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by Kris Bryant

  “Thanks for waking us up.” Natalie stood and did a quick stretch. It was the most uncomfortable sleep she’d ever had. Her entire body was stiff from pushing herself through the woods, tripping and falling repeatedly, then sleeping upright for a few hours. “Let’s find out what’s going on.”

  She took Sarah’s hand and led her out of the office. She completely understood the hard grasp of Sarah’s hand in hers. Uneasiness pricked her, and she couldn’t figure out why. Something else was on her mind. She needed to splash her face with water and drink a hot cup of coffee to help her wake up and concentrate harder. The moment she walked into the gym, she remembered. A wave of panic washed over her, filling her with dread. Not only was Harley still missing, but so was Ghost Dog, and it was her fault. She shouldn’t have left the damn door open. She took a deep breath and moved to the area where volunteers were congregating. Joshua had maps of the area spread out.

  “Where did they find the shoe?” Sarah asked.

  Joshua didn’t look up as he pointed to a small x on the map. “Three miles from here, but a hard three miles.” The volunteers had combed that area last night for a solid hour before the search was called off for the night.

  “You can almost mark a straight line from the school to where she went. Let’s send eighty percent of the volunteers in that direction. A ten-foot spread between everyone, so if she’s asleep or scared, somebody should be able to spot her,” Natalie said. She shot Joshua a hard look to remind him to be aware of his audience. He slinked away and pulled together the first wave of volunteers—the people who knew the woods the best.

  “Highway called. Once it’s light out, they’ll fly around the area to see if they can see anything,” Betty said.

  Natalie wondered if Betty had slept at all. “Doesn’t anyone have a drone they could fly? We need to add one to the budget. I just think a loud helicopter is going to scare her, but we’ll take what we can get.”

  She asked Sarah to patiently wait at the school again. She was going out with the first wave and needed to get ready. Her emergency bag still had all the necessities and a few granola bars and water. She slung it over her shoulder, grabbed a fully charged radio, and took off with Matt and two other volunteers from Sawyer. While the rest of the volunteers combed the area around the ridge, Natalie and her crew would head south of the ridge and look for her there. With only one shoe, Harley wouldn’t be able to get far.

  “We’ll check in every half hour,” Natalie said. The four flipped on their bright flashlights and entered the dark forest with renewed vigor. They hit the ridge, checked in, and headed south. The sun was finally adding light to their search. “Let’s spread out a little more so we can cover more ground.” Natalie broke away from the group and listened.

  She thought she heard a bark, but it could have been a woodland creature somewhere making noise. She stilled and listened again. The other three in her group were too far away to make noise. She could hear them call out every ten seconds or so, but in the stillness of the early morning, she heard a bark. Then another one. She picked up the pace and raced to the barking noise. She saw Ghost Dog’s blondish-reddish fur and smiled. “Come here, boy!” She dropped to her knees and hugged him when he raced to her. He kissed her, then backed away and barked at her. When he ran off she yelled, “Come back here.” He stopped and looked at her and barked again. He did it again before she finally caught on. He wanted her to follow him.

  She ran toward him, and every time she got close, he ran faster. He always stayed ahead. “This better not be a game.” In her heart, she knew it wasn’t. Hope filled her as she got closer to him. This time, he didn’t run away when she reached him. She slowed and watched him walk over to a hollowed-out tree that had fallen some time ago. Tucked inside, still sleeping, was Harley. She was dirty and unkempt, but breathing softly. Ghost Dog curled up in front of Harley and rested his head by hers. Natalie dropped to her knees and burst into tears.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “They found her!”

  Sarah jumped up from the chair and ran over to Faith, who had hollered out the announcement.

  “Is she okay?” Sarah clutched Faith’s arm and waited for more information.

  Faith put her hand on Sarah’s hand. “She’s fine. Natalie’s with her, and they are headed back here.” She did a call-all and announced Harley was safe and all volunteers should return to base.

  Sarah sat down and cried. Aunt Judy rubbed her back and cried with her. These were the good tears. “She’s fine. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it,” Judy said.

  “I knew she would be. She’s resilient, like her mother,” Francine said.

