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Just as she was about to give up on getting in touch with him tonight, he answered.
“Uh-huh,” he said.
“Hey, Bones. It’s Bree. Just wanted to check in and see how everyone’s doing?”
“We’re all good here,” he muttered. He always muttered and rarely met anyone’s gaze. “Did you find Will?”
“Not yet.”
He muttered something she didn’t catch.
“How is our National Park litter doing?” She always worried more about her puppies born in the dead of winter. They were so fragile, and it got so cold.
“Good!” His voice changed, took on a note of happiness. He didn’t show a lot of emotion usually, but he loved her dogs as much as she did, which was a great comfort when she was away. “Zion figured out how to crawl out of the pen. He’s a fighter, that one.”
Even as tired as she was, she had to laugh. Bones had fallen in love with that mischievous black puppy the moment he was born. She hadn’t told him yet, but she planned to give Zion to him.
“Thank you, Bones. I should be back…” She trailed off. She had no idea how much longer she’d be gone. “Well, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay,” he said and hung up.
She dropped the handset back into its cradle and sat there for a moment, suddenly too exhausted to move.
“You should go to bed, hon,” Josie said and replaced the phone on the shelf under the bar. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”
“I am,” Bree admitted and forced herself to her feet. She trudged upstairs, the old wood steps creaking loudly under her boots.
A strip of yellow light shown from underneath her door.
She froze, the key halfway to the lock, and stared down at the light. Had she left a lamp on? She honestly couldn’t remember.
The door opened.
“There you are.” Ellis pulled her into the room and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight despite the ice coating her outer layers.
Wait. What was he doing in her room? Why wasn’t he still at the clinic? He almost died! He shouldn’t be here. He needed to be where the town doctor could help him if his heart stopped again.
Muddled by exhaustion, her brain worked faster than her mouth and all she managed was a weak, “What…?”
She tried to push him away, but it was as effective as nudging a mountain. He’d certainly regained his strength.
“I was ready to launch a search party,” he said.
She pushed him again, careful not to hit his chest where his ribs must still hurt like hell. This time, he relented, backing up a step to give her a once-over.
“You didn’t find anything.” A statement, not a question. He didn’t seem surprised.
She released a long sigh and started stripping off her layers. “I’ve searched every inch of the area where his plane disappeared from radar.” She hung her anorak by the blazing wood stove and placed her gloves on the bricks in front of it. “There’s no sign of him or a crash or… anything.”
Ellis closed the short distance between them. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “He’s not out there.”
“Then where is he?” Frustrated, she knocked his hands away and walked over to the chair by the window. She stared out the glass, but the snowstorm and darkness made it impossible to even see the meager lights of the tiny post-office-slash-general-store across the street. She sketched a sad face in the gathering frost on the window. “You said you knew where he’d be. You said you’d help me.”
“I’m working on it, Bree,” he said softly. “I promised I’d help you find him, and I will. I…”
At his hesitation, she faced him again and some of her frustration seeped away. He looked good. Strong with healthy color in his complexion. His hair was a little wild and his beard stubble had grown thick over the past week.
How had she only known him a little over a week? Felt like a lifetime.
