Chapter 12
Amy strode quickly through the damp forest, thankful she always had a pair of hiking boots in the back of her Jeep. The rich hues of the forest surrounded her, deeper, more vibrant, because of being coated with the slick sheen of the light morning shower. The black earth peeked out in spots where her boots pushed aside the leafy, decaying covering, and the green leaves danced above her, branches spindling out from the black-barked trees.
Parking on this old logging road was perfect. She was close enough she could hike to the Hero cabin in less than five minutes, so the dude—Nathan—wouldn’t be alerted by the noise of an approaching vehicle.
The camel skirt suit she was wearing was perfect for the meeting with Jay, but for this? Not so much. She hadn’t expected to be hiking through the forest this morning, especially hell-bent on getting somewhere fast.
The toe of her boot suddenly caught an unexpected root that the rain had washed above ground. “No!” The ground hurtled toward her and she went down. Slam.
She was flat against the ground, her cheek smacked into the oozing, black dirt.
Groaning, she tried to push herself up in a way where she got the least amount of forest floor crap on her, then laughed ruefully.
“Like that’s going to work, Amy St. James. Brilliant.”
Her business suit was completely smeared with dirt and muck. Her freshly washed and blow-dried hair had bits of ancient forest floor in it, along with tangled branches on one side.
Super.
She eyeballed her watch. She had just enough time to drive back to her cabin, rough comb that mess of hair and get the crap out of it, shower like lightning, pop on her pale-yellow suit, and drive back to town. She needed to get to that meeting.
A text dinged on her phone. Jay.
Looking forward to our meeting. Remember, mystery guest. Come prepared.
She wasn’t sure what this whole secret thing with the guest was, but maybe Jay had another community improvement project going, or some Jack’s Bay High kid was job shadowing him. She’d do her best to accommodate whatever he was doing.
Sorry, puppy. I’ll be back later today. Promise.
Well, the rest of her morning was set, previous good intentions aside. She turned, took two steps toward her Jeep.
And suddenly, a cry rent the air, and her blood froze. All those plans fell away.
Hold on, little guy. I’m coming.