  Sarah grabbed Francine’s hand. “Thank you for coming back. I know you were busy this week.”

  “Stop. This is way more important than any conference.”

  “When will they be here?” Sarah asked.

  “Probably in about twenty minutes or so. The sheriff and her crew covered a lot of ground this morning. We can’t get to them until they reach a clearing,” Faith said.

  “Ms. Eastman? Ma’am? I’m going to take a car and head over to where they should be exiting the woods. Would you like to come with me?” David asked.

  “Yes. Please.”

  When all of them jumped up, David blushed and apologized. “I can fit only one person. The rest of you will have to wait here. We’ll be back in a flash.”

  Sarah hugged Aunt Judy and Francine. “Call Uncle Bob and let him know we have her.”

  “Good idea. Go, baby. Bring her back to us,” Aunt Judy said.

  “We’ll go out the back. It’s where I parked the van.”

  “Why the van?”

  “We have the sheriff, your daughter, three other volunteers who were with Natalie, and a dog.”

  “Wait. A dog? Natalie’s dog?”

  “You mean Ghost Dog? I don’t know. She just requested the van,” David said.

  Sarah dug her nails into her hands to keep from reaching over and driving for David. He was extremely cautious and slow. He rounded a corner, slowed down, and finally pulled over. He pointed to a clearing. “They should be coming from that trail, but I don’t know for sure.”

  Sarah stayed glued to her seat with her eyes on the small opening in the woods. When she saw Ghost Dog, she opened the door and ran to him. The rest of the volunteers were close behind. “Baby! My baby! Harley.” She couldn’t even form complete sentences. She reached for Harley, who started crying the minute she saw Sarah.

  “She’s fine. I gave her a granola bar and some water, but we’re going to take her to the hospital in Sawyer and have her checked out.”

  Sarah held Harley as tight as she could. “You’re okay, baby. You’re home. You’re home.” She looked over Harley’s shoulder and thanked the volunteers for finding her.

  “Let’s go. I want to get her warmer than she is.” Natalie had wrapped Harley in her jacket and put a glove on the foot where she’d lost her shoe. “We’ll drop everyone off at the school before we head to the hospital.”

  “Sweetheart, what happened?” Sarah clutched her close and waited for Harley’s tears to subside.

  “I don’t know.” She repeated the same thing until Sarah gave up. They would get the story out of her soon enough.

  * * *

  “She’s fine. They’re giving her an IV just as a precaution. She’s wrapped in a warming blanket and feeling like her old self,” Sarah said.

  “Can I see her?” Francine asked. “I’ll be quick.”

  Sarah figured Francine would hit the road sooner if she got to see Harley first. “I’ll take you back there.” Their exchange took less than five minutes. Francine told her how brave she was and not to ever scare them like that again. She kissed Harley’s forehead and said she would call her later in the week. And just like that, she was gone again. “Natalie, Harley wants you.”

  Natalie followed Sarah and stopped when Sarah turned in front of Harley’s door.

  Sarah placed her hand
on Natalie’s arm. “She asked for you first, but I wanted to get Francine out of here. I hope you understand that.” When Natalie nodded but still hadn’t smiled, Sarah stepped closer and pulled Natalie into a hug. They held one another for several moments. “Thank you so much for finding her. You told me you would, and you did.” Sarah brushed the tears from her own cheeks and kissed Natalie swiftly. “Thank you.”

  “You are most certainly welcome. Now can I see her?”

  Sarah opened the door. “Harley, look who’s here.”

  “Sheriff Natalie. Hi.” Harley raised up her pink bunny that Uncle Bob had brought from home.

  “I bet you’re glad to be in a warm bed, huh?”

  Harley nodded. “I was cold last night.”

  “Looks like you’re going to be able to go home right after lunch,” Natalie said.

  “Do I have to go to school?” Harley and Natalie both looked at Sarah, waiting for an answer.

  “No, baby. You get to stay home today and maybe tomorrow. We have to see what the doctor recommends.”

  “Can I see Henry?”

