Terra shifted back and forth. Fire and smoke crept dangerously closer, but she didn’t seem to care. She kept looking across the river, then up to Jack. Finally, he was on the rock. He almost stumbled, but she dragged him onto the boulder until his footing was sure.

Even though the rotors above them should have drowned out most every other sound, the rapids roared in his ears.

Hope, and something else he couldn’t read, poured from Terra’s wide eyes.

She yanked him forward into a hug, her voice thick with relief and emotion as she said, “Jack. Thank God!”

He wanted to keep her there against him. To look at her face and contemplate that she was standing in front of him alive and well. Jack had so much to say, but he had to keep her alive—and they were out of time. He assisted in securing her in the airlift rescue vest, making sure it remained attached to the hoist equipment. Then he glanced up at Elk, who managed their lifeline, and signaled they were ready.

Terra held on to Jack while the winch pulled the cable back to the helicopter as it lifted higher. Jack took in the terrifying view below. The violent rapids beneath threatened to reach up and grab them while the blistering fire raced toward them, a furious monster intent on thwarting their escape. When the thick smoke cleared in spots, he could see the bright orange flames that devoured the forest below them—a heart-stopping sight.

When the cable had been winched all the way to the helicopter, Elk assisted in hauling Terra and Jack inside. They disengaged from the hoisting equipment and shrugged from their harnesses.

Jack looked into her bright blue eyes, relieved to see the fear subsiding. Again, he considered that he had so much he wanted to say to her. But now wasn’t that moment. Would he ever find the right time?

Terra’s mouth hung open as if she, too, would speak words she’d been holding back. He could have lost her today, and in a way, he was getting a second chance with her, but he couldn’t know if she even wanted that. His emotions were getting the best of him, and Elk was giving him a funny look.

He followed Terra’s lead and strapped into his seat, and Terra donned the helmet Elk had handed her. She glanced at Jack but then focused her attention on the woods below.

Elk offered them both bottles of water. Terra guzzled it. As soon as she came up for air, she said, “Go back. Go back closer to the river where you picked me up.”

“What? Why?”

She’d been focused on those woods even as he rescued her. “He’s down there, Jack. He’s in the woods.”

“Who?”