“We can’t stay here. The chopper doesn’t know where to look for us, and there’s no shelter. But if we head down the ravine, maybe we can find a place to hike up to the highway, okay?”
Nods all around. “Gus, can you carry Vi for a while?”
“Sure, boss,” Gus said.
“Okay, let’s gather up the gear. Quinn, could you take the emergency pack?”
To his surprise, Quinn nodded. Not that Sam expected him to flip out or anything, but still, the way the teen walked over and put on the pack without a moment’s extra thought, that, and the way Quinn had saved his life last night—maybe Sam had judged him wrongly.
Gus picked up Vi, who looked like a three-year-old on his back, and they all started hiking down the ravine.
Sam fell in step next to Quinn. “Hey.”
Quinn glanced at Sam, one eyebrow up.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Why?”
Sam walked along, his hands in his pockets. “I dunno. A grizzly attack last week, a car accident this week, just sort of wondering what you had on the schedule for next week.”
A twinge of a smile.
“Maybe don’t get in any airplanes.”
Quinn chuckled. “Right?”
Sam looked ahead, checking on their motley crew. Willow hiked behind him, still talking to Maggy, but Zena, Dawson, and Riley headed up their trek, with Gus and Vi behind them. Vi hung on like a trouper.
“How’s Bella?” Sam asked.
“She’s out of the hospital,” Quinn said. “Still hasn’t been back to school. Her parents won’t let me see her.” He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “I guess they’re right. If I hadn’t dragged her out into the woods . . . But it wasn’t what they think. I wasn’t trying to . . .” His mouth tightened. “Anyway, I just want to apologize to her, but they won’t let me near her.”
Something about his tone gave a tug on Sam’s heart.
“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
How many times had he heard that in his career as a deputy? People just didn’t think about their actions, ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that’s where he and his team came in.
Sam couldn’t deny a small niggle of annoyance every time he got a call. If people just obeyed the rules, thought before they acted, no one would need to be rescued in the first place.
Like them. If he hadn’t been hurt by Sierra’s absence, the feeling that she’d lied to him, hadn’t let his emotions take over, he would have left a message, at least alerted someone to their whereabouts.
He looked at Quinn, understanding his sigh completely.
“Hang in there, kid. Everyone lived, and in time, Bella’s folks will come around.”
“I doubt it. They have me pegged as trouble in their minds. My dad too.” He glanced at Sam. “Thanks, by the way, for calming him down the other night. He gets pretty . . . Well, he’s all Senator Starr in public, but sometimes he acts like he’s still in the military at home.”
Quinn walked out ahead of him.
His words, however, unsettled Sam.
He heard scuffling behind him and looked over to see Willow catching up to him.
“Hey,” she said, a little out of breath. She jutted her chin toward Quinn. “I saw you talking to Quinn. Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Well, things aren’t always easy for him with his dad.”
“I got that,” Sam said. “You don’t think that . . . Senator Starr isn’t the kind of guy who would add a little physical incentive to get his way, is he?”
Willow glanced at him, her eyes wide. “I don’t know. Why, do you think that . . .”
“No. I don’t. But Quinn just mentioned how his dad is still pretty military.”
“Oh yeah. He wants Quinn to attend the Naval Academy and follow in his footsteps. He rides Quinn pretty hard. But Quinn loves music—he’s been hoping to get a job at Ben’s studio, maybe as an intern, so . . .” She lifted her shoulder. “I’m sure the senator is thrilled. I can bet the disagreement has made for a few battles.”
“When Pete said he wanted to be a firefighter, I wanted to throttle him.”
“And yet, he became this amazing smoke jumper.”
“I suppose. I always thought we’d both go into the family business, with my dad. After he died, I thought that Pete would want to take up the mantle. Especially the building side of the company. He and Dad shared that—a love for building.”
“Why didn’t you take over the company?”
“My uncle ran it with Dad, and he just took it over. I graduated just a few months after Dad died. My uncle didn’t need me in the business, and frankly, working construction just opened the wounds. Pete and I used to go out on jobs with Dad—worked every summer alongside him. And doing that without him . . .” He shook his head.