  “Who’s Henry?” Sarah tried hard not to freak out. She didn’t know a Henry, and she hoped to God Harley hadn’t met a Henry in the woods.

  “The dog who stayed with me.”

  “Did he stay with you all night?” Natalie asked.

  Harley nodded. “He kept me warm.”

  “You called him Henry,” Natalie said.

  “That’s the name I heard.” Harley shrugged. Her little shoulders barely lifted the oversized hospital gown.

  “Did somebody say his name?” Sarah asked. Fear struck deep inside at the thought of somebody being alone with her child.

  “No. Not really. I just heard it.”

  “But you didn’t see anybody, right?” Natalie asked.

  Harley huffed. “Nobody was there. Only Henry.”

  Sarah cupped her cheek. “It’s okay. We can talk about it later.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Natalie said.

  While Natalie excused herself, Sarah texted Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob and told them to come to Harley’s room.

  “Harley, we were so worried.” Aunt Judy rocked Harley and kissed her forehead. “You can’t do that again.”

  “I won’t. I promised Mom already.”

  Uncle Bob, careful of her IV, sat on the other side of the bed and hugged her when Aunt Judy was done. Sarah loved watching their exchange. It was exactly what she wanted for Harley. Roots. Safety. A home. Sarah sat back but refused to get comfortable. It would be too easy to drop from exhaustion right now, and they still had to get home.

  “Why did you leave the school?” Aunt Judy asked.

  Harley tucked her head against Aunt Judy’s shoulder—a sign she was embarrassed. As much as she loved attention, this wasn’t the good kind, and everyone knew it.

  “You were following that cat who looked like Salem, huh?” Sarah asked. Harley nodded but didn’t look up. Sarah had thought Harley knew better than to chase or follow any animal. “Salem is back in Texas, sweetie. You can’t just leave school for any reason. I want you to promise me you’ll stay in school and not leave unless somebody who is approved picks you up, okay? You scared a lot of people. They practically shut down the town to make sure you were safe.” The last thing Sarah wanted to do was scold Harley, especially in the hospital, but Harley needed to know that what she did was unacceptable, and there were consequences to her actions. She didn’t get far because the door opened slowly, and Ghost Dog and Natalie walked in.

  “Henry!” Harley yelled and reached for him. Much to everyone’s surprise, he jumped on the bed and crawled up to kiss her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

  “How’d you sneak him in here?” Sarah petted his soft fur.

  “I’m the sheriff. I’m kind of a big deal around here,” Natalie said. “He’s so gentle that I said he was Harley’s hero and maybe a therapy dog. He’s so incredibly sweet with her. Look at them.”

  Sarah teared up at their tender exchange. “How did he find her? How did he know to even look for her?”

  “I wonder if he understood me or felt my mood and knew something bad had happened. The door was barely open when I went out to the workshop to get my emergency backpack.”

  She felt Natalie entwine their fingers and smiled for the first time. “I know you struggled to find him, but I’m so happy he got away. Without him, we’d probably still be looking for Harley.”

  “He’s very special. He came into our lives for a reason. I’m going to take him home and make sure he’s good. Call you later?” Natalie asked.

  Sarah watched as Natalie tried hard to convince Henry to go with her. She smiled as Natalie reasoned with him and promised they would visit Harley soon. He slowly climbed down and looked back at Harley several times before they left. She couldn’t blame him. Her daughter was the most important person in the world. “I’ll take care of her, Henry. I promise you can see her tomorrow.”

  * * *

  “I want to go to school, Mom.”

  Sarah cracked her eyes open to find Harley leaning over her. “What time is it?” She turned her head to check the clock. “Harley Nicole. It’s five thirty in the morning. Go back to bed or come here.” She pulled back the blanket and patted the small area beside her.

  Harley giggled and snuggled next to Sarah. “Mom, are you still mad at me?”

  “I was never mad at you. I was scared that somebody took you,” Sarah said. She gave Harley another hug and said a quick prayer of thanks that her daughter had been found alive, healthy, and unharmed.

  “Henry took care of me.”

  “Did Henry just show up, or what happened?” She smoothed down Harley’s hair and placed several baby kisses on her temple. This was the perfect way to have a conversation.

