2. Suzie

2

SUZIE

Three years later…

" W ild Heart Mountain Search and Rescue, what's the emergency?"

The woman on the other end of the line sobs so hard I can't understand what she's saying. I sit up alert and poise my fingers over the keyboard, ready to take down information. There's a reason she's this upset, and it could mean a call out for the team.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm having trouble hearing you. Please repeat."

Her voice cracks on a sob, and all I catch is the word "missing."

"Take a deep breath for me ma'am and tell me again who's missing."

The woman takes a shuddery breath, and when she speaks her voice is croaky but her sobs have diminished. "Stacy. She went running into the trees and hasn't come back."

It sounds like a child. My body tenses. It's hard to stay emotionally detached in this job, and with a child of my own, the missing kids get me the worst.

Alex is across the room checking radio gear, and I catch his eye. He comes over, and I put the call on speaker. Across the desk from me, Mateo slides his headset off and starts taking notes.

"Which part of the mountain are you on, ma'am?"

She mentions the Mid Peak Trail which is close to Hope, the small town at the bottom of the mountain, and not too far from our base.

"How long since you last saw her?"

"It's been about five minutes. I called and searched for her. But…" The woman breaks off into another sob.

The Mid Peak Trail leads to a waterfall, and a stream skirts the trail for most of it. With the rainfall we had last night, the stream will be a torrent in places.

My entire body is rigid as I take the details. Alex is already suiting up, and I give him the nod as he heads out to the pickup. A child's missing, and as a new father, that's all he needs to know. I'll phone him with the details when he's on the road.

"What was she wearing?"

The woman sobs again, and it takes a moment to get herself under control enough to speak. "A red coat, because there's still a chill in the air. And a white collar with a heart-shaped tag on it."

"A collar?" The stiffness in my body eases, and I press my fingers to my forehead as realization dawns. "Is Stacy a dog?"

The woman sniffs. "She's a Yorkshire Terrier. Small and snappy. A bear could get her."

I cover my mouthpiece and speak to Mateo. "Tell Alex to stand down. It's a dog, not a child."

My entire body sags with relief, and I lean my elbow on the chair. Mateo jogs after Alex, and I take the call off speaker.

It takes a good ten minutes to explain to the woman why we don't send search and rescue out for lost animals. She's distraught, and I get it. She loves her dog, but our funding doesn't cover missing pets.

Suddenly there's a bark in the background, and the woman lets out a joyful cry. Stacy has come back, probably after having the time of her life chasing rabbits and rolling in deer shit.

I remind the woman about the laws for keeping dogs on leashes and that they're not permitted on some of the trails due to protecting the wildlife. It's only when I mention the danger Stacy could be in if a wild cat decides to make a small dog its supper that I get her attention, and she promises to be more vigilant and keep Stacy on a leash next time.

I finish the call and slide my headset off. I need a cup of tea.

While the Earl Grey brews, I call my sister. Even though it wasn't a lost child after all, the call has left me with a need to speak to my son.

"Mommy's on the phone." Carrie holds the receiver out to him, and I get a few garbled words about trucks and train tracks.

George is safe and he's happy, and that's all that matters. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief and lean against the kitchen counter.

The bergamot smell of Earl Grey brewing stirs up memories of my time in England. It seems like years ago now, a life that happened to a different person. Alongside memories of England, Jack slides into my thoughts.

The anger has dissolved over the years, mostly anger at my own foolishness for falling for a man who obviously was only meant to be a fling. I would have forgotten him years ago if it wasn't for the daily reminder in George.

Thoughts of the way our bodies moved together still make me smile. But that was a lifetime ago. That was a girl with the world at her feet studying in a strange land. I'm a single mom now with no time for daydreaming.

With my cup of steaming tea in hand, I head back to the comms desk.

There's someone in the comms center when I get back from the kitchen. Their back is to the bank of desks, and they're looking at the photographs of the team that grace the wall by the door. The shape of their back looks vaguely familiar. Broad shoulders under a winter coat, scruffy sandy colored hair with silver flecks at the edges. It could be any one of the men on the mountain.

But as the man turns around, my heart shunts up against my ribcage and a gasp explodes out of my chest. Tea sloshes down the side of the cup and coats my fingers.

"Shit."

The man's eyes widen when he sees me and crinkle up in a smile. The same mischievous smile that got my panties in a twist all those years ago. The smile that makes his baby-blue eyes twinkle, and when it's trained on me makes me feel like the most interesting woman in the world.

"Hello Suzie."

My name in the clipped English accent does the same thing to my lady parts that it did three years ago.

I feel like I'm seeing a ghost. I thought about Jack and here he is, like I conjured him out of the mist.

But I'm not a young American girl far from home anymore. I'm not going to be taken in by a charming smile and an accent.

On no, Jack whatever-your-name-is. Not this time.