as sharp and cold as an alpine winter. “Whatever you do, don’t apologize.”
“Buzz….”
“I still plan to rake you over the coals.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to miss out on that.”
Buzz shot her a thin smile. “That’s one of the things I’ve missed about you, Kel.”
“What’s that?”
“Your smart mouth.”
“Not something to base a relationship on, I guess.”
“I guess not.” Grimacing, he started toward the door. “Let’s get out to the site.”
“I hope it doesn’t rain, Bunky Bear.” Eddie Malone shone the flashlight on the stuffed animal’s face, wishing the little bear could say something back. “Mommy always told me thunder was just this big guy up in the sky throwing thunderbolts, but I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t tell her ’cause I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I thought that was a really dumb story.”
Bunky Bear stared back at him with his one good eye and a little smile on his mouth that always made Eddie laugh. But Eddie wasn’t laughing tonight. He was scared. More scared than he’d ever been in his whole life.
It had all started when he’d dropped Bunky Bear down that big hill. He’d tried not to cry, but he’d wanted his bear back. Mommy had climbed down after Bunky, but the branch she was holding onto had snapped and she rolled and rolled all the way down the hill. It had scared Eddie even more when he called out to her and she didn’t answer. When he’d climbed down after her, she was asleep. He tried to wake her, but she wouldn’t wake up. He knew he shouldn’t cry, but it scared him so much he just couldn’t help it. He’d sat down beside her and cried for a long time.
Then he saw the cut on her head and thought he should go for help. Isn’t that what Captain Kudo on “Kudos and Kids” would do? Knowing it was the only way to save his mom, Eddie had grabbed Bunky Bear, stuffed him in his backpack and started back toward the campground where Aunt Kim would know what to do. He’d thought for sure he was going the right way. But it seemed like he walked forever and never got back to the campground. Then the wind had started blowing, and it started getting dark.
Snuggled up against Bunky Bear, Eddie shivered and huddled deeper into his jacket. “Don’t worry, Bunky Bear,” he said. “Mommy’s okay. She’s a good hiker and knows everything there is to know about camping and stuff.”
The rumble of thunder in the distance made his teeth chatter. He looked up, saw the sky flicker. Around him, the treetops swayed and whispered. He wished it wasn’t so dark. He hadn’t been quite so scared when the sun was shining.
He wished Mommy would hurry up and find him so they could go home.
Buzz didn’t bother with the speed limit on the way to White River Campground, and the trip took less than half an hour. Using his cell phone en route, he checked in with the ranger station where the base camp for the search had been set up, as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to see how the search was progressing. Neither agency reported any sign of Eddie. Another call to his contact at the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department told him a team of scent-trained bloodhounds would be brought in at first light. Buzz hoped to God they found him by morning. If they didn’t, he hated to wait that long to bring in the dogs, but he knew how difficult nighttime searches were.
Next to him, Kelly stared into the darkness beyond the window as silent and still as a mannequin. The tension coming off her was palpable. Buzz felt his own tension like a knot being drawn ever tighter in his chest. But as angry as he was with her, another side of him felt a pang of compassion every time he looked at her and saw the profound sadness in her eyes. He wasn’t going to let her down.
A hundred questions rang in his head. Even though Buzz knew now wasn’t the time to raise them, there was a small part of him that wanted to know everything about his son. He wanted to know how tall he was. What he liked to eat. His favorite stories and movies and toys. If he took after his mother—or, God forbid, him. Another side of him—the side that was an ex-detective and had worked some of the worst child abuse cases in the city—cringed at the thought of bringing something so precious as a child into a world that was many times less than kind to the innocent.
Feeling the urgency press into him with an almost physical force, all too aware of the minutes ticking by and the fire raging just a few miles to the north, Buzz looked at his watch, felt another snap of tension go through his system. Eleven o’clock. Eddie had been missing for five hours now. As an ex-cop, and now a Search and Rescue professional, he knew all too well how much could happen in five hours.
Where are you, son?
Surprise rippled through him that he was now thinking of this child as his son. He wondered how smart that was when he didn’t have any idea how he was going to handle being a father—if he would even get the chance, if he wanted it at all.
The campground was humming with activity when Buzz drove into the parking lot. Park rangers and volunteers and sheriff’s deputies hustled about, talking into their radios and looking harried. Buzz parked the truck next to a Lake County sheriff’s van and shut down the engine. Next to him, Kelly reached for the door handle.
“We’re going to hit the trail, so make it brief,” he said.
Nodding once, she slipped out the door. Buzz gathered his gear and got out of the truck. He was in the process of slipping his pack over his shoulders when a tall man dressed in khakis and a button-down shirt rushed toward Kelly with a determined stride. Buzz couldn’t see much of him in the dim light cast from the single sodium vapor lamp overhead—just enough to recognize the glint of male interest in his eyes.
“Any word?” Kelly asked the man.
“Nothing yet.” He opened his arms to her. “I’m sorry.”
She went into his arms without hesitation.
Standing next to the truck, Buzz watched the exchange, trying in vain to ignore the hot snap of jealousy.
“I came straight over from the office,” the man said to her. “Your sister called and talked to my assistant. I wish you’d called me.”
“There was nothing you could do.”
“I could have been here for you.”
“God, Taylor, I’m so worried. It’s been over five hours.”
“I’m sure they’ll find him.” The man eyed Buzz over Kelly’s shoulder, taking his measure much the same way a contender did in the minutes before a boxing match.
Buzz stared back with his best bad-cop glare, wondering if it would be considered politically incorrect of him to wipe that superior expression off the other man’s face with his fist. Buzz wasn’t a fan of politically correct.
Never taking his eyes from Buzz’s, the man lowered his hand to the small of Kelly’s back in a silent message that wasn’t lost on Buzz.
She’s mine.
“You holding up okay?” the man asked her.
“I’m all right,” she
