Austin set the photo down, picked up the book. On the inside of the front cover, were written the words, “Diary of Rebecca Fletcher.” The first entry was dated May 5, 1959.
Did this journal belong to Bear’s mother or someone else in his family? That would be something if it did. No one in Scarlet knew anything about his background.
“Today, Abel and I begin our new life in the mountains of Colorado, where, by God’s grace, we will raise our family away from the temptations and licentiousness of the world. Matthew and little Luke have already made themselves at home, playing in the meadow as young boys should, while Mary, who is not yet weaned, stays with me near the tent. Abel has promised to have our cabin built before the end of the month, and I shall make do without complaint. Abel has often told me of his ancestors, who came over on the Mayflower. I can only imagine what the young mothers onboard went through trying to survive their first days on new shores. Compared to the hardships and privations they surely endured, my life is easy.”
Smoke.
Shit.
Austin set the book down beside the photo, glanced into two small bedrooms. There were six small beds and one large bedstead, but no Bear.
“Bear, where are you?” Austin walked to the front door, stepped outside—and froze.
The sky rained embers, the forest to the west in flames.
“Holy shit.”
Austin ought to have run straightaway for his truck, but something stopped him.
The photograph. The diary.
If this cabin was doomed to burn, he couldn’t leave them.
He pushed his way back inside, grabbed the photo and the diary, and stuck them in his pack. He wished he had time to search the place. This cabin held everything Bear owned, but Austin didn’t have time to do more. If he didn’t get his ass out of here now…
He bolted out the door, stunned by what he saw.
“Son of a bitch.”
The fire was moving faster than he’d imagined.
He set out at a run, heading south toward his truck, wind dropping embers in the dried grass around him, igniting small fires that swelled and grew.
Several mule deer with fawns ran out of the trees and across the meadow. They were running for their lives, too.
Austin glanced over his shoulder, saw Bear’s cabin go up in flames.
You’re not going to make it back.
The thought struck him in the solar plexus, sent adrenaline surging through his veins. Then his training kicked in, his mind racing through his options. He didn’t have a fire shelter or a magic wand or a helicopter or…
Azure Lake.
He turned and ran as fast as he could toward the lake, heart slamming, thighs burning as he pushed himself to his physical limit.
A bull moose.
It paid no attention to him but ran past him and kept going.
Austin could see a glimmer of blue through the trees, the fire close enough now to feel hot against his skin. If he didn’t make it to the water, if he couldn’t push himself harder, he would never see Lexi or Emily again.
A tree to his left went up in flame, the fire roaring behind him.
He threw himself forward, away from the searing heat, stumbling down the embankment and into the chilly water, not far behind the moose. The big animal stopped out in the middle and laid down, not seeming to notice Austin.
I hope you don’t mind sharing, big guy.
But now the fire was here, the roar of it horrific, the heat unbearable, smoke choking the air. Flames leaped from tree top to tree top, engulfing the forest around him. It was the most terrifying and the most amazing thing he’d ever seen.