Secret Agent Father by Laura Scott Page B

of the truck directly toward them.
    “I’ll come up with something,” he promised before he jumped out into the snow and made his way to the back of the Jeep.
    Rafe worked for the coast guard. And he loved to camp and fish. Surely he had some leftover gear in the back they could use. The back window was broken open and he leaned in, thrilled to discover his gut instincts were right.
    Rafe had plenty of stuff tossed back there.
    As he rummaged through the gear, picking and choosing what they needed the most and discarding the items that held little value other than weighing them down, he listened to Shelby talking in a low voice to Cody.
    No, not talking. Praying.
    “Heavenly Father, we thank You for keeping us safe in Your loving arms. Please continue to give us Your strength and guidance, Lord, as we seek shelter from the storm. Amen.”
    Cody’s young voice echoed, “Amen.”
    Humbled, he finished rifling through Rafe’s things with a renewed sense of purpose. They could do this. After all, God was watching over Shelby and Cody.
    And maybe, even though he hadn’t prayed or stepped inside anything resembling a church in years, God was watching over him, too.
     
    Alex climbed back into the Jeep with his loot of supplies. He knew Shelby had doubts about the wisdom of leaving the vehicle.
    She phrased her next words carefully. “Won’t it be better to stay here, until we’re rescued?”
    “We don’t want just anyone to find us,” he answered, with a meaningful glance at Cody. Her eyes widened when she absorbed his hidden meaning. “Don’t worry,” he interjected when she opened her mouth. “We won’thave to hike too far. As soon as we’re safely hidden, I’ll get in touch with Rafe.”
    “Cody is too young to hike,” she protested.
    “I’m going to make a sling, like this, and carry Cody against my chest. Rafe has a survival blanket which helps contain body heat. With the survival blanket and sharing my body heat, he’ll be as snug as a bug in a rug.”
    He was encouraged when she forced a smile and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
    Considering it was the only plan he had at the moment, he didn’t respond. Hiking through the snow while carrying Cody’s additional weight would not be easy. He’d made the sling out of the nylon tent, but Shelby would have to carry a pack of supplies, too. When he handed her the gear, she didn’t voice a single complaint.
    Soon they were ready to go.
    Outside, he scanned the area, searching for any sign that the driver of the black truck was making his way to find them. But the swirling snow had a negative impact on the visibility and the only sound he could hear was the whistling wind.
    As much as he would have preferred taking the easy route using gravity to head farther down the ravine, he forced himself to take a parallel path from the Jeep, going back in the direction from which they’d come.
    He wasn’t crazy, he simply hoped to buy a little time, in case his worst fears were correct and the driver was brave enough or foolish enough to search for them. With any luck, by the time the guy found the Jeep, partially hidden in the evergreen trees, the wind would have obliterated their tracks in the snow. The driverwould assume that since they had Cody, they’d head down the ravine, continuing north.
    It wasn’t a perfect plan, but the best he could drum up at the moment.
    As if sensing the seriousness of the situation, Cody kept quiet in his makeshift sling. Alex tried to keep his gait as smooth as possible, clasping one arm securely around the boy to avoid jostling him too much. He led the way, but had insisted he and Shelby be tied together with rope found in the back of Rafe’s Jeep, since they could barely see a few feet in front of their faces.
    He’d figured they’d only gone about a mile when the rope tugged sharply. He stopped and turned around to find Shelby on her hands and knees in the snow. He staggered toward her, a sense of hopelessness washing