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“I’ll help you make that happen.”
    â€œNo, please, no. I’m not sure I’m ready to face them. I’m torn about it. I need time to think it through. I want it to be on my terms. Please don’t ever tell them. I’ll be the one if it happens.”
    â€œOkay, then.” If Will’s mother had kept Regina’s secret, he thought he could feel some of what she might have felt when someone extracted a promise like that.
    Still, it would be a hard promise to keep, depending on how all of this unfolded. From what had happened so far, this seemed to be shaping up into quite an adventure that Will could tell his grandchildren about one day. But he couldn’t think of it as an adventure until it was over and they survived. Grandchildren? He’d never get married so children were out of the question.
    Will needed to excavate a hole in the debris, and then he and Sylvie would have to crawl into the pile, supported by loose branches, and hope to keep warm. Tomorrow he could build something better, if it came to that.
    She tilted her head. “I thought you were making a fire.”
    â€œA fire? It’s too wet.”
    â€œOh, I guess you’re right. I should be helping you.” Sylvie stood then fell back to the log.
    â€œYou’re injured. No need to help.” Will took a short break and sat next to Sylvie on the log, hoping his body heat would warm her, wishing his headache would subside.
    â€œI know it’s hard to understand how I can ask you to keep my secret. Mom made it sound like the whole town of Mountain Cove gossiped about her. Practically ran her out of town. That’s why I need to work up my nerve before approaching the Warrens.”
    â€œYou? You’ve got nerves of steel.” Will inserted some humor into this too-serious conversation to cover his own growing anxiety about their chances of survival.
    â€œNerves of steel don’t matter. Under the right circumstances even something as benign as salt can turn corrosive and erode steel.” Sylvie shifted next to him. “Despite her feelings about the town, she was on her way back to Mountain Cove. I guess I’ll never understand why, but I wanted to find her plane. I want to know what happened.”
    â€œYou and me both, Sylvie. You and me both.” Will waited for Sylvie to go on, one question burning in his mind. When she didn’t continue, he asked, “Did you find what you were looking for? Did you find the plane?”
    Sylvie opened her mouth to speak.
    A twig snapped from the shadows. Will sprang from the log to face the threat. He stood in front of Sylvie to protect her and reached for his weapon, but came up empty-handed. He’d forgotten that he didn’t have it. It was submerged with his plane.
    Wearing a hood, a man emerged from the trees. Friend or foe?
    â€œSnake?” Will squinted, studying the intruder.
    The man stepped forward and tugged back his hood. “What are you doing here?”

FIVE
    W hat kind of name is that?
    Will glanced over his shoulder at Sylvie. She stood from the log, easing onto her good foot and using Will’s back for support. She wanted to be standing in case they needed to make a run for it.
    â€œSorry for the unannounced visit, Snake. You know I’d never intrude if it wasn’t an emergency. But I had some plane trouble. A hard landing and Sylvie and I...we’ve had a brush with death or two today.”
    The man’s expression darkened as he studied both Sylvie and Will. It seemed that he had issues with trust. Clearly he lived a reclusive life away from civilization. Away from the prying eyes of the law. She wouldn’t second-guess his reasons. This wasn’t her world.
    â€œCome on, then.” He turned and disappeared into the trees.
    Will lifted her back in his arms and followed. “Only a little longer, Sylvie. You hanging in there? Doing okay?”
    â€œI’m good, thanks to