Chapter 2

By the time we returned to the cabin, my mood had brightened considerably. I realized that my funk was not Suzy’s fault, and she did not deserve to feel the brunt of it.

I put a good face on things for the next month or so. I plunged into my chores list. I was in a semi-frenzy of repair, replace, fix, and build for four weeks. Suzy stood back and let me work it out, but she knew I was still grieving. She knew that something had to break this cycle.

She decided the best thing for us was a good old-fashioned camping trip. We would head up to the high country, breathe fresh, clean air, eat good mountain trout cooked over a wood fire, and let the rest of the world disappear for a week or two.

At first, I was less than enthusiastic. But I changed my mind when she grabbed me by the collar and informed me IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that we were going camping PERIOD.

As usual, Suzy was right. I started feeling better the second I put that first hook in the water. There is something about fishing that calms a man’s soul. Suzy insisted that I take care of the fishing and she would manage the campsite.

One of the things about those high-mountain lakes is that they get little pressure from anglers, so fishing tends to be extremely easy. However, the fish also grow to a smaller size. Even so, I had a respectable mess of trout in no time at all.

After dinner, we sat at the fire and watched the shooting stars. I thanked Suzy for her suggestion that we go camping. We talked about ourselves, our friends, hopes, and dreams until the fire had died down to slowly cooling embers.

I jolted awake when Shadow jumped up and alerted me. I checked my watch and saw that it was slightly after 4 in the morning. I then reached for my 1911. Suzy also woke up.

In the high country, intruders were animals and not humans. But the smart person expected the unexpected. That is when we heard the plane engine.

It was obvious that a low-flying plane was in trouble. You could hear the engine sputtering and spitting from the southeast, which was not a good sign. As we climbed out of the tent, the engine cut out completely. That’s when I knew that whoever it was, they were not having a good evening. I scanned the sky, looking for running lights. I could not see anything. I am not a pilot, but I knew that all planes had to have running and anti-collusion lights on at all times.

As I was desperately looking, we heard the impact. At least now we had a direction. Running for the horses, I told Suzy to gather all the first aid supplies, field rations, and water bottles. While she was doing that, I started getting the horses saddled and ready to go. We finished at about the same time. Mounting up, we rode hard to the crash site.

We found the plane, a single-engine Cessna, just inside the tree line. It had come in nose first, one wing was sheared off, and the fuselage broke just behind the passenger cabin. Fortunately, there was no fire or even smoke. I moved in close to the front of the cabin and checked the pilot. He was dead. There was massive trauma.