Page 4 of My Mountain Man Valentine
Ethan nods. “It’s what I’m thinking too and why most of the team are looking elsewhere. It’s a slim possibility she came this way, but we have to rule it out.”
He closes his mouth quickly, like he was about to say something else. And I guess he’s thinking about the bobcat and what it might be stalking.
“Then let’s cross the river,” I say with more conviction than I feel.
He gives me a onceover, and as his gaze sweeps over me, heat floods my body. I tense at the strange feeling.
“You up for this?”
I sag in relief or disappointment, I’m not sure. He’s only checking me out to access if the prim schoolteacher can handle a scramble over rocks.
“Of course,” I say too harshly.
Ethan only has to take a big step to get to the first rock, but for me it’s a jump. He gets halfway across and turns to reach a hand out to help me. The last thing I want to appear is helpless. I may be a chunky girl, but I can handle myself. I ignore his hand and pull myself up to the next rock.
He takes the hint and leaves me to it. Soon we’re both on the other side of the river.
There’s no path whatsoever on this side of the river and Ethan moves slowly, his eyes on the ground.
He tenses and crouches before indicating a new direction. “This way.”
I peer at what he’s looking at. Another paw print. I’m not sure if we’re tracking a girl or a bobcat, but I’m glad I’m with Ethan.
3
ETHAN
The rain begins to fall soon after we cross the river, large heavy drops that thud onto the leaves of the dense bush around us.
I glance back at Lucy, and she’s got the hood of her coat pulled up over her head. Her glasses are spotted with raindrops, but she doesn’t complain.
I can’t imagine how she must feel with it being a kid in her class that’s missing. I only hope we’re on a wild goose chase here. From what I’ve been told about Olivia, it would be unusual for her to come this far and cross the river. But that bobcat is tracking something, and I hope like hell it’s not a little girl.
So we push on through the rain, scanning the ground for tracks as we head to the caves. There’s a slim chance if Olivia was caught out in the rain, she might have come this way for shelter.
The radio crackles every so often as other search parties report in. I pause to radio in our location and don’t mention the bobcat. I don’t want that leaking to the media when it might be nothing.
The rushing of the river grows louder as we get closer to the Giant’s Balls. This isn’t a pretty waterfall visited by tourists like the Wild Way Springs further down the trail. This part of theriver is cluttered with boulders, and the water gushes a course over and around them. It’s a chaotic mess of white caps and angry froth as the water forces a path around the rocks.
It’s not steep but it’s slippery. The rocks pile in a staircase fashion, making for a few feet of messy whitewater as it finds its path back to the main stream.
That’s why it’s not on the tourist path. It’s not picture worthy.
But it’s the caves behind the rocks that I want to investigate. We stop in front of the wall of rock, and I pull out my flashlight. It won’t win me a fight against a bobcat if there’s one hiding up there, but it will scare it enough to think twice about attacking us.
The rocks are slick with rain, and the thick clouds make the late afternoon light seem darker than usual.
Lucy is breathing hard from the pace I’ve set. Her cheeks are flushed pink, but she shakes her head when I suggest she waits for me here.
“I’m not staying on my own if there’s a bobcat around.”
I can’t argue with that. Two of us together could scare the thing right off.
“Okay.” I nod. “Go slowly on these rocks. They’re slippery.”
I go first with the flashlight in my mouth, using both hands to scramble up the large boulders. I turn around to help Lucy, but she’s already pulling herself up behind me.
She’s tenacious, I’ll give her that.
