Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Aria banked them toward the foothills devastated by flame.

Through the smoke's haze, Booth glimpsed a search crew working downhill. Tiny insects combing a moonscape of char for any sign of their fellow smokejumper.

Jaw rock hard, Booth scoured the terrain as Aria circled wide.

They'd been searching for thirty minutes when the radio crackled.

"Aria, I need you back at the base." Miles's voice broke through the static. "The next round of smokejumpers can deploy within the hour." He filled her in on the new plan to stay ahead of the fire and keep it from reaching Snowhaven if possible.

"Copy, we'll turn back," Aria said.

"And Aria?" Miles lowered his voice. "Tell Booth I'm sorry, but we've called off the search for now. We need all hands on deck."

The news hit Booth like a gut punch. He turned to Aria, not sure what to say. Not sure the words would form if he tried.

She glanced at him. "I'm sorry, Booth. We have to give up the search for now…" Her voice trailed off. She sounded distraught.

Booth could relate.

He nodded. "I get it. It's not your fault. You're following orders."

The embers of hope that had burned within him began to fade. A cold emptiness took its place.

He understood the decision, though. Snowhaven had hundreds of lives in the path of the fire. No one liked to leave a man behind, but if they didn't pull the crews now, they'd risk losing the town.

Booth sighed. He knew what he had to do. What Nova would want him to do. "All right. Let's head back. I'll go out with the next crew and help with the fire."

Aria pressed her lips together and nodded.

The plane turned, making a wide loop around the Kootenai mountains. Booth's gaze was fixed on the darkness below. He couldn't shake the feeling that they'd been so close to finding her.

Nova was out there somewhere in the vast expanse of burning forest.

Halfway back to the jump base, Booth caught a sudden flash of light in the distance. His heart skipped a beat.

He all but jumped out of his seat. "Did you see that?" He pointed as he strained to see through the darkness.

Aria squinted. "I saw it. What was that?"

"It's Nova!"

"Are you sure? It could be?—"

"No, look!" Booth unbuckled and leaned over to point to the spot. "In that clearing down there. See the red glowing dots? Those are flares. The fire's way over there."

Aria's eyes went wide. "Look!"

Booth watched as a white light flashed between the two flares. Three short flashes, then three long flashes, followed by three short flashes. "It's an SOS. It's Nova! She's signaling for help."

Her mouth fell open. "Thank You, Lord. We've found her…"

Booth stood. "Take us up to three thousand. I'm going down there."

Aria nodded. She guided the plane upward and radioed Command.

Booth headed to the back as Aria updated Miles and gave him Nova's coordinates.

A flood of adrenaline coursed through his body at the possibility of rescuing Nova. His breaths came rapid and shallow. The chest strap on his harness pressed tight.

He took a steadying breath. Now wasn't the time to get frazzled. He'd be no good to Nova if he lost focus and messed up his jump.

The plane ascended, leaving the burning forest below. Booth hooked up his drogue static line. Completed his four-point check. Took another breath and readied himself for the jump.

"No time for streamers tonight," Aria's voice announced over the intercom. "Winds are still tricky, so be ready for anything. The jump spot's in that little meadow just south of the fire, where Nova's lights are. Do you see it?"

"I see it!"

He stepped closer to the door and braced himself. Yanked the handle and let the door swing back, careful not to get sucked out by the slipstream. Smoke-filled wind roared in.

Aria glanced over her shoulder. "Get ready!"

Booth took his place in the door. One toe of his boot stuck out over the edge. He looked down at the darkness and inhaled a deep breath, then released it.

"Get ready, Wildfire Girl. I'm comin' for you."

She was spent. Nova wasn't sure how long she'd sat in the grass with tears rolling down her face, clicking the flashlight in an SOS pattern, before Abilene shuffled over.

The horse nudged her ear and mouthed her tangled hair.

Nova dropped the flashlight in her lap and scratched Abilene's chin. "Thank you. I think I was starting to spiral a little. I guess they're not coming back, so we'd better figure out what to do."

Abilene still knew the way home. Or so Henry had assured her.

Okay, but how would she haul herself onto Abilene's back with a broken ankle? Did she even have enough left in her to ride out, or would pain and exhaustion force her to fall?

