Page 27 of Colton in the Wild
Where they went from here, she didn’t know. And right now she was too weary to think about it. It was simply enough to lie there, wrapped in his arms and the blanket that so nicely reflected their body heat back to them.
And imagine a night when they might generate an entirely different kind of body heat.
Chapter 14
Spence was in the middle of a strange daze…half awake, half asleep. The asleep part of his brain was manufacturing a crazy dream in which the thunder of a running herd of moose somehow morphed into the steady thwap-thwap sound of a rotor blade.
A big rotor blade.
A helicopter.
The moment the sound registered in the half-awake part of his brain, he jolted upright. Hetty didn’t wake, so he tried to move carefully, until he was clear and could make his way to the cave entrance.
He had to step out into the small clearing to get away from the echo from inside the cave walls. He scanned what sky he could see, much brighter now that it was nearly five in the morning and the sun that never set was higher in the sky.
Bless RTA, someone had to have rolled out the moment it was safe to fly by sight.
Spence could still hear the helicopter, but it sounded like it was down by the water. That made sense, if it was the RTA chopper, which was the only thing that made sense. And then he caught a glimpse as the bird rose and became visible above the trees downhill from him. He recognized the Bell Jet Ranger instantly, the RTA logo clear on the side, matching the one on the plane.
He ran back into the cave, smiling as he dug into his backpack.
“They’re here,” he said quickly when he realized Hetty was stirring, raising up on one elbow and looking toward him. “Don’t know who’s flying, but it’s the RTA bird.”
He grabbed the two things he needed and raced back outside. He turned on the small walkie-talkie. Used mainly for contact when they were working with a large group and more than one guide, for the guides to keep in touch if they were out of sightline, it didn’t have the greatest range, but it might just reach the radio on the helicopter.
He held the walkie up to his mouth, keyed it and spoke, using his initials as his moniker, as usual.
“RTA bird, this is SC. Do you copy?”
Nothing but dead air. He waited until the helicopter made another circle, obviously scoping things out before making a landing. When it was at its closest point to him, he tried again. This time, the walkie-talkie crackled back.
“SC, this is RTA One.” Spence had never been so relieved to hear his father’s voice. “Your location?” Ryan Colton asked.
“Northwest of you. I’ll fire a flare, but I don’t think there’s room for you to land up here.”
“Fire.”
He aimed the small flare gun he’d retrieved from the backpack upward, straight, for a more accurate pointer. He fired it, the little rocket soaring and trailing a stream of red smoke.
“Got it,” his father said. A moment later, the helicopter was directly overhead, hovering. Spence waved widely. And this time the audio on the walkie-talkie was much clearer. “You’re correct on the landing. You’ll have to meet me back by the plane.”
“Hetty’s hurt, Dad.” He started to explain then realized his father didn’t know yet about the shooter. “And be on the lookout,” he said sharply. “There was somebody out here either playing some kind of twisted game taking potshots, or trying to kill us.”
“What?” His father’s voice was harsh.
“No sign of him since last night, but be aware. You’re armed?”
“Of course. Can you get her to where you beached?”
“I’ll manage. We’ll start now, but it’ll be slow.”
“And be careful,” Dad said warningly.
“Absolutely.”
On his way back he detoured momentarily to the site of the body, thought a moment longer about the idea that had struck him, then reached into his pocket for the little packet he’d grabbed. He crouched down beside the hand with the ring. If this was a mistake, he’d have to live with it, he thought.
When he was done he straightened, and headed quickly back uphill. When he got into the cave he found Hetty had struggled to her feet, although she was extremely wobbly. She tried to stand straight as he ran over to her, taking her arm to steady her.
