“She stayed with Ivy because she refused to leave Rimmel.” The first rush of emotion rose in my voice. Seeing all the men so concerned was making my calm fade.
Alex nodded and skied off in the direction everyone else went.
When he was gone, Liam pulled out his phone and ordered the helicopter to be fired up and all available manpower to go out on foot to search.
On one hand, I felt like this was all getting so out of hand. That surely Rimmel was fine and close by.
“Come on, sweetheart. We gotta go.” Liam pulled me along, breaking into a jog toward the lodge.
I followed, a lump in my throat.
Deep down, I knew this wasn’t getting out of hand. This was protocol, and these were also our friends. She’d already been gone over an hour. The more time she was out there, the more chance she was heading in the wrong direction and getting deeper into the woods.
I gazed at the sky as Liam shouted more orders into the phone and the sound of a ticking clock filled my head.
It was going to be dark soon. The temperature would drop.
We had to find Rimmel before it was too late.
Romeo
Blue ran off in Walmart once. Actually, he didn’t run off… the little shit. He slipped between a clothing rack and hid inside like he was playing some epic game of hide-and-seek.
It was epic all right.
That kid epically took ten years off my life that day.
I’d never forget how it felt to glance down and not see him there. To turn in a circle, calling his name and expecting him to answer or appear.
The first second that passed without it, my heart skipped a beat.
Then a crushing sort of panic stopped it completely, and everything inside me was seized by fear and pounded with adrenaline. I ran through the place, shouting his name and grabbing literally everyone that came close.
“Have you seen a little blond boy?”
I scared the shit out of everyone, even some little old lady, but I didn’t care. My entire life was in flames around me because I’d lost our son.
The staff all started searching, and I became convinced that someone snatched him right out from under me. I was on my way to the parking lot to stop every fucking car that tried to drive away when I screamed his name again.
“Blue!”
“Daddy!”
Madness nearly trampled me when I heard that little boy answer.
My chest caved in, yet I was still gripped with fear.
“Blue!”
A minute later, his little blond head rushed out of the aisle, and he grinned at me and waved.
My knees were weak when I ran over and grabbed him up, dropping onto my knees the second he was in my arms.
“Where were you?” I bellowed.
His eyes filled with tears when he heard the clear anger in my voice.
Giving him a shake, I asked again. “Where were you, son?”
He pointed to the rack of sweaters nearby. “Hiding.”
I pinned him against me with a groan, squeezing him until he cried out from being squished.
“Don’t ever, ever do that again,” I demanded, pulling him back. “Never!”
He started to cry, and damn if I didn’t even have the presence of mind to tell him it was okay. My heart still wasn’t beating normally, and my head felt like I was drowning in a pool.
I found the associates and called off the search. Then I carried him out to the car, where I sat for I don’t even know how long, waiting for my heart to return to normal.
Of course it did eventually… but that day, those five minutes of my life, left a permanent scar inside me that would haunt me forever.
I felt the exact same way now.
Only it was a hundred times worse.
Rim wasn’t hiding, playing some game, and we weren’t inside some big box store. No, my wife was alone on a mountain, in the woods, in the dead of winter. She hadn’t been gone for five minutes, but over an hour…
“I never should have gone skiing,” I said. “I should have stayed with her.”
“Don’t think like that, Rome,” B said beside me. “We’re gonna find her.”
I looked out toward the wall of trees we were rapidly approaching. “You see her anywhere?”
“There’s Ivy!” Drew said, pointing up the mountain to the bright-pink coat that just came out of the trees.
My eyes latched onto her and searched the area around her, waiting… hoping a familiar figure would come out behind her.
A woman did, but it wasn’t the one I wanted to see.
All four of us started flat out running, the snow no resistance against the fact that my wife was missing.
Ivy saw us and started running. “Braeden!” she yelled.
Braeden made a sound and headed toward her. She stumbled a few times, and I could hear her crying as we got closer.
“Fuck,” Braeden swore beneath his breath. Right as we reached her, she fell again, but B caught her, pulling her back to her feet.
“Ivy.”
“Braeden!” she cried. “We can’t find Rimmel.” She collapsed into his chest, and he put his arms around her.
She didn’t stay there, though, instead pushing back and looking at me. “Romeo! I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. She was laughing and smiling… and then she was gone.”
My jaw ached from the force of clenching it, but I fought back the worst of my anger and pulled Ivy into my chest. “It’s not your fault, Ivy.” I tried to soothe her. ‘Course my voice was not soothing at all.
Ivy trembled in my arms. I could feel the way her legs wanted to give out. “I’ve been searching forever,” she said against me. “Rimmel…”
I patted her back and then looked at B over her head. He reached for her, pulling her into him and letting me free.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, pulling her back to look at her.
“N-n-no.” Ivy gasped. “But what if Rimmel is? Why hasn’t she come back yet? What if—”
“I’m going,” I snapped, cutting off whatever she might say. I didn’t want to hear it. I was already thinking it.
“Wait, I’m coming!” Ivy cried.
