“That kid,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Looks like we need to hurry up.” Cody tugged her along.
“So much for a leisurely stroll through the woods.” A break in the trees allowed beams of sunlight to shine through. She tilted up her face and let the warmth hit her skin. “I can almost believe that everything is right in the world. Almost forget the reason we’re here.”
“Let’s pretend the only reason you and Ollie are here is to enjoy a day off. Thinking about all that other stuff will just bring us down and cause you to worry. It will all be there waiting for us when we’re ready to dive in.”
“I like that idea.” She stared down the narrow trail. Ollie was nowhere in sight, and a beat of trepidation pulsed along with her heartbeat. “Is there anything around that bend I should be worried about?”
“Not for another mile or so, but we should catch up with Ollie before we get to the waterfall. It’s a ways off the path, but I’d hate for him to try and get to it without us.”
“You and me both.”
Together, they hurried along the trail. A squirrel hopped from branch to branch overhead, and a chipmunk scurried around the forest floor beside them. The sound of the wind whistling through the leaves better than any symphony she’d ever heard.
With Ollie still not in view, she walked a little faster.
Frantic barking announced Bailey’s distress seconds before the dog sprinted in their direction. The end of her purple leash bounced behind her.
“Oh my God,” Katherine said. “Where’s Ollie?”
She sprinted forward.
Cody shot out in front of her, grabbing hold of Bailey’s leash as he ran. “Take me to Ollie, girl.”
She didn’t question if the dog had the ability to show them where her son was. She trusted Cody’s instincts, and she knew that dog would only leave Ollie’s side if she’d had no other choice.
Bailey barked and pressed her nose to the ground. She tugged at the leash, leading Cody off the dirt and into the woods.
Katherine stayed glued to him, scanning the area for signs of her son. “Ollie!”
“Mommy!”
Her heart raced and sweat dotted her hairline. She shouldn’t have brought Ollie out here. Should have stayed locked up in Cody’s house where no one could get them. If that sick sonofabitch who was after her got his hands on her child, she’d hunt him down and kill him.
Cody skidded to a stop on a patch of fallen leaves. He held out an arm to keep Katherine in place. “He’s down there.” He pointed toward the bottom of a steep slope.
“We need to get him!” Katherine lunged forward, but a strong arm around her waist locked her in place. “Get off.” She slapped at Cody’s hand.
“Mommy, my leg hurts,” Ollie said, his voice a mere whimper. “I can’t walk.”
Cody clamped a palm on her shoulder and forced her to face him. “Just wait a second. He’s scared and injured. You don’t know this terrain, and I do. We don’t need you to get hurt, too. Stay here with Bailey.”
She didn’t want to stay and wait. She wanted to charge down the ravine and get her son. But Cody was right. She didn’t know this land like he did, and even once she got to Ollie, she’d struggle getting him back up the steep hill.
“Fine but bring me back my baby.”
“I will.”
She took hold of Bailey’s leash and kept her focus trained on Ollie. “Cody’s coming to get you, honey. Just stay right there. Don’t move, okay?”
“I can’t move,” Ollie whined. “It hurts.”
Bailey returned his pleas with whines of her own. She sat by Katherine’s side, her feet pawing at the ground in little spurts as if she just waited for the signal to rush forward and help.
Katherine ran her fingers through her soft fur. “It’s okay, girl. Cody’s got him.” She wasn’t just uttering words to make thedog—or herself—feel better. She really meant it. There were few people she trusted her son with, and in a short time, she found Cody at the top of that list.
Time crawled by as she watched Cody pick his way down the hill. He maneuvered around fallen trunks and upturned roots. The space between him and Ollie grew shorter.
