So he’d come back early, canceled a job and was almost ready to give it all up for her—against his mother’s strong advice, of course—when he found Michelle with someone else.
Everyone had seen the fool that Will had been except for Will until it was too late.
He wouldn’t allow that to happen again. But this situation had nothing to do with that one.
Two different women.
Two different scenarios.
If Sylvie had any hint of his thoughts she’d be out of his arms in a second, and that would do neither of them any good. Will had to get his mind off Sylvie’s proximity. He tried to focus on the steps he took rather than the warmth of Sylvie’s body against his.
If he could get her talking about what happened today, maybe it would distract him and they could find some answers to boot.
“Tell me about those men, Sylvie. Why did they try to kill you?”
“I already told you I don’t know anything.”
Was she telling the truth? “So this was just random, then? Two men were there, and you were at the wrong place at the wrong time? What could you have stumbled on? I can’t imagine they were out there minding their own business and decided to kill whoever showed up for no reason.”
Had she stumbled on something and was hiding that fact? There had to be much more to this story. That something gnawed at his mind again, just out of his reach. A cup of warm coffee and some rest might ease the ache in his head and set him thinking clearly again.
She released a sigh that tickled his neck. “Obviously I have a lot to figure out, but I can’t think a straight thought.”
“Right. You need food and warmth and sleep.” Just like he did. If only he could find that cabin. He hoped he didn’t run into those men after Sylvie. But they couldn’t have followed him. He’d take comfort in that. Then again, letting down his guard could be a mistake neither of them could afford.
Too many unknowns made him edgier by the second.
As the cold rain came down harder, tumbling through the canopy of spruce and hemlock, Will focused on stepping his way over slick boulders and freezing ground, careful to avoid slipping, especially with his burden. Though Sylvie was small, carrying her the distance began to weigh on him. His arms ached, challenging his confidence. He should have come across Snake’s cabin by now. If he wasn’t going to find the cabin, then they needed to make shelter while there was still enough light.
The rain eased to a fine mist, blunted by the forest canopy.
He stopped, thinking about putting her down so he could build a fire.
“Will.” Her warm breath caressed his cheek. “Through the woods...”
Will’s pulse jumped. The cabin? He peered through the trees, eyes following where she gestured. An elk. Disappointment jabbed through him that it wasn’t the cabin. How could he tell her the disheartening news that he didn’t know where he was going, after all? He set her down, steadying her to sit on a fallen log, and drew in a breath to tell her the bad news. Before he could say the words, the fog in his mind lifted, and he saw clearly what he couldn’t understand before.
Sylvie had been looking for her mother’s missing plane—the same as him.
His next words took a different tack altogether.
“Tell me about the plane you were looking for.” Ever since she mentioned her mother’s plane, Will suspected they were both on the same search. His mother’s plane was the only one that had gone missing in the area in more than a year, and there had been one passenger. A woman. Sylvie’s mother—he was sure of it. And from the look on her face, she was making the connection, too.
“You’re a bush pilot. Mountain Cove Air. That’s your company?”
He nodded. “My mother was flying a surprise package back to Mountain Cove two months ago when her plane went missing. I’ve been searching for her ever since. I think we’ve both been looking for the same plane.” How could it have flown so far off the intended path that search parties—Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Fire Service, Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Guard, the list went on—hadn’t found them? Then again, they had thousands of square miles of islands, water and mountains to search even on the flight path she should have taken. Not counting where she might have detoured.
That was it, then. She’d taken a detour and Will suddenly knew. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? She’d kept a postcard his father had sent her years before of a beautiful waterfall. What if his mother had been showing Sylvie’s mother the sights, including her favorite?
Will remembered the postcard because of the scripture quote written on it. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
From the moment he’d seen the postcard and read the verse, Will had always pictured himself as an eagle when he flew. Seeing life from above, the big picture of things, must be how God saw things.
Could the plane be there?
Sylvie rubbed her arms. “Oh, Will.”
“Do you know anything about a surprise package?” he asked. “I keep wondering if...” He couldn’t bring himself to say the worst. He didn’t want to believe his mother had delivered a surprise that turned out to be an actual explosive device. The idea was too far-fetched.
“I think the surprise was my mother. She lived in Mountain Cove years ago. She left after she had an affair with a
