He looked back at Iola, who was keeping up with every step. While she was shivering in the cold, the pixie faced girl did not seem to let the temperature slow her down. Her hair was stringy from the wetness, her nose and cheeks red. She was tough though. Joe had seen her mend fences, steer cattle into corals and stack hay with the best of them. Iola had that outdoorsy ruggedness with an angelic like face that could melt your heart in a minute. While he loved Vanessa, she was not into the great outdoors as much as Iola. Vanessa was more of a computer whiz, a woman on the verge of technology. Vanessa tried, though, to take an interest in Joe’s love of the outdoors. However, Joe knew that she was just tolerating the situation to be with him.

Joe’s thoughts twisted and turned as the young couple made their way down the mountain side.

"Where are we going? Do you have a game plan?" Iola finally called out, her voice shivering.

"Between every valley there is a creek. That creek eventually makes its way to a bigger creek and then a river. People are usually around a river," Joe explained, stopping to look around. Trees, trees and more trees for as far as he could see however there was a drop off of some sorts ahead. It was like the mountain rounded around like a half circle.

"Well, I keep hearing whitewater," Iola mentioned, stopping to catch her breath behind him.

Joe was too busy thinking and walking to even notice the sound. It was true. In a distance ahead he could hear a slight roar, like a million showers going off at once.

"That is where we are going," Joe smiled and reached back to take her hand. However, Iola stopped again and looked at him with her arms crossed.

"Do you really think that I need you to drag me Joe Hardy?" she questioned, giving him that "I am a perfectly capable physically fit person" look. Joe knew that look well. That was one thing that drove him nuts about Iola. While Joe was known to have a few "male superiority" moments, the youngest Hardy knew full well the capabilities of a true strong woman. His mother was a fine example of that. Iola, though, never forgot those few times that he did expect to be the dragon slaying prince sent to rescue the poor weak princess.

"I am fully aware of what you can do Iola," Joe turned around and pleaded. "I was just being a gentleman."

Iola laughed as she walked past him. "Joe Hardy, a gentleman?" she muttered sarcastically. Joe trudged behind her as she ranted on. "Iola, why don’t you and Callie stay here in the car while we check things out? Girls, you would be safer to stay here. Iola, you had better stay here and listen for the phone," Iola ranted on as she made her way towards the rounded ridge. "I am sorry Joe, but that is part of you that aggravated me the most!"

While Joe did not want to start a bickering match, he felt a little irritated at Iola. "Iola, it has been two years. How do you know that I haven’t changed?"

Iola halted in her tracks, her shoulders dropped as she turned her head to face him. "I guess you are right there. So have you changed?" she asked as she cocked her lips and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well…I… I think I have. Van has shown me a few things. I have also grown up," Joe stuttered.

"I will have to ask her if I ever get to meet her," Iola remarked as she started forward again. "But Joe, I may not have been in front of your face for two years. But I have been alive for every single one of those days of those two years. I have changed. I have survived things that I didn’t think I could. I have faced many things that I didn’t think that I could ever get over. I don’t want you to think that I am necessarily the same person that walked out to that car."

Joe nodded and jogged a little faster to get up next to her. "Iola, I know that things have probably changed between us. And, you are right. We have both led different lives in the past two years. But I honestly did not ever stop loving you and I always prayed that I would see you again."

"So you are willing to see where this all goes to once we are out of here?" Iola questioned him, not stopping to look at him.

Joe sighed, searching for an answer to convey his true feelings. He knew what she was getting at and he didn’t blame her for asking.

"If you are asking about Vanessa, I am not going to lie to you. I have feelings for her," Joe finally blurted out. "But I don’t know if she is even around anymore. I have been gone for two months…"

"Two months is not two years," Iola cut in. She was good at that.

"True, but Vanessa and I were never really all that serious. Not like we were. While I was going out with her exclusively, it wasn’t the same as it was between you and me," Joe recanted as he walked along beside her. "Right now, I am just so happy to see you alive and I feel this sense of wholeness that I have not felt in two years. I definitely want to see where all this goes."

Looking over at him with a slight smile, Iola pushed her wet hair behind her ear. Then she reached out and took his hand. "I will look forward to that and to see this new gentlemanly side of you."

The rest of the short walk to the little knoll in front of them, the teenagers remained quiet. As they neared the top, they could see a good sized fast moving creek. It didn’t look to be very deep, but it was very rocky. The water ran white as it snaked its way though and over the rocks. The air smelt fresh, as clean as the mountains could be on an autumn day. Iola jumped up for joy and turned to Joe as she pointed ahead.

Joe was dumbfounded. "Why are you getting so excited about a mountain stream?"

Iola turned around and her mouth dropped. "JOE! LOOK!" She walked over behind him and guided his head to see what she had spotted on the other side of the water. Joe’s eyes grew wide.

"A CABIN!" Joe exclaimed. "How on earth did I miss that!" He felt a little embarrassed because the very small "A" frame house was right in his line of vision.

"It doesn’t look like anyone’s there, but I am sure they won’t mind that we try to use it as a shelter at least for the night. I am starting to get really hungry and tired," Iola remarked.

"Let’s just hope that there is food IN the cabin," Joe quipped, not wanting to get his hopes up. He knew that hunters usually kept their cabins fully stocked, but that didn’t mean THIS cabin owner did. However, he was still thankful for a shelter from the freezing ice pellets that were stinging his face and head.

"If not, I am sure that fisherman Joe can catch dinner," Iola replied, starting down the steep hill towards the stream.

Joe just laughed. He knew what she was referring to and the memory warmed his heart. They were camping… Frank, Chet, Iola, Callie, Biff and Tony. Chet had decided to stay back while the rest of the gang took a hike. Chet had gotten a case of the "munchies" as he called it and fallen asleep while holding a bag of potato chips. A bear had smelt the food and made its way to the camp, raiding the food sack that was once secured highly in the trees. All the time, Chet snored away. It wasn’t until the friends came back to the camp and discovered the trashed scene that Chet even knew how close he had been to a bear. The only food the bear had left was the chips that remained in Chet’s hands. While Chet could be very careless, he was always a guy that tried to mend his mistakes. So Chet, armed with a single fishing pole and net, went to the nearby mountain creek to catch dinner. Joe felt sorry for his friend and decided to join him. The boys tried many times to hook a fish, but none of the fish took the bait. Finally, Joe had an idea. While Chet would steer the big bass towards the side of an eddy, Joe would quickly net them. It sounded easy enough, but ideas are often easier spoken. However, soon Chet was able to steer the fish towards the younger Hardy. It was about two hours later that the duo walked back to the camp with five good sized mountain bass swaddled in the net. After that, Joe was called "The Great Fisherman" while Chet was called "The Great Shepherd" for herding the fish.

Iola’s voice announcing that they had made it to the bottom is what snapped him out of his thoughts. Before he could really say anything, the younger Morton was already making her way slowly across the ice covered rocks. Joe followed her, carefully positioning his feet and hands. The ice storm had caused the rocks to have a thin layer of ice on them, making crossing the creek extremely hazardous. He looked up to check on Iola, who was now standing up and walking in knee deep water. Joe knew that the water was near freezing, if not colder. They would definitely need to warm up afterwards.