The Simple Wild (Wild 1)

“She never does. That’s part of her superpower.”

“Well, at least we found the hikers. They’ll be happy about that.”

“Yeah. They will be.” Jonah sets his headset down with a sigh, smoothing a hand over his beard. “But Wren hates it when I fly in on fumes, and this time I did it with you.”

I frown. “Wait, what do you mean ‘fly in on fumes’?” I look down at the gauge with new alarm as it registers. “Did we almost run out of gas? In the air?”

“Nah. She probably had another five miles or so in her.” He pats the plane’s door affectionately.

Five miles? Probably? “Are you insane?” Thank God I didn’t know about that!

“Relax. I was watching the line and doing the math. If I didn’t think we could make it, I’d have found somewhere to put her down.”

“You mean like on a pile of rocks in a field?” Has he already forgotten that he crashed a plane a few days ago?

I get a sharp glare in return, a warning that throwing that in his face was not a good idea. “No. On one of the sandbars that we passed.”

“Fine. So we would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere, without heat, eating beef jerky and protein bars?” I don’t bother hiding my irritation.

“Hey, you’re the one who was sizing up the backseat of the plane for us.” He slides out before I can get a proper retort in.

Not that I necessarily have one handy.

My flare of anger fades to annoyance as I watch him round the nose. He pulls my door open for me and holds a hand out.

On impulse, I swat it away and hop down. My rubber boots hit the gravel with a soft thud. Just a week ago, showing up here in my wedge heels, I would have needed him.

God, what was I even thinking, wearing those here?

“So now you don’t need me. Funny, I don’t remember you pushing my hand away last night when I was—” He grunts with the impact of my fist against his hard gut.

“Shut up!” I hiss, giving him a warning as I glance around, hoping the air marshal didn’t catch that.

He chuckles and squeezes the back of my neck in a way that could look platonic, except his fingers find their way past my hair to linger against my skin. “Hey, Aggie. Did rescue call with an update on the Lannerds?”

“They’re taking them to Anchorage now,” Agnes confirms. “Apparently, they got disoriented in the fog, and then Mr. Lannerd slid down a washed-out slope and broke his leg. Lost his sat phone in the tumble.”

Jonah snorts. “That’s an anniversary trip they’ll never forget.”

“Oh my God.” Another wave of relief swarms over me. “What if we hadn’t done that second pass?” What if Jonah hadn’t thought to look where we did? He could have been out there with a broken leg for days.

“Feels pretty good helping people in trouble, huh?” Jonah’s gaze searches the plane lot. “Where’s Wren? Might as well get his licks in on me now.”

Agnes’s brow tightens. “Yeah, I . . .” Not until she turns those steady eyes on me do I finally see the pain and sadness that overwhelms them.

I hold my breath as I push through the door.

“Look who made it back,” my dad murmurs, his voice groggy and weak. I’ve only ever seen him in his jeans and layers of flannel. He looks so different, lying there in his hospital gown.

So frail and vulnerable.

Mabel’s

in a chair next to him, her legs pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her eyes are red and puffy, with the stunned glaze of someone who sat down to watch a comedy, only to have the curtain pulled back and discover she’s about to witness a horror.

They’ve finally told her about the cancer. I find no relief in that, though it was time anyway. She’d wonder why he wasn’t home in the evening for their checkers games.

“Time to go now, Mabel,” Agnes calls from the door.