by Dena Garson
“Your girlfriend isn’t all that friendly,” Jaden said by way of greeting.
“She is to me.” Wyatt took a swig of the beer the waitress had brought when he wasn’t looking.
“And she smells funny. What the fuck is wrong with her?”
“Nothing. Maybe that world-class sniffer of yours is off. Why do you care, Jaden?”
“I don’t,” he scoffed. “But something isn’t right about her.”
Wyatt shrugged. “I think you’ve been sniffing more than the local shrubbery. What are you doing here? I thought you were under orders to remain in your own territory.”
“I’ve been checking in with some old friends.”
“Didn’t realize you had any,” Wyatt observed.
“That’s harsh, Hotah. I have friends. Just because we don’t get along doesn’t mean I’m the one with the problem.”
“True. But you have a talent for pissing off everyone west of Rapid City.”
Jaden gave them an evil grin. “It’s a point of pride for me.”
“Uh, Wyatt, is Mr. Doesn’t-Know-the-Meaning-of-Personal-Space a friend of yours?” Isabelle asked when she returned. The look she gave Jaden made it clear she wasn’t impressed.
Wyatt chuckled. “I’ve never called him that.”
“Funny. Me either,” Jaden said with exaggerated cheer.
Isabelle’s brow rose.
Grudgingly, Wyatt made the introduction. “Isabelle this is Jaden. Jaden”—he gave the man a hard look—“was about to leave.”
“It’s true.” Jaden shrugged. “I’m late for a meeting with my shrink.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes.
“Well don’t let us keep you.” She brushed past Jaden and took her seat.
Jaden seemed surprised by her abrupt dismissal, which made Wyatt grin. “Give Stewart my best.” Stewart was Jaden’s pack leader.
“Sure.” With a last look in Isabelle’s direction, Jaden added, “Remember what I said. Something’s fishy there.” He tapped the side of his nose. “If I gave a shit, I might figure it out for myself, but since it’s you….”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Wyatt watched until Jaden disappeared through the front door. What the hell was he talking about? There was nothing wrong with how Isabelle smelled. Yeah, his nose twitched when he got close to her, but he dismissed it as a bad combination of bug spray and sunscreen.
But Drew needed to know Jaden had been sniffing around for some reason.
He sighed. One more thing to deal with.
Chapter Six
Day Five: I’ve found no evidence of wolves in the area. While it is one of our nation’s loveliest parks, and I’ve enjoyed seeing this part of the country, I worry my data may have been incorrect.
The visit to George’s ranch, while unrelated to my research, was wonderful on a personal level. Once again the beauty of the land rendered me speechless. Seeing so much of it almost untouched gave me a sense of what it may have looked like hundreds of years ago. Wyatt lent personal insights to the ranch and how it came about, and he pointed out many things I may not have noticed on my own.
The time we’ve spent together was wonderful. Unfortunately, he received a distress call from a friend and had to leave not long after we returned. But he was nice enough to take the oversized snake we found curled up under the table away with him.
Despite spending years in the outdoors, I still don’t like snakes. I need to remember to give Wyatt a suitable reward for taking care of yet ANOTHER issue for me. God, I’m beginning to feel like a helpless woman who needs rescuing. It’s rather disturbing.
Isabelle finished making her entry in the journal then logged off her computer and put it away. She packed her satchel with the supplies she needed for her morning hike. Even if she couldn’t find the wolf she had been looking for, she could still enjoy the scenery and study the animals that did inhabit the park. The weather couldn’t be better if she’d planned it.
Her latest copy of the trail map went into the bag last.
Maybe today her camp wouldn’t get raided by animals. Seriously. What were the odds? Five days in the park and four of them she’d had animal visitors. At least none of her equipment had been damaged. Shredded and scattered paper she could deal with, but she was getting tired of eating canned food.
Normally, animals stayed away from her campsites.
Perhaps the local animals were far more used to park visitors than those at home.
She hadn’t gotten far down the trail when she noticed a boy huddled under a tree. He leaned against the trunk with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on his knees. If he hadn’t been wearing a bright red windbreaker, she may not have seen him.
Slowing her pace, she checked the surrounding area for the boy’s parents or a trail guide. Seeing no one else, she slowed and listened. Still, she couldn’t tell if anyone accompanied the boy.
Unable to continue without knowing for sure, Isabelle headed toward him.
She kept her movements slow to avoid spooking the child. When she got close, she called out, “Hey, sport. Are you okay?”
He lifted his head and looked at her with heavy eyelids. As he woke, he became alarmed and leaped to his feet.
Isabelle lifted her hands. “I only wanted to find out if you were all right.”
The boy’s lip trembled. “No.”
“Are you lost?”
He nodded.
Poor thing. She took a few more steps toward him. “You weren’t out here all night were you?”
Again, he nodded.
She closed the distance between them and touched his forehead. “Oh, sweetie. You must have been so scared.”
“Uh-huh,” he said with a whimper.
“What’s your name?”
“Jimmie.”
