Wilderness Reunion

FOUR

Alice woke up and splashed water on her face, ran her fingers through her hair and secured it in her ponytail. Used one of the extra toothbrushes kept at the apartment for convenience, then hurried downstairs. Men’s disputing voices had drifted up through the walls into the apartment and woken her.

Rushing to meet the guys below, she bounded down the stairs to find them in the office where Griffin had stayed last night. She could see them through the window in the office door. Griffin stood next to his uncle, the sheriff, and across from the two deputies the sheriff had brought. They were caught up in an intense discussion, and she didn’t think they’d noticed her yet. Seeing Griffin there unsettled her all over again. It was strange. She hesitated before entering. Rubbed her eyes and tried to shove the exhaustion away, which was pointless.

She’d been a coward when he’d apologized—she should have asked him why he’d never come back. But she was afraid of his answer. Afraid to hear him actually say that she hadn’t meant anything to him before, even though it was obvious. Now she felt like even more of an idiot for begging him not to go off to Kenya for that exposé. And for all those months after when she held on to hope he would return, or that she would hear from him again.

She had truly better forget about what happened before and let go of every unwanted emotion surrounding Griffin Slater. Once she told the sheriff everything, then he and Griffin would be off to eradicate the illegal marijuana operation—the menace to society and the danger to innocent hikers—and Alice would be done with the whole ordeal as well as with Griffin. He’d be gone for good. Again.

Drawing in a breath, she turned the knob and entered the office. All eyes looked to her—the law enforcement presence intimidating. Griffin’s eyes turned dark as he held her gaze.

“Good morning, Alice. Just the person I came to see.” Sheriff Kruse gestured for her to come all the way in. Funny, considering the office was hers, not his. “I want to hear everything you can tell me. What you saw and where you saw it.”

With the sheriff and two deputies focused on her, her shoulders tensed.

“There’s no need to be nervous. This is Deputy Reed and Deputy Edwards.” Each of the men nodded. Deputy Reed was tall and skinny, like his name implied, and Edwards was average weight and height, and appeared to be in shape. Up to the task. Both men looked in their midthirties, same as Griffin. Alice had just turned thirty this year.

The sheriff pointed to a chair, and Alice took it and the steaming cup of coffee Griffin offered with a smile. She saw he’d added just enough creamer. His thoughtfulness along with his grin would normally have eased her anxiety. But she reminded herself she couldn’t let down her guard. Little acts of thoughtfulness were his default. She shouldn’t read too much into them and fool herself into thinking he cared more than he really did. On the contrary, she reinforced the wall she’d already built.

“Griffin filled us in on what happened last night with the man who approached the apartment. I’ll get a deputy to look into it. Do you think it’s related to what you saw?”

“Yes.” Both she and Griffin answered.

“It had to be the man she saw in the woods,” Griffin said.

“I want to hear it from Alice.” Sheriff Kruse’s gaze drilled into her. His eyes reminded her of Griffin’s.

She pushed those thoughts aside and focused. “Someone followed me as I walked into town last night. It happened just as Griffin got here.”

“I could tell something had spooked her,” Griffin said.

Sheriff Kruse sent Griffin a warning look to let Alice speak. Then his eyes shifted back to her.

“I decided not to stay in the house in case the man knew where I lived. But obviously he watched us come here and stay.”

The sheriff nodded, taking it all in.

“Okay, then. Let me hear the details of what happened in the woods on your hike.” Sheriff Kruse took a seat for himself and gestured for Griffin to sit, as well.

The deputies stood against the wall. Alice realized the gravity of the situation. That Sheriff Kruse had pulled two deputies from the county already strapped to focus on this. A knot lodged in her throat.

Sipping her coffee at intervals, Alice tried to remember and share every detail, while all the men listened intently. Griffin had heard the story from her last night, but he watched and listened like it was the first time.

When she finished she released a long exhale and looked at him.

Had she forgotten anything?

He gave a subtle, approving nod.

