The Mighty Quinns: Eli by Kate Hoffmann Page A

less than five minutes, Eli had thrown together a pack and was ready to leave. With a light load, he could get to the cabin in under three hours. The rescue helicopter could get there faster, but Eli knew from being on the team that they wouldn’t be able to take off until dawn, and Eli couldn’t sit around and wait until then. He had to go now.
    He grabbed his satellite phone on the way out, aware that he was also taking a risk by hiking the trail in the dark. But he’d made the trip so often, Eli was sure he could do it, even with his eyes closed. A flashlight made the trip almost easy.
    With his rifle slung over his shoulder, Eli kept a close watch on the trail for bears or other hazards, making as much noise as he could. But in his mind, his only thought was Lucy, and he couldn’t help but run back through his last trip to the mountain cabin. They’d grown so close in such a short amount of time and it had been almost impossible to leave her.
    But he knew how important the project was to Lucy and he’d decided to let her call the shots. This thing between him and Lucy Parker was still in a very hazy, undefined state. It wasn’t exactly a relationship, and yet he found himself caught up in fantasies about the future all the time. In truth, the past month, his mind had been filled with thoughts of the few hours that they’d spent together.
    He ought to have moved on to his next adventure already. Instead, he’d worked in his mother’s shop, caught up on his reading and signed up for a weekly shift with the local search-and-rescue unit. As much as Eli wanted to deny it, he was turning into a damn homebody, and all because he wanted to hang around just one more month.
    He glanced at his watch. The sun would be up in a half hour, but he was nearly to the meadow. Though he wasn’t sure what he’d find, all sorts of scenarios raced through his head at once. He’d been concerned from the beginning that Lucy was in over her head. He’d been impressed by her determination and grit, so he’d stepped back from his self-imposed protector role. But now he kicked himself for letting down his guard. She could be injured, lying helpless somewhere near the cabin. There could have been a bear attack or she could have simply fallen and hit her head.
    Eli had come to think of her as stubbornly invincible. But he should have known that image was pure fantasy. Out here, in the wild, everyone was vulnerable. Everyone was just one step away from disaster.
    He tried to focus on something more positive to keep himself from panicking, and his mind wandered to the morning they’d made love. He’d relived that moment again and again over the past three weeks, patiently waiting for the next visit. He would be patient no longer.
    Thunder rumbled in the distance and Eli squinted through the trees at the eastern sky. A storm was rolling in over the Rockies, and the conditions could change very quickly. If she was outside— No, he wasn’t going to dwell on the worst-case scenarios.
    Maybe her radio had broken, or the generator had run out of gas. There were so many benign events that could have caused her to miss the call. Hell, maybe she’d just lost track of time and forgot.
    As he reached the meadow, Eli grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. Then, after tucking it back in the pocket, he took off running, the way to the cabin now visible in the low light of dawn.
    The rain began suddenly, a downpour that nearly obliterated his view. The cool water washed away the dust and sweat from the trail and gave him fresh energy—energy he’d need if he found Lucy hurt.
    The smell of fresh, clean air filled his head, reminding him of his boyhood and the summers spent on the mountain. Life had been so uncomplicated then; choices had been simple. He’d made sure to keep his life that way, even into adulthood. He’d never really committed to anything, never made a