Jessica started clapping, while Derek slapped a meaty palm on her back. “That’s our girl. Between the three of us, I’m sure we’ll end up with something. Right, sorceress?”

Sophie looked down at the spool of fishing line in her hand and sighed. She could no more trap a bird than she could trap a man, but short of turning tail and asking Harrison to take her home to her mother, she didn’t see what choice she had.

“Why not? I’m sure I’ll bring down a hawk in no time.”

Derek laughed at the doubt in her voice. “Don’t worry so much, Sophie. From the way Harrison was glowering at everyone who so much as looked at either you or his puppy the wrong way, you’ve already brought down much worse than that.”

* * *

“It’s called a bolas.” Derek lifted his arm overhead and started whipping the long rope in an arc. As the rope was weighted on both ends with a rock the size of Bubbles, Sophie felt it was prudent to duck out of the way.

Way out of the way. Behind the nearest tree, in fact.

“Hey, where are you going?” Derek called. “I’m just getting to the good part.”

“I can see everything better from over here,” Sophie called back. Then, because he’d spent quite a bit of time handcrafting his weapon and it seemed rude to go into hiding, she added, “So, what happens now? You throw it and hope it murders something midair?”

“First of all, it’s not murder.” Derek’s chest puffed up as he continued his maniacal rotations. Honestly, it was a good thing most of these people were first-aid experts of some sort. It would be a wonder if any of them got out of here alive. “It’s a time-honored gaucho practice that you’re lucky to witness firsthand. And secondly—well, yes, but I’ve never actually brought something down this way.”

Sophie laughed. Apparently, the by land, by sea, and by air idea was more of an excuse to play with ropes than to catch anything. It was a good thing Jessica had the foresight to hand Sophie a pouch and point out which roots were edible, so she could gather a backup plan while she watched Derek at work.

“Am I supposed to scare up some birds or something?” Sophie asked after a few minutes of Derek whirling his bolas in a fruitless effort. “By like…running through the bushes and making lots of noise?”

“If you’re smart, you’ll tell him you saw something over by the trailhead.” A crunch of leaves underfoot and the sound of Harrison’s deep voice caused her to turn.