The Troublesome Angel (13 page)

“I hope so, too, but I doubt it. See how antsy Lewis is? He knows something’s up.”

Gray nodded. “Maybe we’re close to finding Missy.”

“Maybe. How does she cope in thunderstorms? Do they scare her?” Worried, Stacy let Lewis lead her down the opposite side of the ridge with Gray following close behind.

“I don’t know. I hope not. We—I mean Mark and Candace—haven’t had her that long.”

“I was afraid of that. I just hope she doesn’t take shelter under a big tree when the lightning starts. That’s the worst thing she can do.”

“One of the counselors mentioned that kind of danger the first day we were up here,” Gray said. “Assuming Missy listened. She was still mad at me for making her bunk with all the other girls.”

“I imagine she was. I can see how emotionally attached to you she is. It’s too bad…” Thunder drowned her out.

“What did you say?”

Stacy shook her head, disgusted with the fanciful idea she’d almost expressed. Missy didn’t need a man like Gray. She needed a real home, with two parents to love her, not a bachelor father whose absence would constantly remind her of the daddy
she’d lost. Missy’s real daddy had tried to raise his child alone and look what had happened.

“Nothing. I was just rambling,” Stacy hedged.

“Now be quiet and let me concentrate on doing my job, okay?”

“Sure. Sorry.”

“I’m the one who should apologize. I’m just jumpy tonight.”

“Join the club.”

“I’m afraid I’m already a charter member.” She pressed her lips into a thin line, more determined than ever to find Missy for him. “I’m going to let Lewis go as fast as he wants from now on. It’ll be dangerous going up and down these hills at that pace, especially in the dark, so if you want to drop back, I’ll understand.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. I’m sticking to you and that dog like glue.”

Pleased, she said, “Good. Watch your step, then, and don’t crowd me. Here we go.”

T
he rumble of thunder echoed across the green hills like the constant beat of faraway drums. Incessant lightning reflected off the heavy clouds to illuminate the entire sky and forest below. The still, humid air was charged with electricity.

“I don’t like the feel of this,” Stacy called back.

Gray studied the horizon through the trees. “I agree. Look at that cloud wall.”

Stacy knew exactly what he meant. She’d been watching the almost straight black line of the weather front as it developed. It lay suspended above the lighter horizon like a menacing blanket. If a tornado developed, they’d probably spot it in that eerie glow beneath the cloud line.

She pulled Lewis to a stop, wiped perspiration from her forehead, and said, “Whew. This is a workout. You holding up okay?”

“I’m fine.” Leaning over, Gray rested his hands on his knees and took full advantage of the brief time-out. “Why are we stopping? Is something wrong?”

“No. Just taking a breather.” Stacy pointed. “Look how green the sky is.”

“I noticed. What do you think we should do?”

“Well, quitting is out of the question,” she answered immediately. “And I don’t suppose you’d consider going back for your own safety and letting Lewis and me find Missy by ourselves.”

“Not a chance.”

“I didn’t think so.” She smiled at him. “You do have your good points, Mr. Payne.”

“I hope so. Do you think we’re getting close?”

“We have to be. An adult, walking at normal speed, can travel about two miles in an hour. That equals a twelve-square mile search area, which multiplies to fifty square miles the second hour. But Missy’s a child. She won’t have made such good time.” Pausing, Stacy patted her dog. “And we have Lewis, which definitely throws the odds into our favor. We’ll find her.”

“I sure hope you’re right.” Gray eyed the cloud wall. “At this point, I wouldn’t even mind some wind or rain.”

“I know what you mean. Anything to break up the front. As soon as I give Lewis a drink we’ll get going again.” Making a shallow cup of one hand, she poured water into it from her canteen and offered it to the panting dog. “He shouldn’t
drink too much till we’re done because he’s working so hard, but this will give him some relief.”

“How about you? Need more?” Gray asked, holding up one of the plastic bottles he’d gotten from her truck.

“I’m fine. You drink that,” Stacy said. “Just don’t overdo. I don’t want to have to stop to doctor you.”

“You won’t.” Gray tipped the bottle up and drank deeply. “I used to jog a lot when I was in college. Even ran a couple of marathons.” He smiled wryly. “Don’t ask me where I finished.”

“Finishing at all is quite an accomplishment.”

“Thanks.” He tucked the small, half-empty bottle back into his pocket. “You ready?”

A bolt of lightning shot to earth over the next ridge, followed closely by an echoing boom of thunder that seemed to come from all around them. “I sure am. Let’s go. I want us out of here as soon as possible!”

Lewis sailed over a low ridge, hesitated, sniffed the air, then leaped a huge, fallen tree and began to wiggle as if he’d just located his best buddy. He dodged back and forth so much in his excitement that his long leash tangled around some of the tree’s broken limbs.

