It had beenthatclose.
He took the backpack, opened it, drew out what looked like a framed photo and a book. “This is a photo of Bear’s family and his mother’s journal. His whole family is buried out there not far from where the cabin stood. The place burned to the ground, but I managed to save these. I promised him I’d keep them safe.”
“Oh, Austin.” Lexi stared, amazed. “Do you realize what you have here? No one knows anything about Bear’s past.”
He grinned, pointed to a boy in the photo. “That’s him there. His real name is Matthew.”
And Lexi knew. “You risked your life for these, didn’t you?”
His brow furrowed. “I couldn’t leave them.”
Lexi caught his face between her palms and kissed him again. “I could not possibly love you more.”
Kenzie saton a wooden bench in the shade, watching while Harrison walked to stand beside Joe at the microphone. Rain had asked Harrison to come and share what he knew with folks in a kind of impromptu town meeting.
“There are so many rumors flying,” she’d said.
“Remember to check the list of missing persons.” Joe pointed to a piece of paper pinned to a nearby kiosk. “Right now, I think we’re down to about twenty-eight people. If you’re on the list, check in with Captain Langeland so we can get you crossed off. If you believe someone is missing, let him know.”
Joe paused for a moment. “I’ve asked Harrison Conrad to come share the news with us. He’s on the Team, as you all know, so he’s getting updates.”
Harrison stepped up to the mic. “As you might have heard, Austin Taylor was sent to find Bear and bring him to safety. The fire burned through that area while Taylor was there, but he found shelter in a lake. So, he’s hypothermic but okay. As it turns out, Bear found him.”
Quiet laughter.
“The fire also burned through Camp Mato Sapa—Naomi and Chaska Belcourt’s camp. Although most of the kids and staff got away, Gabe Rossiter, Chaska Belcourt, Grandpa Belcourt, and three counselors stayed behind so that the others could get away. One of the kids apparently hid during the evacuation and is missing, too.”
A flurry of gasps.
“Oh, God!”
“That’s awful!”
“Some Team members and I tried to reach the camp to evacuate them, but we couldn’t get through.”
Kenzie’s heart constricted at his humbleness. He didn’t say a word about nearly being trapped and having to drive through flames, probably because he still believed he had failed.
“A helicopter went to search for survivors but found nothing—no bodies, no survivors.”
Harrison went on. “Our fire chief, Eric Hawke, went up in a helicopter to try to find Taylor and to check for survivors at Camp Mato Sapa, but a couple of college kids were flying a drone to film the fire. The drone struck the chopper and took out the tail rotor. The helicopter crashed in the path of the blaze.”
“Oh, heavens!”
A sob.
“No!”
“Captain Brandon Silver and a photojournalist were onboard, too, as well as the pilot. I just heard that they were all found alive—”
Cheers.
“Thank God!”
Harrison held up a hand. “They’re alive but injured. They’ve been flown to the Denver Burn Center. Hawke has third-degree burns. That’s about all I know.”
The crowd fell into whispers of dismay.
“Is my house still standing?” Rose asked.