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He pulled me out of my shell and dragged me with him to everything from parties and dances to sports events and hikes. I would’ve followed him anywhere, but I was too young to follow him when his mom married some military guy, and they moved to where he was stationed in Georgia when we were juniors.

Before he left, we squeezed in all the time together we could get, and it was in a spot just like this he gave me my first kiss right before he was gone for good. It was all a girl could’ve hoped for, but it also broke my heart because of what never was. Even though it was a brief and innocent kiss, no other has ever measured up to it.

I think of Cash from time to time. He’s probably married with kids by now. I’m sure his wife is beautiful, and their kids are adorable.

The text notification on my phone dings, surprising me. I can’t believe I get service here. I pluck it from the side pocket of my purple backpack and see it’s from Paisley.

What sounds good for dinner? I can’t make up my mind.

I consider what would hit the spot before responding.

Chicken alfredo and garlic bread sound amazing right now. After this workout I can justify it.

That is a meal that never needs justification!

Yeah well, tell that to my ass.

Just more cushion for the pushin’ eggplant emoji

eye roll emoji Whatever, there hasn’t been any pushin’ for a while. Probably because of the cushion frowning emoji Heading back now.

Dinner’ll be waiting.

I heave myself up and stuff my phone into my pack before slinging it over my shoulder. I swing around to climb back onto the trail, but when I take a step forward, my foot catches on a branch. I go down in a tangle of limbs, attempting—unsuccessfully—to stop my fall. A crunch comes from my ankle as a searing pain shoots from it in the process.

Black dots dance in my vision while I take sucking breaths in an effort to breathe through the throbbing ache. A whimper falls from me when I sit up. I’m going to be one giant bruise tomorrow, and I’m going to for sure be late for dinner, because there’s no way I can hike out.

Chapter Two

Cash

“Christ, this is a lot of kids,” Race Mohan, one of my search and rescue teammates, grumbles.

Squeals and shouts fill the air, making it hard to hear him, and he’s not wrong. My friend’s aversion to children makes five-year-old Maisie’s birthday party beyond overwhelming for him.

“You didn’t have to come,” I remind him before slurping from my can of Coke. Disappointment follows the swallow that it’s not the beer I’d rather be guzzling, but with it being a kid’s party, and being on call, it is what it is.

He snorts, rolling his eyes. “Right, like any of us could say no to that little monster. Besides, I’d come just to hear her call Lawson her Prince Hero Tanner. That shit never gets old.” A grin breaks over his face. “We should get him a crown and a cape. Give it to him when Maisie’s there, and he’ll wear it because she’ll go absolutely batshit for it.”

I bark a laugh. “Holy hell, that’d be funnier than shit, because you’re right, there’s no way he’d not wear that for her.” The thought has both of us laughing so hard we’re wheezing, and my stomach aches.

Tanner, our search and rescue team leader, rescued Maisie earlier this summer when she wandered off one morning only a week after she and her mom, Ella, moved here. Maisie became enamored with Tanner, calling him her Prince Hero Tanner and wrapping the man around her little finger. Tanner also fell ass over tea kettle for Ella, and now they’re all living happily together. He never stood a chance against either of them.

It’s not hard to be happy for him, especially since it provides us with endless entertainment. We’d also be lying if we said we weren’t just as wrapped around Maisie’s finger as he is. Thus the reason we’re all spending a Saturday hanging out at a five-year-old’s birthday party.

It does give me pause, though, wondering what settling down with a family might be like. The thought has never really crossed my mind. You’d think at thirty-four years old I’d have at least considered it by now, but spending fourteen years in the army right after high school had me focused on surviving.

There was no way I was getting into a relationship just to leave them behind when I was deployed. I saw the toll it took not only on my mom when my step-dad deployed, but the men in my unit as well. I heard endless stories about how their girlfriends and wives were suffering with them being gone.

It was something that I didn’t want to do to someone I claimed to love. Besides, it’s not like I ever met anyone who came close to making me want to change my mind on the matter.

Though now the seed has been planted and I’m considering what having someone to come home to might look like.

A sigh falls from me as my mom’s face flashes in my head. Maybe now’s not the right time to be thinking about starting a relationship. I came back to Coyote Creek because my mom’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Spending time with her before she no longer remembers me had me parting ways with the military earlier than anticipated.

She’s in need of being checked on more often than not nowadays. It’s not so bad that she can’t live by herself, but the day is coming quicker than either of us is prepared for. It wouldn’t be fair to drag someone else into the situation when my focus is on my mom currently.

I chat with Race a while longer before heading toward Tanner where he’s manning the barbecue. Alana Gillman, another SAR team member, and our paramedic, is talking with him. I’m just joining them when our phones all go off simultaneously. Which only means one thing—a callout.