Squealing with glee, Missy threw her thin arms around the dog and kissed him. “Lewis! I knew you’d find me.”

Gray scooped the little girl up in his arms before
Stacy could untangle her dog enough to properly restrain him. To her surprise, Lewis didn’t bare his teeth this time.

“Missy, you have
got
to stop doing this. You’re giving me hair to match my name.” Gray’s voice was gruff but his enormous relief was still evident.

The child didn’t reply. She simply held tight to her uncle’s neck and grinned at Stacy over his shoulder.

Greater thunder shook the trees. Flashes of lightning made the sky glow and flicker as if the clouds hid a thousand gigantic searchlights gone berserk.

“We need to find shelter,” Stacy shouted above the din. “This weather is going to get real nasty in a few minutes.”

“I know.” Gray’s arms were wrapped around the child, sheltering her as best he could. “What we need is a storm cellar. Or a cave.”

“Fine. Where do you suggest we find one?”

Missy raised a thin arm and pointed. “Over there.”

Stacy swung the beam of her flashlight and spotted a dark recess less than thirty feet away. It might be full of wild things that objected to sharing their haven, but it sure beat standing out in the open where they were prey to lightning, rain and hail. Not to mention the tornados this kind of erratic weather spawned.

She circled the fallen tree. Lewis’s leash was hopelessly tangled. There was no time to waste
trying to free it, so she released him, leaving it behind.

Her flashlight cut a hazy path through the damp atmosphere. “Missy’s right. It is a cave! Come on.”

Gray followed, carrying the little girl. “How do you know it’s safe?”

“I don’t,” Stacy called back. “You’re welcome to stay out here if you want.” As if to punctuate her remarks, a few bits of hail the size of marbles began to strike the oak canopy overhead.

In seconds, the trees were being pummeled fiercely. Hail stung like a thousand needles when it struck Gray’s shoulders and back. He bent over Missy, absorbing the battering to protect her, and made a run for it.

Stacy ducked into the limestone cave without pausing to assess its suitability. Gray was only a few seconds behind her. Lewis sniffed the ground and air while his mistress gathered everyone together in the widest spot by the door and started to give orders.

“Okay. We’re safe enough for now. Wait here while I check out the rest of this place.”

Gray reached out and grabbed her arm. “No. I’ll do it. You stay here and take care of Missy.” He lowered the clinging child to the ground at his feet.

“Oh, fine,” Stacy said cynically. “And what can you do that I can’t? Suppose you find a bear or something?”

Not about to let her deter him, he responded
with equal sarcasm. “Then it’ll eat me and you two can run for it while I provide a distraction.”

Missy squealed, “No!” and flung herself at his legs, gripping them at the knees.

Gray spoke soothingly to the frightened little girl. “We’ll all be fine, honey. There aren’t any bears. Honest.”

Glancing at Stacy he saw her give a noncommittal shrug and start shining her flashlight on the cave floor in a back and forth pattern. If there was any danger she’d soon find it. He’d been behaving like a macho idiot to insist he should be the one to check the shallow cave when she was far more qualified to do so. The trouble was, he’d felt an overwhelming urge to protect her and had spoken up before considering the situation intellectually.

“I think we’re fine,” Stacy finally said. “If there were any large animals in here with us, Lewis would know it long before we did, anyway. Since he’s settled right down, I have to assume he isn’t worried, so I’m not, either.” She shone her light on the spot where the dog lay. “See?”

Missy cooed, “Oh, poor Lewis,” forgot everything else, and headed straight for the weary animal. Settling herself beside him she stroked him gently from head to tail. “I’m sorry I made you go out in the rain and get all tired.”

Gray’s cynical expression made Stacy chuckle and ask, “Hey, Missy, what about your uncle and me? We were
with
Lewis, you know.”

Acting unusually shy, the little girl ducked her
head and curled up, half on and half off the gentle old dog.

“Give it up,” Gray said dryly. “When it comes to a popularity contest between us and that dog, we both know who’s going to win.”

“With Missy, in particular,” Stacy agreed. Now that their temporary crisis was over and they were sheltered from the elements, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Or with Graydon Payne. The physical strain of the frenzied search was beginning to tell, though. The way she saw it, she could either stand there staring at him or sit down before she fell down.

She chose the latter, easing down right where she was. “I don’t know about you, but I’m beat.”

He shone his flashlight over the bare ground around her. “You sure it’s safe to sit there?”

“Well, there aren’t any snakes, scorpions or centipedes. I checked. So I guess so.” Stacy yawned.

“Good. Then I’ll join you.”

Oops.
That wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind when she’d been so flippant about the lack of danger. As far as she was concerned, letting Gray sit too close to her was far more risky than sharing her space with some innocent insect. Or even with a poisonous one.

Before she could promise to find him his own safe spot, he’d plopped down beside her with a sigh.

