Jessa was telling a story about one of her friends when the landline rang. James got up and answered it as Jessa continued talking.
Ethan’s eyes followed their dad, where he leaned against the counter with his eyebrows furrowed at whoever was on the other end. The front desk of the resort was generally the only phone calls they received at the landline, which meant someone needed help.
“Have you tried ringing her room?” James asked. After a pause, he said, “And you sent someone up there to knock?”
James scrubbed a hand down his face and nodded. “We’ll be right there.”
Everyone turned their attention to James, who hung up the phone and pressed his palms into the counter.
“We have a tourist who has disappeared. Her friend called the front desk, concerned that she hadn’t heard from her since earlier today when she said she was going on a hike. Annie has called her room and sent someone up to knock on her door and key into her room. She’s nowhere to be found. The morning staff also remembers seeing her leave earlier today with a backpack toward the trails.”
All the guys stood up and grabbed their jackets off the coat rack. Despite it being summer, it got cold in the mountains at night, so they always came prepared.
“Is there anything we can do?” Mia asked.
Jackson nodded toward the door. “How about I drop you and Jessa off on the main strip, and you can walk around asking if anyone has seen her? Do we have a description and name?”
James nodded. “Annie is sending in a photo and name here in a moment. She was waiting on the photo from this gal’s friend.”
Their phones all buzzed collectively, and Ethan pulled out his phone, opening the text. His heart momentarily seized as Lily’s smiling face popped up on the screen. Making sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, he read the message that followed to confirm that the missing tourist was, in fact, Lily.
“Holy shit,” Jackson muttered. Ethan could feel Jackson’s eyes swing to his.
“Do you know her?” James asked.
“That’s Ethan’s girl.”
The room was momentarily silent, and before Ethan could justify his actions, he was out the door in a flash. He hopped in his truck and peeled out of his parents’ driveway toward the resort. Many speeding laws were broken, but he was thankful he didn’t see any of the local police officers to pull him over and slow him down. He parked his truck and quickly hopped out and ran toward the entrance of the resort. His family wasn’t far behind him, and they came in only a few minutes later.
By the time they walked in, he had his emergency pack on his shoulders, his hiking boots laced up, and a flashlight in his hand, along with several others for the rest of his family. Jackson had dropped Mia and Jessa off in town to ask around about Lily. Karen agreed to stay at the resort to help direct staff to keep an eye out for the missing tourist, while also keeping an eye on Emma for Miles. Then Ethan, his brothers, and their dad set out through the back doors.
They all knew these trails like the back of their hand as they grew up on the property and had spent a lot of their childhoodexploring, but they also knew the dangers that could befall a tourist who wasn’t familiar with the area.
Ethan’s heart thundered in his chest as he worked his way up the trail toward the lookout, with Jackson following close behind. Noah, Miles, and James had split off on another trail that headed toward the fishing hole. Each person carried a satellite phone specifically for emergency situations like this.
“Lily!” The guys took turns shouting, hoping to hear her call back to them.
“You okay?” Jackson asked as they quickly worked their way along the trail in the dark.
Ethan cleared his throat and focused on the ground to prevent any unnecessary falls that could injure him and prevent the search from continuing.
“Yeah.”
Ethan’s mind whirled with the possibilities of everything that could have happened to Lily. She had been on a few of his hikes already and wasn’t incapable of getting herself back to the resort. His mind turned to the worst-case scenarios as he wondered if she injured herself.
His heart beat in his ears at all the possible scenarios. An animal could have attacked her. She could have broken an ankle, went down the wrong path, stepped off the trail and got turned around in the woods. The possibilities were endless.
They came to the fork in the trail, and Ethan stopped. The group hike he had done with her hadn’t gone down the left trail, but if she had been coming back from the lookout, there’s a possibility she got turned around and chose the wrong direction. He squatted and studied it. He was almost positive there were fresh footsteps heading down that path.
Ethan stood and turned to Jackson. “I think she went this way.”
Jackson tipped his head in that direction. “Maybe you should go that way and I’ll continue up to the lookout just in case she’s there. Call me if you find her.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate before nodding and proceeding down the trail as Jackson continued toward the lookout.
He heard Jackson’s voice drift away as he called out Lily’s name, but soon it was only Ethan’s own voice calling out.
“Lily!” Ethan called. He continued down the path, stopping every so often to make sure the footsteps he was following didn’t leave the trail.