“I’m sorry to hear you believe the man recognized you, Alice.” The sheriff poured himself some more coffee. “That puts you in additional danger until we take care of things. And you can’t place him?”

“No, though I’m sure I’ve seen him before. He could have been in Gideon—a tourist, or someone who has come through Wilderness, Inc. But I can’t put a name to his face.”

“All things considered, I agree with your assessment the man you confronted last night could be the same man you faced in the wilderness, or at least someone involved with that operation, but we can’t be sure of that. I suppose we will learn soon enough. If I recall, you guys take pictures of the groups that go out. Of your clients. Have you thought of looking through those?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I guess I should have.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ve been through a lot. When you get the chance, go through the photographs and see if you can find him.”

Alice nodded. She couldn’t argue with his thinking.

“What can you tell me about the marijuana garden?” he asked. “Would you say it was large or small?”

Frowning, she shook her head. “Compared to what?”

“How many rows of plants did you see?”

“I don’t know. I was looking on from a distance and through the underbrush. I can’t be sure, but I saw a couple of rows, at least.”

“Why does it matter?” Griffin asked.

“I need to know what kind of operation this is and the exact location before I call in the multicounty task force, which would mean pulling deputies and sheriffs from several counties and possibly LEO from other agencies as well, depending on the size. Do you understand why I need to know before I bring down a storm on this location?”

“But you know that they shot at me, Sheriff. There were several men firing automatic weapons, so that tells you something, doesn’t it? This isn’t a minor, one-man operation.”

He nodded, his expression grave. “I’m just grateful you made it out alive.”

“You and me both,” she said.

Griffin closed the small distance and placed both hands on her shoulders from behind, squeezing gently. Though she wanted to keep her guard up around him, through his touch she sensed his heartfelt relief that she hadn’t come to any harm, and she was hard-pressed to push him away. Was it really so wrong to soak in what comfort she could get? They both knew she wasn’t out of danger yet.

“There’s also the chance, given how much time has lapsed since you ran into this operation, they could have pulled out already,” Sheriff Kruse said.

“They could harvest before we even get there,” Deputy Reed said to clarify.

Griffin shook his head. “I don’t think so. They’re not going to leave what amounts to millions of dollars behind. Even a small garden can add up quickly. And getting that out of those woods will take them time. It won’t be any easier for them to leave than it will be for us to get there.”

“True. Which brings me to this.” Sheriff Kruse set his coffee mug on the desk. “We need to take the shortest and most expedient path, which isn’t going to be easy in the wilderness area.” He gestured to the detailed map of the region spread out on the desk. “Show me your path and the location of the operation.”

Alice pointed out the path she’d taken Marie on, which really wasn’t a path at all. No roads—not even forest service roads—carved through the government-designated Wild and Scenic area. That was the whole point of a wilderness region. Disappointment curdled in her stomach at the realization of how long it would take them to get there. What if Griffin was wrong, and these men did, in fact, harvest the majority of their crops and leave before the sheriff and his crew got there? She would forever be looking over her shoulder. She couldn’t trust that her life would no longer be at risk just because the operation had been shut down. They could want revenge, for all she knew. But bottom line, she had recognized that man, and would eventually remember who he was. She was a witness to his crime and he knew it.

At least...at least she wouldn’t have to face those woods again for the next few days. She’d done her part by calling the sheriff and pointing him in the right direction. She dreaded that her schedule included guiding out a group next week, even though that was on the opposite side of the river. If only she could cancel, but that wouldn’t be good for the Wilderness, Inc. reputation. And Alice needed to get back on the proverbial horse, at least with the hiking, or she’d lose her confidence. She had yet to get back on the river after the tragedy.

The sheriff moved to stand directly in front of Alice. Not good. Not good at all.

“Alice—” his serious tone drew her eyes to his piercing gaze “—I’m real sorry but I’m going to need you to guide us there.”

* * *

“What? No!” The protector in Griffin rose up. “She showed you where she thought she’d seen the garden. That’s all you need.” He didn’t want Alice going back into danger.

