Surviving the Storm Read online

  “You ever see the movie Crocodile Dundee?”

  “You mean the one where Dundee whips out a knife the size of a machete?” Nathan imitated pulling the weapon out of a sheath.

  “Exactly!” She trudged forward. “I’m wishing for that monster knife right about now.”

  “I’m thankful you don’t have it,” Nathan responded, staying a step behind her. “You’d end up using it on me in some misguided idea that I’ve wronged you.”

  Who knew Nathan Porter had a sense of humor? “Nothing misguided about my judgment, mister.”

  “Riiiiiight,” he drawled. “Isn’t using a machete a little bloodthirsty for Ms. Sunshine?”

  “Depends,” she puffed, wiggling between two tree trunks, scraping her calves on the bark. “We talking about using it to clear the vegetation or—”

  Thunder reverberated, slicing through her eardrums and convulsing the ground. She threw her arms out to keep from falling just as lightning cracked, exploding in a deafening pitch. Light hurtled toward the earth, sparks flaring across her vision. Pressure hit her as a massive clap filled the thick air.

  “Reena!”

  P.A. DePaul resides outside Philadelphia in the US. In her free time you can find her reading, working on a puzzle, playing with her dog, winning game nights against her husband (sometimes) or whipping up something in the kitchen. You can learn more about her at padepaul.com, Facebook.com/padepaul and Instagram.com/padepaul.

  Surviving the Storm

  P.A. DePaul

  Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

  —Deuteronomy 31:6

  I dedicate this book to my husband.You are my partner and best friend.My rock and shelter in a storm. And a man who makes this journey called life so much fun.

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank-you goes to my husband, who took multiple research hikes with me in the Poconos and listened to (endless) hours of story ideas and constant questioning of “What if...”

  A massive hug and thank-you to the bestest agent in the universe, Michelle Grajkowski. Your warm heart and tireless cheerleading keep this writer on the sane side of life.

  A colossal thank-you to my editor, Johanna Raisanen. Your guidance and feedback have lifted this story way beyond where it started. THANK YOU!

  And last, but NEVER least, thank you to you, the reader. You cradling this book in your hands means the world to me.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Excerpt from Trapped at the Summit by Ali Olson

  Chapter One

  “Listen up, everyone.” Reena Wells raised her voice to compete with the group of teens and chaperones forming a loose circle in the dirt clearing. She couldn’t stop the broad smile splitting her lips or keep her heels from bouncing. “We’ve made it to the second stop on our hike for the day, so that means—”

  “Scavenger hunt!”

  Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! The blast of twelve teenage voices startled the birds in the surrounding trees. Their cawing and flapping wings let everyone know how much they did not appreciate the disturbance.

  Reena laughed. “And here I thought you’d be groaning to nap after this last stretch of uphill climb or complaining about the lack of cell phone signal.”

  “You haven’t been listening to my uncle, then,” Ashleigh Porter joked dryly, thumbing toward the good-looking man beside her, towering over her by a foot.

  Said uncle snapped his spine straight; his cheeks, already red from exertion, deepened in color as he mock scowled at his niece. “Et tu, Brute?”

  Ashleigh rolled her eyes and knocked her shoulder into her uncle’s bare biceps playfully. “No Shakespeare during summer break. It’s a rule.”

  “Definitely,” sixteen-year-old Rachel groused dramatically. “If I have to read another book filled with thees and thous, I’ll—”

  “Enjoy every minute of it,” Sandy cut in sternly, shooting her daughter a look. Not surprising, given the mother was the high school English teacher.

  Nathan Porter dropped a tanned arm over Ashleigh’s shoulders and pulled his niece in for a side hug. Her gaze flicked to the ground, but Reena caught the slice of pain mixed with relief. A small pang twisted Reena’s heart at the tragedy the fifteen-year-old had suffered six months ago. Having never known her mother, who died during childbirth, was already tough, but losing her father in a freak construction accident was horrible. Luckily, Nathan had uprooted his life from Virginia to their small town of Bell Edge, Pennsylvania, nestled in the Pocono Mountains, to raise Ashleigh on his own. To see them freely affectionate hit a soft spot inside.

  “All righty.” Reena clapped to halt her constant curiosity about the rugged man. Proffering a sheaf of green-colored papers, she continued, “Here’s the items to find.” Greedy hands snatched the pages and the mix of girls and boys, ranging from fourteen to seventeen, huddled into groups to study the list and the map showing the search area.

  Stuffing the extra copies into the front pocket of the backpack resting at her feet, Reena soldiered on. “Remember, only pictures on your cell phones are needed as proof. We’re not out to damage the environment.”

  By this point, she had only a few of the adults’ attention. The kids were already trash-talking and making bets on who would complete the hunt first.

  “What’s the prize?” Vincent Clark, sixteen-going-on-sixty, asked, spearing Reena with serious eyes. A look that rarely left the boy’s face.

