Memories: A Husband to Remember\New Year's Daddy (Hqn) (42 page)

“I’m glad you’re here,” Ronni admitted. “Now you can take care of the phones. I’ve called most of the teen shelters between here and Portland on Travis’s business line, but none have taken in a boy of Bryan’s description.”

“He could have stopped by a house or a barn or anywhere,” Shelly said. “Try not to worry.”

“Impossible, but now that you’re here and can handle the calls—”

“Me? What about you?”

“I’m going to join the search.”

Shelly hazarded a glance to the window, where snow had drifted against the panes. “Wait a minute. Shouldn’t you leave this to the men?”

As she began gathering her jacket, flares, flashlight and survival gear, Ronni shot her a look that could cut through the base of an old-growth fir tree. With a sound of disgust, she said, “The
men
need all the help they can get. And I think Beverly Adams, Maude Lindsay and JoAnne Rodgers would be offended if they thought you didn’t think they, as women, were doing a good enough job.”

“But—”

“All you have to do is be the information center. When a call comes in, you spread the word. Almost everyone in the groups have walkie-talkies and here’s yours.” She gave her sister quick instructions on how to run the equipment and before Shelly could put up any further protest, Ronni kissed Amy goodbye and was out the door.

Snapping on a belt, she tested her walkie-talkie and discovered she could hear the other groups of searchers. Much as she didn’t want Travis to know that she’d gone against his wishes, she advised the other searchers of her plans. The only area that hadn’t been covered when Tim’s teams had marked their territory on his maps had been an old logging road, long overgrown, that wound up the lower slopes of the eastern face of the mountain. It was treacherous going, portions of the road had washed or eroded over the past twenty years, but it was the only unsearched spot. No one in his right mind would ride up that old trail, but then, she was dealing with a teenager unaccustomed to the mountains in winter.

She didn’t think twice about saddling poor Lucy and, starting to ride the old trail. Although she was wearing her ski jumpsuit, goggles and a huge poncho, the wind pierced through her clothes, and her face above her ski mask was raw, but she rode by instinct, urging Lucy through the deep snow, her eyes straining as she looked for any trace of her stepson.

“Come on, girl, you can make it,” she whispered and the horse kept plodding forward, ever upward, her breath steaming from her nostrils. Ronni brushed the snow from her goggles and tried to call other members of the rescue team on her walkie-talkie again but heard only static. Giving up on the device, she concentrated on her search. “Bryan,” she called, crossing her gloved fingers as she held lightly to the reins. “Bryan?” And then more softly. “Where are you?”

The road narrowed and dipped but the old bridge that had once spanned the gully had long ago rotted through. Lucy picked her way down one steep slope and over a trickle of water that had iced over, only to slip while trying to climb the opposite side. “You can do it, girl,” Ronni encouraged, squinting hard and searching the snow-covered undergrowth. Berry vines and ferns, brush and saplings were bent with the weight of their wintry blanket.

They kept plugging on, passing old, abandoned equipment, searching the trees. Once she stopped by an old logging camp that was deserted, the remains of the buildings only wooden skeletons. Bryan wasn’t there.

By one o’clock, Lucy was breathing hard and Ronni stopped just a few minutes to rest the horse, then mounted her again and started through virgin forests of old growth that had escaped being eaten by the huge saws of the timber industry.

The afternoon wore on and Ronni’s spirits sank with each of Lucy’s plodding steps. It had been hours. How could he survive? She checked the walkie-talkie again but she couldn’t hear much and what she did pick up suggested that the boy hadn’t yet been found.

She thought about Travis and Amy and Bryan. If only she could turn back the clock forty-eight hours. Things would be different.

Lucy struggled to the top of the ridge where the wind was more fierce, the roar deafening. “Bryan?” she yelled and heard no response, but Lucy’s ears pricked forward and she neighed anxiously. “Bryan?” Ronni screamed again, her voice hoarse. “Can you hear me?”

Lucy snorted and through the curtain of snow, Ronni saw a shape, a dark looming shape. Her heart leaped for a moment when she recognized Sam, her gray stallion. “Bryan, thank God—” Her prayer froze on her lips as the horse trudged through the snow and Ronni realized that his saddle was empty, the reins of his bridle dangling unattended to the ground.

