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Back Alone in the Woods Save as PDF
Chapters (63)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Chapter Fifty-Six
  59. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  60. A letter from Charly
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. About the Author
  63. Also by Charly Cox

‘Only,’ Addis scoffed even as Emerson grumbled, ‘Only.’

After shooting amused grins at both of them, Tony switched off his humor, turning serious once again. ‘Time to head to the truck.’ Reaching into his knapsack, he pulled out two more water bottles, handing one to Emerson and one to Addis. Then he zipped the bag shut and hefted it onto his back.

How he didn’t topple over face first into the dirt with the weight of it, Addis couldn’t understand. Especially when he squatted low, tucked one arm beneath Emerson’s knees and fitted the other around her back before rising back to his feet with a ‘Here we go,’ and nary a lost breath.

A deeper shade of red in Emerson, Addis had never seen. Not even when the love poem she’d penned for the boy she’d crushed out on two years ago fell out of her backpack only to be discovered by the meanest couple in school.

‘I can hobble along if you help,’ Emerson piped out shrilly.

Without slowing, Tony brushed her comment off. ‘You can’t, and we don’t have time to discuss it.’ He lifted his chin and peered over Emerson’s body, capturing Addis’s eyes. ‘You jog ahead and lead the way. I’ll—’

‘What? I can’t… I don’t… I’ll get us lost,’ she stuttered.

If the expression he wore on his face was an accurate depiction of how he felt, Tony had finally reached the point of exasperation. ‘You’re the one holding the flashlight. I need you to help watch out for rocks and sticks and potholes. If I fall and twist my ankle, the three of us are fu— screwed.’ His pasty complexion abruptly morphed into the color of a third-degree sunburn.

‘Oh. Okay, I can do that,’ Addis said, stepping out in front of him and waving the light back and forth to illuminate the path. As she placed one careful foot in front of the other, she allowed herself the pretense that her dad, not Tony, was behind her, escorting them to safety. Once she and Emerson were out of danger, the avalanche of reality would be back in force, but for now, she would let the fantasy wash over and warm her.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Wednesday, October 9