Page 2 of Wild Runaway
As she shivers, the bundle in her arms wriggles again and a thin cry pierces the air. Her attention snaps to the bundle and she bounces it up and down, making shushing noises.
Realization hits me.
“You’ve got a baby?”
She turns away and pulls the thing closer as if I’m going to jump out and snatch it. My mind’s working overtime wondering what the hell this young woman is doing sitting out in the cold with a baby for hours on end in nothing but a thin coat.
I glance around the area in case I’ve missed something, but there’s no sign of a car. No indication of how she got here or what she’s doing here. But she’s cold and she’s got a crying baby. She needs my help.
I open the cab to the pickup and she stands up and backs onto the deck, the flighty look coming into her eyes.
I hold my hands up.
“I’m not gonna hurt you. The wind’s picking up and you look cold.”
She bounces the baby and stares at me but doesn’t respond. Tiny cries echo around the forest, and the sound is so alien to me it makes me wince. I turn away before she can see and get the blanket from the back.
I want to wrap it around her myself, take care of her so she can take care of her baby. But I sense any movement might scare her take off. And it’s important to me that I keep talking to her.
I walk to the bottom of the stairs and hold the blanket up. She snatches it off me and retreats to the deck. Ignoring herself, she wraps it around the child, tucking it around the small body and leaving half of it trailing down her hip.
There’s a small backpack leaning against the front door, but she doesn’t appear to have anything else with her. I wonder again who she is and what she’s doing here and why I feel so damn protective of her.
I can’t leave her here on her own, especially with a baby.
“You want to call them and see if you can find out when they’re coming home?”
She nods. “My phone’s out of battery. I left in a hurry…” She snaps her mouth shut as if she’s said too much.
I want to admonish her for venturing into the mountains on her own with only a light jacket and no means of communication. But she’s obviously not from around here and doesn’t know how dangerous the mountain can be. She probably doesn’t even have bear spray.
I slide my phone out of my pocket.
“I don’t have Hailey’s number, but you can call Kobe.”
I hold out the phone, and she takes it with her free arm. I’m rewarded with a small smile.
“Thank you.”
I can hear the tone indicating that the call’s not connecting. Wherever Kobe is he hasn’t got signal, which isn’t unusual. Parts of the mountain are blissfully still dark spots.
She hands back the phone, and her eyebrows are knit together with worry. The baby scrunches up its face and lets out a bellow.
“She’s hungry.”
There’s a desperate tone to her voice, and I guess she hasn’t got any food with her.
“I’ve got deer in the back if she wants some?”
It’s meant to be a joke, even I know you don’t feed raw meat to a baby, but the woman frowns. “She’s not on solids yet. I’ve got milk in my bag but nowhere to heat it.”
She sticks her chin out, daring me to call her a bad mother. Hell, I’m not judging. I don’t know her circumstances, but I guess she wouldn’t be out here in the cold with an infant if there wasn’t a damn good reason for it.
“I can call some people and see if anyone knows where Kobe and Hailey are.”
She tugs on her lower lip and looks away. She’s worried about something. Maybe she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s here.
“I’ll call Symon, the ranger. He knows the comings and goings of everyone on this mountain, and he’s discreet.”
