scared, too.”
Isabel turned sharply to see his face as he spoke. He was admitting to being scared?
“Surprised?”
“Frankly, yes.”
“That I was scared?”
“That you would tell me that you were.”
He chuckled softly. “The days of Neanderthal men are gone, aren’t they? Anyway, mostly I was scared at the thought of keeping you out in the woods all night. Of putting you in danger. As for me, I’ve done it before.”
“You have?” Isabel couldn’t imagine anyone sleeping outside on purpose.
“Sure. When we were kids, we used to come to the mountains every fall. My parents would set up camp and we’d spend our days hiking, and later, when we were older, my dad would take us hunting.” Tray’s voice took on a sing-song quality as he reminisced about his childhood with his father.
“He made sure we were always well prepared. We could never go into the woods unless we had packed everything we might need.”
Isabel reached up to stroke the side of his face. “That worked well for us today.”
“Continues to work well for us tonight,” he smiled. “One year, he sent Jesse and I out to spend the night on our own. I was about twelve. I remember being terrified at first, but of course, I couldn’t let Jesse know. I’m sure he was just as frightened as I was, but to this day he won’t admit it.”
“You just had to go out into the woods, on your own?” Isabel couldn’t imagine a boy of twelve out wandering through the woods on his own. “Did you have a tent with you?”
“That spring, we’d learned survival skills at scouts …”
“You were a boy scout!”
“Hey, every kid in the country was a boy scout. It was a blessing to get off the farm for a few hours. Anyway, do you want to hear this story, or not?” Tray raised his eyebrows in a threatening, yet comic way.
Isabel snuggled into the crook of his arm and let his words wash over her. The intimacy of the cave was somewhat magical and she was starting to relax.
“We’d spent the spring learning survival skills and in the summer, our father taught us orienteering, using a compass but also using the stars for navigation. That weekend, he gave Jesse and I a map and sent us out for the night on our own. We had matches, water, a warm change of clothes, and a compass.”
Tray paused and Isabel shifted against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him before continuing.
“Dad was very clear that we had to find the place he had marked on the map. We stopped during the day to watch some caribou and it got later than we thought. It was getting dark and we still hadn’t found the place on the map.”
“Were you scared then?” she whispered.
“Plenty scared. Jesse wanted to just set up camp for the night before it got too dark. Which made sense actually - it was what we’d been taught. But I had a feeling.”
“You mean something about your dad’s instructions?”
“Exactly,” he squeezed her shoulder and she trembled under the strength of his hand. “Dad was so insistent that we find the spot on the map, I thought there was more to it than just a test.”
“So you kept going.”
“Jesse didn’t want to, but I convinced him. Actually, I just kept going and he didn’t want to be left alone so he followed.”
“He’s your younger brother, right?”
“Only by a year, but enough to make a difference. We kept going and just as it was getting so dark there would be no choice but to stop and make camp, we found the place on the map.”
“What did you find?”
“It was an old forestry hut, tucked into the trees beside a little stream. It was fabulous. There was a wood stove and a big pile of wood. Dad had already been there and had left hot soup in a thermos. There were even cots and a couple of old blankets.”
“So he didn’t throw you into the wilderness to fend for yourselves?”
“No.” Tray pushed himself up and put another piece of wood on the fire. Isabel watched his easy
Isabel turned sharply to see his face as he spoke. He was admitting to being scared?
“Surprised?”
“Frankly, yes.”
“That I was scared?”
“That you would tell me that you were.”
He chuckled softly. “The days of Neanderthal men are gone, aren’t they? Anyway, mostly I was scared at the thought of keeping you out in the woods all night. Of putting you in danger. As for me, I’ve done it before.”
“You have?” Isabel couldn’t imagine anyone sleeping outside on purpose.
“Sure. When we were kids, we used to come to the mountains every fall. My parents would set up camp and we’d spend our days hiking, and later, when we were older, my dad would take us hunting.” Tray’s voice took on a sing-song quality as he reminisced about his childhood with his father.
“He made sure we were always well prepared. We could never go into the woods unless we had packed everything we might need.”
Isabel reached up to stroke the side of his face. “That worked well for us today.”
“Continues to work well for us tonight,” he smiled. “One year, he sent Jesse and I out to spend the night on our own. I was about twelve. I remember being terrified at first, but of course, I couldn’t let Jesse know. I’m sure he was just as frightened as I was, but to this day he won’t admit it.”
“You just had to go out into the woods, on your own?” Isabel couldn’t imagine a boy of twelve out wandering through the woods on his own. “Did you have a tent with you?”
“That spring, we’d learned survival skills at scouts …”
“You were a boy scout!”
“Hey, every kid in the country was a boy scout. It was a blessing to get off the farm for a few hours. Anyway, do you want to hear this story, or not?” Tray raised his eyebrows in a threatening, yet comic way.
Isabel snuggled into the crook of his arm and let his words wash over her. The intimacy of the cave was somewhat magical and she was starting to relax.
“We’d spent the spring learning survival skills and in the summer, our father taught us orienteering, using a compass but also using the stars for navigation. That weekend, he gave Jesse and I a map and sent us out for the night on our own. We had matches, water, a warm change of clothes, and a compass.”
Tray paused and Isabel shifted against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him before continuing.
“Dad was very clear that we had to find the place he had marked on the map. We stopped during the day to watch some caribou and it got later than we thought. It was getting dark and we still hadn’t found the place on the map.”
“Were you scared then?” she whispered.
“Plenty scared. Jesse wanted to just set up camp for the night before it got too dark. Which made sense actually - it was what we’d been taught. But I had a feeling.”
“You mean something about your dad’s instructions?”
“Exactly,” he squeezed her shoulder and she trembled under the strength of his hand. “Dad was so insistent that we find the spot on the map, I thought there was more to it than just a test.”
“So you kept going.”
“Jesse didn’t want to, but I convinced him. Actually, I just kept going and he didn’t want to be left alone so he followed.”
“He’s your younger brother, right?”
“Only by a year, but enough to make a difference. We kept going and just as it was getting so dark there would be no choice but to stop and make camp, we found the place on the map.”
“What did you find?”
“It was an old forestry hut, tucked into the trees beside a little stream. It was fabulous. There was a wood stove and a big pile of wood. Dad had already been there and had left hot soup in a thermos. There were even cots and a couple of old blankets.”
“So he didn’t throw you into the wilderness to fend for yourselves?”
“No.” Tray pushed himself up and put another piece of wood on the fire. Isabel watched his easy
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