“Hot-headed and foolish. That’s what gets you in trouble time and time again, Webb. Sometimes it pays to think before you act.” Grady said the words wearily, like it was a lecture he had given the younger man many times before.

“If those growers and the cartel killed my brother up here in the middle of goddamn nowhere and tossed his body into the river like he was trash, you really expect me to let that go, Grady? You know me better than that.” There was a gasp and then a groan as his arm locked tight around my middle.

I swore too as we both started to slide sideways in the saddle as he lost his balance and struggled to remain seated. The horse underneath us neighed at the shift in weight and tossed his head in aggravation.

“Cy.” I called to the man in the lead and gave him a pleading look when he cranked his head around to look at me. “I don’t know where we’re going but we’re going to need to stop sooner than you probably planned. I need to look at Webb’s shoulder to and he needs to rest.”

His gaze skimmed over me and over the man behind me who was barely managing to stay in the saddle even with my help.

“There’s a fire lookout post a few more miles in this direction. It’s nothing fancy, just a bare bones cabin the forest service uses to house a ranger when the fire danger is high. There’s an observation tower we should be able to see once we get out of the thick of the forest. They might have a better first aid kit than I carry and there should be a bed, so we can let him rest for a couple hours before we push on. You think you’ll make it?”

“I’ll make it.” Webb ground the words out through gritted teeth but I realized Cy was looking at me as he asked the question.

I gave him a lopsided grin and tipped my chin down in a tiny nod of agreement. “I’m holding on for dear life.”

And I had no plans of letting go anytime soon.

No Rest for the Weary

As if things weren’t challenging enough, another hour into our ride, through the trees and going what seemed like straight uphill, the sky went from sunny blue skies to stormy gray in the span of seconds. The first few drops of rain were huge and splattered noisily when they hit the ground. They were nothing compared to the deluge that followed after the sky opened up and tried to wash all the way down the mountain and back to the river. The water coming from above was relentless and driving. The drops of rain stung exposed skin when they made contact and had the ground underneath the horses’ hooves turning into slippery mush. We were already moving at a snail’s pace but we had been plodding along steady and sure. The rain almost brought us to a total stop, especially since it made the struggle Webb was having staying on the saddle and holding onto me even more pronounced.

Cy kept insisting the cabin was just beyond the tree line, but the longer we trudged through the forest and the weather, the more I was convinced that the forest never ended. It crossed my mind that Cy might be lost but I quickly dismissed it. Cy wasn’t the kind of man who would wander around aimlessly. He always had a destination in mind and he wouldn’t put the rest of us at risk by pretending like he knew the way when he really didn’t.

He stopped us fifteen minutes into the storm when he found a spot that was partially dry, due to the canopy of the trees above. He dug his rain poncho out of the pack on the side of Edgar. Em and Sutton had ended up with the mules and most of the provisions since there were only two of them and they would move the fastest. He forced me to put it on, even though I protested and told him I was fine. He was bleeding and Webb was on the verge of passing out. I didn’t want any special treatment or for him to coddle me. He grunted in response to my argument and pulled the rubbery material over my head, effectively shutting me up.

“Webb is already fighting to stay in the saddle. If he loses his grip on you and ends up in the mud, I doubt we’re getting him back on a horse. This will keep you somewhat dry and give him a chance to hold on for the rest of the ride. We need to push hard for just a little bit longer.” He’d been saying that for hours. I don’t think his idea of a little bit and mine were the same.

Webb wiggled his hands under the drape of the poncho and settled them back on my damp waist. He gave me a little squeeze, as I watched Cyrus walk back toward his horse and pull himself up into the saddle. The motion wasn’t as effortless for him as it usually was and there was no missing the wince that followed when he leaned forward and reached for the reins.

“Cy reminds me of Wyatt. My older brother is always looking out for everyone else. They are what good men should be like.” The longer we rode the harder it got for Webb to speak. His words were slow and measured, each one an obvious struggle to get out. He was shivering behind me and I could feel the grip he had on my waist slipping.

I turned my head a fraction so that I could catch his eye. “You don’t know for sure what happened to him. Everything that’s been going on this week proves that things can be unpredictable. Maybe something super important with his case came up and he couldn’t contact you. You need to believe in him and have faith that his training and his investment in getting back to the people who love him is enough to keep him safe.”

Webb made a noise in his throat and shook his head. “I’ve been listening to you and your friend all week. You don’t exactly have faith in people.”

I grimaced a little, not realizing he’d been paying attention to me while I was too busy paying attention to him and trying to figure him out. “I don’t have faith in people I don’t know well, mostly because I’ve spent my entire life trying to avoid disappointment. That’s impossible, which is a lesson I guess I needed to learn. This trip has taught me that I shouldn’t keep trying to build walls between me and the people I do know and trust. It sounds like you and your brother are close and it sounds like he’s never given up on you, even though you’ve made some bad choices along the way.” Just like Em had never given up on me, and just like my grandparents had gone out of their way to love me more because my mother couldn’t love me at all. “You shouldn’t give up on him either.”