“Boy, I can see it’s time I went back to jogging,” he groaned. “That run really wore me out.”

“The stress of worrying about Missy made everything more difficult. You kept up better than most.” A lightning flash illuminated his smile and gave Stacy the impression he was aglow with pride.

“Hey, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Just don’t let it go to your head.” Loosening the chest strap on her pack she started to slip it off her shoulders. When Gray reached to help her, she said, “I can do it.”

“I know you can. The fearless Stacy Lucas can do anything. Alone. Unaided. And better than most men. But give me a thrill. Let me help you a little, will you?”

Even in the darkened cave there was enough light from the ongoing storm for her to see his face. It was like watching a scene illuminated by an irregularly pulsing strobe light. And every time there was a flash, Gray’s grin looked wider, more self-satisfied.

Together, they freed her arms. Stacy laid the pack behind her. “You don’t have to be so smug. I never said I was invincible or infallible. If I were, I’d have recharged the batteries in my cell phone.”

“You’re close to infallible,” he countered. “Have you always been so self-reliant?”

She stretched her arms over her head to soothe her taut muscles, then shook her head. “No. When my parents died, I was a basket case. Couldn’t
even think, let alone function. I had one aunt but she and her husband traveled all the time and they didn’t want me.”

“What happened then?”

“Oh, nothing much. A succession of foster homes. A reputation for running away.” She took a deep, settling breath. “Are you sure you want to hear all this?”

“Positive.”

“Okay. But my life isn’t very interesting until I get to the part where I came to Jesus.” Stacy could see that he was paying close attention so she went on. “I must have been about fourteen. Thought I knew all there was to know about life—which of course is a joke.”

“We all think we’re smarter than anyone else at that age. I did, too,” he said.

“True. But in my case, I proved how dumb I was. I packed as many belongings as I could carry, hitched a ride to Utah—of all places—and got lost in the Wasatch Mountains. I’d have died of dehydration and hypothermia if it hadn’t been for a search team…with dogs.”

Gray saw her shudder. “Are you cold, now?”

“No. Just thinking. I’d already been alone for nearly four years when I headed for Utah. I was pretty scared and hungry by the time I realized I was in real trouble. That was when the miracle happened.”

He sat up straighter, leaned closer. “Go on.”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” Stacy warned.

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Okay.” Nodding, she allowed the bittersweet memories to flood her mind, fill her heart. “I’d prayed hard after the plane crash that Mommy and Daddy would be all right. When I was told they’d both died, I was furious with God. I gave up any remnants of faith I might have had left over from my earlier days in Sunday school.

“Then, up in the Wasatch, when I honestly thought I was going to die, I suddenly thought of Jesus. I didn’t know why, then, and I don’t have a clue now, either. I was crying my eyes out and babbling incoherently. Somewhere, in the midst of all that hysteria, was a plea for rescue. I do recall telling God that I was sorry and that if He wanted me, He could have me.”

Stacy smiled over at her companion. “The rest is history. I knew He accepted me. Just as I was. Messed up. Useless. A total failure with a reputation for being incorrigible.”

There was a catch in Gray’s throat. “That’s when the rescuers with the dogs found you.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“That’s amazing.”

“There’s more. You see, nobody knew I was lost. The search party that saved me had been sent out to look for a missing hiker.” Her countenance glowed from the retelling of the tale. “And they
came across me first. I believe the Lord directed them.”

“Wow. That does sound like a miracle.”

“I thought so.” Staring out into the storm she drew up her knees and wrapped both arms around them. After a brief silence she added, “I still do.”

The temperature dropped rapidly when the cold front arrived to displace the stifling heat. Hail gave way to torrential rain. Still damp from perspiring less than half an hour before, Stacy rubbed her upper arms. “I think you’d better check on Missy. She’s probably cold.”

“I put my jacket over her the last time I got up,” Gray said. “She’s fine.” He scooted closer to Stacy and laid his arm gently around her shoulders.

She stiffened and inched away. “Don’t bother about me. I’m not chilly.”

“Well, I am. We can’t light a fire because we don’t have any dry wood, and I know your dog won’t let me hug him to keep from freezing to death, so that leaves you.”

Disbelief was quickly replaced by embarrassment when she looked over at Gray and realized he was telling the truth. His clammy shirt was stuck to his chest. Goose bumps dotted his bare forearms. And he’d given up his jacket to keep Missy warm, which really was sweet of him.

When he shivered, she gave in and repositioned
herself by his side. “Okay. But no funny business. I’m only doing this because I feel sorry for you.”

Gray wrapped her in his embrace, smiled, and pulled her closer. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll remember that.” His hand pressed her cheek and urged her to lean her head against his chest. “You sleep a bit, then I will. It’ll be morning soon and we can start back.”