Her heart plummeted. She’d held out a ray of hope that Bryan would be all right with his surefooted mount. Sam was familiar with these old mountain trails even if his rider wasn’t. But the horse ambled forward riderless and now Bryan, lost somewhere in this frigid wilderness, was completely and utterly alone.

Dismounting, she snagged Sam’s reins. She’d ride the stallion for a while, giving Lucy a break. “Let’s go,” she said, holding on to two sets of reins and turning Sam around. For as long as she could, she’d follow the trail Sam had broken in the snow. After that, she’d have to rely on luck.

* * *

“We’re going to have to call off the search until the storm blows over,” the deputy said over the crackle of static on his walkie-talkie.

Travis gritted his teeth. “No way. I’m in this until we find Bryan.”

“I can’t risk these people’s lives. It’s nearly dark and we’re turning back. The storm’s supposed to move north by tomorrow. We’ll resume then.”

Fear clutched Travis’s heart in a stranglehold and wouldn’t let go. In eight hours he could lose his son. “I’m not coming in. Tell Ronni I’ll be back when I find him.”

There was a pause on the other end, just the sound of crackling static. “Weren’t you listening? Ronni’s out here,” the deputy finally said. “She called but something’s wrong with her walkie-talkie. It looks like she took off after Bryan, too. Near as we can tell, she’s on horseback. We’re trying to reach her to call her in, but so far she hasn’t responded.”

His heart nearly clutched. “What?”

“You heard me. Took off and left her sister here to oversee the phones.”

“Damn,” Travis growled, his eyes searching the woods, his feet and hands nearly frozen despite his insulated boots and gloves. That hardheaded woman! Her image came to mind, her dark hair, warm brown eyes, smiling full lips. Oh, God, he couldn’t lose her. Frantic, he plowed forward. Somewhere out here, somewhere in this damned wilderness, were his wife and kid. He only hoped they were still alive.

* * *

“Bryan!” Shivering from the cold, Ronni rode as darkness began to creep over the mountains. She had two choices—to keep searching or ride back. She couldn’t stop for any length of time and build an ice cave because the horses wouldn’t survive. She’d followed Sam’s broken trail for over two miles, up a canyon and down a draw to the trickle of a creek flowing sluggishly between icy shores. When the trail had given out, she’d let Sam pick his way, hoping that the horse would understand and locate the boy. So far, it hadn’t worked.

Be with him, please, keep him safe,
she prayed, then squinted. For a second she thought she was seeing things, creating a happy mirage in her mind—a mirage of her stepson propped up against the spreading bows of a fir tree, but as Sam trudged through the drifts, she made out a navy jacket and a body... Swallowing hard, she yelled out. “Bryan? Are you okay?”

The body moved. She let out her breath. Bryan turned, waved frantically, and her heart soared.

“Oh, honey,” she cried, jumping from Sam’s broad back and taking the last steps through the snow on her own. “Are you all right?”

He managed to look sheepish though his teeth were chattering and his face was red from the cold. “Twisted my ankle when Sam spooked and I fell off,” he admitted. “Can’t walk and I was in so much pain, it hurt to ride, so, um, I, uh, stopped to rest and...Sam took off on me.” His lip trembled, either from the cold or some strong emotion. “Guess I’m not much of a cowboy.”

“That’s not such a crime, is it?”

He stared down at his hands, his young pride bowed.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re all right now. We’re going to get you home and warm and safe and...” She saw the doubt in his eyes and took his gloved hand in hers. “I know it’s been rough and that your dad and I have been so wrapped up in each other that we inadvertently left you out, but you have to know that both of us love you so much. Your dad...he’s frantic with worry and...” Rocking back on her heels, she looked him squarely in the eye. “I believe we can work this out—all of us. But if you’re unhappy, if you think that Amy and I don’t belong in your family, well, then maybe something will change.”

“Meaning?” he asked suspiciously.

“Meaning that I’d be willing to move out, at least for a while, until you and your dad figure out what’s best for you two.”

“You’re serious?” he asked, disbelief threading into his hoarse voice.

Her heart nearly broke at the sound of hope in his words. “Yep,” she admitted, then slapped him gently on the leg. “But first things first. We have to find a way to get you out of here. Can you ride?”

“I—I think so.”

