Page 54 of Two Couples
“Tell you what? I only saw him when I was with the rabbits. I don’t know where he was hiking, and I don’t know where he went, if that’s what you think.”
“Did he have his pack when you saw him?”
“I wasn’t paying attention to his pack. I was trying to help those poor little bunnies.”
“But you know this area better than I do, and—”
“That’s the understatement of the decade.”
This wasn’t true, but I let it pass. There were more important things. “You do. I know that. If you see the area where he left his pack, you might be able to figure out where he went from there.”
She laughed. “I don’t have a crystal ball.”
“But you know the trails.”
“If you think he’s missing, or that he fell and can’t move, you should call for help. I’m not a search and rescue team.”
“Please,” I said. “He might be in trouble and I don’t want to wait for emergency support. They might not even know the trails as well as you do.”
She narrowed her eyes, as if trying to read whether my intention was pure. “I can point out every nearby trail in the area, but it won’t help you find your husband.”
“Why? Because he’s—”
“Because I don’t know where he went! I can’t read his mind and I’m not a tracker.”
“More people helping means we might find him sooner.”
“You need to call the pros.”
“I will, but… maybe he’s really close by, or maybe there’s a trail we can follow… I don’t know. Please, let me show you where he left his pack.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling the long strands away from her face. “Okay. Fine. But I’m not walking around all the trails helping you look. You need experienced—”
“I get it.”
We followed the path back to the road, returned to our property, then cut across to the back, headed toward the narrow trail that overlooked the lake.
At the scenic overlook, Jordan stood on the large flat rock that offered a seventy-foot drop to the water. She stepped close to the edge and looked down, a movement that caused my stomach to swim. She stepped away and moved toward the rocks where we’d found the pack tossed on the ground like it was no longer necessary.
She walked between two of the boulders and looked down again.
“What are you looking for?”
“Wondering if he went over the edge.”
“No. That’s not… He’s an experienced hiker.”
“These rocks are treacherous. Especially when they’re wet.”
“It hasn’t rained today.”
“Maybe he tripped.”
“I can’t imagine him doing that.”
“Well something happened to him, so it’s probably a good idea to use your imagination a little more than you have,” Jordan said. “These rocks look stable, but not all of them are. You think they’ve been in this same position for centuries, but it’s not true. Even huge boulders can move.” She climbed onto a smaller rock and looked out over the lake.
As if the rock wanted to echo her warning, it wobbled when she moved forward. Jordan’s right foot slid off the rock and she pitched sideways, falling three or four feet, crying out in pain when she landed. “My ankle!”
