Storm Watcher (20 page)
Authors: Maria V. Snyder
Luke nodded. His teeth chattered. Scott popped the trunk, took out a blanket, and wrapped it around Luke. He helped Luke sit in the back seat of the car. Lightning stirred once then closed her eyes. Luke covered her with a section of the blanket. Even with the blanket, all his muscles shook. From the cold or just a reaction, he couldn’t tell.
When Dad and Jacob returned, Scott slid out to greet them. After a few minutes, Dad opened the car door and frowned at Luke.
“You know you shouldn’t have gone out alone, right?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You know it was just dumb luck that you found her? And you know never
ever
to do it again?”
“Yes.” Although it wasn’t dumb luck. Despite her stubborn streak, Lightning was a smart dog, and a quick learner.
Lightning stood and stretched. Dad glanced at the dog, but didn’t comment.
“Where’s Megan?” Dad asked.
“In the house.”
“Where’s Max?”
“I’ll show you.” Luke stepped from the car, letting Lightning down.
Willajean returned with a pile of sandwiches and three dry jackets for them. Luke wolfed down two before taking a breath to say
thank you
.
Willajean smiled at him. She had been calm during this whole ordeal. Dad had often grumped about worried parents being in the way, but Willajean aided their efforts. Not that she didn’t care. The tight lines along her forehead had returned.
When the last sandwich was gone, Dad stationed Jacob at the command center, and called the dogs. Lightning joined in. A mere cotton ball next to the big bloodhounds. The dogs sniffed each other nose to tail.
“Let’s go,” Dad said, handing a flashlight to Luke.
“Wait a second,” Luke said. “You’ll need rope and a stretcher. Mr. Duncan won’t be able to walk.”
“It’s all in my pack. Let’s hurry. It’s not getting any warmer.”
Dad took the lead while Luke, Scott, and the dogs trailed behind. The slope seemed steeper this time. The mud on Luke’s clothes weighed a ton.
Reaching the top first, Dad paused. “Which way?”
Luke led them along the narrow path and pointed to where Mr. Duncan had fallen.
“How’s it going, Max?” Dad called, shining his flashlight over the edge.
The reply was weak. Luke strained, but still couldn’t understand it.
“Hold on a little longer. We’ll have you out of there in no time.”
In a whirlwind of activity, Dad unpacked his gear, tied ropes with pulleys and winches around the trees, and pulled out first aid supplies.
“Point both lights down on us,” Dad ordered Luke before he shouldered a climbing harness and shimmied to Mr. Duncan.
Luke directed the two beams onto the men below. A distant flash to the west caught his attention. He counted seconds until the rumble reached him. The thunderstorm was eight miles away.
Concern that the storm would hinder the rescue was Luke’s first reaction. In fact, the familiar panic failed to grip him as hard. Despite his hammering heart, he clutched the flashlights tighter, refusing to give in to the fear.
“Scott, I need the first aid kit and wooden splits,” Dad yelled.
While Scott lowered a bucket of supplies, Jacob called to say the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics would meet them on the main trail. From his post by the cliff’s edge, Luke watched Dad check Mr. Duncan’s vital signs and immobilize his leg.
“Nasty break, Max,” Dad said. “But I’ve seen worse. Don’t worry.”
Megan’s father grunted in pain as Dad attached a climbing harness to him. Then Dad hoisted Mr. Duncan up onto his shoulders in a firefighter’s carry position and clipped the injured man to his own harness.
Dad held onto the rope, Scott and Luke cranked the hand winch and pulley system. Luke used every ounce of strength to push the handle toward Scott, who pushed it back. Each crank brought the men up a couple inches. After an eternity the two men reached the top. Following Dad’s orders, Scott and Luke unhooked Mr. Duncan and helped him lie on the stretcher, which looked like a canvas sling with handles.
Dad handed Luke a couple white plastic bags.
“Ice packs?” he asked.
“Warmers. Break and shake.” Dad covered Mr. Duncan with a thermal blanket.
Luke broke the plastic sacks inside the bags to mix the chemicals together. Warmth emanated from the sacks. Scott tucked them under Mr. Duncan’s blanket, while Luke shook some more.
Dad repacked his equipment in record time. Shouldering his pack, Dad paused. “Scott, can you help me carry him? He’s about one eighty.”
“Sure.”
Dad faced front with his back to Mr. Duncan and grabbed the handles, while Scott took the other end.
“On three,” Dad said. “One, two, three.”
They lifted the stretcher.
“Luke, take the lead with those flashlights.”
Luke hurried into position and illuminated the tight trail. The paramedics took over as soon as they reached the main trail. Dad stayed with them until they loaded Mr. Duncan into the ambulance.
Luke stared at his dad in amazement. During this whole ordeal, Dad didn’t hesitate, he never acted uncertain about what to do, he didn’t complain about the weather or about being exhausted or soaked. Dad had a job to do, and he put his heart and soul into getting Mr. Duncan to safety. Satisfaction lit Dad’s face when the ambulance sped away.
Now Luke understood why search and rescue was so important to Dad. Pride filled his chest. His dad had made a difference.
