Page 5 of Mountain Reawakening

When we’re close to the farmhouse, I shift her to one arm gently so as not to wake her and radio my crew to let them know we’re only a few minutes out.

As soon as I clear the trees, Ella races across the yard screaming Maisie’s name.

Maisie startles awake in my hold. Her little arms grip my neck so tightly it’s difficult to breathe.

“Mommy, I gots lost, but Tanner founds me. He’s just like the prince who rescued the princess in my book. He’s my prince hero.”

“Oh, baby you scared me so much, and yes, you are absolutely right, he’s a real-life hero.”

My stomach somersaults at them declaring me a hero. It’s not something I’m comfortable with. Usually, I slip into the background for these tearful reunions. I loosen my hold on Maisie, expecting Ella to take possession of her so I can do just that, but instead she wraps her arms around me.

Maisie keeps one arm around my neck and the other goes around her mother’s. It should be awkward, but a feeling of rightness settles over me instead. My chest swells, and I let myself enjoy it for once. For a time, I thought I would have hundreds just like this until reality proved there’s no such thing as fairytales, no matter what Maisie and Ella might think.

Regardless, I steal the moment.

Alana clears her throat. “I hate to break up the reunion, but we should probably get Maisie checked out just as a precaution.”

Ella steps back at the request and attempts to take Maisie, who apparently has other ideas.

“I want to stay with my Prince Hero Tanner,” she declares, lower lip poking out, arms once again precariously close to cutting off my airway.

My eyes widen at her announcement, and Ella’s lips turn down. “Sweetie, Tanner’s been looking for you for a long time, and he’s probably tired from carrying you.”

Maisie shakes her head. “He’s a prince hero, and he doesn’t get tired. Right?” Her gaze swings to mine.

The complete faith she has in me once again has opposing actions warring in my body. My chest swelling at her belief, and nausea swirling at what never was. It’s a challenge to get a full breath, but I inhale deeply, filling my lungs before slowly releasing it.

Maisie waits with more patience than I would’ve guessed she possesses after knowing her for such a short time. I should be giving her back to her mother and gently letting her down. Instead, I find myself just as mesmerized by her eyes as I was by her mother’s. It’s the only reason I can think of to explain why I agree with her.

“She’s right, I’m not tired. I got her if that’s what she needs.”

The smile which lights up Maisie’s face is brighter than the sun. It also carves itself into my chest, securing a place of its own, ensuring I will always comply with her requests no matter what they are.

Chapter Five

Ella

Sitting on the side of Maisie’s bed, I watch her chest rise and fall with each breath while she sleeps. The steady rhythm does wonders to ease the anxiety that’s been running rampant since she went missing.

We had a long talk about not wandering off by herself. I can only hope that I got through to her because she appears to be completely unfazed by the experience. She has been talking nonstop about her Prince Hero Tanner, though.

I’m beginning to worry about her obsession with the man who rescued her. But I don’t know that I have much room to talk when it comes to obsessive thoughts about the tall, bearded, broad-shouldered, tattooed man.

Seeing Maisie safe in Tanner’s bulging arms had my ovaries exploding on sight, certainly eclipsing all the worry I’d been engulfed in and warring with the relief. Her little body, swamped in the dark blue flannel shirt he had been wearing earlier, had my heart racing with the obvious care he was taking with her.

He had been oh so gentle with my baby girl. Kowtowing to whatever demands she had, with his lips tipping up in one corner. He continued to hold her while his teammate Alana, who is also a paramedic apparently, checked her over. After giving Maisie a clean bill of health, save for the scrapes on her feet Tanner had already cleaned, she and the rest of the first responders who were still here left.

Tanner, on the other hand, stayed long after everyone else cleared out. No matter how much I tried to convince her that he needed to go, Maisie clung to him, insisting she show him around our new home. I kept expecting him to extricate himself from the situation, but he patiently followed my daughter, asking her questions and showering her with attention.

Far more attention than her own father even attempts to give her. Hell, the most I’ve heard from that damn man today is a text saying I’m sure she’ll turn up after my frantic voicemail she was missing. His response when I texted she was located was a told you so.

Finally, by late afternoon, her eyes began to get droopy, and she fell asleep sitting in his lap as he read her favorite story about, what else, a prince saving the princess. Then he carried her to bed, just as he carried her all the way home to me after finding her.

Now he’s watching as I tuck her in. When I glance at him, the look on his face almost seems wistful, but before I can comment, he spins and leaves the room as if his boots are on fire.

I hurry after him, afraid he’ll leave without me getting to thank him. Not that I haven’t multiple times already, but the gratitude I have for what he’s done today has me saying the words repeatedly. They are woefully inadequate for the magnitude of what he did, but there’s nothing I can do to convey how much I appreciate it. To say he went above and beyond is an understatement.

He’s already at the front door when I enter the living room. “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?” I ask.