too, but we’re in the wrong climate. They’d never survive a winter here, much less the lower temps. Well? Are you ready to look at what makes noise and can give you away?”
“Absolutely.”
“We have a floor consisting of old oak leaves that fell last autumn, sticks that have fallen off the oaks, and some branches here and there.” He pointed to them beneath the cover. “If you’re lucky and it has rained of late? Those leaves will absorb the water, and when you step on them, it won’t make a loud, crackling sound. Same goes for small twigs or little branches that have fallen off the trees.”
“But if it’s dry?”
“Well,” he said, lifting his Stetson for a moment and scratching his head, “then it’s a whole other deal. The leaves will crunch good and loud. Even a small twig, if stepped on it a certain way, will make a snapping sound. And if you step on a larger branch? It will make a very loud noise.”
“Why couldn’t you avoid this place, then?” she demanded. Pointing to the slight slope up from where they stood, that had rich, green grass growing, she added, “Why not walk out there?”
“If you’re in enemy territory? You don’t want to be seen, Cari. Walking in deep woods, away from the edge or boundary of it, especially, can hide you very well, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb out there”—he pointed toward the grassy slope—“saying ‘shoot me.’” He chuckled and so did she.
“Point taken,” she admitted. “If I was forced to go through this grove, how on earth would I ever get through it without being found? I’d be making all kinds of noise!”
“Depends,” he said. “In the mountains of Afghanistan, you can climb a tree and hide in the upper foliage.”
Wrinkling her nose, she stared at the oaks. “Ugh! I couldn’t even get up the trunk to climb any of them!”
“That’s a bail-out choice, climbing a tree,” he said. “When all else fails and you have thick cover, then it’s a choice. If you’re quiet and they don’t have a dog with them to smell a trail, you might get away with it. But it’s not a first choice.”
“What is, then?” she demanded, frustrated.
Chase placed his right leg outward on the dried leaves. “You need to walk this way: all your weight on one leg needs to be on the side of your shoe, and then you gently place your heel down after that. It’s what we call the ‘fox walk.’ And,”—he pulled out a pair of leather moccasins from his back pocket—“you need the right footgear. You’re wearing a fairly heavy boot, and that won’t work. You need a very flexible shoe that will bend with your foot.”
“Are you telling me you carried moccasins over in Afghanistan?” she asked, stunned.
“Sure I did.” He handed her a pair. “Hope these fit. I bought them the other day, guessing your shoe size.”
Giving him a humored look, she took them and sat down, quickly swapping out the boots for the more adaptable footwear. She noticed that he drew another pair of moccasins from his other pocket, sat down, pulled off his boots, and slipped them on. “Are those the same ones you used in Afghanistan?”
“No, but I wore a pair out about once a month. I’d finish a mission, get picked up and flown back to my base. Mary sent me fifty pairs of Indian-made moccasins and I kept them in my locker. Every time I went out on a new mission, I carried enough pairs, depending upon the geography of where I had to go.” He knotted the laces of the last moccasin and stood up. He held out his hand to her, and she slipped her fingers into his and he eased her to her feet.
“How do they feel?” he asked, checking them out.
“Actually, you’re pretty good,” she said, a little awe in her voice. “They fit really well.”
“Phew.”
“Oh, come on! You’re the most unassuming man I’ve ever run into, Chase. You never boast, crow, or shout out to the world how good you are. And you’re good at many things.” She put her hands on her hips, giving him a dark look. “The only way I find out about you is through observation and actually doing some job with you.”
A one-cornered smile came to his mouth. “It’s a need-to-know basis only.”
Cari snorted. “Oh, don’t give me that! You said the other day Mary made you be more communicative than most guys.”
“She did,”