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Everyone watches as I hold it to my nose and breathe in her sweet delicious scent. It fills my lungs and sets my soul on fire.
“Where was she last seen?”
* * *
“That-a-boy, Charlie!” I say as I follow the Bloodhound through the forest. He’s already honed in on her scent and the amazing dog is running forward with a singular drive.
As soon as I left the lodge, I raced to my buddy’s house. Colin works search and rescue in these mountains, and he’s got the best tracker in the whole state. Up and down the West Coast, Colin and Charlie have found missing hikers, missing kids, and missing seniors with dementia.
Unfortunately, Colin wasn’t home, so I had to break a window to get inside. I left a quick note, grabbed Charlie, and took off to the Greene Mountain Stables. The owner Tyler took me to where the horse got spooked and I gave Charlie the scent off Megan’s sweater.
It’s been a couple of hours of searching in the rain. All this wetness is not helping. It keeps washing my girl’s scent away. Charlie lost the scent a few times, but we picked it back up about ten minutes ago and he’s moving fast now.
“Don’t lose her, buddy,” I whisper as I jog beside the dog. He’s not sniffing everything anymore. He’s locked on her scent and racing through the forest. I spot a couple of snapped branches which might be from her horse as it ran away.
The dog’s tail is up, his long snout hovering over the ground, and his big floppy ears are bouncing as he moves.
My eyes are scanning the dark forest, desperately looking for her. I’m not going to leave these mountains until I have her in my arms. I don’t care if I’m still here in a week. I’mnotleaving without her.
Charlie suddenly takes off in a full sprint. My heart seizes in my chest when I hear a shrill scream.
“Don’t eat me!” Megan screeches as she crouches into a ball, covering her face with her arms. Charlie is standing proudly beside her. He looks at me as I run over to them.
“It’s okay,” I say as I drop to my knees in front of her. “You’re okay now. You’re safe.”
She slowly lowers her arm and looks at me with these big innocent blue eyes. Up close, those eyes stagger me. I feel my whole body going weak with the full force of them at such close range.
The poor girl is soaked. Her blonde hair is plastered to her head and she’s shaking uncontrollably. She’s only wearing shorts and a tank top, and the cold rain has been soaking her for hours.
“Y-You’re the g-guy… from the w-wedding…”
Her teeth are chattering as she stares at me like she’s not sure if I’m real or a hallucination.
She does remember me. I feel an expanding feeling in my chest like my heart is growing an extra few sizes as I stare at this innocent beauty.
“It’s me, Megan. I got you now. I’m not going to let you go.”
“W-What’s your n-name?”
I yank my rain jacket and collared shirt off as I kneel beside her. “I’m Noah.”
“N-Noah,” she whispers as I wipe her arms and upper chest with my balled-up shirt. Her big eyes are roaming all over my naked torso that’s now getting drenched by the cold rain. I wrap the raincoat around her and it’s large enough to cover her whole upper body and most of her legs.
She’s looking at me with those captivating blue eyes as I pull the hood over her wet head.
“You’ll be in a hot bath soon,” I whisper as I slide my arms around her. “Then you can dry off, put some warm pajamas on, have a hot drink, some hot food, and crawl into a nice comfy bed.”
I hoist her up and cradle her to my chest as Charlie watches.
“How does that sound?” I ask with a smile as I look down at her all curled up in my arms.
“It sounds like h-heaven,” she says as she looks up at me with gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you for finding me.”
Holding her like this and seeing her so vulnerable is firing up my protective instincts. They’re taking over.
All I can think about is how I want to keep her safe from the world forever. I have an overwhelming urge to care for her, to defend her, and to guard her from any kind of harm.
The atavistic need implants itself in me. It carves its way through my body, rewiring my brain and taking over my thoughts until every thought that passes through my mind is centered around her and her safety.