“Hells no, you aren’t,” B declared. “Look at you. You’re a goddamn mess.”
“That’s our sister!”
“I know who it is!” B yelled, his patience snapping.
“We aren’t risking you, too. Jesus, we got kids at home!”
My rushing footsteps stopped. Suddenly, the snow felt like cement. I stood there stock still, my back toward everyone, my eyes on the woods.
My kids… the kids Rim loved more than life itself. The kids I couldn’t go home to without their mother.
“Rome,” B said quietly, “I—”
“Take care of Ivy,” I called back without turning around. “I’m going.”
I didn’t even listen to anything else that happened behind me because the only thing I cared about was finding my wife.
Rimmel
The clearing I’d been positive was up ahead was in fact not up ahead.
After quite a while of being sure I would find my way out of these trees, the optimistic attitude I latched on to was dimming just like the sky overhead. Soon, it would be full-on dark, and knowing that made my stomach cramp with nerves.
“Way to go, Rimmel,” I muttered as I hobbled along. “You literally are the clumsiest person to ever walk this earth.” I stopped to lean into a tree. My ankle was throbbing, and the rest of my limbs were starting to go numb from cold.
“Good Lord.” I scolded myself. “I hope the kids don’t inherit this horrible trait.”
The thought, though spoken offhand and sort of lightly, hit me like a ton of bricks. My kids. I had to find my way out of this place for my kids. The unmistakable well of emotion heaved inside me, rising and threatening to spill out.
No! I told myself firmly. This was no time for blubbering or acting like I was somehow defeated. I was going to be fine. This was just
an unfortunate thing that happened. Surely, by now everyone realized I was lost.
Oh God, Romeo. That man has the patience of a saint when it comes to me, and look what I’m putting him through now.
It was all the more reason to be strong. All the more reason to find my way out of here.
Pushing off the tree, I started walking again. My legs were stiff and cold, my knees tight. I kept moving anyway. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out here wandering around, but it was quite evident I wasn’t going in the right direction.
I always told Blue and Asher if they got lost to stay in the same place and I would find them. I told them to never run around because it might get them lost even worse.
Look at me not following my own advice.
I paused in walking, lifting the pained foot to hover over the snow. With hands on my hips, I gazed through the trees to the sky above. Stars were already starting to crowd the sky. Soon they would twinkle overhead like diamonds.
I had a choice here:
1) Stop trying to find my way back and let everyone find me.
Or
2) Keep moving and hope eventually I find my way back.
The only problem with staying still was I would get even colder faster. Thanks to my ankle, I wasn’t walking all that fast, but it was still movement and effort. That alone kept me from freezing. If I stopped, the falling temperatures would catch up fast.
My ankle hurt, though. Worse than earlier. Pain throbbed all the way into my toes, and if I continued walking, it might injure it worse.
Quite a conundrum I had myself in.
Feeling hopeful, I pulled my busted cell out of my pocket and tried to light up the screen. When it didn’t respond, I smacked the center out of frustration.
Taking advantage of what light was left, I gazed around, hoping to see some kind of cabin or something I might have missed before.
All I saw was trees and snow, nothing useful at all.
“Resting for a few minutes won’t hurt.” I decided, tucking the useless phone into my pocket. “Maybe I’ll just lean against a tree, give my ankle a rest.”
Crunching snow brought my chin up. The sound of a breaking branch off to the side had me whirling around. “Hello?” I called. “I’m over here!”
Expecting to see Romeo or someone familiar striding through the trees, my eyes searched frantically, but no one came.
“Hello!” I called out again.
Movement from the corner of my eye had me gasping, and I spun. The sudden movement threw me off balance, and I pitched to the side. Trying to right myself, all my weight came down on the hurt ankle and foot.
“Ah!” I cried out as I crumpled into the snow. Reaching with both hands toward my ankle, I wrapped my gloved hands around it gingerly as pain radiated up my leg.
My breathing was labored as I tried to dispel some of the pain I felt, but all I managed to do was distract myself from my surroundings.
Which, regrettably, was just another clumsy kind of move.
An unfriendly sound brought my head up.
I stopped breathing altogether.
A pair of piercing yellow eyes glinted at me, and the animal they belonged to took a few steps over the snow, prowling close.
I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out, so hard the metallic taste of blood burst over my tongue. Instead, a small whimper ripped from my throat, and the sound, though not very intimidating or loud, seemed to echo all around me.
The wolf standing close by tilted its head at the sound and took another step forward.
“No,” I said, holding out a palm, trying to show I meant it no harm.
It was a light color, but not as light as the snow underfoot. It was more gray in color, light enough to stand out against the darkening night, but not so bright it blended with the snow.
It was larger than I would have liked it to be… bigger than Ralph and a few other dogs I had at home. And judging from the way it was watching me through those golden yellow eyes, it was hungry, and I looked like a good snack.
“Seriously?” I burst out without thinking, yelling the word heavenward.
What the hell kind of vacation was this?
The wolf made an aggressive sound and stepped forward.
I whimpered and pushed myself back, staying on the ground. “Sorry,” I whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you. Good boy.”
