Crossing the Deep by Kelly Martin Page A

wonderful sights ever.
    A sign.
    A literal sign.
    Harker Cemetery with an arrow pointing right.
    “We made it!” she yelled. Her whole body shook. “We made it!” She bounced up and down on her good leg, reached up, and hugged Asher around the neck. It was an unexpected hug. A tight hug. But at that moment, Rachel didn’t care. He responded by hugging her back, and he held on longer than needed… Not that she minded.
    “Now,” he pulled back, cupped her cheeks with his freezing fingers, and bent down to eye level, “don’t get your hopes up, girl. It’s just a sign. Doesn’t mean we’re back home.”
    “I know that, but it means we are closer than we were. We just have to go back to the cemetery and keep going until we find Deep Creek Trail. After that, we’re home free!”
    “Just like that?” He sounded amused. Rachel liked the way he looked at her when he was in a good mood.
    “More walking, less talking,” she ordered, smiling back. She threw her arm over his broad shoulder and hobbled forward before he had a chance to react. The move almost caused them to fall, but they kept their balance in an awkward sort of way. A three-legged race had nothing on them.
    Rachel barely felt the pain in her foot as they turned to the right and down the trail that lead to Harker Cemetery.
    Whatever trail they were on was bigger than the path they had been on. The noticeable difference made Rachel question how they could have missed it in the first place. It gave her hope though, that this was the right way. Trails seemed to get wider the closer they got to their beginning. Rachel figured that even if they didn’t see anyone from their group, they would be able to see some other hikers who could help them. The road over the Smokies was always jammed packed, so no matter what, they were getting home tonight.
    “There it is! There’s the cemetery!” Rachel couldn’t contain her excitement. It was over — all over! Just a few more miles, if that! She could already feel the bed cradling her weary body. And most clearly of all, she could feel the shower she was going to take… only she wondered why it was such a cold shower when she loved hot ones.
    “It’s raining,” Asher said, cutting into her daydream. He stopped and cursed under his breath.
    “Of course, it’s raining.” Rachel mumbled, reality bleeding into her wonderful daydream. God was going to make this trip interesting. She took her arm from around his neck and threw the hood of her coat over her head. Pulling the string tighter to keep as much rain off her face as possible, she noticed for the first time that Asher’s coat didn’t have a hood. Also, the dark leather would be ruined in the downpour.
    “I’ll get a new one,’ he said as if reading her mind. He put her arm back over his dampening shoulder and continued walking. After a few yards, they made it to the iron fence surrounding the old graves.
    “Thank you, Lord,” Rachel said, and she meant it. She was so grateful to God for delivering them back to a familiar landmark.
    “Don’t thank Him yet. We still aren’t out of the woods, so to speak. Let’s go while we still have some light. Everything is getting too muddy, and the trail is going to be slick from all of the wet leaves.” He glanced down at her. “We don’t need you falling and getting hurt... oh wait…”
    “Jerk,” she said, hitting him on the arm. Her playful response caught her off guard. When had she felt comfortable enough with Asher Jenkins to banter with him?
    They started walking again, leaving the graveyard behind. “We have to be really careful not to overshoot the trail intersection,” he yelled through the pouring rain. It had become so loud that it was almost impossible to hear anything but the slapping of raindrops on leaves.
    “I am,” she yelled back.
    Minutes flew by instead of passing at a snail’s pace as it had before. Please, God. Please let us make it tonight. Please, get us back home.
    Her