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“Of course, he does,” Julian says with a chuckle. “He’s so good at it.”
I sigh as I look down at Charlie who’s sleeping on my feet. The problem with Search and Rescue is there isn’t always someone to search and rescue. Most of the time is spent waiting around the office cabin with these clowns.
“Maybe I’m just grumpy around you guys because you’re such pricks,” I say. “Ever think of that?”
“Nah, we’re delightful,” Julian says as he puffs out his chest.
“And you have a reputation around town,” Aiden says as he traces his fingertip along a river that dried up years ago. “Everyone is afraid of you.”
“No, they’re not.”
“Yes, they are,” Aiden says. “You don’t want to know how many people get lost in the woods and don’t bother calling us because they’re afraid of what you’ll do when you find them.”
I scoff.
“It’s true,” Julian jokes. “They’d rather take their chances with grizzly bears over you.”
I sigh as I look down at Charlie. His big brown eyes open and he looks up at me. I should just hang out with dogs from now on. These guys are a royal pain in the ass. Dogs are quiet. Dogs understand me.
The phone rings and I grab it, just so I don’t have to talk to these guys anymore.
“Hello,” I grunt.
“Is this Search and Rescue?”
“Yes.”
“My daughter is missing.”
I perk up at the frantic sound of her voice. Charlie does too.
“Where was she last seen?”
“She was hiking on Angel Mountain. Do you know it?”
Of course, I do. It was right next to Molly’s childhood home. We spent so many hours talking and falling in love as we hiked up it.
A growing worry starts to gnaw at my gut. This woman’s voice kind of sounds familiar.
“Mrs. Bryant?” I ask.
“Colin? Is that you?”
“Is Molly missing?” I can barely get the words out. It’s my worst fear come to life.
“Yes, she went out for a run, but she never came back. I don’t know what to do. It’s getting dark out.”
“I’ll be right over.”
I slam the phone down and dart up as Aiden and Julian look at me with concern. The jokes are over. It’s all business now.
“Where is she?” Julian asks.
“Angel Mountain.”
“On it.” He grabs the medical kit while Aiden grabs some water bottles, and then they rush out to the truck.
“Charlie,” I snap. “Let’s go.”
The dog senses the urgency in my voice and is instantly ready for work. He never leaves my side as I run to my truck and hop inside. He sits on the passenger’s side with his tongue hanging out the side of his snout. I hit the gas so hard he flies off the seat.
“Shit! Sorry, buddy,” I say as I peel down the road to get to my girl. He’s annoyed but fine as he climbs back onto the seat.
Mrs. Bryant is in a tizzy when I pull into her driveway. She always was very high-strung. Mr. Bryant is trying to calm her down.
“Colin!” she screeches as she runs over. “You have to find her! What if she got chased by wolves or fell off a cliff?”
“She didn’t get eaten by wolves, Sandra,” Mr. Bryant says, throwing his hands into the air. “For God’s sake! She’s probably at the pub or something.”
Mrs. Bryant ignores her husband and clings to my arm. “Can you find her, Colin?”
“I’ll find her,” I say as my heart beats a little harder. “Charlie has the best nose in the country. Can you get me her pillowcase?”
She runs into the house and grabs Molly’s pillowcase as I tighten my shoes.
“Here you go,” she says as she hands it over.
I let Charlie have a good long inhale of her scent and then I hand it back to her. “Go find her, boy.”
The dog lowers his nose to the ground and starts moving. I hold onto his leash and follow him.
Mrs. Bryant wants to come, but I tell her that Charlie works better with very few distractions around. It’s kind of true, but I also don’t want her to slow me down. I want to move as quickly as possible.
It begins to hit me that one of the reasons why Molly moved to London was to get away from her annoying mom. They didn’t get along too well growing up and I know it was hard for her to be living in that house.
When she left, I took it so personally, but if I grew up with parents like that, I’d probably be itching to leave too. I’m beginning to see that it wasn’t all about me.
Charlie moves into the forest at a fast pace. I scan the trees with my eyes for any sign of her as he scans the forest floor for her scent.
An hour passes as we make our way up the mountain and then down the other side. The wilderness is vast and never-ending out here and it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack without Charlie. Luckily, this Bloodhound acts like a flamethrower and we’re able to burn through the haystack to get right to the needle.
