Her Rocky Mountain Protector

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 from the Lucky Penny.” He pointed toward their left, then took her hand and helped her climb up the slope. When they reached the cluster of boulders, a dog and child appeared.

Her heart was beating wildly. “Zack,” she cried, and ran to her son.

“Mom,” he cried, throwing himself into her arms.

“Oh, Zack.” The tears poured out of her as she hugged him tight, breathing in his familiar smell. Even with the mixture of dirt and sweat, it was heavenly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re safe.” She pulled back and did a quick examination. “We were so worried. Where did you go?”

The child looked worried. “When I got untied, I was afraid Dad would come back to get me. So I ran away.

Where is he?”

“Oh, honey.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. Sheriff Larkin has your dad in jail. Mr. Fletcher helped capture him.” She hugged her son again. “He’s never going to hurt us again. I promise, Zack. I promise. You must have been so scared.”

Her son pulled away. “I was at first.” He glanced down at the dog. “Scout came and stayed with me.” His brown eyes widened. “Mom, he’s a military dog.”

She managed a nod. “I know. He’s trained to find people and I’m so grateful that he found you.”

“He kept me warm all night long.” Zack looked at Grady. “Is he your dog?”

“Yes, he is.” Grady stood next to the animal, who sat perfectly still. “We’ve been in a lot of tight situations together. Scout was trained to find bombs. I guess now he can add little boys to the list.”

Gina had completely forgotten about the introductions. “Zack, this is Mr. Fletcher. He’s helped me search for you.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you had Scout.” Zack went over to the animal. “Can I pet him?”

“I know Scout would like that.”

Grady watched the affection between the two. This was a new experience for Scout. A child was hard to resist, could even be distracting. Grady glanced at Gina Williams. So was his mother.

“Maybe we should head back down,” he said. “You need to get warm and checked out to make sure you’re okay.”

They started walking down the slope just as the sheriff’s vehicle appeared next to his truck. The next ten minutes were chaotic as Grady stood back and let the paramedic look over the boy. Then they all piled into the vehicle.

“I can’t thank you enough for all you did, Grady.” She smiled for real this time and he found he liked it too much. “My son is everything to me,” she managed to say.

“Then you’d better go tend to him.” Scout sent a bark toward his new friend in the SUV. Grady watched Gina get into the vehicle and drive off. Suddenly he was alone once again, and realized it wasn’t what he truly wanted at all.

Be careful what you wish for.

CHAPTER FOUR

FOUR hours later Gina stood at her sister, Lori’s, family room entrance and watched her son sleeping on the pull-out sofa bed. She still felt shaky, thinking about the thirty-six-hour ordeal. Worse, how things could have turned out.

A tear fell against her cheek. Zack was back safe with her. She had so many people to thank; one in particular, Grady Fletcher. The stranger who had put everything else aside and led the sheriff to Eric, then had stayed with her the entire time, keeping her sane until they found Zack. And Scout. What a special dog to protect her son.

“Is he asleep?” Lori whispered as she came up behind her.

Gina nodded, and followed her sister into the kitchen. “I promised I’d stay close by.”

Lori motioned for her to take a seat at the large kitchen island. “I think we’re close enough to hear him if he wakes.”

Technically her half sister, Lorelei Hutchinson Yeager was a pretty blonde with big brown eyes and a generous heart. Last fall she’d come to Destiny when she inherited her estranged father’s fortune. She’d fallen in love and married a building contractor, Jace Yeager, and moved into his house with his daughter, Cassie. Just recently they’d got a big surprise when Lori learned she was pregnant.

Gina glanced around the newly remodeled room. Jace had done a great job of refinishing the fixer-upper home, especially the kitchen. The large space had custom maple cabinets, granite counters and top-of-the-line stainless-steel appliances.

Gina was proud she’d helped Lori add some special touches with the burnt-orange paint and bright yellow accents.

Lori set a cup of hot tea in front of her. “Here, drink this.”

“Thanks,” Gina told her. “You should sit down, too. You have to be tired.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

When Gina was growing up, Lori had been more than a big sister. She had filled in where their mother couldn’t or wouldn’t. Still Gina had become a rebellious teenager when she’d met wild boy Eric Lowell. Lori had never deserted her though, especially when things had got rough and Eric had begun knocking her around.

Last fall when Lori had come to Destiny to claim her inheritance from her father, Lyle Hutchinson, she’d sent for Gina and Zack, hoping they all could start a new life here together. Then somehow Eric had found them.

Gina felt the emotions churning up again, but this time she couldn’t push them away and she began to sob.

Lori shot around the island and pulled her sister into her arms. “Oh, honey. Let it out. You’ve been through hell the past two days.”

Gina cried until her throat was raw and she finally wiped away the last of her tears. “I thought we were safe. How foolish could I be to think Eric would leave us alone?”

