Free Gone Away by Elizabeth Noble Page A

maple and pine. Riece lay there for a few minutes simply taking in the sight spread out before him. Soft, golden rays from the sun were just breaking the horizon and brightening the sky. The leaves on some of the trees were changing from green to red and orange and were accentuated by the sunlight.
    He eased the bedroll back and stretched, trying to reach his camera. Mason’s arms immediately tightened around Riece and he mumbled through a yawn, “Where you going?”
    “I need to take photos of that.”
    Mason pulled in a deep breath, yawned again, and sat up. Hovering over Riece he rubbed one hand over Riece’s arm and looked around. He pushed the bedroll back, reached across Riece, and grabbed the camera bag to drag it closer.
    “Thanks,” Riece said over his shoulder. He sat up, extracted the camera, then shimmied out of the bedroll. Riece lumbered to his feet and wandered a few feet away so he could take some photos of the sunrise from a few different angles.
    “I do like watching you work,” Mason said.
    Riece turned to look at him. Mason was lying on his side again, but now he was propped on one elbow with his head resting in his hand. Riece felt a flush work its way up his neck to his ears. He looked down at himself and grinned at Mason.
    “It’s the real me.”
    “So I can see,” Mason said. He threw the bedroll off and began packing it up. “The place I told you about where we can go fishing is pretty secluded. If you want we can do a bit of swimming too and clean up.”
    “That sounds nice, if it’s not too cold.” Riece continued taking pictures while carrying on his conversation with Mason.
    It didn’t take them much more than an hour to take care of personal needs, dress, and prepare a breakfast. Once they’d eaten and packed up what they would take with them for the day, they set off. It was much easier for Riece to carry the pack without the weight of so many supplies. A lot of their food was left in the bear bag Mason had hung from the trees. They took one thin thermal blanket, but the bulkier bedroll and mattress were secured in their bag and hung with the stored food. Riece and Mason would take the water bottles and canteen to refill. They’d use their purification equipment before drinking it, but they’d have plenty stored for a few days.
    The day passed quietly. Riece was delighted with the photographs he was able to take and loved spending the time with Mason. During their walk in the morning, there was very little conversation between them. Simply that contented silence and the companionship Riece found so comforting. It felt to Riece as if their relationship was reforming and solidifying.
    While Riece scouted the area near what Mason called a stream but Riece would refer to as a slow-moving river, Mason settled on the ground and began preparing lunch. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at Riece, arching an eyebrow and snorting when Riece turned the camera on him.
    “You’re not going to give up, are you?” Mason shook his head and held out a bag of trail mix and a sandwich before patting the ground beside him. “Break time.”
    Riece settled on the ground and took the micro memory card from the camera, stored it in the little plastic case he used, and tucked it into his hip pocket. “I like taking your picture. With or without the uniform.” He put a new card in the camera.
    “Hmm.” Mason stretched his legs out in front of him. He’d given up his uniform for jeans, T-shirt, and flannel shirt. Riece had seen him tuck his badge into his side pocket, and his wallet went into his back pocket. Today his radio was clipped to his belt. “You didn’t think I was going to wear it the whole time, did you?”
    “I’d like to try to get some shots down there.” Riece pointed to a steep ridge that dropped to a narrow gully. Clumps of trees dotted both sides of the incline.
    Mason lumbered to his feet and walked closer to the area. While Riece watched, Mason spent a few