“Call Dr. Miller if she gets worse. I gotta get going.”
“I will.” As he headed into the snowstorm, regret flashed through me at knowing I’d likely never see him again. Something about the man pulled at me. Something I couldn’t quite pin down.
“I like him,” Cady said in a matter-of-fact tone.
I pushed to my feet. “Oh, yeah?”
“I think Mr. Grizz and I are gonna be bestest friends.”
My brows flew up. “Mr. Grizz?”
“Yep,” she said, popping the P. “He’s like a grizzly bear. Cranky after coming out of hi-hi—”
“Hibernation?” I supplied, fighting back laughter.
Cady grinned. “Hibersnation!” Her tiny features scrunched. “Maybe he’s cranky because he’s hungry.”
This time, I couldn’t hold in my laughter and pulled Cady into my arms. “You might be right. We should’ve offered him a snack.”
4
ROAN
I strode through the deepening snow to my snowmobile, but I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder at the barn. My back teeth ground together. The woman was in over her head.
Aspen.
The name fit her. As if she were some woodland fairy out of the storybooks my mom used to read to my siblings and me every night.
Whatever her name, she clearly didn’t have the knowledge to be doing animal rescue. Her bid to get the wire off the deer told me that much. She could have ended up hurt or killed.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I slid it out, seeing Lawson’s name flash across the screen. I tapped accept.
“Yeah?”
“Well, hello to you, too,” my brother said.
I scowled at the horizon. “What do you need, Law?”
“Got a missing hiker. Feel like going out?”
I let a series of expletives fly. “Do these people not check the weather?”
“His wife said he wanted to experience real mountain snow.”
“Tourist?” I groused.
“Yup. From Dallas. Definitely not cut out for this weather. A small team’s meeting at the Cedar Creek trailhead.”
“I’m on my way. Be there in ten.”
“Thanks, man. Bring good gear.”
I grunted in answer and hung up. Swinging a leg over my snowmobile, I cast one last look at the barn. They were still in there. Doing what? Probably messing around with the rest of their ridiculous zoo.
I forced my gaze away and started my vehicle. Sliding my helmet on, I headed down the drive. The combination of wind and snow slapped against my visor as I flew down the two-lane road. Soon, I was turning onto another mountain pass and headed toward the trailhead.
A handful of vehicles were already gathered. I recognized all but one. And that one had a rental car plate frame. Had to be our guy.
I pulled to a stop and cut the engine. Climbing off the sled, I heard a whistle.
Caden strode toward me, my sister at his side and our other siblings behind them. “Now that’s a thing of beauty. I think I might need one of those.”
Grae smacked her fiancé’s chest. “You’ve got enough toys.”
My youngest brother, Nash, grinned. “I’ve been looking at one for this season. We could race.”
Lawson groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The last thing I need is to have to arrest you both.”
Nash waggled his eyebrows. “Good thing I’m an officer of the law and can get out of a speeding ticket.”
Our other brother, Holt, chuckled. “Somehow, I don’t think Law would let you get away with that.”
“I wouldn’t,” Lawson agreed, eldest brother through and through.
“Enough shooting the shit,” my dad called from a spot at the back of his SUV. “You guys need to get going. We’re losing daylight, and the temps are dropping.”
The tone of the group immediately changed. Gone was the good-natured ribbing, replaced by the buzz of adrenaline that always came with a search and rescue mission. Dad was involved in SAR long before we came along, and we’d grown up helping the volunteers, whether by working the command post with Mom or going out with Dad and his team when we got older.
“I’ll be in my vehicle, working the radio,” Dad said. “We start with a hike straight up the trail. Hopefully, he didn’t wander off it. Got your gear?” His gaze lingered on Grae for a beat longer than the rest of us. He’d gotten better at not babying her because she had type 1 diabetes, but it wasn’t a habit you could break overnight.
Grae took pity on him. “I’ve got extra snacks and my emergency GlucaGen kit.”