“Jimmie.” She smiled, hoping to comfort him. “Are you hungry?”
He hesitated and then, in a small voice said, “A little.”
She slipped her backpack off and placed it on the ground in front of her. “I have a fruit bar and some granola. You’re welcome to have them.”
His gaze darted to her bag then up to her face again.
Without waiting for him to answer, she fished the items out of her bag and handed them over. Next, she fished the extra bottle of water out, broke the seal on the lid, and handed it to him. Her heart ached at how fast he gulped down the first swallows. As he ate, she pulled out her phone.
“Are you gonna call my mom and dad?” he asked.
“No, honey. I would if I knew their phone number. I’m going to call a friend of mine. He’s a park ranger. But if you know your mom or dad’s phone number I will call them.”
He shook his head. “Dad just got a new phone, and I haven’t learned it yet.” He sniffled. “Mom told me I should try to remember it.”
She patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. My friend will be able to help. Do you know what a park ranger is?”
“That’s like a policeman, only for the park, right?”
Isabelle smiled, pleased he had at least heard of the term. “Yes. Kinda like that.”
She dialed Wyatt’s number. He answered within a couple of rings. “Dr. Acker. I hope you’re calling because you missed me and not because you found another snake.”
“No.” She chuckled. “No more snakes but I do have something else I could use your help with.”
“Not to be critical or anything, Izzy, but are you sure you’re cut out for working outdoors? You don’t seem to have much luck out there.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny. No, actually, this time I’ve found something that you all should be interested in. His name is Jimmie and he is….” She looked down at Jimmie. “How old are you, Jimmie?”
“Eight.”
“He’s eight years old, and I believe he wondered off from his mom and dad sometime late yesterday.”
Wyatt’s voice became all business. “Where are you?”
She described the direction she had taken from her camps
ite and everything she could see around her as land markers.
“I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere.” She heard the slam of his truck door through the phone.
“I didn’t intend to,” she reassured him.
“Is he hurt?”
“Amazingly enough, no. I don’t think so.”
“Thank God,” he mumbled. “Okay. I need to call this in. Stay put.”
“All right, Mr. Bossy Pants,” she muttered, then disconnected the call.
“Was that your friend?” Jimmie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is he getting my mom and dad?”
“He said he needed call the park office. So my guess is they know who your mom and dad are.”
“How are we going to get there?”
“My friend is going to come and get us.”
Jimmie tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. “Will he be on a horse?”
“Er, no. He drives a truck.”
“All the movies show rangers riding horses, but I haven’t ridden one before.”
“Well, I think they all drive trucks now.”
He nodded.
“So, who did you come to the park with?” she asked. “Just your mom and dad?”
He nodded. “And my brother.”
She held her hand out to lead him to the main trail. “Is your brother older or younger?” She kept up her questions trying to both distract him and ascertain how he came to be lost in the woods all night.
It didn’t take much to keep Jimmie chatting. Soon, she knew the name of his hamster, his favorite video game, and the book he had been reading with his mom.
At the sound of Wyatt’s truck in the distance, Jimmie stopped and looked to Isabelle. “Do you think we should hide?”
“No. That should be my friend, the park ranger.”
Jimmie’s eyes grew worried.
“If it’s not, don’t worry, I’ll deal with them.”
Jimmie’s shoulders slumped in relief.
Wyatt stopped a little way ahead of them. As usual, the sight of his muscular frame made her heart skip a beat. Her mouth watered at the sight of his tee stretched across his broad shoulders and chest.
As he approached, Wyatt looked down at the boy. “Are you Jimmie?”
The boy nodded.
“Your mom and dad have been worried about you. Let’s get you to the park office.”
Jimmie looked to Isabelle.
“It’s okay. He’s a good guy,” she told him.
“Will you come, too?” Jimmie’s eyes conveyed his fears.
She glanced at Wyatt. “Sure.”
Wyatt gently interrogated Jimmie as they drove to the office. Soon, the boy relaxed and volunteered information. When they pulled into the parking lot, Isabelle saw a woman waiting outside the office. The woman’s expression was set in a worried frown, and she chewed on her sleeve.
“Mom!” Jimmie cried. Before Wyatt could put the truck in park, Jimmie reached for the door handle and tried to jump out.
The mother-son reunion brought tears to Isabelle’s eyes. Jimmie’s mom alternated between hugging him and checking him from head to toe. A man burst out of the office and joined them. Close on the man’s heels came another boy. Soon, all four were caught in one embrace. Tears of relief and joy flowed freely.
“We’ve been looking for him all night. How did you find him?” Wyatt asked.
Isabelle shrugged. “I happened to notice his red hood while I walked. He must have fallen asleep under that tree near the main trail.”
“He doesn’t appear to be injured.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he is. I gave him a bottle of water and a fruit bar. He practically inhaled those, but he didn’t limp or look like he had any scratches or bruises.”
“He was lucky.”
“Yes, he was,” Isabelle agreed.
