Read Online Craving a Hero: St. John Sibling Series, book 3 by Barbara Raffin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Barbara Raffin
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shadowing me."
"Ah," the father responded, giving Dane a passing glance.
"Been camping here long?" she asked.
"Just since last night. We were all pretty tired of the road and thought this looked like a good place to stop."
"May I see some identification, sir?"
Dane winced. The man was going to have to remove at least one bloody hand from his pocket to give Kelly his ID. He held his breath as the father offered her his driver's license with a shaking hand.
Kelly accepted it without comment and wrote the man's information in her notepad, Kelly who never missed anything.
She handed the license back to the man. "Do you folks know this isn't a designated camping area?"
"We'll move on," the father said, stuffing his ID into his pocket.
Kelly nodded toward the fire pit. "We're posted for high fire danger, too."
"We dug the pit nice and deep," the mother said. "Put rocks around it."
"I can see you're being real careful about the fire. But you can't have a fire here."
"Needed a fire to boil the water from the creek," the father said.
Dane looked at the kettle hanging over the fire.
"We ran out of drinking water," the mother said.
Kelly nodded. "Good thinking to boil the water. But you can't have a fire here."
Kelly removed her backpack and retrieved two bottles of water from it and handed them to the mother. "Drink this. Use that creek water to douse the fire when you leave."
"You can have my water, too," Dane said, removing his pack and digging out his water bottles.
The baby cried and the mother stuck a knuckle in his mouth for him to chew on.
"When did that baby last eat?" Kelly asked, her tone soft.
"We ate the last of the crackers last night for supper," Janey said.
"I've got a couple power bars," Dane said, digging them out and handing them to Janey. There was that hero worship look again that would have brought him to his knees if he wasn't already on the ground.
Kelly unzipped a side pocket on the pack and took out an individually wrapped peanut butter cracker snack and handed it to the mother who immediately opened the package and handed a cracker to the baby. Kelly placed another cracker pack and power bar on the ground next to where the mother had set the water bottles. Then she turned back to the father.
"There's a designated rustic camping area about two miles further along this road. Fire pit's metal lined. Given the drenching we got last night, nobody should give you trouble about building a fire there. If they do, you just tell them I said it was okay."
She wrote on a back page of her notepad and handed it and her card to the father. "Here's the address of a shelter in Marquette. When you get that far, they can get you set up with some supplies."
The father blinked from the paper to her.
"You move to that designated campsite. I'll stop by later and check to see how you folks are doing."
Numbly, the father nodded.
"You folks take care," she said, tapping the brim of her hat and heading back up the trail.
Dane jumped to his feet, shook the father's hand, grabbed his pack and followed Kelly. When they were out of earshot, he said, "You knocked those rocks over on purpose, didn't you?"
"After all the fuss I made of telling you to be quiet, do you think I'd really give us away like that?"
He grinned. "Yes. And I also think you saw him throw that rabbit carcass—"
She whirled about at him and stuck a finger in his face. "Don't say another word, St. John."
He closed his hand around her pointing finger. "I knew you didn't have it in you to ticket them."
"You tell anybody I went soft on those people and I'll put out the word to everyone with a hard luck story that you're a soft touch."
"What do you mean?"
"You gave the dad money, didn't you?"
"Not much. Just what I had in my wallet. Couldn't have been more than eighty bucks. Enough for a tank of gas and some groceries."
"Sap," she said, pulling her finger free and heading off along the trail.
"Like they say, a fool and his money is quickly
"Ah," the father responded, giving Dane a passing glance.
"Been camping here long?" she asked.
"Just since last night. We were all pretty tired of the road and thought this looked like a good place to stop."
"May I see some identification, sir?"
Dane winced. The man was going to have to remove at least one bloody hand from his pocket to give Kelly his ID. He held his breath as the father offered her his driver's license with a shaking hand.
Kelly accepted it without comment and wrote the man's information in her notepad, Kelly who never missed anything.
She handed the license back to the man. "Do you folks know this isn't a designated camping area?"
"We'll move on," the father said, stuffing his ID into his pocket.
Kelly nodded toward the fire pit. "We're posted for high fire danger, too."
"We dug the pit nice and deep," the mother said. "Put rocks around it."
"I can see you're being real careful about the fire. But you can't have a fire here."
"Needed a fire to boil the water from the creek," the father said.
Dane looked at the kettle hanging over the fire.
"We ran out of drinking water," the mother said.
Kelly nodded. "Good thinking to boil the water. But you can't have a fire here."
Kelly removed her backpack and retrieved two bottles of water from it and handed them to the mother. "Drink this. Use that creek water to douse the fire when you leave."
"You can have my water, too," Dane said, removing his pack and digging out his water bottles.
The baby cried and the mother stuck a knuckle in his mouth for him to chew on.
"When did that baby last eat?" Kelly asked, her tone soft.
"We ate the last of the crackers last night for supper," Janey said.
"I've got a couple power bars," Dane said, digging them out and handing them to Janey. There was that hero worship look again that would have brought him to his knees if he wasn't already on the ground.
Kelly unzipped a side pocket on the pack and took out an individually wrapped peanut butter cracker snack and handed it to the mother who immediately opened the package and handed a cracker to the baby. Kelly placed another cracker pack and power bar on the ground next to where the mother had set the water bottles. Then she turned back to the father.
"There's a designated rustic camping area about two miles further along this road. Fire pit's metal lined. Given the drenching we got last night, nobody should give you trouble about building a fire there. If they do, you just tell them I said it was okay."
She wrote on a back page of her notepad and handed it and her card to the father. "Here's the address of a shelter in Marquette. When you get that far, they can get you set up with some supplies."
The father blinked from the paper to her.
"You move to that designated campsite. I'll stop by later and check to see how you folks are doing."
Numbly, the father nodded.
"You folks take care," she said, tapping the brim of her hat and heading back up the trail.
Dane jumped to his feet, shook the father's hand, grabbed his pack and followed Kelly. When they were out of earshot, he said, "You knocked those rocks over on purpose, didn't you?"
"After all the fuss I made of telling you to be quiet, do you think I'd really give us away like that?"
He grinned. "Yes. And I also think you saw him throw that rabbit carcass—"
She whirled about at him and stuck a finger in his face. "Don't say another word, St. John."
He closed his hand around her pointing finger. "I knew you didn't have it in you to ticket them."
"You tell anybody I went soft on those people and I'll put out the word to everyone with a hard luck story that you're a soft touch."
"What do you mean?"
"You gave the dad money, didn't you?"
"Not much. Just what I had in my wallet. Couldn't have been more than eighty bucks. Enough for a tank of gas and some groceries."
"Sap," she said, pulling her finger free and heading off along the trail.
"Like they say, a fool and his money is quickly
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