by Kathi Daley
On the opposite corner of the only intersection in town was Chloe’s Café, and across the street from that was a hunting, fishing, and camping supply store, Alaskan Outback. Rescue didn’t have a wide range of shops from which to choose, but those we did demonstrated authentic Alaskan hospitality.
As the only stoplight in town changed to green, I continued to the far edge of town. After passing the mom-and-pop shops that lined Main Street, I made a left turn toward the lake. The veterinary hospital was usually busy, but the poor dog who had found me looked to need medical attention, so if I had to spend half my day off making certain she got it, that was exactly what I would do.
“Mornin’, Justine,” I greeted Kelly’s receptionist.
“Who do we have here?”
“New dog. She found me this morning. She looks to be malnourished and pregnant.”
“I’ll let Kelly know you’re here. I’m sure she can squeeze you in right away.” Justine took out a new file folder, which she labeled with my name. She paused. “What are you going to call her?”
I looked at the dog. “What’s your name, honey?”
The dog barked.
I looked at Justine. “Honey it is.”
Justine laughed and entered her name on the folder. “I’ll get her weight and vitals, if you want to follow me back.”
I got up and Honey followed me down the hall. The dog was a large animal who should weigh around seventy-five pounds when healthy, but she only came in at fifty-eight. Her temperature was good, so Justine jotted everything down on her chart, then informed me Kelly would be in to see us in just a minute.
I sat on a low bench and Honey sat in front of me on my foot. It was obvious she was nervous in strange surroundings, but she seemed to trust me, and I felt certain as long as we stayed together, she would get through this just fine.
“I see you have another member of your ever-growing family.” Kelly smiled as she walked into the room, looking at the chart Justine had just filled out.
“You know me. If there’s a need, I find a way. Other than the fact that she needs to be fattened up, Honey seems to be doing okay, though I’m worried about the pups.”
Kelly listened to Honey’s heart, then lowered the stethoscope to her stomach. “I’d like to do an ultrasound. I think we need to get a look at what’s going on inside.”
I thought about my empty bank account but nodded. “Yeah, okay. That sounds like a good idea. Can I stay with her?”
“Sure, that’ll be fine. Bring her into the back.”
The ultrasound showed four puppies, all alive and moving around.
“I’d say she’ll drop the pups in the next week, two at the most. I’m going to send some special food home with you, along with feeding instructions. We’ll need to supplement Honey’s food as long as she’s nursing, provided she’s able to nurse. I’m also going to send puppy formula home with you, and some bottles for feeding.”
I cringed. “I might need to make payments.”
“Payments are fine, and I’ll tell Justine to give you the friends-and-neighbors discount as well.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
I followed Kelly out to the reception desk, where she handed Honey’s chart to Justine, who gathered all the supplies I’d need, then passed me the bill.
“This can’t be right. You do know Honey had an ultrasound, right?”
“It’s right. Kelly said to give you the friends-and-neighbors discount.”
“But this is 90 percent off.”
Justine shrugged. “I don’t set the rates; I just do as I’m told. Do you want to take care of this today or should I bill you?”
I looked at the bill again. Even with 90 percent off, I’d need to work a few days to cover the unexpected expense. “Bill me, please.”
Justine handed me the paperwork and supplies, along with a coupon for 50 percent off at the feed store. Rescue might be a small town where making a living was difficult at best, but if there was one thing you could say, the locals all took care of one another.
I left the vet’s and took Honey home, then gave her the first of the four high-calorie, high-nutrition mini meals she would need each day. Being around to feed her four times a day for an entire week was going to be tricky, but I was determined to make sure she delivered healthy pups, so if I had to turn my life upside down, that was exactly what I’d do.
As I sat and watched Honey dig in to the food, I thought about the animals that were wandering the streets but hadn’t been lucky enough to be found by me. Rescue had a lot of strays, and without a shelter to take them to, folks who didn’t have the means to care for them usually had to turn a blind eye. “Damn,” I said aloud to no one in particular, before picking up the phone and dialing the number Chloe had been pushing on me for the past two weeks.
“Harley Medford,” a man with a deep baritone voice answered. I tried not to picture his blue eyes, thick brown hair, and the dimple that appeared every time he smiled.
“Harley, it’s Harmony Carson.”
My heart pounded as my declaration was met with silence.
“Harmony?” Harley seemed to be as stunned to be hearing from me as I was to have called him. “I was just going to call you.”
“You were? Why?”
“You called me, so why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind first.”
“Okay.” I took a breath. “I called to speak to you about a fund-raiser I’m heading to benefit the Rescue Animal Shelter.”
“Rescue has an animal shelter?”
“Not yet, hence the fund-raiser. Look, I know you’re a very busy man, but Chloe Rivers told me that you’re in town through Christmas and I hoped you might have some time to help us out. If you don’t, I totally understand, but I figured I’d at least ask.”