He recalled her words last night. But that’s so dangerous. Those men don’t just have guns. They have automatic weapons. They know their location has been discovered and they’ll be expecting you. They’re going to try to kill you... No. She couldn’t do this.

Alice shrugged off Griffin’s hands that he’d kept on her shoulders. “I don’t want to go back in there, Sheriff, if at all possible. I’m sorry if that disappoints you, but I can’t do it.”

Griffin hated seeing how this ordeal had tormented Alice. He knew she was strong and resilient and she’d eventually spring back. But it was far too soon to ask this of her.

“I understand you’ve been through a lot, but we need an experienced guide. That’s you. And you know where this garden is. You’re the one to take us there, Alice, I’m sorry. Please be assured that I have no intention of getting too close or putting you in harm’s way—any more than necessary.”

Oh, now, those last words reassured Griffin. Not. He fumed at his uncle, and tried to push it down. He’d have words with him later.

“Can’t you just swoop in with helicopters and take out the bad guys?” she asked.

“No, we can’t catch the bad guys with a helicopter, especially one we don’t have. Once I’ve identified the exact location and the details of the threat, then the task force might be able to requisition a helicopter. Regardless, I have to investigate in person first before I make that call. I don’t want to waste time finding another guide, especially when you know exactly where to take us. The whole reason these guys grow weed in the wilderness is because it’s hard to stumble upon. Hard to find. We could hike in the general direction and still miss it. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She nodded. “You’re right. You need a guide. Hiking in could be dangerous for you, and I’m the one who found the site.” She folded her arms. “I just wasn’t prepared to hear that from you, is all. I’ll wrap my head around it and be ready.”

Griffin released some of his pent-up anger. He didn’t want to put Alice through this if they didn’t have to. But there really was no other way. The news had upset Griffin as much as Alice. On the other hand, he understood his uncle’s reasoning. It made sense. Total sense. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“I’ll be there with two of my deputies, and Griffin, who has military experience and training. We’ll protect you.”

Her gaze flicked to him, antagonism apparent on her features. He hoped her resistance had nothing to do with his sudden appearance and the role he played in her past.

“When do you want to leave?” she asked.

“As soon as possible, but let’s think this through. Plan it out first.” He pressed his finger into the map. “You said it took you three days to hike to this point. The closest forest road to that point ends here. Will that get us there any faster than your route?”

“No, it would still take days to hike from that point through the mountains. And half a day to drive the road to even get to there. The designated wilderness region is just outside of fifty thousand acres.” Alice wasn’t telling Griffin’s uncle anything he didn’t already know on that point. “The fastest way I can get you there is to take the same route Marie and I took, though it won’t take quite as long since Marie and I took our time. Regardless we’ll have to gear up and backpack, travel according to the water sources to refill our supply.”

“That’s too long, Sheriff.” Deputy Edwards hiked his pants up by the belt. “There has to be a better way.” He stared at Alice as though expecting her to come up with another solution.

“There is.” Sheriff Kruse eyed his deputy, and then his eyes fell on Alice, his expression weighty. “The river cuts through here. If we take a raft down to this point, Bartlett Creek, and hike in from there, how much time would that save us?”

“Wait. You’re asking her to guide you down the river, too?” Griffin wished he could do much more than ask a question. He wanted to shield and protect her from this whole idea, but his words could do nothing to help her.

“Yes. The river twists and curves through the mountains, but I think it could save us some time. It should be quicker that way. And the faster we get there, the better.”

Griffin’s anger boiled, his indignation on Alice’s behalf skyrocketed. “No, Uncle Davis.” His uncle didn’t like him to address him personally when he was working in official capacity, but so be it. “It’s enough you’re making her go into the woods when she’s been traumatized. But the river...just no. If it takes us three days, it takes us three days.”

His uncle glowered at him, then flicked his gaze back to Alice. “How much time would this save us, Alice, if we stop off at this creek and hike in from this point?”