A familiar pressure built in Nova's chest, crushing her lungs like a vise. Her next inhale emerged shallow and ragged. Closing her eyes didn't block out the suffocating wave of pain.

No one is coming back. You will die here. Forgotten.

"No," she choked out through gritted teeth. Aria's words replayed in her head. I love you and you have a whole crew that loves you—in their own way. No one will ever forget you, Nova Burns.

Sagging forward onto one palm, Nova pressed the other hand hard over her galloping heart.

Mind over matter.

Nova raised her head and forced heavy eyelids open.

She was trained for worst-case wilderness scenarios. This was just another mission requiring her resolve and survival skills.

She hadn't lost it all yet.

Abilene whinnied and lifted her muzzle.

Nova heard it too. The growing thunder of an approaching engine.

She scrambled for the flashlight and thumbed it on, off, on, off…

The night sky overhead flashed with her SOS. "Please…this time, see me."

The plane cruised back into view, this time flying higher. Any smokejumper would recognize the aircraft positioning.

"I knew it," she told Abilene. "We're getting out of here!"

She tracked the plane's path. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when the beacon light flashed and she caught a glimpse of the open door.

When the lone figure launched into open space, Nova sucked in a breath that squeezed her ribs.

Too much depended on the next few seconds. She forgot to breathe, watching the skydiver's trajectory.

After gut-wrenching seconds, the parachute canopy deployed. Nova used Abilene for support and pulled herself up to standing.

She tracked the form's descent. Swirling wind spilled air from the canopy and the jumper plunged.

The jumper hit the ground with bruising force. Fabric billowed behind him as he rolled through the landing. From fifty yards away, she watched the man wrestle clear of the deflated rigging, stand, and toss his helmet on the ground. He whipped in her direction.

Nova released her pent-up breath in an explosive rush.

The lines of the muscular silhouette sent her pulse thrumming. She heard someone sob his name. Then realized that the broken cry had come from her own throat.

"Booth!"

Every fiber of her wanted to run to him, but her ankle screamed in protest.

Booth sprinted through the grass. "Nova! Nova!"

Disheveled and smoke-stained, he was still the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

And he was here. Impossibly here. Striding toward her with that wide grin on his face.

Then his arms enveloped her. Bonds of warmth and muscle that felt like coming home.

Despite her pain, Nova clutched him. Breathed in his scent. Nuzzled the soft whiskers on his jaw. This was no pain-induced hallucination. He'd really come for her.

"Thank God. I've been going crazy looking for you," Booth rasped. One broad hand brushed her tangled hair.

Nova withdrew enough to angle her face up. "I'm so glad it was you."

His searching gaze took in her features. "Are you hurt? How bad?"

"Nothing serious." Nova dismissed her aching injuries. She didn't want to waste another second not touching him. She framed his face in her palms. "I can't believe you found me. By some miracle, you're really here."

His arms tightened. "I couldn't stop—wouldn't stop—until I found you."

She smiled even as emotion clogged her throat. Nova lifted her mouth to meet his. She fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling herself closer. Booth kissed her until she thought she might melt into him.

Heart hammering, Nova eased back. Booth kept one arm around her. The other hand traced her cheek tenderly.

"I never want us separated like that again. When I heard you'd disappeared in the fire…" Deep lines creased his brow.

"I started thinking no one would ever find me. Especially not you. How could you possibly have tracked me to the middle of nowhere?"

"God. It had to be God leading us here." Booth looked up at the plane passing overhead. "Aria and I went a little rogue, but we can talk about it later. Speaking of…" Booth pulled his radio out of his pocket and confirmed he'd found Nova alive and well.

The call came back with cheers and promises that a chopper would be there to pick them up in less than thirty minutes.

Nova pressed impulsive kisses across his jaw. His chin. His lips. "I love you. Beyond life itself. I'm sorry for being so pushy—or bossy. Whatever. I can do better. I will do better."

"I love you too. Just the way you are." He pressed a kiss into her forehead. "I've got you now, and I'm not letting go."

Booth kissed her again. This time slow and gentle. She slipped her arms behind his neck and pulled him close.

When they paused for breath, Booth nodded over his shoulder. "So…what's with the horse?"

