would come back. He knew they would feed him, protect him. Unless he ran too far and got lost…
A tight feeling spread through her chest. “Dusty!” she called, forcing back a surge of panic. She hadn’t lost him. She couldn’t have. She’d never forgive herself if that happened.
A few yards later, the road leveled out, and she stopped and gasped for breath. “We’d better wait here so he can find us.”
“He’ll catch up.”
“Not if we’re too far ahead.”
Cade squinted in the sunlight. “Let’s go up to that next bend. Then we can take a break.”
“All right.” Her knee aching, her palms burning, she reluctantly hobbled beside him. Locusts buzzed in the rising heat. The dry wind sucked at her skin. But at least the ground leveled off, allowing her pulse to slow back to normal.
Still worrying about the dog, she walked beside Cade to the bend, then turned the corner and stopped. To her surprise, boulders spilled over the road, blocking their path.
She wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. “What happened here?”
“I don’t know.” Taking the lead, he forged a path through the weeds around the boulders. “It looks like we can go this way.”
She followed slowly. “Shouldn’t we wait back here? The dog won’t see us on the other side.”
“That depends on where he is.”
“I know, but-”
“Watch out.” He stopped abruptly and held his good arm out to block her. She peered over his broad shoulder to see.
And gasped. Beyond them, the mountain had slid away. Instead of a dense stand of pines, huge rocks littered the hillside for hundreds of yards in either direction. Weathered logs were scattered throughout the debris.
She scanned the area in amazement. “My God. How did this happen?”
“Hard to say. Lightning could have burned some trees on the ridge and loosened the rocks. Or vibrations from the mine set it off.” He glanced around. “Or maybe the mining company blasted the road to keep people out.”
If so, they’d done a good job. She couldn’t even tell where the road had been. “How are we going to get through?” Maybe she could scramble over the rocks, but Cade had an injured shoulder. And some of those boulders were huge.
“We’ll have to go around.”
She glanced up the mountain. Climbing the steep slope didn’t look easy. And along the edges of the rock slide, where the earth remained intact, the chain-link fence blocked the way. “We’ll have to go downhill.”
“Too dangerous. We don’t want to be below the rocks if we set off another slide. This thing probably happened in sections.” He nodded toward the nearest slope. “You see where that grass has taken hold? That’s probably the original slide. But look over there.” He pointed further out to a stretch of light-gray rocks. “That’s more recent.”
She nibbled her lip. Despite the danger, it would be faster to go straight across. “You don’t think if we’re careful…”
“It’s too risky. The whole damn hill could collapse.”
“Still…” A sudden yip caught her attention, and her pulse rose. “Do you hear that?”
“Yeah.”
“Dusty!” she called, and another bark rang out. She edged closer to the slide and scanned the wreckage, sure the sound had come from there. But the only thing she could see was a hawk soaring past on the wind, trailing a shadow over the rocks.
“Dusty!” she shouted again. “Where are you?” Then she saw a movement and her heart leaped. “There he is!” The dog crouched between two boulders halfway across the slope. “We’re coming, sweetie,” she called out.
She turned to Cade. “His leash must be caught. I need to climb down there and get him.”
“Forget it. The hill’s unstable.”
“But he can’t get free by himself.” Besides, this was her fault. If she’d held on to the leash, he wouldn’t have gotten away.
And no matter what, she wouldn’t leave him. Cade didn’t know it, but saving dogs helped her deal with the loss of their child, as if by rescuing them, she could alter the past, or make it a little less painful.
“We’ll have to go around and get him from the other side,” Cade said.
“But that could take hours.” The pitiful yips grew louder and tugged at her heart. She couldn’t make him wait that long. She had to get him out now.
And only she could do it. The dog couldn’t get free by himself, and Cade couldn’t climb those rocks with his sling. Besides, she was lighter than Cade and less likely to set off a slide.
His eyes narrowed at hers. “Forget it,” he said, as if reading her mind. “We’re going around.”
“McKenzie,” a voice on his radio called.
“I mean it,” he warned. He swung his PG bag from his good shoulder and pulled out his radio.
She moved closer to the edge of the slide. Cade didn’t want her to cross because he was trying to protect her. But maybe she didn’t need protecting. Maybe she was stronger than he thought.
She glanced back. He’d turned partly away, and she considered the breadth of his shoulders, the lean, muscled line of his legs. It had been easy to lean on Cade, to depend on his knowledge and strength. He was competent and brave, and it felt natural to let him take charge.
But maybe she’d depended on him too much, and that wasn’t fair to him.
She swiveled her gaze back to the rocks. Surely she could do something as simple as rescuing the dog. It couldn’t be that hard to manage. But she needed to move fast, before Cade guessed her intentions and stopped her.
She stepped onto the churned-up slope and immediately slipped on loose gravel.
“Damn it, Jordan!” Cade shouted. “Come back here.”
“I can do this.” Not daring to glance back, she regained her balance and threaded her way through the rocks.
Behind her, Cade swore, and she quickened her pace so he wouldn’t catch her. She really could do this, no matter what he thought. She wasn’t helpless-even if she’d once acted that way.
But soon the rocks jumbled together and she had to resort to climbing. She scaled one large rock, then another, and nearly reconsidered. The sharp stones bit through her thin-soled shoes. Her hands, scraped from her fall, tore more when she grabbed the rough rocks. And her battered knee protested with every step.
And even when she managed to find a level spot of ground between the rocks, the loose soil made it hard to stay upright. She slipped again, sending a stone crashing down the mountain and setting off a small slide.
Her heart pumped hard in her chest. Oh, God. No wonder Cade had warned her not to cross. But no matter what, she couldn’t stop. Dusty depended on her to free him.
Her head low, she pushed aside her doubts and concentrated on inching closer, rock by grueling rock. Climbing up, then down. Sliding, skidding, struggling to stay on her feet, then scaling another boulder. And with every tortured step, the dog’s frantic yips grew louder.
And she was getting hot. The sun beat down on her head and sweat trickled into her eyes. She blinked against the sting, then used the hem of her T-shirt to wipe her forehead. Blood stained the shirt where she’d touched it, and she wiped her raw palms on her jeans.
Breathing hard, she paused and glanced at the dog again. She was closer now and could see him straining to get free. “Hang on,” she called out. “I’m almost there.”
But she still had yards to go. With a sigh, she climbed up another rock. She refused to even think about the long trek back.
“Jordan, stop!” Cade suddenly called.
The urgency in his voice caught her attention and she glanced back. Cade stood yards above her, partway across the slope. “What are you doing?” she demanded. “I said I can get him. Go back.”
“No! Don’t move!”
“Me? You’re the one who shouldn’t be out here.” Not with his injuries. Scowling, she found a foothold on the next rock and pulled herself up.
“Jordan, stop!” he shouted again.
