“What about the trail?” Abby asked anxiously, staring down at the dark, turbulent river dimly illuminated by the spot of light shining down from so far above. “It’s going to be washed away.”
“Only parts of it,” Gage said. “We’ll have to make adjustments. We won’t know how much of a problem it is until morning. Nothing we can do until then.” But dawn was close. With all the excitement, there was no way he’d be able to go back to sleep.
“I need to check the mules,” Kyle said, beginning to pace the floor of the cave. “They’ll be frightened to death. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”
Gage shook his head. “Too dangerous. One slip and you’ll wind up in the water. In minutes, you could be dead.” He panned the ground with the flashlight, but the mules were too far away to see.
Time passed. Minutes turned into an hour.
“The rain has stopped,” Mateo said, his ear tuned to the quiet that had replaced the drumbeat against the walls outside the cave. “It won’t take long for the water to slow enough for us to leave.”
Gage studied the horizon, saw the faint gray light of dawn. “Let’s pack up and be ready to go.”
“There is still enough wood for a fire,” Mateo said. “I will make coffee while we wait.”
Gage nodded.
By the time it was light enough to see, the floodwaters had dropped to a muddy trickle, and all of them were packed and ready to leave. The bad news was, the water had washed out a portion of the rocks below the cave, taking out the path they had used to make the ascent.
It was tough going up. Going down could be deadly.
“We’re roping up,” Gage said. “The rocks are going to be like glass, the handholds unreliable. The climb’s bound to be treacherous.”
“I’ll go first,” Kyle volunteered, tugging down the brim of his damp straw cowboy hat. “I need to get to the mules.”
Gage nodded. “I’ll anchor you.”
Grabbing the nylon rope tied to his pack, he made a loop and lifted it over Kyle’s head, pulled it snug around his waist. Gage set his boot against the cave wall and fed out the line as Kyle began his descent. He picked his way down the steep rock face, slipped a couple of times, drawing a gasp from Abby, but Gage kept the rope taut. Kyle made the trip safely to the washed-out trail and disappeared in search of the mules.
“Mateo, you’re next.” Gage pulled up the rope and prepared for the second man to make the trip. Mateo was agile and experienced. He waved when he reached the bottom.
“Your turn, Abby.”
“What about you? Who’s going to anchor you?”
He grinned. “If I fall, I guess you’ll just have to catch me.”
“It’s not funny, Gage.”
His smile slipped away. “Somebody has to be the anchor, honey. I’m biggest, therefore the logical choice.”
He roped her up the same way he had the others. “Mateo will be waiting at the bottom. If you get in trouble, remember, I’ve got you.”
She nodded, adjusted the rope, and stepped out of the cave. The first half of the descent went well as Abby carefully picked her way down the muddy trail. Then the going got tougher. The ground was wet and slick with stones and debris, big chunks of the path swept away.
Gage tensed as Abby stepped on a rock, which twisted beneath her weight, and her feet went out from under her. She cried out as she slid down the mountain and swung out into thin air. The rope went taut in Gage’s hands, and though he maintained control, his mouth went dry.
This was Abby. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.
Gage tightened his grip on the rope and pulled her back far enough for her feet to find purchase on solid ground.
“I’m all right!” She waved and called up to him.
It didn’t lessen the frantic pounding of his heart or the flash of memory that carried him back to another perilous journey. Back to a woman’s terrified cries and his failed efforts to save her.
Gage shook the memory off as Abby reached the bottom and stepped out of the loop around her waist. Gage brought the rope back up, looped the coil over his shoulder, and started down the steep rock face. Where the route got dicey, he tied the rope around a boulder and hand-over-handed the rest of his way down the mountain to what was left of the washed-out trail.
Abby was waiting. She walked over and threw her arms around his neck. “I don’t care if I’m breaking the rules. I’m just glad you’re down safely.” Gage allowed himself a moment to enjoy her embrace, burying his face in her hair.
