Rescue Me(38)

So much for bonding, but Willow planned an inspirational speech when they reached the tower.

Yet, when they reached the Lookout Tower, her exhausted crew barely noticed the glorious view—Rainbow Peak, already snowcapped, the falling scree-side of Kintla Ridge, and the blue radiance of Bowman Lake, now a puddle in the distance. Yes, she noticed the gray clouds to the west, tumultuous and dark, tasted the menacing bite of the wind, but she refused to let it deter her words.

Josh didn’t seem eager to take ahold of this moment, so she dove in.

“I brought you here to make a point—that when we were down in the valley, we had no idea of the beauty of being on top of the mountain. Bowman Lake looks tiny, and even Rainbow Peak feels close enough to reach out and touch. Psalm 61 says, ‘From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.’ The reason David asks God to lead him to a higher rock is so that in his weakest, most overwhelming moments, he can get a new perspective. A divine view of his problems. See, when we’re stuck in our everyday troubles, we can get focused on them, and that’s all we see. We don’t see God at work in our lives, just the darkness around us. But if you turn it around, look up, start finding a way to thank God, even praise him, you’ll discover a different view.”

Quinn sat with his back to the lookout tower, not looking at her. Gus leaned against the rail, and Dawson and Riley threw rocks off the tower, watching them crumble below. Zena played with her phone, taking shots of the view. Only Maggy and Vi seemed to be listening.

Strangely, when Willow glanced at Sam, he looked like he was frowning at her, although he’d put on his sunglasses, so she couldn’t be sure.

“A different view can also show you the truth of your situation. And a path out. Just remember, God has this view all the time. No detail of your life is unseen by him. He is your guide and your protector through life’s journey. The great part is that he says ‘don’t worry.’ He’ll take care of us. All we have to do is be still and know that he’s God.”

She thought it went well, given the fact that Josh looked up then, nodded, gave her a tight smile.

Epic day achieved.

Except for the sleet that hit on the way down. Willow had checked the forecast before the hike, saw the chance for rain that evening, long after they would have returned. Willow had never seen a storm cloud roll in so quickly, the wind change, the temperature drop.

Only a mile from the lookout, tiny shards of ice began to pepper them.

“Faster!”

This from Sam, who was practically running down the path, but with the boulders and rocky ledges—and Josh’s pitiful Converse shoes—she refused to let them go too fast.

“We are not running. We’re going to be fine.”

Sam slowed, but with his long legs, she still felt like she was sprinting to keep up.

Quinn, however, decided to keep up with Sam. Probably as eager to escape this dismal day as Sam was.

By the time they reached the forest cover, they were shivering, soaked through. Worse, halfway down the trail, Dawson had tripped and fallen into Josh, who slid and skinned his knee.

She gave him points for being a trouper and not whining, especially when he started limping.

Willow caught up to Sam. “I didn’t know it would sleet,” she said. “I’m really sorry.”

He looked at her, did a double take. “This isn’t your fault,” he said quietly, walking steadily on the path.

“It sort of is. I pushed us all to come here. If we’d turned around to go home, we’d all be at a movie right now.”

This got the slightest tweak of his mouth. “Yeah, well, we wouldn’t have heard your inspirational talk.”

Funny how his words could light her from inside. “Did you like it?”

“It was fine.”

Or not.

“I just wanted these kids to know that God is watching over their lives, even if they feel like they’re lost, or alone, or overwhelmed.”

That made his smile vanish, his mouth tighten into a grim line. He nodded.

Sped up.

There went her opportunity to tell him that maybe he needed to give his relationship with Sierra another chance. That just because they’d had a rough start didn’t mean they didn’t belong together. That if he could just hang in there, he’d discover that she was an amazing, kind, patient, awesome human being.

Although probably Willow was the last person he would listen to, because even in her own mind, her words sounded pitiful. The girl who kissed him telling him—practically begging him—to date her sister?

Clearly she had issues.

By the time they reached the van, the sun was nearly gone and the brisk wind was snaking through the trees and into their bones. Willow couldn’t feel her hands and fumbled with the keys in the lock.