Glancing over, Nova beckoned the mare closer. She stroked her velvet muzzle while Abilene investigated Booth's shirt for treats.

"This is Abilene. My guardian, transportation, and guide."

Booth's eyebrows went up. "You? You rode this horse? I thought you hated horses."

"I don't hate them." She'd been terrified of what they represented in her life. Every horse had dragged up painful memories that she hadn't been able to face. "I'll admit, I didn't think I'd ever ride again after the wildfire that killed my parents. But I had to face my past if I wanted to find my way home. My father loved me so much he put me on that horse. He didn't choose me over my mom. He just chose love."

"Brave. You're so brave. How'd you figure that out?"

"I used to measure God's love by comparing what He did for me with what He'd done for another person." She paused for a shallow breath. "But that isn't right. I have to look at what God does for me, period. That's how I'll see His love. God's good all the time."

"And all the time, God's good." Booth smiled and stroked the white streak blazing down Abilene's face. "Where'd she come from? We may need to get her home before the chopper comes."

Nova tucked herself close beneath Booth's arm and pressed her ear over his heart. The strong steady rhythm seemed to echo inside her own ribcage. "It's a long story, but I finally believe everything you've said about Crazy Henry now."

Booth looked down. "That's a bit out of left field."

"Not really. Hey, can we sit? I'm pretty sure my ankle is broken?—"

"Broken? Why didn't you say so?" Flustered, Booth helped her ease down in the grass. "Let me take a look."

Nova rested her foot in his lap.

He lifted her pant leg and whistled. "That's some splint. You do that yourself?"

"No. That's where I was headed. Like I said, I believe you about Crazy Henry." She cringed as Booth pulled her pant leg back down over her ankle.

"Sorry," he said.

She dismissed it as no big deal and continued recounting everything from Finn crashing into her to being dragged off the cliff. "When I came to, the fire had blown up. I was trapped between a mountain and the forest. I stumbled around until I ran into a mountain lion cub."

Booth's eyes widened. "What?"

"The mama wasn't too happy to see me either. I was backing up when I stepped on a piece of wood covering a pit or something. Before I knew it, I was falling down an old mine shaft that caved in behind me. That's when I met Henry."

He leaned back to study her face. "You really saw Henry? Out here? You spoke with him?"

Nova nodded. "Shortly after we met, I blacked out. Somehow, I ended up in his hidey hole. A cabin built into a cave, by the looks of it. He told me he knew about you and Crispin. Told me how he'd been hiding a nuke and that The Brothers wants to find it. And if that isn't chilling enough, he said that Floyd has hired professional assassins to hunt you down and kill you."

Booth gazed into the surrounding woods. Nova sensed him processing the information. Formulating plans she couldn't begin to guess.

"I can't believe he told you everything." He ran one calloused thumb along her knuckles.

"Floyd is getting closer to finding Henry. He needed me to warn you. That's where Abilene came in."

At her name, the horse lifted her head from where she'd been grazing in the meadow.

"I walked away from that world to start a new life in a new place, but I kept looking back. Wanting to get my life back." Sighing, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I should know better by now. The past always finds a way back around eventually."

"Did you find Crispin?"

Booth nodded. "He's safe at the hospital again. Sheriff Hutchinson put a guard on the door, and he's investigating everything that happened. This man, Floyd, was behind it all. The kidnapping. The arson at jump base. The man who beat Crispin. That was all Floyd and his hired hands."

"But why?"

"Partly to get his hands on the nuke, and partly for revenge. It was his brother, Earl, that died that day at the lake when they overran us all. Floyd blames us. But he's not going to get away with it. We're going to find him and stop him once and for all."

"Good." Nova leaned her head on Booth's shoulder.

"Good? I thought you wanted me to stay out of it and let the police do their jobs."

She cringed hearing him parrot her words. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know?—"

He kissed her. "I know."

"So, now what? Floyd isn't going to call off his assassins. He'll never stop looking for Henry."

"Can't change what's hunting me, but I can end it on my terms." His mouth flattened. "I thought I was done with my old life, but seems like it's not finished with me yet."

The thump-thump of helicopter rotors sliced through the night sky.

In a few minutes, they'd be rescued. Probably safe from the fire crowding in on them, but with the assassin still on the run, they could be walking right into the crosshairs.