Far Country (4 page)

Steve
hated how simply seeing Deborah had stirred up memories he had spent years
trying to put behind him.  Those last few weeks of high school and the
nightmare that followed graduation swirled around in his head, refusing to be
locked away again in the far reaches of his memory.  The guilt of broken
lives and destroyed futures – all his fault – bore down on his mind until the
pain was almost physical.

And
Deborah…as a sophomore, those green eyes and the red-gold hair had given her a
distinctive prettiness that promised real beauty as she matured. Even in her
ranger uniform with no makeup, Deborah was arresting to look at. Steve knew
that she had had a bit of a crush on him that year, and he, well, there had
never really been anyone for him but Sarah, but there was enough of a spark
between them that Sarah had felt threatened no matter how he had tried to
reassure her.

How
in the world had she ever been assigned here?
He wondered. And why now, just when he felt as if he was beginning to
get control of his life?  All he wanted to do was to forget Jacksonville,
forget high school, and forget anybody even faintly connected with the past.
 
And I had nearly managed to do that!

Here,
there were no whispers, no accusations, and no looks of sympathy. He wanted no
reminders of that summer, or of that last day when he had gone to beg the
Bolton’s to allow him to see Sarah just once before he left for college. 
David, who had been his best friend since grade school, had stared at him in
icy contempt.  Silently, deliberately, he had shut the door in Steve's
face. Steve had stared at the blank white surface of that door for a long time.
He could not remember a time in his life that David had not been there with
him. He had never seriously dated any girl but Sarah.  He had spent almost
as much time in the Bolton’s home as he had in his own.  Now, as far as
they were concerned, he no longer existed.  Their shared history, from
birthday parties, camping trips and family cookouts, to the growing love
between himself and Sarah that both families had fondly encouraged, were now as
if they had never existed.  In one moment of carelessness, he had betrayed
their trust and brought the Bolton family so much grief that they could not
even tolerate the sight of him.  Now, his own past was as closed to him as
the Bolton’s front door.  Without Sarah and David, there was nothing.

Steve
left Jacksonville the next morning, still a hollow-eyed shell of the boy he had
been a few weeks before.  He counted his life now as beginning on that
first day of college.  The mountains of North Carolina had become his
home.

 Steve
ground his teeth unconsciously.
I’m happy here!
He reminded himself.
Why
am I letting this chance meeting get under my skin? 
Abruptly, Steve
cut off his confused thoughts and strode away from the deck.  He rounded
the corner of the beach house so quickly, that he almost knocked over Pete, who
was laughing effortlessly with, and Steve’s jaw clenched painfully at the
sight, Deborah.

“Whoa,
amigo, where’s the fire?” Pete grinned, steadying Steve with one hand. 
Pete was in his off-duty clothes. Steve glanced at his watch and realized it
was past time for the shift change.  Deborah appeared to be off already,
and as soon as he made his report to Rob, he too, could clock out for the
day.  Inwardly he sighed with relief.  He could head back to the
trailer and get some sleep at last!

But
Pete was making other plans.  “Steve, have you met Deb?”

Steve
once again forced himself to look at the pretty redhead, and smiled
stiffly.  “Yeah – uh old friends, actually,” he managed to reply.

Pete
looked at Deborah quizzically. “We attended the same high school, except that I
was a sophomore and he was a senior,” she explained quickly.

Pete’s
eyebrows shot up.  “Huh.  Small world.  Anyway, I was just
telling Deborah about the guy who fell yesterday. She hasn’t had much of a
chance to get out on the trails, yet. You up to doing a little rappelling?”

Steve
almost choked.  Bad enough that they were assigned to the same State Park,
but to have to spend the afternoon with her as well? Nobody here knew about his
past! What would he do if she started talking about it to everyone? “I don’t
think so,” he mumbled.  “I was planning to go catch up on my sleep.”

           
“Man, you’ve got to be kidding!” Pete exclaimed.  “Go to sleep NOW and
then you’ll be up half the night!

