Her Rocky Mountain Protector. Patricia Thayer

around the mountains. I don’t need to have to carry you out of there tomorrow.”

      She took a small bite and chewed slowly. “You’re good at giving orders.”

      He swallowed a spoonful of stew. “I’ve had a lot of years to practice.”

      Those deep green eyes widened and he felt a stirring of awareness. “How long were you in the army?”

      He watched her take another bite. “I went in the day I turned eighteen, and got discharged last December. Twenty years.” When had he suddenly become such an open book?

      “You don’t look old enough.”

      And she looked far too young for him to think about anything beyond helping to find her son. So he needed to stop the direction of his thoughts. “Spoken like a respectful youngster.”

      She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not so young.”

      “What, twenty-five?”

      “Twenty-seven … my next birthday.”

      Still far too young for him. Think of her as a kid sister. That didn’t work, either. He was drawn to her intriguing eyes once again, then his gaze lowered to her mouth and he felt the reaction like a slam in the gut. He glanced away. It had been nearly two years since he’d reacted so strongly to a woman. Not since his marriage had fallen apart. Definitely not since the accident. He stood. “Do you want any more?”

      “No thank you. I’m finished.”

      “Okay, if you need to use the bathroom again, I suggest you go now.” He looked out the window. “It’s started to rain again.”

      She nodded. “I’m fine.”

      Well, he wasn’t. So the sooner they found the boy the better. Then he could get back to his life.

       “You think you can get away from me? Think again, bitch.”

      Gina huddled in the corner, trying to protect her body from Eric’s vicious blows. “Please stop!” she cried, praying he’d tire and let her alone.

      “Never. I’ll always find you. You’ll never get away. Never.” He stepped back, stumbling drunkenly.

       Zack suddenly appeared. “Stop hurting my mom,” he cried, and began hitting his dad. “Go away. Leave us alone.”

       Eric grabbed the boy, swung back his fist and she screamed. “No! Don’t hit him! No!”

      “Gina! Wake up”

      She felt someone shaking her. She finally opened her eyes and saw the large figure leaning over her. She gasped and pushed him away. “Please, don’t,” she cried and scurried to the end of the sofa.

      Grady stepped back and raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, it’s me, Grady. You had a bad dream. I woke you, that’s all. I’m not going to hurt you, Gina. You’re safe here.”

      Gina brushed her hair back, trying to slow her breathing. “Oh, God, Grady, I’m so sorry.” She glanced up to see the man standing there in the dark shadows in a pair of Levi’s and a T-shirt over a well-toned body. “Please tell me I didn’t hit you. Are you all right?”

      In the shadowed light, Grady stared back at her, knowing it best to keep his distance. He wished he could get his hands on Lowell again. “Question is, are you?”

      She nodded, but avoided any eye contact. “The nightmare must have been triggered by Eric taking Zack.”

      At least she’d got a few hours of sleep. He’d covered her with a blanket before going into the one bedroom in the cabin.

      She finally looked at him. “Is it light enough to start searching again?”

      He nodded. “I expect by the time we have some coffee, it’ll be daylight.” He sure wasn’t going to get any more sleep.

      After Grady dressed in fresh jeans and a shirt, he made coffee and they pulled on their coats and headed to the truck. It only took a few minutes to get back to the original spot where Eric’s truck had been parked the day before. Where Gina Williams’s nightmare had started.

      Grady ended the call to the sheriff and put his cell phone back into his pocket. “Larkin said they’ll be here in ten minutes.”

      “I can’t wait.” Gina opened the truck door. “I’m going to head up.” She was out of the cab.

      Grady jumped out and went after her. He grabbed her by the arm, and she immediately jerked away. He raised his hands in surrender.

      “Sorry. I just don’t want you to run off. You don’t know the area and could get lost, too. Besides, I want to check out another mine, the Lucky Penny.” He pointed to a different direction. “We didn’t get to it last night.”

      “Why not?”

      They started climbing the slope. “For one thing, it was too dark and it’s a lot farther.”

      “Why do you think Zack could be there?”

      “Scout knows the mines around here. I’ve been working with him there on some search-and-rescue training.”

      Gina was frustrated. Her son had been out in the elements all night and all she wanted was to find him. “Okay, let’s go there.”

      He nodded and they started their hike to the Lucky Penny.

      She managed to keep up with him. “Do you think Zack would follow your dog to safety?”

      “Your son seems pretty resourceful. He was smart enough to get untied and run away from his dad, then he’s smart enough to stay out of the weather.”

      “But he doesn’t know that he’s safe from his dad. He might still be hiding.”

      Zack was shivering when he woke up. He’d been cold all night, even with Scout sleeping beside him, keeping him warm. He was still next to him now. He wished it were his mom with him. He was so scared and his scraped hand hurt.

      “What do we do, Scout? I don’t want my dad to find me. He’s mean, and he hurts Mom.” He stroked the dog’s fur. “He’ll hurt me, too, because I ran away.” He brushed away a tear, hating to cry.

      The dog got up and gave a bark.

      Maybe Scout could protect him. But his dad had a gun. He wiped away more tears. “Why can’t my dad just leave us alone?” he said, making a fist. “I don’t want to go away and have to hide again. I like living in Destiny with my mom, Aunt Lori and Uncle Jace and my cousin Cassie.”

      The dog cocked his head as if he were listening to every word.

      “We have a new house and I’m gonna try out for baseball next month. I get to have a birthday party this year.” He didn’t care about that. He only wanted his mom.

      The animal made a whining sound and looked toward the cave opening.

      Zack was suddenly afraid again. What if his dad got his mom, and hurt her? He didn’t know what to do.

      Suddenly the animal jumped up and went to the opening, then he looked back and barked. He came back several times, and nudged at him before he ran outside.

      “Wait, Scout,” Zack cried and took off after him. Once he was outside, the sunlight nearly blinded him. The dog barked again, then he heard a voice calling his name.

      He tried not to cry, but he couldn’t help it. “Mom!” he yelled, and followed Scout. “Mom!”

      Gina stopped when she heard the sound. She grabbed Grady’s arm. “I hear something.”

      Grady paused and the next sound was that of a dog barking. He put two fingers in his mouth and let loose with a loud whistle. He was rewarded with another bark.

      “This way,” he said. “It’s coming