Getting up and running wasn’t an option. My ankle hurt worse than before. Whatever I’d just done to it was a guarantee I wouldn’t be running… or even walking anywhere.
As I gazed at the wolf, it sank in I had no protection. No way of defending myself against this foe. I couldn’t even blame the animal, because I was the one in his habitat. I was the one intruding.
As I watched, the wolf lifted its nose in the air and sniffed, smelling in my direction. I hoped I smelled horrid. I hoped I was so stinky it wouldn’t want to eat me.
I tried to remain as submissive and unthreatening as possible and cowered into the snow while still keeping an eye on the wolf. A few seconds after sniffing around, its lip curled upward and a snarl cut through the night.
I nearly peed my pants, and my fingers sank deep into the snow, searching for something to grip.
Another menacing growl cut through the forest, and a small screech forced its way out of my throat.
That little screech turned into a scream when the wolf lunged.
Romeo
“Rimmel!” I hollered, cupping my hands around my mouth, hoping for better sound. “Rim!”
It felt like the forest quaked with the force of my yell, but maybe that was just my insides quivering because we still hadn’t found my wife.
Hours. That’s how long she’d been out here now. It was dark and cold. She was alone in the middle of a godforsaken mountain in Colorado.
How the fuck had I let this happen?
I would never forgive myself for this.
Just as I was about to let out another yell, my phone went off.
“You find her?” I barked into the line the second I answered.
Braeden came running from a few yards away, hoping the call was good news.
“Not yet,” Liam replied, not mincing words. I could appreciate that. “But I wanted to tell you we have teams out searching. I’m in the copter that’s been flying overhead.”
“That’s good,” I said, gazing around.
“You should come in.”
“What the f—” I started to yell, but he cut me off.
“Not stop searching, but grab a snowmobile. You’ll cover more ground that way, and they have lights.”
“I don’t have time for that.” I refused. I couldn’t walk out of here without Rimmel.
“I already had the sleds brought up close. Just make your way out of the trees, and someone will bring you one. Trent and Drew are already on them, searching. I’m assuming Braeden is with you?”
I glanced at my best friend. “Yeah.”
“Come get them. You’ll cover more ground.” He cajoled.
“Yeah, okay.” I agreed. I knew it was the smart thing to do.
“Alex and his brother-in-law are out searching, too. If anyone can find her, it’s them. They’re army. Special forces. They know how to handle this.”
I started walking back the way we’d come, motioning for B to do the same.
“I appreciate everything you’re doing,” I told Liam, gruff.
“I’m just sorry this happened at all. But don’t panic. We’ll find her. She’s going to be okay.”
I disconnected the call.
“What’s going on?” Braeden asked.
“They brought up some snowmobiles for us.”
“That’ll help,” he answered.
“She’s fucking small, B. She hates the cold. And she has no fucking meat on her bones to keep her warm.”
Braeden’s hand fell on my shoulder, but he said nothing.
“It’s dark out here. She’s probably scared out of her mind. Fuck, what if s
he’s hurt?”
“Don’t do this to yourself, Rome. We’re gonna find her.”
My voice cracked when I spoke again. “I fucking dragged her out here on this vacation, knowing she didn’t even want to come.”
“Rim doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do. You know that. And yeah, she’s tiny and clumsy, but she’s strong. You know that. She’s gonna be okay.”
The sound of snowmobile engines cut through the night, followed by shouts of searchers and then, off in the distance, the rumble of the helicopter coming close as it started another pass over the mountain.
I glanced at my friend, letting him see just how scared I really was. “I’m not leaving this mountain without my wife.”
Braeden nodded once. “I got your back, bro. None of us are going anywhere until Rim is with us.”
Daniel
My sister was beside herself.
Bellamy was beside herself.
That meant Liam and Alex were in full-on protective husband mode.
And me?
Well shit, here I was traipsing through the dark in the snow to search for a woman I’d never seen before.
Guess that meant I was in protective brother mode.
This mountain was covered in people. The missing wife of a repeat Super Bowl-winning quarterback and personal friend of Mr. Olympian himself was rocking BearPaw Resort like it had never been rocked before.
Frankly, I thought having half the resort out looking was probably a stupid idea, but I wasn’t about to say that. In my experience, having people who had no idea how to search or any type of protocol for these types of matters was just asking for even more people to get lost.
Then I’d have to find them, too.
Not that I was blaming the little lady who went and got herself turned around out here, but these things were better left to professionals.
The only professionals out here right now were me and Alex. And maybe the search and rescue team I’d helped train. I had to remind myself almost daily that this was a civilian world I was living in now. Hell, I was technically a civilian along with everyone else.
Some habits were hard to break, and in my case… some habits I would die with.
About half a mile back, I found the tube she’d been riding down the mountain. The only person I informed of that tidbit was my bro, Alex. After I told him the busted state it was in and how it was tangled in some brush, it was an unspoken agreement we maybe not let that bit out just yet.
#Vacay: A #Hashtag and BearPaw Resort Crossover Novella Page 6