           
"Come on,” he wheedled. “We’ll jump off a rock or two and tonight you will
sleep like a baby.” 

           
Steve looked from Pete to Deborah. Her green eyes studied him quizzically and
he remembered how he had almost run out of her presence only an hour before.
What
if she started talking to Pete about ‘poor Steve?’
  Better not to
leave the two of them alone until he had time to convince Deborah not to
discuss Sarah with any of the other rangers. After a moment, he shrugged nonchalantly.
“Okay. Let me change and get my gear.”

Pete
grinned in approval, and Deborah nodded, as if he had made the right decision.
“Excellent!” She said happily

Steve
trailed behind Pete and Deborah as they headed up the steps to the parking lot,
laughing and chatting like old friends.

           
How had this happened?
He wondered helplessly. Steve felt as if a crack
had just appeared in the life he had worked so hard to rebuild. 
Yesterday, he had been in control, but now? Deborah’s re-appearance in his life
was going to be a game-changer, he could feel it!

In
the parking lot, Deborah paused before climbing into her vehicle. “Let’s all
meet in half an hour, okay? I’ll pack us some snacks too.  I just made a
batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday!”

Steve
managed a sickly smile. “Great.”  he muttered bleakly. “This is
just..great.”

           
A half an hour later the three rangers were trudging steadily up the Moore’s
Loop trail for the second time in less than 24 hours, stepping carefully on the
loose rocks and over the many gnarled tree roots.

           
“I can’t believe we were jogging over this mess in the dark,” Steve huffed to
Pete.  Pete simply nodded rather than waste air.  He was setting a fast
pace deliberately, and Steve was almost irritated to see that Deborah was
having no trouble keeping up with them. Soon, they reached the side trail that
led to the Western Wall, where the rangers   had fought to rescue
Shane Davis just a few hours before. After showing the spot to Deborah, they
continued up the trail to a lesser known path that led to a second long
outcropping of stone, that had been nicknamed 'the knife edge'. This particular
rock wall was not on the park’s list of approved climbs for the visitors, and
thus, it was one of the favorite rappelling sites for the young rangers.

           
After carefully checking their gear, they dropped over the side.  Pete
went first, followed by Steve, then Deborah.  Watching her easy descent,
even Steve had to appreciate her skill and form. When she landed at the base of
the cliff, he grinned.  “Not bad for a flatlander,” he said.

           
She wrinkled her nose. “Speak for yourself,” she retorted. I came to coastal
North Carolina because Daddy was a Navy chaplain, but I spent most of my
summers with my grandparents in Colorado.” She detached the ring and stretched.
“We even did three years in Iceland.”

Pete
shook his head at Steve.  “Are you sure you went to the same high school
with her?”

Steve
could only shrug.

Deborah
smiled at Pete. “Take it easy on him. He was in love with the class
valedictorian. She wasn’t only smart, she was drop dead beautiful.”

Deb
spoke softly, and for a moment Steve recalled Sarah’s vibrant beauty. His eyes met
Deborah’s and he smiled gratefully at the shared memory in spite of
himself. 

Pete
looked from one to the other, frowning in perplexity.  Steve NEVER spoke
of any part of his life before coming to Hanging Rock. And Deborah’s tone was
no longer teasing, but sad…

 “So
what happened?” He asked at last, as the silence seemed to stretch overly
long.  He immediately regretted his question, however, because Steve
reacted as if Pete had slapped him.  Even Deborah appeared startled. 
She opened her mouth to reply, but Steve cut off her words.

“It
didn’t work out, that’s all,” he said harshly, and looked pointedly at Deborah
before shouldering past Pete, and plunging through some dense mountain laurels,
down what appeared to be a deer trail.  Pete looked to Deborah, and caught
a glint of tears in her green eyes.

“Did
she die?” He asked, frowning.

Deborah
shook her head, sorry she had said anything at all. Apparently, Steve had never
spoken of Sarah.

“She’s
not dead?” Pete asked again, bewildered.

