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She looked over, visibly struggling to pull her attention from the page of her book. “Yeah?”
“A girl has gone missing on the mountain. Search and rescue have been called. I have to go out. I’m going to see if you can stay with Grace while I’m gone.” I preferred to have Grace or my family babysit Tess when I was on duty rather than bothering Maddy. We were on speaking terms, but I didn’t want to give her any reason to think I couldn’t handle having fifty-percent custody of our daughter.
“Okay.” She resumed reading. If I hadn’t said anything, she might not have even noticed if I’d just left.
I made a quick call to Grace, who assured me it was fine for Tess to visit with her until we found the missing girl or canceled the search for the night. I bundled Tess into the car and grabbed the duffel bag I kept on hand for search-and-rescue situations. I tossed it in the trunk and drove us to Grace’s place as quickly as possible in the snowy weather. She was standing out front, a single sentinel waiting for us. Gratitude rushed through me.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I called through the window as Tess got out. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Grace wrapped an arm around Tess. “We’re going to have a great time. Stay safe out there. Good luck.”
As I pulled away, I wished I could be heading to Grace’s warm living room to join them in front of the fire rather than venturing into the snow.
I met with the search-and-rescue team and listened while Connor explained who’d be searching where. I was partnered with Toby. I wasn’t surprised he’d turned up. As a ski instructor, he knew the mountain better than any of us. He and I were assigned to the area immediately beneath the black run the girl had been on. When there was no sign of her, we continued into another search quadrant even as the sky rapidly darkened and we were forced to turn on our headlights.
“We’re going to have to call it a night.” Connor’s voice crackled over the radio strapped to my waist. “It’s too dangerous to stay out here.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. I wanted to search until we found her, but I knew Connor had made a sensible call.
“Wait.” Toby grabbed my arm. “What’s that?”
He pointed into the distance. I squinted, unsure what he was pointing at, but gradually, my vision adjusted, and I could make out a spindly thread of smoke against the dark horizon.
“That’s where the old musterer’s cabin is,” Toby said. “The one where—”
“I know the one you mean,” I cut him off. “Nobody should be renting it this time of year. That would be crazy. Perhaps she saw it and went there for shelter. Is it far?”
“Not too far, but I think Liam and Asher are closer to it than we are.”
“Connor,” I said into the radio. “There’s smoke at the old musterer’s hut. Perhaps Liam and Asher should check it out before heading in.”
“Good catch,” Connor replied. “I’ll get them onto it.”
* * *
An hour later,the teenager had been collected from the old musterer’s hut and transported to Destiny Falls Medical Center where Max was looking her over. Asher had done a preliminary check and declared her to be hungry, dehydrated, and cold, but not in any serious danger. Max was determined to do a full workup before discharging her.
He and Asher agreed that she seemed to be in shock. She sat on one of the clinic’s chairs, her shoulders slumped and a blanket wrapped around her. She’d changed into an outfit Summer had supplied, so she was dry, and I’d made her a mug of hot chocolate loaded with sugar in the hopes it would perk her up. During the drive over, she’d admitted that she’d gotten lost and had taken shelter at the hut when it started to snow, but otherwise, she had hardly spoken.
“Can I call one of your friends for you?” I asked. It was too late for anyone to safely drive down the mountain, but perhaps it would comfort her to hear a familiar voice.
“Please don’t.” Her voice trembled.
I settled onto one of the other chairs, ignoring Max as he listened to her breathing.
“They were very worried about you,” Connor rasped from his position in the doorway. Everyone else had made themselves scarce so as not to overwhelm her.
“Yeah. Well.”
I tried again. “Is there anyone you would like us to call?”
“No. I’ll be fine. I was stupid, but no one else needs to get dragged into it.”
Max caught my eyes and nodded toward the door. Connor backed out, and I followed. Max was close behind.
“We need to know what happened that led to her getting lost,” I said quietly, hoping she wouldn’t overhear. “Especially if her friends were somehow involved.”
Connor grimaced. “I doubt they were. The ones I talked to were on the verge of panic. They definitely care about her.”