A park official came out and tried to herd Jimmie’s family inside the office. Wyatt told Isabelle, “I best get in there also. If you wait a bit, I’ll drive you to your campsite.”
“Don’t worry about it. I planned to take a hike this morning. I can take one of the other trails from here.”
“Stay out of trouble,” he told her. “I may have some questions for you later, so I can add your observations to the report. But right now, we’ll focus on making sure Jimmie is taken care of and that there was no malicious intent.” He looked over at the family. “But I think we can rule that out.”
Isabelle nodded. “He seems like a good kid. I’m glad he’s okay and that I could help.”
“I’ll give you a call later,” he promised.
Isabelle admired the way Wyatt’s jeans hugged his ass as he headed to the office. His T-shirt clung to his shoulders in a way that made her want to toss a glass of ice water on his chest so she could watch the drops run. All. The. Way. Down.
With visions of Wyatt’s naked form in her head, she took to the trails to see what she could find in the wilderness.
Chapter Seven
Standing at a crossroads in the walking trails, Isabelle debated which way to go. As she often did, she wondered how early explorers got anywhere in the world and then home again. At least she had GPS and a number of gadgets at her fingertips.
It wasn’t far to the tree line. From there, she wove her way through, taking her time and soaking in the sounds of nature. This was why she loved her job. She loved being in the middle of nowhere yet with so much around her.
She followed the trail of footprints and tufts of fur of what she believed to be a mature coyote for almost a mile before it led her farther off her path than she wanted to be. Just as she broke free of the tree line, she heard a gunshot. Curious why someone would be firing a weapon in a state park, she looked in the direction she believed it had come from. Now that the trees weren’t blocking her view, she realized she had veered close to one of the main roads.
At the curve, there were two men arguing and gesturing between the nearby truck and whatever lay on the ground at their feet. A second look revealed a large set of antlers.
Outraged, Isabelle called out, “What did you do?”
When the men turned in her direction, she noticed the rifle hanging from the taller man’s shoulder. She was so irritated by their thoughtlessness the fact they were armed didn’t slow her down at all.
She gestured at the carcass. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
The man carrying the gun looked from her to the other man and back to her.
“That’s a bull moose!” she declared. “And you shot it! How could you do that? I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal in a state park.”
“Bob, I think we got us a busybody,” the taller of the two said.
“I think you’re right,” the other muttered.
Isabelle continued her rant. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”
“At least she’s pretty.”
“Yeah, but the pretty ones are usually more trouble,” the shorter man with the scruffy beard said.
“Trouble? It’s the two of you who are in trouble. I’m sure the park rangers will have something to say about your target practice.” She knelt next the moose and pressed her palm to its neck, then its chest but didn’t feel a heartbeat. Her stomach sank.
How people could be so heartless?
Without warning, she was jerked to her feet by the shorter and, now that she was close to him, smelly man. “What the hell!” She tried to jerk her arm free but couldn’t.
“You’re coming with us.”
She pulled against the short man’s grip on her arm. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes. You are.” He tightened his grip and pulled upward, throwing her off balance.
“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going anywhere with the two of you,” she told them.
“If you argue, you’re just going to make him angry. Just get in the truck and nothing will happen to you. We’ll drop you off somewhere along the way, and you can pretend
you never saw us. Right, Bob?”
The shorter man growled in response.
“I don’t think so.” Isabelle yanked her arm free and turned to run for the woods. Before she could get away, the man named Bob tripped her and then used his body to pin her to the ground. The smell of his alcohol-drenched breath next her face made her stomach turn.
“Listen here. This here is our moose, and we ain’t giving it up. We was just going to load it up in our truck and be gone, but now you’re here, messing things up, and I can’t let you do that. If you had minded your own business, no one would have ever noticed it missing. Now I got to figure out what to do with you.”
“Get off me, you buffoon, before you end up getting hurt,” she told him through clenched teeth. She struggled to remember which of them had the gun. What were her chances of flipping him off her and maybe even landing a punch or two without getting shot?
“I don’t see where you’re in any position to be telling me what to do,” Bob said.
“Come on, man, let’s get out of here. If we hurry, we can be out of here before anyone else comes. She don’t know us, and she can’t prove we did anything. If we let her go, maybe she’ll promise to not say anything to anyone.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Bob snapped. “Of course she’s going to tell on us. You heard her. She said the rangers were going to come after us.”
“She didn’t mean it, did you, lady?” the taller man implored.
Isabelle wished she could see the man’s face so she knew whose hide he was more worried about, hers or his own. Something inside wouldn’t let her lie to them. She knew if she promised not to tell on them, they might let her go, but the utter wrongness of the shooting prevented her from agreeing with him.
“See?” Bob crowed. “She can’t promise. Go get the rope from behind my seat.”
“Oh, man. Just let her go. We’re already in a heap of trouble. I can’t go back to jail. My old lady said she’d leave me if I did.”
“Go get the dammed rope like I told you.”
His fading footsteps and the squeak of a metal door hinge told Isabelle the other man had done as he had been told.
