15
But when they pulled into the parking lot of Sweet Mountain Lodge, her words seemed almost prescient. A river of water cascaded down the hillside behind the stately building. It poured into the creek that ran behind the lodge, its banks overflowing. At a guess, the creek was at least five feet deep. And on the other side, a boy hopped from foot to foot.
A group of people had gathered on the lodge side of the creek. They were waving and shouting at the boy, who was crying hard. Will guessed he was probably around nine years old.
"s**t. Do you see that kid?" He checked his phone; no service. "Do you have a signal?"
Merry checked her phone too. "No. Totally dead. What should we do?"
"I'm going to go get him." He steered the truck toward the group standing on the bank of the creek and