  “I don’t know. It got dark and I sat on a tree and Henry was just there. I got tired, and he cuddled with me like we’re doing. Only he’s a dog.”

  “He’s a big dog, and he kept you warm and safe.” Sarah paused and continued to stroke Harley’s hair. “So, you heard a voice tell you his name?”

  Harley shrugged. “I don’t know if it was a person. I just heard the name, and he likes it. I mean, every time I said it, he came to me.”

  “Did he leave you ever?”

  “When I woke up, he was there with Sheriff Natalie.” Harley pressed her palm against Sarah’s as she talked.

  Sarah loved it when Harley held her hand up to her own as they snuggled. Her daughter was incredible. “What do you think of Sheriff Natalie? Do you like her?”

  “She’s really nice. I didn’t get to ride in her car yesterday. Do you think she’ll take me tomorrow?”

  “Sheriff Natalie will definitely take you to school this week. She was very excited to take you yesterday, but Francine wanted to,” Sarah said.

  “Why did Francine come?”

  Good question, Sarah thought. “To say hello. She had a conference for her work in Portland and thought she would stop and visit. It was nice of her, right?”

  Harley nodded. “I like Sheriff Natalie a lot.”

  “I do, too. Now let’s get some sleep because it is way too early for this. It’s not even light out. Close your eyes.” Within two minutes, Harley was asleep. Sarah snuggled under the covers holding her daughter close, vowing to never lose sight of her again.

  Five hours later, they were still in bed, but Sarah didn’t care. She knew Mary was fine with her taking the day off, given the circumstances. When Harley started stirring, Sarah woke her up gently. “Are you hungry? Maybe some pancakes?”

  Harley made tiny mewling noises until Sarah poked her awake. She played grumpy for about ten seconds until Sarah mentioned pancakes again, and then she started to smile. Her single dimple made Sarah melt. “Meet me upstairs in ten minutes. Don’t fall back to sleep or I’ll have Uncle Bob bring you upstairs, and you don’t want that.”

  Harley sat up. “I want to go with you.”

  Sarah offe
red her back, and Harley whooped once and jumped on. “Ugh. I really have to stop carrying you. You’re almost as tall as I am.” Harley wasn’t going to be tall, but she would for sure tower above her five-four frame.

  “Mom’s making pancakes.” Harley climbed off Sarah’s back and hugged Aunt Judy.

  “It’s almost lunchtime,” Aunt Judy said.

  “Who says you can’t have pancakes for lunch? Today is a free day, so we can do what we want, when we want,” Sarah said.

  “Good point. Bob and I just ate. We didn’t want to wake you because you both needed sleep.”

  “I think we’re caught up now. Thanks for letting us sleep in.”

  “What are your plans for today?”

  “I want to see Henry,” Harley said.

  “I guess see Henry and take treats over to the sheriff’s department.” The need to see Natalie was incredibly strong. Hugging and kissing would be icing on the cake, but just to see her was what she wanted most. “I probably need to check in with Mary. I think tomorrow we’ll get back on schedule.”

  “I’d recommend taking one of the thousands of desserts people ran over last night to Bob. They’re on the counter.” Aunt Judy nodded over in the direction of the counter closest to the pantry.

  “Oh, my gosh. That’s a ton of food.” Sarah held up banana-nut bread from the Wilsons, pumpkin bread from Mike and Carly Blantz, cookies from Creative Crafts, fruit cake from Jim and Nancy Pierce. There was homemade soup from the Robinsons, a quiche from Amanda Pritz, and fresh eggs and cheese from the Bradfords.

  “There are three casseroles downstairs in the freezer.”

  “Wow. We won’t have to cook for a long time. I’ll definitely grab a bagful of stuff for Natalie and the department.” She turned to Harley. “You still want pancakes?”

  “Can we have pancakes and cookies?”

  Sarah pretended to think long and hard about her question. “How about you eat your pancakes and then have a cookie? You don’t want to eat too much and get sick when we visit Natalie and Henry, do you?”

  “Okay. One pancake and one cookie?”