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Chapter 14

Cranky when not flying.

“We’re almost there,” Colin said, urging Mari on. Darkness would be falling in the next hour and even though he would be fine sleeping in the woods, he didn’t want that for her and it would be a lot easier for them if they found real shelter.

It would also give them a chance to call for help.

“You said that thirty minutes ago.” Mari’s damp hair was plastered to her face, her clothes soaked, her pants and boots covered in mud as she climbed over another fallen tree.

It really was like being at the end of the world out here. And she did not care for it.

“But I mean it this time. We’re really close.” He pointed in between two trees. “This way. See? This path is well worn.”

She eyed the new pathway dubiously. “It’s a muddy mess. And why are you so cheery?”

“I figure one of us needs to be.”

“Normally it’s me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now.” She avoided a big puddle as the pathway widened a little more .

From the looks of it, he guessed it was a hiking path or maybe one for riding horses. “Nothing’s wrong with you. You’re dealing with a lot right now.”

“You are too.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but I like being with you.” He was sorry it had taken this for them to call a truce though.

“Now you’re just making me feel bad,” she muttered.

“Soooo are you saying you don’t like being with me?” he teased.

“I don’t love this …but I’m glad you’re with me. It’s a little scary to think how awful it would have been to do this alone. And then I feel guilty for being glad you’re with me when some lunatic clearly wanted us to crash.” She groaned slightly.

And all he could think about was that little moan from earlier. Something he was desperately trying not to think about at all. Not until he was in a very cold shower. Because she’d pulled back, had put up a very clear boundary. He wasn’t going to talk to her about it, not now anyway. The priority was getting out of here. Getting her to safety.

Once that happened, his priorities would be a lot different.

He was at least getting her to talk to him, to open up. Because that kiss hadn’t been a mistake, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to chalk it up to them being out in the middle of nowhere.

He’d have kissed her in the middle of Jackson Square with a bunch of onlookers if she’d been willing. He’d kiss the gorgeous woman anywhere she wanted.

“People!” Mari put on a burst of speed as they reached a crossroads in the path and found a man in his fifties or sixties riding an older-looking horse.

And he was very surprised to see them. “Howdy,” the man said.

Colin stepped up next to her, knowing what they looked like and hoping it worked in their favor because they needed a place to crash. “Hi. I’m Colin and this is Mari. We had an emergency and had to land our plane in the middle of a field. We’ve been hiking all day. Would you have a phone we could use? Or Wi-Fi?”

The man blinked down at them. “I heard about a search and rescue crew out today before the rain grounded them. Are you okay to walk or do you need to ride?” He looked at Mari. “Cuz I’ll walk and you can ride Biscuit here.” He gently patted the mare, who whinnied playfully in response.

“I’m okay, but thank you. We’re just exhausted and really need to check in with the search and rescue team.”

“All right, this way then. We’re about a mile to the barn. Oh, my name’s John Canfield. My wife is Becky,” he said as he pulled out his cell phone. It was one of those clunky ones that were basically indestructible. “And it’s no wonder your phones don’t work out here. Only people who get service have the local phone carrier. But I’m letting my wife know to get a room set up for you. You’re lucky… Well maybe that’s the wrong word,” he said with a grin, clearly a talker.

Which was fine with Colin. The guy was friendly and helping them—and he’d offered to let Mari ride his horse. Colin wished she’d taken him up on it, but understood why she’d said no.

“Either way we have two rooms currently available at our B&B. You can stay the night if you need to rest and freshen up. So what happened to your plane?”

Oh, they’d only be needing one room. He wasn’t letting Mari out of his sight tonight.

“Technical issue,” Mari said before Colin could think of an answer. “Luckily I always file a flight plan, but it was a heck of a place to have to land. We ran across a canyon where the road had washed away on our hike here.”

“Oooh, boy. That’s a dangerous area. Even the kids don’t play around there anymore. One of our local teens broke a leg falling into the canyon and he’s lucky that’s all he broke.” He shook his head. “I’m surprised y’all didn’t stop at the Hanson’s horse farm before making it here.”

“I didn’t see a horse farm on the map,” Colin lied. “None of our electronics are working.”

“Ah, yeah, our place has been here for decades so I’m not surprised it’s on an actual map. Didn’t know anyone used those anymore,” he said with a chuckle as they neared the end of the pathway. “And here we are.”

A woman with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing jeans and a button-down green and blue flannel shirt was waiting next to a barn.

In the distance beyond the barn was a white, columned antebellum mansion, and live oak trees that had to be hundreds of years old. There was also a string of little pastel-colored cottages in a sort of half circle around a giant pond. They looked modern compared to the mansion, had clearly been built on concrete slabs to withstand hurricanes and other Louisiana weather.

“Hey y’all, I’ve let the sheriff know you’ve been found. He’s working with the search and rescue crew to find you both.” She smiled warmly at them. “You look exhausted and I’m guessing you’re hungry. One of our cottages is free if you’d like to clean up. You’re actually just in time for dinner, so I can bring you a couple covered plates. Or if you want to join the others in the cafeteria I’m sure they’d love to talk to the people who crash-landed a plane.”

“You are an angel,” Mari said on a laugh, her smile making the other woman grin. “And luckily there was no crashing. Just gliding into a grassy field.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” the woman said. “Oh, I’m Becky, by the way.” She continued chatting as she led them away from the barn toward the cottages .

“Thank you so much for this,” Colin said as she opened the door for them. “We’re so grateful we found your place.”

Becky waved her hand away at his thanks. “We’re glad you two are safe. It’s getting late, so unless you have a way to get out of here—and we’re quite a ways from town—you can stay the night. On the house.”

“Oh, we’ll pay you—”

She shook her head. “Nope. I wouldn’t hear of it. I’ll be back in a bit with some food. There are clean towels in the bathroom.”

“I’m so tempted to face-plant on the bed,” Mari said as Colin locked the door behind them.

The cottage was basically one bedroom with an attached bathroom and closet and was definitely newer, given the LVP flooring and other modern fixtures. And he was looking forward to being in that bed with her later. “You shower first, I’ll make some calls.”

“Are you sure? You can go first.” But she was already moving toward the bathroom.

“Oh, okay.” He took a step in the direction of the bathroom.

She let out a short squeak and sprinted for it. “No way, I was lying.” He laughed as she hovered in between the bed and bathroom. “Unless you really want the shower first?”

God, he wanted to kiss her again. “I was just messing with you. Go ahead. I’ll see if I can get a hold of the search and rescue team.”

“Ugh. We’re going to have to fill out so much paperwork later,” she said. Then she sobered slightly. “You think we’re safe here?”

“I don’t know. Without knowing who sent those drones… The parking lot was full so I think we’re probably safer here than anywhere else. Whoever is doing this won’t want witnesses.” Too messy.

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe.”

“How about we shower and clean up—and eat—then regroup and decide what to do?”

“Okay.” Still looking pensive, she quietly shut the door behind her.

Instead of sitting on the bed, because he was so filthy, he picked up the landline to start making phone calls. Even though he could fantasize about joining Mari in the shower, he had to take care of this first. He had to make sure someone knew where they were and keep her safe.