Suddenly Cricket gave a low growl, and Nicole heard a crash in the brush across the river. In an instant the adrenalin pumped through her system, causing her heart to pound violently. Groping for the hatchet once more, she leaned forward, straining to read the night. Cricket exploded into a frenzy of barking as the noise sounded again.

Nicole leaped up, forgetting her foot, and gave a cry of pain as it nearly crumpled beneath her. She sank to her knees, the terror leaving her as suddenly as it had come. Gripping the hatchet firmly, she reached out and put her hand on Cricket’s back. “Be quiet, Cricket. Shhhh!”

And then she heard it, the voice floating softly on the night air, and the relief was as hot and as swift as the terror had been. “Nicky! It’s Eric. It’s all right. I’m coming in.”

“Eric?” Nicole whispered, unable to believe her ears. The hatchet slipped out of her fingers and hot tears of relief burned at her cheeks as she fumbled to untie the rope from Cricket’s collar. Like a shot Cricket leaped free and was gone into the night.

Finally Eric stopped across the fire from her and slid off the horse, his face drawn with pain and weariness. “Hello, Nicole,” he said softly.

“Hello.” Her voice surprised her. She had not shouted it nor had she thrown herself at him. He had come back and, at least for the moment, had ended the terrifying aloneness of the night, and she had merely said hello. She felt a quick burst of pride that she could demonstrate such control. “Did you forget something?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did.” Moving almost in slow motion, he untied the sack from off the pack animal, set it on the ground, and fumbled inside it. When he stood, he had her tennis shoes in his hand. “I forgot these.”

“Oh?”

He hobbled slowly around the fire until he came within two feet of her. She stood straight and unmoving, watching him closely. “I also seem to have forgotten a lifetime of teaching as well,” he said. “I would consider it an honor if you’d let me help you put these on.”

Though her eyes had suddenly misted up, she didn’t look away from him. “That isn’t necessary. I can do it.”

“Yes, I know, but I can’t think of any other way to say I’m sorry.”

“You came back. That says enough.”

“I should never have left. But if you’d like to put these on, I’ll go find the radio.”

“The radio? But you took it.”

“I know, but I dropped it off in the trees a short distance down river to lighten my load. Perhaps once you have your shoes on, you could throw whatever wood you have left on the fire.”

She stared at him, unbelieving.