“Well, he’s going to be staying away now. He’ll be in jail. If the kidnapping charge doesn’t stick, shooting at the sheriff and at you should carry some weight.”

Heavens, she prayed that would work. “He’s got off before.”

“This is his third offence, Gina. That hateful man took my nephew and he isn’t going to get away with that. Not this time.”

Gina thought back to all the people who’d helped her in the past few days. The entire town had volunteered. They’d cooked meals, asked to be deputized and searched for Zack, or just prayed for his safe return. Once again she thought of the one man who had truly helped her find her son.

“Lori, what do you know about Grady Fletcher?”

Her sister blinked at her question, then smiled. “Not much, only that he’s been in the bank a few times. I know more about his grandfather, Joe Fletcher. The old miner is recuperating from a broken hip at Shady Haven Nursing Home. Since Grady was listed as next of kin, he’s been handling things until Fletch gets back on his feet. I’m not sure that’s going to happen since his grandfather has to be in his eighties.”

“So he doesn’t live here?”

Lori shrugged. “It would be nice if he did. From what Reed told me about what happened on the mountain, I’d say Grady is a take-charge kind of guy. And for what he did for Zack, he’s pretty high on my list of good people. Not bad-looking, either.”

Gina wasn’t surprised by her sister’s assessment. She hadn’t had much time to notice, but once the dust had settled, she had taken a look at the handsome man. “You’d better not let Jace hear you talk like that.”

Lori smiled. “He has nothing to worry about. I only have eyes for my husband.”

“That’s good to know.”

They turned around to see Jace Yeager standing in the doorway. The tall, dark and handsome man was smiling at his wife. “Because I’m kind of crazy about you, too.”

Lori rushed across the room, wrapped her arms around him and rewarded him with a tender kiss. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow,” she said.

“My family needed me. So I made it happen.” He walked over to Gina and pulled her into a big hug. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you and Zack.”

She nodded. “It’s okay, Jace. We got him back and that’s all that matters.”

That was when they heard a child’s cry from the other room. Gina jumped up and hurried to the sofa bed.

“It’s okay, honey.” She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her son into her arms.

There were tears in her son’s eyes. “Mom, I dreamed Dad was coming after me.”

“Never. He’s never going to get near you ever again.” She looked up at Lori and Jace. “Hey, Uncle Jace came home so he could be with you.”

Jace walked to the sofa. “That’s right, partner. I heard you had a rough few days.”

The child nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I got tied up in a cave.”

Gina saw her brother-in-law stiffen, working to control his anger. He kept his voice calm. “Man, that’s bad. I’m proud of you for being smart enough to handle it.” He messed the boy’s hair. “So you spent the night in a cave.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide. “Yeah, but Scout was with me. He’s a big German shepherd. I didn’t get scared too much because he was there to protect me from other animals and bad people.”

“Sounds like Scout is a pretty neat dog.”

Again the child nodded. “He was in the military. He’s a hero like Grady.” Zack looked at his mom. “I wish I had a dog like Scout. I wouldn’t be afraid then.”

All eyes turned to Gina. “Yeah, Mom,” Jace mimicked. “A dog would be good protection.”

Gina had always planned to get her son a dog once they were settled. Her house had a fenced-in yard. “I guess a dog wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Her son nearly jumped into her arms. “You’re the best mom in the whole world.”

Those words were enough to completely sell her on the idea, and to remind her how close she’d come to losing her son. “And you’re the best son in the whole world.”

The next morning was Saturday, and as Gina promised, she drove her son out to the cabin to thank Grady. Even for her small all-wheel-drive vehicle, it was slow going over the pitted dirt road. She wasn’t sure that she was headed in the right direction until she came through a grove of trees and finally saw the cabin in the clearing.

“Oh, boy.” It wasn’t much of a clearing. More like a junkyard. Something she hadn’t noticed when she was here before. Suddenly she was rethinking her decision to come, wondering if Grady Fletcher just wanted to be left alone.

“Grady might be busy, Zack. I’m not sure if we should just drop in on him.”

“Come on, Mom. We don’t have to stay long. I want to give Scout my present.”

They’d spent all morning shopping for a reward for the dog. “Okay, but if he doesn’t have the time, then we leave. Mr. Fletcher is a busy man.”

Then the cabin door opened and the German shepherd came out and greeted them with a bark, but stayed on the porch. Gina’s heart skipped a beat when the tall man stepped through the door. He was dressed in jeans and a dark thermal shirt, showing off his muscular build. Her body reacted, not in fear but in awareness. Well, darn.

“Scout!” her son called and jumped out of the car. Zack took off running to the dog before she could stop him.

Grady stood rooted on the porch, surprised to see Gina Williams again. Then she stepped out of her car and he found his heart suddenly beating faster. He wasn’t happy about that, or about the lack of sleep he’d had since the night she’d invaded his cabin.

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