuries enough for transport. Load us into one of the SUVs, Barrett riding up front while Sierra and I sit in back. The drive down from the ranger station is slow, careful. The snowstorm is picking up, visibility dropping.
I don't care. Sierra's hand finds mine, our fingers intertwining. She leans her head on my shoulder, exhausted.
"What happens now?" she asks quietly.
"Debriefs. Investigations. Probably months of testimony."
"I meant with us."
Us. The word makes my throat tight. "I don't know. Figure it out as we go?"
"I can work with that." She lifts her head, looks at me. "I'm not going anywhere, Chris. Just so you know."
"Good." I kiss her forehead, gentle. "Neither am I."
The SUV winds down the mountain road toward Glacier Hollow. Toward my sister. Toward whatever comes next.
I lean my head back, close my eyes. Sierra's hand stays in mine, warm and steady.
A year ago, I died on this mountain. Today, I'm finally coming in from the cold.
15
SIERRA
The aftermath is bureaucracy, debriefings, and a media circus I want no part of, but none of it matters because he's alive and he's staying.
Chris's hand finds mine in the back of Barrett's SUV as we wind down the mountain toward Glacier Hollow. The adrenaline has worn off, leaving us both exhausted and aching. My shoulder throbs. His ribs are taped so tight I can see him wince with each breath.
But we're alive, and we won--for the most part.
"She's probably already there," Chris says quietly, staring out the window at the darkening forest.
"Bryn?"
"She said she was leaving immediately. That was three hours ago." His jaw works. "I don't know what to say to her."
"Start with 'I'm sorry' and go from there."
"What if she can't forgive me?"
I squeeze his hand. "She will. She's your sister. She loves you."
Barrett glances in the rearview mirror. "For what it's worth, Calder, Bryn never stopped looking for you. Even after theofficial search was called off. She'd go out on her days off, just... searching."
Chris closes his eyes. "God."
"She'll forgive you," I repeat. "Just give her time to be angry first."
When we pull up to the sheriff's office in Glacier Hollow, there's already a truck parked out front. Lights on inside. Someone pacing past the windows.
Bryn.
Chris goes very still. "I can't—what if?—"
"Chris." I turn to face him. "You survived eleven months in the wilderness, took down a corrupt federal operation, and fought your way through two firefights in one day. You can handle seeing your sister."
He takes a shaky breath, nods. Barrett kills the engine.