  All the chatter stopped and every gaze snapped to Reena. “Prize?” She screwed up her face in confusion. “I’m supposed to give out prizes?”

  A few teens groaned and most of the chaperones snickered.

  Rocking from toes to heels, she placed her hands over her heart. “How about my praise of a job well done?”

  The boos that assaulted her made her laugh. “Wow, tell me how you really feel.” She waited a few beats, then lifted her chin. “Fine, you bunch of ingrates,” she mock insulted. “The first team back with the complete and correct list will not have to set up their own tents tonight.”

  Whoops and fists filled the air.

  “The second-place team,” Reena shouted, then lowered her voice as everyone quieted, “will not have to gather wood for the cooking fire. And the third-place team will not have to wake up early to cook breakfast.” As director of the church’s teen youth group, she avidly watched every penny and tried to
find ways to save money so she could take the kids on more outings. Not handing out physical prizes cut costs and preserved her spine from schlepping them up the side of a mountain.

  The level of noise rose to eye-popping as the kids chose teammates and continued egging each other on or predicting who’d win which prize.

  “Everyone has chosen their team of four?” Reena asked, inspecting the newly formed groups.

  “How much interaction are chaperones allowed to have in the search?” Nathan asked, peering between Reena, his niece, and Vincent, who was now standing beside Ashleigh along with two other teens, Rachel and Andy.

  “None,” Reena answered.

  Nathan’s dark brown eyes narrowed. “None as in no pointing out items or—”

  “None as in chaperones aren’t going out with the teams.” At Nathan’s darkening expression, Reena hurried to explain. “This is about team building and fellowship with nature. Learning by experience is the best way to teach instead of adults hovering—”

  “But it’s dangerous in the forest,” Nathan cut in, straightening to his full six-foot-two height. Ashleigh cringed and shot a look to her friends. “Someone could get lost or hurt.”

  “True,” Reena agreed, doing her best to maintain an air of calm and authority. “But that’s kind of the point. Kids need to learn how to handle those situations for themselves without an adult swooping in and doing everything for them. Besides—” she rushed to head off Nathan’s next protest “—it’s a small search area and I’ve included a map. Everyone will be fine. We have to trust the teens are old enough and intelligent enough to handle a simple scavenger hunt.”

  “Uncle Nathan,” Ashleigh hissed. “I’ll be fine. Since you obviously don’t trust me. I’ll be with the others. Promise.” Her hand swished to indicate the other three in the team.

  Nathan winced and scratched the brown scruff adorning his jawline. After swiping the same large hand through his multi-hued brown hair, leaving path marks in the waves, he dipped his chin once.

  Ashleigh blew out an audible breath while Reena exhaled as silently as she could. She understood Nathan’s hesitancy. Having lost his only brother and suddenly becoming responsible for a teenager could not be easy, but he couldn’t keep a stranglehold on the girl if he didn’t want to lose Ashleigh in the long run.

  Scanning the rest of the group, she allowed the beauty of the lush scenery and the thrill of the fun challenge to flush out the tension tightening her muscles. “You’ve got forty-five minutes to return back here, whether you found everything or not.”

  Flushed faces beamed at her as some lowered into stances set for maximum takeoff.

  Raising her arm, Reena shouted, “Happy hunting!” Dropping her fist, she pulled in her extremities as the teens raced past.

  The presence of a dark cloud slowly blotting out the sun couldn’t be ominous or a harbinger in any way, right?

  Chapter Two

  Nathan Porter scrubbed his scruffy face with both hands, then grimaced at the dirt he’d just ground in. He sighed and dropped his arms. Not like he wasn’t used to being grimy. Running electricity on construction sites and renovations as an electrical engineer had him anxious for a shower at the end of every shift.

  A bird warbled and another answered somewhere overhead. Off in a distant clearing, the other adults rested, but he had wandered away shortly after the teens cleared out.

  Stopping his meandering along a narrow trail, he stared at the jagged bark on a wide tree trunk until it blurred. What was he doing here?

  He couldn’t swallow past the sudden lump in his throat, and his lungs refused to fill. Grief slammed into him so hard, he bent at the waist with his hands on his thighs.

  “Why?” he wheezed.

  Why did his only brother, Scott, have to die? Dropping his head, he surrendered to the anguish sweeping through his body like a hurricane.

  Losing the fight to remain upright, he crouched and cradled his face. The others talked so freely about God and His benevolence, but Nathan couldn’t understand how a benevolent God could take his brother away from Ashleigh. From him. From their parents. How depriving a fifteen-year-old girl of her father after already losing her mother was part of some overall plan. How Nathan was supposed to be okay with accepting that pithy excuse and move on. None of this was okay. Ashleigh needed Scott—

  The terrifying and crushing weight of responsibility toppled Nathan forward. He caught himself with his hands and the forest debris dug into his exposed knees.

