Reagan searched out the tree that had fallen across the stream and nodded. Up ahead the water began to ripple over larger stones, and Carter worried they might have to get out of the stream. He wanted to warm up in the midafternoon sun and see what it looked like downstream.
Reagan floated toward the tree and at the last second lunged upward, wrapping her arms around the trunk and pulling herself halfway out of the water. Carter wasn’t far behind and did the same, only he hoisted his soaked body upward and threw his leg over the fallen tree as if mounting a horse. Then he reached down and grabbed Reagan’s hand.
“Let me help,” he told her. As he pulled, she used her good leg to push off the bottom of the stream. It wasn’t pretty, but he got her onto the downed tree. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sun as she took deep breaths.
“I’m so cold. I thought the water was warm at first.”
“I know. I’m cold too. It’s getting deeper now. Around four feet is my guess,” Carter said, looking downstream where small rapids could be seen. “How is your ankle feeling?”
Reagan raised her foot and rested it on the log. She winced as Carter pushed up her pants to get a good look at it. Carter gently ran his fingers over the swollen and angry-looking ankle. The skin was already showing the deep colors of bruising. “Doesn’t appear broken,” Carter said.
“I think the stream is getting to be too much for me, though. My ankle does feel better. I think we need to walk for a bit.”
Carter pulled out his socks from inside his shoes and tied them together before wrapping her ankle. “How does this feel?”
“It’s throbbing, but the compression actually feels good. I’m good to go,” Reagan said with determination.
The thing was, Reagan would say that even if she weren’t good to go. It was one of the things Carter admired about her. She had grit and would never quit. In this case, he wanted to make sure she didn’t injure herself further by pushing through the pain. “Okay, but you have to promise me you’ll tell me if the pain gets worse.”
“Promise,” Reagan said with a smile.
“Liar,” Carter teased, and Reagan let out a soft laugh.
“You know me too well.” Reagan looked up at the sky. “Four o’clock?”
Carter looked up and nodded. “Seems like a good guess.”
“Then we’d better get moving. I don’t want to stop until it’s dark, and with this bad leg, I won’t be able to cover the ground as fast.” Reagan got onto her hands and knees and began to crawl off the log. Carter followed close behind in case she needed help.
“Maybe we should have a woods-themed wedding,” Reagan joked as she bent to pick up a dead branch. Carter watched as she pulled off some of the dead twigs before using it as a cane.
“No way. I’m not waiting long enough for us to settle on a theme. We’ll get married in the courthouse of whatever town is down there the second Mick Connors is arrested.” Reagan laughed, thinking he was joking, but he wasn’t. After almost losing the love of his life, there was no way he was going to spend one more second apart from her.
* * *
Aniyah slid to a stop behind the news vans. They couldn’t get any closer. There had been a gate leading to the airstrip, and it was now closed as the feds stood stone-faced guarding it.
“Aniyah! Miss Lily, Miss Daisy, Miss Violet! Over here!” Aniyah turned at the deep voices calling out to them. Reagan’s twin younger brothers, Porter and Parker, were racing toward them. “What the hell is going on?” Porter asked.
“Oh, you dear boys,” Miss Violet grabbed Parker and yanked him to her bosom. Parker bent at the waist and gently tapped Miss Violet’s arm to remind her to let him breathe.
“Vi, this is not the time to get your kicks by motorboating some young fella,” Miss Daisy groaned as Porter had to cough to cover up his laugh.
“See, you don’t even know it’s the man who motorboats. But fine, I’ll stop saying hi.” Violet rolled her eyes but released Parker from her grasp.
“We just got here,” Aniyah told them as she tried to spot DeAndre to let them in. “Where did you two come from?”
“Atlanta,” Parker answered. He and his brother stood way taller than Aniyah as they surveyed the scene. “Mom said she was working on getting us in.”
Both twins had brown hair with their mother’s red highlights. They weren’t identical, but it was obvious they were twins. Their eyes were the best way to tell them apart. Porter’s hazel eyes were more brown and Parker’s were more green.
“And I told you I don’t give a damn who you are! Those are my boys, and I’m letting them in.”
Porter and Parker grinned. “There’s Mom now.”
Aniyah looked up to see Gemma stalking toward the gate with a government suit chasing after her. The Rose sisters had already pushed their way to the gate and waved to Gemma.
“Yoo-hoo!”
Gemma actually looked like she relaxed a bit as she stopped at the gate and put her hands through to hold the Rose sisters’ hands before promptly bursting into tears.
“Mom!” Porter yelled in horror as the news crews beat down on them demanding answers to their questions.
“Get out of our way,” Parker yelled, shoving reporters aside as he struggled to get to his mother.
Aniyah reached into her purse and pulled out her gun. Humph. Normally people hit the ground or went running when she pulled a gun. These reporters shoved a microphone in her face. She aimed the gun up and away from people and pulled the trigger. Screaming panic ensued and she smiled. There. Now they could get inside.
Aniyah turned to smile at Gemma for triumphantly getting rid of the reporters when she was hit hard from behind. She shrieked as she went down hard. Her boobs hit the ground first as she wrestled with the person attacking her.
“Don’t make me shoot you!” Aniyah yelled as she wriggled from his grip. She turned to see a Tennessee state trooper lying on the ground with what looked to be a gun drawn and aimed at her. “Oh! I don’t need to shoot you, hon.”
The gun fired and two prongs shot into her boobs and tingled. Aniyah felt her body shake before dropping back to the ground.
A fierce roar broke through Aniyah’s tasered haze. “Sugarbear?”
Aniyah batted her eyelashes as she opened her eyes in time to see DeAndre grab the Tennessee state trooper by the shoulder, spin him around, and lay him flat with a punch.
“Baby!” DeAndre called out to her, leaning over and gently cupping her cheek with his hand. “Are you okay?” DeAndre yanked the prongs from her breasts as Gemma chewed out the guards.
“You saved me,” Aniyah cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed her sugarbear with all she had. Some members of the press came out of hiding and began to clap as they filmed. DeAndre reached down and scooped her up into his arms. Aniyah felt her heart soar, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because of the ten thousand volts from the stun gun.
“Let us in,” DeAndre ordered as Porter and Parker helped the Rose sisters through the gate before hugging their mother.
“You’re my hero,” Aniyah said as she kissed him. His lips were normally soft and plump, but under the stress of the situation they were hard and firm.
“Babe, where did you get that gun?”
Aniyah hid the gun behind his back as he carried her up the hill toward the airstrip. She blinked innocently at the love of her life. “What gun, Sugarbear?”
DeAndre rolled his eyes as the group began to walk together.
“Has Reagan been found?” Porter asked as they walked up the steep drive.
Gemma shook her head. “Not yet. Your father called to say Robyn found a scent. They’ve been running all over the forest and haven’t found your sister, the horse, or Mick Connors yet.”
Parker and Porter surrounded their mother, putting their arms around her and walking to the crime scene. Aniyah hated to hear it called that, but that’s what it was. Tents were set up, people with NTSB and FBI written on jackets stood around, and finally the plane came into view. Aniyah gasped. “Are they sure Reagan and Carter are alive?”