“It would save us almost two days, maybe a day and a half, depending on if we have to stop before we get to that point or if we run into issues on the river. But there’s a problem. You’ll need a special use permit to enter the wild section of the river.”

“I’ll clear it with the Bureau of Land Management. You’ve got the raft and everything we need here in Gideon to head out right now, don’t you?”

Deputy Edwards shook his head. “We don’t need her to guide us on a raft. We could just take a boat up the river. It would have to be a jet boat to get us over the rapids.”

“I happen to know for a fact the only person who has a jet boat in Gideon is Phil Howard, my cousin.” Deputy Reed scratched his nose. “And he took his boat over to Lake of the Woods for the week, which means we’d have to go all the way to Gold Beach for another one.”

Sheriff Kruse glared at his man. “That’s over a hundred miles up the river. It would take us all day. We’d have to start tomorrow. Using my plan, we could be where we need to be before dark tonight. Hike out before dawn and find that garden and head back. I don’t want to get stuck up there near the operation after dark. It’s the best way.”

Alice sucked in a few breaths like she might hyperventilate. “But the river... I haven’t been on the river in eight months... I...”

Griffin eyed his uncle. What was the man up to? He thought there might be three-parts truth, and one-part manipulation on his uncle’s part. Was he trying to get Alice back into the river for her own good? Or was Griffin reading too much into this?

“Do you mind if I speak with Alice alone?” Griffin asked.

His uncle hesitated, obviously afraid that Griffin was about to talk her out of it, but it was just the opposite actually.

“Go ahead, but make it quick.” His uncle held the door for the deputies. “We’ll be outside. I need to talk to my deputies, anyway.”

Once they were alone, Griffin wasn’t sure what he would say. But he had to somehow talk her down. If Uncle Davis insisted on using Alice, then the very least Griffin could do was instill confidence in her that she could handle this. It might make the difference between life and death. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do.”

“I don’t think you understand. Just the thought of it gives me panic attacks. I wasn’t the one to drown, but I wake up with cold sweats at night even now from what happened.” Again Alice gulped for air.

He handed her a paper sack he found in a drawer. “Here, breathe into this.”

She took it eagerly. Inhaled and exhaled into the bag.

“You’re the best chance we have of getting there, Alice. You’re the best wilderness guide, the best river guide, regardless of what happened before.”

He tipped her chin up and looked in her eyes. His throat grew thick. Maybe he wasn’t the one to persuade her, but he couldn’t let his fear of getting close to her again get in the way. He needed to persuade her that she was still the best.

“You know how to get us there, where you’re going, where to take us. You’re the sheriff’s best chance of finding and stopping this illegal activity. The whole reason I put myself in harm’s way to get my stories is to shine a light in the dark places. To help right the wrongs in this world. To save people. To save animals and the land, the environment. If people like you and me don’t stand up for what’s right, don’t take a stand against people like these men growing marijuana, destroying ten acres for every one acre of pot they grow, then the problem can only get worse. Only get bigger.”

As he said the words, he watched the increasing anxiety in her face. A crushing sensation grew in his chest as a vise squeezed. Was he doing the right thing in convincing her?

God, please help me.

She averted her gaze and stepped away. “I need time to think it through.”

He was certain that self-doubt had to be the only thing standing in her way. The Alice he knew from before would be all over taking these guys down. If nothing else, Griffin had to encourage her.

“Everyone knows you’re the best white-water rapid guide there is. Everyone except you. What happened before was tragic, yes. Bad things happen to people all the time. I should know. I’ve spent my career taking pictures of those bad things.” His tone grew dark. Anger infused him at the atrocities. “We have a chance to stop this before someone else gets hurt. We can’t let this go on even one more day longer than necessary. And I promise...”

What was he doing, promising anything? He was the one afraid of commitment of any kind.

Her dark blues blinked up at him, hanging on his last words. “You promise what?” Her tone suggested she wouldn’t believe anything he said, and why should she?

