Page 149 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“How much farther?” Trent panted. He had stopped again on the trail and was bracing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
I checked my GPS watch. “About half a mile. Let’s go.”
Trent groaned but pressed on. The trail was rocky and narrow. The steep inclines were long and the flat spaces between them short.
I had to give the man credit, Trent was in fairly good shape and was doing better than I had expected. And since we were about the same height, he had been able to keep up with my long strides.
If not for Trent’s presence, this would have been an awesome hike. The morning air was still cool and fresh. The sun shone brightly in the light blue sky.
Emmy would love it up here but it would be a tough hike for her short legs. The trail was actually close to the cabin I had rented for our anniversary.
I looked over in its direction. I couldn’t see the building through the trees so I tipped my head up to the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of an eagle or a hawk, but I jolted to a stop when I spotted a thin stream of smoke coming from the direction of the cabin.
In the winter, I wouldn’t have thought twice about the smoke. But this was the middle of summer. Seeing smoke this time of year meant trouble. Why would someone start a fire when it was forecasted to get into the low eighties today?
I stared at the smoke for a minute and took a few deep breaths. There was no smell, which was a good sign.
I looked back to my GPS. We were closer to the cabin than I had originally expected. I’d been pushing Trent up the trailhead hard and fast.
“What?” Trent said. “Are we done? Can we turn back?”
“No.” I took in a few more breaths, searching for the slightest scent of burning wood. But all I got was evergreens.
Then I listened. Forest fires, even small ones, gave off a unique roar as trees sizzled. All I could hear was a light breeze rustling the trees and a woodpecker carving a new home in the distance.
I tipped my head back again and studied the smoke. It wasn’t getting any heavier or darker so I decided to continue hiking and keep an eye on it.
“Let’s go,” I ordered Trent.
Five minutes later, I stopped again and looked to the sky. This time the smoke was thicker and turning gray. “Something’s wrong.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Trent panted.
“See that smoke?” I said, pointing to the sky. “We need to check it out.”
“I’m not moving toward a fire!” Trent said. “Are you insane?”
“Fine. You can find your own way back.”
“Wait!” Trent grabbed my arm before I could run off the trail. “You can’t leave me alone. What if I get lost? What if I get attacked by an animal?”
“You’ve got two choices, Trent,” I said, shaking off his grip. “You can either follow the trail back down or you can come with me. But I’m not fucking around here. You come with me, you keep up. I won’t stop and wait for you to catch your breath. I will leave your ass in the middle of the woods. You’ve got two seconds to decide. What’s it going to be?”
“I’ll keep up.” Trent nodded.
“Hope you’re in shape, old man.”
Jogging through the trees wasn’t easy. The rough ground was covered in pine needles and fallen branches. Occasionally I would stop and look for the smoke, checking to make sure we were running in the right direction, but other than that, I ran with determined silence. Trent crashed around behind me but kept up with my fast pace.
“You okay?” I called over my shoulder.
“Yes!”
I slowed up a bit. I didn’t want to give Emmy’s dad a heart attack by pushing him too hard. And I just might need the extra set of hands, depending on what we found at the end of that smoke plume.
As we got closer, the smell I had searched for earlier filled my nostrils. Something was definitely on fire. I just hoped that it was the cabin and not the forest. The house could be rebuilt quickly but the destruction from a forest fire took years to repair. And there were other homes in the area. A forest fire threatened them too.
The air in the trees became hazy. We were close. Ten yards in front of me was the clearing.