With Megan tucked in close to her and a big grin spread across her face, Willajean stopped them when they reached the car. “Come on inside for some hot chocolate before you leave.”
“What about Max?” Dad asked.
“The hospital staff can take care of him.”
“All right. We’ll finish up here and be right in.”
After all the dogs were rewarded with plenty of praise and the equipment returned to the trunk, Dad put the three bloodhounds into the car, and Luke carried Lightning back to the kennel for a well-deserved rest.
Sad that he wouldn’t be able to smuggle her home tonight, he was also relieved, because she needed a bath. So did he. Half-dried mud caked his shoes, jeans, and shirt. Outside, Luke knocked off as much dirt as possible before entering the house.
Inside the warm kitchen they all sat around the table, drinking steaming mugs of hot chocolate and eating blueberry muffins. Luke gawked at the clock. Ten minutes after ten. It felt like only a couple hours had passed not six and a half.
Alayna joined them. Another surprise, because she’d been doing an excellent job of avoiding Luke for months.
Scott jumped up. “Here, have my seat.”
She smiled at him, and he gave her a goofy grin. Megan rolled her eyes.
“Luke, why didn’t you tell us Megan has a beautiful older sister?” Jacob asked. “We could have shown you around school. We know
all
the shortcuts.”
“I’m still learning my way around,” Alayna said. “Maybe you can show me tomorrow?”
The twins quickly agreed. Megan made a disgusted face behind their backs.
“To the successful rescue,” Willajean said, raising her mug and stopping the teens’ flirting. “For which I’m very grateful.”
Cup clunked cup as everyone agreed.
“To Megan for keeping her dad comfortable while waiting for rescue,” Dad said.
More clunks.
“To Luke for finding me,” Megan said.
“Despite the thunderstorm,” Scott added.
“A true Storm Watcher,” Willajean said.
They laughed as they banged mugs, sloshing hot chocolate onto the table. Luke’s cheeks burned. To cover his embarrassment, he said, “To Lightning, who led me right to Megan.”
Everyone but Dad raised a cup
.
Luke’s good mood died.
How could Dad still be so stubborn? Lightning proved her worth tonight, and she had no trouble keeping up with the bloodhounds.
Luke pushed away from the table. Maybe he should check on the dogs before they left. He turned to leave.
Then Dad said, “I guess the little pup can keep coming home with you at night.”
Luke spun. “You know?” Amazement mixed with fear. Why wasn’t Dad yelling at him?
“Of course. I don’t vacuum with my eyes closed. What else would leave clumps of white fur all over your room?”
“To fathers,” Megan said quietly. “Even the dumb ones who follow their daughters over cliffs.”
They clunked their cold, almost empty mugs.
When Luke glanced at her in surprise, she added, “Talking is the only thing you can do when you’re stuck on a cliff with someone for twenty-four hours. Oh, and Mom, Dad got that animal dealer’s license because he needed it for his new job.”
Now it was Willajean’s turn to look shocked. “Really?”
“Yeah, he’s gonna be working over at the horse auction in New Holland.”
Willajean snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“He won’t be able to work for a couple weeks,” Dad said. “The doctor at the hospital should be able to tell you how he’s doing.” He stood up. “We should go so you can check on him.”
“He’s a big boy,” Willajean said. “He can wait and wonder about where I am for a change. I guess he’ll be staying in the barn for awhile longer.” Willajean paused with a sly grin. “Maybe I’ll actually turn the electricity on for him.”
Dad laughed. “Now don’t be spoiling the boy.”
Luke exchanged a glance with his brothers. None of them had heard Dad laugh since Mom died. Dad might not be the perfect father, and Luke dreaded those bad days when Dad’s grief affected them all. But there were good days too.
All four of them were working to crank that valve down to slow their pain to a trickle. Maybe they’d become a family again. It’d take time and effort. But everything worth doing did.
Fact of life.
About the Author
Maria V. Snyder switched careers from meteorolo-gist to novelist when she began writing the New York Times best-selling Study Series (Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study) about a young woman who becomes a poison taster. Maria earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. She worked as an environmental meteorologist until boredom and children drove her to write down the stories that had been swirling around in her head. Writing proved to be more enjoyable, and Maria returned to school to earn a Master of Arts in writing from Seton Hill University. Unable to part company with Seton Hill’s excellent writing program, Maria is currently a teacher and mentor for the MFA program.
However, Maria’s meteorological degree did not go to waste. And to prove it to her parents... er... because she is still fascinated with the weather, she played with the weather while writing Storm Watcher. Weather is also important in her award-winning Glass Series (Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass) about a magician who captures magic inside her glass creations.
Maria lives with her family and a black cat named Valek (a.k.a. the bug assassin!) in Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next book. Readers are welcome to check out her website for book excerpts, free short stories, maps, blog, and her schedule at www.MariaVSnyder.com. Maria also loves hearing from her readers and can be contacted at [email protected]. For fun activities connected with Storm Watcher, readers can go to the special Storm Watcher Kennel site at
www.stormwatcherkennel.com
.