“It’s
worse, really,” she said at length.

“What,
then?”

Deborah
took a deep breath. “They were in a car accident the night of their high school
graduation. “He survived. Sarah’s been in a coma ever since.”

Pete’s
eyes widened.  He looked down the trail, where they could hear Steve
forcing his way noisily through the overgrown path.  “He – blames himself
still?”

Deborah
smiled sadly.  “It seems he does.”

Pete
shook his head. “That explains a few things.”

Deborah
put a small hand on Pete’s well-muscled arm. “Please leave it alone, and don’t
mention this to anyone else,” she pleaded. “I didn’t know that he had not
spoken of Sarah to anyone. I am sorry that I brought it up.”

Pete
smiled appreciatively. Her beseeching green eyes were luminous with unshed
tears. Strong and competent, yet pretty and feminine...no, actually beautiful,
and not a drop of makeup either!   Despite her request he shook his
head slowly. “I can’t promise that. I’ve wondered for two years what’s been
eating him. Maybe the good Lord sent you here to do exactly what you just did.”

Deborah’s
eyes widened and grew thoughtful. “Are you a praying Christian, Pete?”

Pete
grinned, “Yes, ma’am.”

“This
seems like more than just a coincidence...I think we need to pray.” 
Unselfconsciously, she knelt at the foot of the rock face. A moment later, Pete
dropped easily beside her, captivated once again by her unabashed show of
faith.

They
joined hands at the base of the cliff and bowed their heads.  Pete could
still hear Steve’s body forcing its way further and further into the thick
shrubbery, and wondered if Steve had any idea where he was going. Then Deborah
started to pray, and he focused his attention on adding his voice to hers.

“Dear
Father,” she began softly. “We are here. If you have called us together to help
Steve, we are Your willing servants.  Guide us.  Help us to make Your
love and peace available to him even though he is fighting You still.”

Then
Pete’s deep voice took over.

“Blessed
Savior and Heavenly Counselor,” Pete began. “We are bowed down with sadness for
our friend. Wrap him in your love and protection. Help him to deal with this
great sorrow and guilt.  Help us to be the friends he needs. And be with
his Sarah. If it be Your Will, bring her back to the world and to the ones who
love her. We ask these things in Your precious and holy name, Father.”

Deborah’s
“Amen” joined with his and Pete’s heart skipped a beat as her forehead rested
briefly against his. Smart, pretty, AND a woman of prayer. She was definitely
someone to get to know better!

After
a moment he pulled her to her feet and led her to the trail.

“Where
is he going?” Deborah asked as she peered uncertainly into the gloom.

Pete
shrugged. “Beats me, but he’s got the pack with the snacks.”

Deborah
straightened her shoulders and gave her hat a firm tug. “Guess we’d better get
moving then, huh?”

After
about fifteen minutes of determined trail breaking the deer path opened out on
a rocky waterfall. A wide pool formed at the base, and in the middle, sprawled
on a huge rock rising about ten feet out of the pool, lay Steve.

Pete
and Deborah wiped the sweat from their eyes. Pete pulled off his boots and
dropped them next to Steve’s, and then he waded out a few steps.  The
water rose rapidly over his knees.  He stopped abruptly. “Hey, amigo!” He
called.  “This is freezing! Did you really swim out there?”

Without
turning his head Steve replied, “What do you think?”

“I
hate cold,” Pete muttered. My feet are already numb!”

Deborah
sighed in agreement, but pulled off her boots and socks as well. “Maybe there
will be fewer mosquitoes out there at least,” she said hopefully.

Gingerly
she waded past Pete and gasped as the water rose above her waist. “This is
brutal!” She complained, but she kept going. Not about to be left behind, Pete
plunged along behind her. They were forced to swim a few yards before their
feet finally touched Steve’s fortress.  Gasping, Pete and Deborah shook
themselves like a couple of bedraggled dogs, and dragged themselves up to the
sun warmed granite summit, beside Steve.