Page 35 of When the Silence Breaks

“How much farther?” Oh man. She promised herself she would not ask that question.

“We’ve come about six miles and, honestly, made it faster than I thought. Congratulations. You really are a triathlete.”

Hide the pain.“Told you.”

“Think you can make it a couple more miles? I have a place in mind for stopping tonight.”

Again she forced a tight smile. “Lead on.”

After a couple more hours of hiking, Sarah prayed hard she wouldn’t collapse completely in front of this guy. A good night’s rest and she’d be fine tomorrow. She could do this.

The ridge dropped off sharply, and she gasped at the dizzying view of the valley far below.

“It’s beautiful,” she mumbled to herself, certain Ryder hadn’t heard.

He was a good ten yards ahead of her, and roaring in her ears, the wind had finally appeared—and it brought a bite with it. Great. She pulled her beanie out of her pocket and put it on, then tugged her hood up over her head.

I sure hope this is worth it.

Ahead of her, Ryder finally slowed and scanned the terrain. She stepped carefully over a tangle of roots. That would be a great ending to this story—her tripping on roots and falling to her death at the foot of an active volcano.

Death by volcano, only not really.

Ryder moved away from the edge and deeper into a cluster of wind-scarred trees nestled against a granite outcrop. “This is it.”

Relief swelled inside. “It’s only three thirty. We could keep going and get closer to the spot on the map.” Please let it be the actual crash site.

“We won’t find a better place to shelter this high up before nightfall.”

He knew his business, and she couldn’t argue. The rocky outcroppingoffered a natural windbreak plus a dry patch beneath a thick-topped subalpine fir. When she breathed in the scent of fresh air and evergreens, it exhilarated and simultaneously relaxed her for no reason she could fathom. Maybe it all came down to the fact that nature was good for the soul.

Ryder eased his pack to the ground and began clearing the area.

Sarah tried not to show how much her body ached as she joined him. Unshouldering her gear, she kneeled beside a patch of flattened needles.

“You’ve done this before,” he said without looking at her. It wasn’t a question.

Sarah shrugged. “I’ve had my share of field ops.” The words were out before she could stop them. Sarah winced inwardly, cutting herself off. Ryder didn’t need to know about her past. Not yet. She’d say no more, but that had earned a glance. Still, he didn’t press. Maybe he sensed the wall she kept up. Maybe he had his own.

She stole a look at the darkening sky. “We’ll need firewood. If that weather shifts sooner than expected...”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said. “After I set up the tent.”

“I’ll set mine up.” She hoped. He’d told her to leave that to him, and maybe she shouldn’t have trusted him so much, because she dug through her pack, making sure all the supplies were in the right place ... “Oh, wait. You have my tent inyourpack. I can set up my own.”

“Sarah.” He stood tall, his expression serious, his eyes softening, and weirdly, that scared her.

“I brought one tent for the both of us,” he said.

What?

Fourteen

The question in her eyes, the outrage on her face, surprised him. He should have expected her reaction, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Still, for some reason he found himself preferring her smiles instead of her wrath.

How did he make her understand? Given that stunned and incredulous look on her face, he wasn’t so sure he could. Instead, he focused on prepping the tent before they were caught off guard by the volatile forecast.

Ryder had the tent up in minutes. It was a low-slung, wind-cutting dome that snapped together almost faster than Sarah could unroll her sleeping bag.