“Good, ’cause there’s not much light left. We’ll ride back close to the stream, follow it downhill and we should either end up in town or at some shelter, an old logging camp or mine or something.” She paused to try to call on her walkie-talkie, but the battery had worn down and she couldn’t reach anyone. She set off flares in the small hope that someone who was still searching the mountain might come across their trail.

“Okay, let’s go.” Helping him hobble to Sam, she acted as a brace. He winced as he climbed into the saddle, but eventually they were both mounted, the wind was at their backs and with the gray leading, they headed downward. Ronni crossed her fingers as they rode and hoped that they would find civilization before the horses or Bryan gave out.

* * *

Travis couldn’t believe his eyes. The sizzling red light of a flare guided him and he shouted, his voice ringing through the woods. He followed the light from the small beacon, but when he reached the sputtering embers, he found himself alone. Gritting his teeth, he stared at the ground. There was a fresh trail broken by two horses. One that came down the ridge to the stream base, the other following along the dark, near-frozen water. With a flashlight he checked the depth of snow in the trails and decided to follow the stream. He plunged forward, yelling and hoping beyond hope that his family was safe. “Bryan! Veronica!”

“Travis?” Ronni’s voice was faint but sure and he raced forward, plunging through the stream, running and mindful of nothing other than seeing his son and wife again. Tears burned in his eyes, the dark forest rushed past in a blur, and as he rounded a bend, he saw them, two dark shapes on horseback. Ronni was off her mount in a second, running to him, flinging herself into his arms, sobbing in relief.

“He’s all right. He’s gonna be all right,” she said over and over again, and Travis, still holding on to her, approached his son.

With tears in his eyes, he looked up at his boy. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he said, blinking and sniffing. “I was worried sick about you.”

Bryan fought a losing battle with tears.

“Don’t you know I love you?” Travis said. “That I’d do anything to make you happy? God, Bryan...” His words faltered and he felt Ronni slip out of his embrace.

“Dad—” Bryan’s voice cracked as he slid off the horse. Travis held him close, afraid that his son would disappear again. The sheer terror of losing him washed over him in an icy wave.

“We’re a family, son. All of us. Just because I love Ronni and Amy doesn’t mean I love you less. If you only knew how scared I was, if you only knew how much I care about you and your happiness.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Shh. We’re gonna work this out.” Travis looked at Ronni over his son’s shoulder. “All of us.”

Bryan nodded against his chest, then glanced over his shoulder to his new stepmother. Through his tears, he offered her a small smile. “Thanks,” he said gruffly, his chin angling upward again. “I—I was stupid.”

“I love you,” she said simply and he squeezed his eyes shut. “I will love you as my own son, if you’ll have me. And I won’t stand in the way of your relationship with your dad or your real mom. Never.”

He stared at her a second and then to Travis’s surprise, he reached forward and hugged her. “I’m sorry for everything I said, everything I thought...I...”

“Shh, it’s all right. Let’s get out of here and get you home.”

He blinked hard and nodded. “’Kay, Mom,” he whispered, wiping the back of his glove under his nose, and Travis felt the scars in his heart begin to heal.

* * *

The surprise party was over, the guests, rounded up by invitation from Shelly and Vic, had long since left. Balloons and streamers still rose to the ceiling of the lodge and the Christmas tree was lit, but the surprise wedding reception/New Year’s Eve party had ended and Ronni kicked off her shoes. Two bottles of champagne still rested in a bucket of ice. “Here’s to us,” Travis said, clicking his glass to hers. “All four of us.”

“To us,” she agreed and took a swallow. The past couple of days had been a whirlwind. The blizzard had ended and finally, they were a family again. Bryan had only sprained his ankle and didn’t even have to use crutches. He’d finally accepted Ronni and Amy to the point that Amy tagged after him wherever he went. He’d quit talking about moving away and had even deigned to meet some kids from the local church group. There was hope, Ronni sensed, and there was happiness.

Travis slipped his arm around her waist. “So what’s your New Year’s resolution?” he asked and she smiled.

“Well, Amy’s is that she’s going to be good so she can keep you as her daddy.” She reached into her pocket and dragged out a scrap of red paper with childish handwriting. “I think Bryan helped her with it.”

“A smart girl,” Travis said, his eyes misting as he read the note.