He swallowed. “I promise I’ll protect you.” With my own life, if necessary. “You don’t have to worry. All you have to do is guide us.”

He hoped his words would mean something to her, would convince her. Something shifted behind her gaze. And he read the message easily enough. A message he deserved.

She didn’t trust him.

FIVE

They headed east traveling around the wilderness region to their entry point at Grave Creek. The road twisted and turned as they drove through the mountains on the north side of the Rogue River at what felt like a snail’s pace, inching around every bend in the sometimes one-lane road until they came to a four-wheel drive emergency road. This would get them to the lodge with a boat ramp—and then they’d start the Wild and Scenic portion of the river.

Riding in the sheriff’s department SUV with Sheriff Kruse, Alice sat in the backseat, letting Griffin sit shotgun with his uncle. The two deputies followed in another vehicle crammed with the rest of the equipment and their supplies—food and water, extra clothes, limited weapons and ammo due to weight restrictions—all packed in waterproof gear bags, and the inflatable raft she’d guide using the bigger oars, and then the smaller paddles the others would use to assist. Rafts weren’t as agile as regular boats but were safer in the rapids. A drift boat would capsize too easily.

Alice still couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

She’d agreed to do this. She’d known she would, eventually, but Griffin had been the one—oddly enough—to talk her down. To help her see that she remained one of the best guides on the Rogue River. Not that having the best mattered to the sheriff’s department when she was immediately on hand and was also the one who knew where to lead them, where to guide them to the illegal operation.

Still, as Sheriff Kruse turned the sharp corner on the gravel road that led them closer to the boat ramp on the river, Alice wished she’d called her brothers to tell them everything that had happened. They would have come back and been there to once again overprotect her. It surprised her, too, that the sheriff hadn’t called Cooper himself. Maybe he knew her brother would never have agreed to let her go.

But Alice didn’t need the protection. She was a grown woman, experienced in what mattered here, the best at what she did. Certified as a wilderness first responder, CPR and swift water rescue, and she knew this river like the back of her hand. Loved every twist and turn, every pool, stream and waterfall as well as the history to go with it. Though terrified, a small thrill ran through her—she was actually getting back on the Rogue River.

She hated to admit it, but Griffin’s encouragement had meant a lot. Maybe even made the difference. She could almost wish he hadn’t disappeared from her life to begin with.

But he had.

End of story. She wouldn’t let herself fall for him now that she understood he wasn’t the right kind of person for her—something her brothers had seen all along. On the drive, he and Sheriff Kruse carried on a long conversation about Griffin’s exploits and world travels in his journalistic efforts to expose the wrongs in the world—which left her to herself.

Fine with her. The closer they got the more the doubts crept back in, despite her earlier courageous thoughts. She stared out the window and fought the nausea roiling in the pit of her stomach. Tried to compose herself and get her act together. Their lives depended on her.

I can do this.

When the vehicle stopped at Grave Creek near the boat ramp, the sheriff got out. Behind them, the deputies also climbed from their vehicle. But Alice remained where she sat. Griffin, too. A slight tremble started in her legs and quickly worked its way up to her arms and finally her lower lip. Griffin turned around to face her and reached between the captain seats. He slipped his hand over hers and squeezed. She looked up at him.

“You’re going to do fine, Alice.” He shot her that cute, disarming grin of his. “Remember, we’re not inexperienced at this. We’ve all been down the river before. It’s fun and games for most people out there. Keep your focus on the prize—taking these men down.” He gave her one last squeeze, then stepped from the vehicle.

She liked that he always knew when to give her space. Even though she didn’t fully trust him, at least he knew her that well. But it was easy for him to say the encouraging words. Far different for her to live them out. The thought of their mission sucked all her bravado away and could paralyze her if she let it.

Alice released a long exhale. “Showtime.”

They inflated the raft, loaded the packs and gear, food and water, their small stash of weapons and ammo, and Alice secured the paddles and most important the oars she would use to guide them. They geared up with helmets and life jackets to be safe.