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Back The Wilderness Between Us Save as PDF
Chapters (39)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Author’s Note
  4. Glossary
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Acknowledgments

Now, as Clare’s heart slowed and the discomfort in her chest eased, she felt for the space blanket and pulled it over her once more. As she glanced up, she saw something move on one of the thicker branches Faye had used for the frame of the shelter. The light glistened on shiny scales. Her heart quickened again. Was it a snake? A venomous boomslang perhaps? Then she noticed the reptile’s long, clawed toes. It was a skink.

Partially concealed by the dying leaves, the creature was on the hunt. Clare watched as it lifted its snakelike head and stared into the twigs with intense concentration. She scanned the branch for its prey, but saw nothing. Suddenly, the skink darted its head forward and, with whatever it had caught firmly in its jaws, chewed and swallowed. She might have involuntarily moved or murmured her applause. The reptile looked at her for a moment and scuttled away.

Clare ached all over. She longed to adjust her position on the cold, damp ground, but the pain, breathlessness and bloody coughing she’d experienced when she moved earlier warned her against it. It wouldn’t be much longer, she told herself. Faye would come with help, hopefully her father. She wasn’t going to die on the forest floor after falling from a rock. She’d be okay. She had to be; she hadn’t done anything with her life yet.

Twenty-One

Twenty-One

It was as if the river carried Derek’s words away with it when Faye turned her back on him and hurried away through the avenue of reeds. She couldn’t make out what he was saying. Neither did she try. She wanted to get back to Clare. Geoffrey would send help and she needed to be there to make sure the rescuers found the girl. There was no time for anything else. Faye didn’t want to think about her husband and his irrelevant ramblings but, once on the path that ran parallel to the river, she couldn’t help picturing him as he’d surprised them by appearing alongside Geoffrey.

He was pale and stooped and, given the way he rested his hands on the small of his back as he walked and then, when he stopped, on his knees, clearly in pain. It was as if he was holding himself together. Faye’s instinctive response was concern. She wished she could help ease his pain. But then, when Derek began shouting across the river, she turned numb. His voice was loud and demanding, as if what she and Geoffrey were discussing no longer mattered. Derek’s needs and directives had to be heard. It didn’t occur to him he might not be a priority at that point, have all the facts or be in control of things.