Harley paused before answering, which nearly prompted me to hang up, aborting the ill-fated mission.
“Okay,” Harley finally answered. “I’d be happy to help. In fact, I have a warehouse that’s sitting empty. It’s located just outside of town on a large piece of land, so I think it would work for a shelter.”
I put my hand to my heart. “You’d sell it to us?”
“I’d gift it to the town.”
I didn’t answer right away because I was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to say. “Wow. I’m speechless. That would be awesome. If there’s anything I can do for you—anything at all—please just ask.”
“Actually,” Harley said, as if to create a sense of anticipation, “there is something I could use some help with, which leads me to the reason I was about to call you.”
I frowned. Uh-oh. “Okay,” I said with hesitation. “How can I help you?”
“I guess you heard about Tim Maverick.”
“I did.” Tim was a fellow alum of Rescue High School. He was in Harley’s class, and I remembered them being good friends. I didn’t know him well in high school, and while he’d remained in Rescue after graduation, we’d never become friends. I’d heard he’d died of an overdose a couple of weeks before.
“The state troopers declared the cause of death an accidental overdose, but I have reason to believe otherwise,” Harley informed me. “I’m in town to look in to the matter and I could really use some help. I have a few ideas as to how to proceed, but I’ve been gone a long time and don’t know all the local players. I asked my sister if she could recommend someone to help, and she gave me your phone number.”
I frowned. “Me? Why would she recommend me?”
“It seems you have quite a reputation for finding people, and it just so happens I want someone found.”
“Who?”
“The man who killed Tim.”
I took a minute and let Harley’s words sink in. “So you think he was murdered?”
“I do.”
“And do you have a reason to think that?”
“I do. And I’ll share that with you, but not over the phone. If you have time, why don’t you meet me at the warehouse and I can
lay everything out? And just so you know, my offer of donating the warehouse to the town stands, whether you agree to help me or not.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Can you meet me there in an hour? You can look over the space, and if you think it’ll work, I’ll have my attorney take care of the paperwork.”
******
I knew before I even looked at it that the building Harley was offering would be prefect. The warehouse had been used for storing materials while the Pipeline was being built. When that was done, it was used to sell snowmobiles for a while, but the lack of new business in Rescue drove the dealership out of business, so it had been sitting empty for years. The building would need to be remodeled on the inside to include separate cat rooms and kennels for dogs, but it was a sturdy building on ten acres, and with a little work, it would be exactly what we’d dreamed of.
Harley’s car was parked in front when I arrived. For a brief moment, I seriously considered fleeing, but then I thought of Honey and other dogs like her, took a deep breath, opened the car door, and took a step outside. The wind was blowing and the temperature had dipped to well below zero, so I knew dawdling around outside to avoid going in wasn’t the wisest thing to do. I squared my shoulders and headed to the small metal door near the middle of the building, opened it, and stepped inside.
The place really was huge. I thought of the animals we’d be able to save and continued forward to where Harley was pacing and talking on the phone.
“I know what I said, but now I’m telling you I can’t make it,” Harley argued.
I watched as a look of frustration mingled with irritation crossed his face.
“I’m sorry. I really am, but something’s come up and I won’t be back until after the first of the year.”
I couldn’t hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying, but I could see Harley wasn’t happy with them.
“No, I can’t pop over to Italy for a few days. The movie was your idea. I never wanted to do it. If the fact that I’m delayed is an issue, tell the producer to find someone else.”
Harley ran his hand through his hair. He stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “Okay. I understand. See what you can do.”
He ended the call, slipped his phone into his pocket, and turned to look at me. His face softened and he grinned. I mean an actual grin, not a polite smile. I wanted to resist, but I couldn’t, and grinned back.
“Problems?” I asked.
“My agent. The guy’s very ambitious. When I first hooked up with him, I wanted that, but now… Honestly, I’d like to take some time away and just watch it snow.”
“I understand. I can’t imagine living the type of life you seem to. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.”
Harley shrugged. “It’s okay. Most of the time.” He put his arms out to his side and turned in a full circle. “So, what do you think?”
“It’s perfect,” I said. “We could not only take care of the domestic animals that end up on the street but eventually expand into helping the local wildlife as well. It’s like a dream come true, but are you sure you want to give this building to the town? It has to be worth a fortune.”
Harley chuckled. “It really isn’t. Not all the way out here. But even if it was, I already have more money than I know what to do with. I’d be honored to give something back to the community where I grew up. I’ll even set up a fund to help with the renovations.”
“Oh, no. That’s too much. I couldn’t ask that.”
“You didn’t ask.” Harley stepped forward and took my hand in his. “I want to show you something.”
My heart was racing as I let Harley lead me across the empty room. He opened a door I thought would lead to the exterior of the building but instead took us to a finished room the size of a large bedroom.
“This was used by the snowmobile dealer as a business office. It includes a functioning bathroom and is equipped with a pretty decent heater. I figured you could use it as a base of operations during the remodel phase. You may want to build a larger office near the front of the building once you open the place.”