  A guardian. Him. He knew nothing about raising kids, let alone being accountable for a hormonal, grieving girl. Ashleigh needed a woman to guide her, not a thirty-two-year-old bachelor whose longest relationship had lasted a year. And even that one had been on and off throughout the twelve months.

  “God...” he choked. He couldn’t decide if it was a plea, an outlet for the anger swirling among the pain, or a waste of breath. Maybe all three. He’d never had a strong foundation of faith, and losing Scott had him questioning the small piece that remained. The only reason he’d attended church every Sunday the past six months was for Ashleigh. She loved it and he’d do anything to keep her happy and healthy. Too many times he wondered if she was processing her father’s death, and Lord knew Nathan had no clue what to do if she wasn’t. Keeping her surrounded by her supportive friends felt right, so he kept going despite how much he wanted to stay home.

  This weekend was just another example of his bumbling to do the right thing. A large part of him signed up as a chaperone to ensure nothing happened to her, but another part wanted to share an adventure that went beyond their burgeoning daily routine. Camping sounded good, but he couldn’t see past the danger. He kept noticing all the ways his niece could end up in the hospital, or worse, lying in a grave beside Scott. And it’d be his fault for not protecting her.

  “Dear God...” Squeezing his eyes shut against the horrific image, he inhaled the varied scents of the forest. No. He refused to lose Ashleigh, too. With that declaration, the outside world invaded his senses. Birds chirped and wings flapped, and small animals foraged to find food or items for their nests. If he didn’t head back soon, someone was going to come looking. And now was not the time to lose it. He had to remain strong for his niece.

  Slowly rising, he brushed the dirt and small twigs from his skin. He had a plan. Well, it wasn’t really a plan. More a renewed determination to ensure nothing happened to Ashleigh. A vow to his brother that Scott’s trust in naming Nathan as Ashleigh’s guardian hadn’t been misplaced.

  Trudging back toward the clearing, he rubbed his bruised heart and hoped the others would keep their intrusive questions at bay. As the new—albeit reluctant—parishioner of the church, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess they’d want to know everything about him. That wouldn’t bother a typical person, but Nathan didn’t have the capacity right now to let anyone else close. He was just barely handling this new direction in his life, and Ashleigh had his full focus. So far, during services, he’d managed to deflect and dodge, but in this setting he wouldn’t get away with that for long.

  His thoughts narrowed to the worship weekend’s teen leader, Reena Wells. She captivated him as much as she frustrated him. She couldn’t be much younger than his thirty-two years in age but, in spirit, he felt fifty years older. Kids and adults gravitated toward her whenever she walked into a room and she was always smiling as if life was one big joyride instead of hardships and trials. Even he found himself wanting to move closer, but managed to quell the urge. With dark auburn hair and big hazel eyes that twinkled, he always felt compelled to ask for the reason they sparkled. And don’t remind him of her animated laugh that tickled his eardrums. He knew it was only a matter of time before he lost the battle against her gravity. He just needed it to be months and months from now.

  Tiny claws scrabbling up a tree thankfully ended his musings about a complication he didn’t w
ant to invite into his life. Squirrels chased each other and chittered as they dashed around and up the trunk. Peering at the leafy canopy, he gawked. Whoa. Thick, dark clouds quickly covered the once blue sky, making the forest feel like the setting of a horror story. The dirt path, strewn with twigs and pieces of dead branches, snapped beneath his worn work boots while dried leaves skittered and swirled in the increasing wind.

  The moving air swiftly compressed the sweat beading his neck and he shivered. He should have worn jeans instead of cargo shorts. His gut had warned him to cover his skin against nature but the muggy July heat had overridden his common sense.

  “Nathan.”

  He snapped his eyes off the ground and settled on the man who coached soccer for the intramural league in his spare time. Tom had one of the coolest jobs in town. He was a conductor on the old-time railroad train that carried tourists through a scenic section of the mountain.

  “I wondered if we were going to have to search for you.” Tom clapped Nathan on the back, almost sending him to the ground.

  “Nah.” Nathan subtly moved out of range and stopped at the edge of the group. “I didn’t go that far—”

  “Well, it’s official.” Reena grimaced at the outdated weather band radio blasting a message among the static. She toggled a switch to silence the tinny voice droning through the single plastic speaker. “The storm’s closing in on us instead of tracking south like forecasted.”

  Mouths tightened and worried gazes flittered to each other.

  “We continuing on?” Sandy, the English teacher mom, asked, shifting toward the sound of thumping footsteps hurtling their way.

  “Give it up, Patrick!”

  “No way, Mitch,” Patrick shot back, spurting forward into a flat-out run toward the adults. “I’m winning this hunt.”

  Mitch, followed closely behind by a herd of teens, increased his speed, coming within touching distance of Patrick, but not fast enough. Reena jumped to the side as Patrick slammed to a halt right where she had stood. Shoving his phone at her, Patrick crowed and hopped, performing some kind of victory dance that had zero coordination but a lot of enthusiasm.