didn’t blink at the price. “No, I can pay it.” She opened her purse and pulled out a stack of bills.
He tensed as suspicions rose to the surface again. Why would she have that much cash on her? He grabbed her hand. “Promise me one thing. I can’t take you on this expedition if you are in trouble with the law.”
She looked him in the eyes. “You don’t need to hear my whole long, pathetic story. Just know that I’m not a criminal.”
The steadiness of her voice and her unwavering gaze told him she was telling the truth. “Good. Let’s get you geared up.”
Ten minutes later, she slipped into the front passenger seat of the van. After locking up the office, Ezra got behind the wheel. He turned toward the back. “I assume everyone has been introduced.” Bruce, Jan and Kenneth nodded. “Clarissa, probably the only person you don’t know is Leonard. He signed up a few hours before you.”
Clarissa turned to shake the hand of the fiftyish man with the salt-and-pepper hair and deep tan.
“Well, people, the next seven days will be brutal. You’ll learn how to survive in the wilderness, how and where to find food and make a shelter. But you won’t be doing it alone. One of the keys to survival is learning how to work with others. Okay, we’ve got a long drive up to the trailhead. This is your last chance to jump ship.”
Ezra looked into the eyes of each of his clients. From his interactions with them, he’d begun to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Bruce knew more about survival in theory than in practice. Though in good shape for a man his age, Leonard could be a little overbearing, not a team player. It would be good to see Jan and Ken learn to rely on the other team members instead of just each other. Hopefully, the bond Jan had seemed to form with Clarissa would help with that.
Ezra turned to face the windshield, after glancing briefly at Clarissa. She was a mystery. He wasn’t sure how she’d fit in. She struck him as a pampered city girl, but there was an inner strength there, as well. She’d piqued his curiosity. He had a feeling he wouldn’t mind hearing the long pathetic story of why she needed to go on this expedition. He wouldn’t mind getting to know a little more about Clarissa Jones. He only hoped that what he found out wouldn’t be disastrous for this expedition.
* * *
With each mile they got farther out of town, Clarissa relaxed a little more. She checked the back window several times. No one had followed them up the winding mountain road. She pulled out her phone.
“Cell service out here is spotty at best,” Ezra said.
“I’m just checking some things on my calendar.” She hoped by reviewing what she and Max had worked on before he’d fired her, she might be able to figure out why he wanted her dead.
“Actually, I should have confiscated that back at the office. Everyone is required to go low-tech.”
Clarissa drew her phone protectively to her chest.
Ezra chuckled at her response. “You’ll only miss it for the first couple of days. After that, your hands will stop shaking from withdrawal.”
Leonard leaned forward in the seat and spoke in her ear. “Actually, I think it’s going to be kind of nice to get away from all that. Start looking at people’s faces instead of screens.”
“I think I’m going to like the quiet,” said Ken.
“What if there’s an emergency?” Jan asked.
“I do have a satellite phone if for any reason I need to get help to us quickly. I’ve never had to use it,” Ezra assured them.
“I promise to leave the phone in the van.” Clarissa checked her calendar itinerary quickly. Nothing stood out. “So no electronics.” What else would she be giving up? She’d been so focused on finding a hiding place from Max, she hadn’t really thought about what she’d signed up for.
“You can handle that, right?” Ezra tightened his grip on the wheel as the road grew steeper and more treacherous but his eyes met hers for a second.
His eyes had a bright, dancing quality that she hadn’t noticed before. If leaving town made her feel safer, it seemed to make him more cheerful.
The van wound down a mountain and came out at a lake. Ezra brought the van to a stop. “This is Bridger Lake, folks—our starting point. Everyone grab your pack, double-check what you have against the inventory sheet. I always bring a few extra supplies. Limit yourself to three personal items. Leave everything else in the van. It’ll be locked up. I’ve never had a problem with theft. My partner will come up here to check on it while we’re gone.”
“Three personal items,” said Bruce. “It’s like that riddle about being stranded on a desert island. You know, what would you take with you?”
Clarissa pushed open the door. At the back of the van, Ezra handed her a backpack. “You missed going over what’s in here. I grabbed a prepacked one for you. I’ll get you up to speed when we have a moment.”
She was struck by the kindness she saw in his eyes. “Thanks.” Clarissa put her pack down a little distance from the others, who chattered idly with each other. They all seemed to have bonded already. She felt like the outsider. With her background, that was nothing new.
She opened her purse. She’d be hard-pressed to come up with three items that mattered to her. She removed a brown food package and a space blanket, and tucked the money at the bottom of one of the smaller compartments. Then she put the change of undergarments and shirt she’d bought in the pack, as well.
She had a picture of herself with two friends from Naomi’s Place. The ten-year-old photo was worn and creased. Even though the pain of her miscarriage had caused her to run from there, the memory of the friendship she’d had with two other girls, Rochelle and Sarah, still warmed her heart. She placed the photo in one of the smaller compartments on the backpack. All her worldly treasures.
She watched Ezra, kneeling close to the van, place a small Bible in his pack. So he was a kindred spirit in that way. His faith probably ran much deeper than hers. Hers was so brand-new, and now doubt over the situation she was in had poked holes in it. She’d done the right thing by refusing Max’s advances and telling his wife, and she’d lost everything because of it. She hadn’t even had time to grab the Bible Sondra had given her. Uneasiness about Sondra’s no-show still plagued her. What if she’d been in a car accident?
Ezra swung his backpack on. “All right, people, suit up. We leave in three minutes.”
Clarissa grabbed the toothbrush and other toiletries she’d purchased that morning and packed them away. She lifted the backpack, surprised by the weight. She slipped one arm through a strap, but struggled with the other.
“Here, let me help you with that.” Ezra lifted her pack from the bottom so she could slip her arm in without having to wrestle with the weight.
“Thanks.”
He leaned toward her and pointed. “Belly strap.”
“Oh, right.” She turned slightly, looking for the other end.
He grabbed both strap ends and snapped them together. She felt the pressure of his fingers against her stomach