I was so overwhelmed with gratitude I didn’t know what to say, so I stood on tiptoe and kissed Harley on the cheek. He seemed surprised by my gesture, but after a moment his grin grew even bigger.
“So about…” Harley began and was interrupted by the peal of my phone.
I looked at the caller ID. “It’s Jake. I have to take it.” I answered the phone and listened. “Okay. I’ll be right there.” I hung up and then looked at Harley. “There’s a rescue underway. They need me. I feel bad about cutting our conversation short, but I have to go.”
“No problem. Can I help?”
“Maybe. Do you ski?”
“Black diamond runs since I was a kid.”
“You’ll need a heavier jacket.”
“I have one in the truck.”
“Okay. I’m sure Jake will take all the help we can get. We’re expecting a busy afternoon. I need to stop to get Moose, but if you don’t mind the detour, you can follow me to Neverland.”
“Neverland?”
“The bar, not the enchanted land.” I turned and headed to the door.
Chapter 4
Twenty minutes later, Harley, Moose, and I arrived at the bar. Jake, as well as two other team members, had already been out when a call came in for a second rescue. By that time the wind was howling and the snow was coming down so hard, it had created whiteout conditions.
“Harley, this is our second-team leader, Wyatt Forester. Wyatt, this is Harley Medford.”
“I know who you are, dude.” Wyatt slapped Harley on the back.
“Harley has volunteered to help. I figured you could pair him with Landon.” I looked around. “Where’s Landon?”
“On his way.” Wyatt looked at Harley. “You got your own gear?”
“In the truck.”
“Get it. It’s going to be a long night.”
“What do we know?” I asked Wyatt after Harley went back outside.
“Jake, Dani, and Austin are going after a man and his twelve-year-old son. They managed to get a lock on their location before the storm knocked out the cell service, so my feeling is they’ll be okay. Just before you arrived, we got a call from a woman staying at the inn who said her sister and her best friend went backcountry skiing this morning and should have been back well before the storm hit. She’s been trying to get hold of them but so far hasn’t had any luck. We might need you to help out with this one.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.” I sat down at one of the tables Jake had set around the room for small groups to use. I closed my eyes and let my mind relax. After a minute, I wasn’t getting anything. “Do we have names for the two missing women?” I asked without opening my eyes.
“Julia and Macy,” Wyatt replied.
I focused on the names, willing their location to come to me.
“One blonde and one redhead?” I asked.
“Yes. Do you have them?”
I nodded but still didn’t open my eyes. They didn’t seem to be injured, but they were cold and scared. I tried to identify where they were, but the area around them was blurred. I concentrated harder, but the connection was weak.
“Were the two women alone?” I asked, eyes still closed.
“As far as I know. The woman who called in the missing persons report didn’t mention anyone else.”
“I feel someone else. A man.” I focused harder. “I sense he’s injured. The women feel conflicted. They know they need to return to the inn, but they don’t want to leave the man. They’re discussing the option of splitting up, but I sense that would put all three of them in danger.”
“You need to figure out where they are,” Wyatt insisted.
“I’m trying.” I focused my mind, trying to block all distractions. “The man is in a great deal of pain. His agony is blocking my ability to concentrate.” I put my hand to my chest as my
heart began to pound. “Someone else is there.”
“A fourth person?” Wyatt asked.
I nodded. “I think so, but I can’t get a clear reading.” The pain and fear I was picking up were almost unbearable, but I knew I needed to push through the pain if I was going to help the man. “The women are leaving. The man who isn’t injured has assured them he’ll stay with the injured man while they go for help.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Wyatt replied.
I sat quietly, focusing on the injured man. I tried to get through to him to offer him comfort, but he was blocking my attempts. He wasn’t only in pain; he was scared and angry.
“What do you see now?” Wyatt asked.
“The women have left and the men are alone.” I felt Moose jump into my lap as I allowed my attention to settle solely on the injured man. “He’s growing weaker. He can’t breathe.” I began to gasp for air. “The other man is trying to help him, but nothing’s working.” I put my hands to my own throat.
“Harm, are you okay?” Wyatt asked as he shook me out of my trance. My eyes flew open. Harley, Wyatt, and Landon were all staring at me.
I bowed my head and answered in a quiet voice. “I’m okay. The injured man’s gone.”
“And the other one?” Wyatt asked.
I took several deep breaths, then closed my eyes. I shook my head. “I’m no longer sensing him.” I opened my eyes. “Call the inn. Tell the woman who made the call that her sister and friend are on their way back. Have them call us. We’ll need a location so we can retrieve the body of the man who died.”
Wyatt went to make the call, Landon left to speak to Sarge, and Harley sat down at the table with me. I picked up Moose and snuggled him close. I knew the night wasn’t over and felt the need to recharge my emotions.
“Can I get you anything?” Harley asked.
