“What?”
“Look closer. Don’t tell me what’s in the distance. Tell me what you see in your vicinity.”
Sighing, I glanced around. “Trees, rocks, the trail.”
Micah stepped closer. His hand came around me and closed in over my eyes. “What do you hear?”
I stilled, trying to discern the different sounds that were near and far. “Two birds are having a conversation with one another.”
“To your left or right?”
I paused and listened. “One is coming from the right. The other is behind us.”
He dropped his hands to my shoulders and turned me to face him.
“What is this for?”
“To be aware of your surroundings. You haven’t been out in the woods for a long time. This ain’t the city.”
I blinked and ran my hand across my chin.
“If you’re ever out here and I need to find you, you’ll need to leave a trail. I’m showing you how to do it.”
I was all ready to get up on my high horse and tell him I could take care of myself in any way and anywhere. But the sharp narrowing of his gaze, digging into mine, kept me from making such a declaration.
“Show me,” I said.
His facial features relaxed, and his hands moved down the sides of my arms, squeezing. “Everything that passes leaves a trail. From footprints in the mud, to turned-over rocks, to torn branches or bark.”
He spent the next half an hour teaching me necessary tracking skills. Not only tracking but escape and evasion. Throughout, I withheld from telling him that it was highly unlikely I’d ever use most of these skills, but I enjoyed letting him talk. He was in his element. All the attention he paid to detail, something that made him so good at his job.
“Ready to head back?” he questioned, looking down at me as I knelt next to Hound, who was drinking water out of the foldable bowl Micah had brought with us.
“What do you think? Ready to get back home?” I asked Hound.
He barked.
“We’re ready.”
“Lead the way,” he said, jutting his head forward in the direction of the trail.
“Coming in late again, huh? That’s three days in the last two weeks,” Leona commented as I rounded the corner into the lobby.
I cut my gaze in her direction and grunted but didn’t verbally respond. The spark of laughter in her eyes was enough to let me know she already had her conclusions as to what caused me to arrive at the office later than my usual time. The damn problem was she was right. Technically, I could’ve argued that it was a case that I was working on, but I knew Leona enough to know not to bullshit her.
“Tight-lipped, I see. This might open you up. I’ve got some good news for you. The ME called early this morning to apologize that he had to cancel your appointment the other day. He can meet with you today at ten.”
I grabbed the phone message out of Leona’s hands and stared at it. “Call him back and confirm.”
“You were supposed to have a call at ten with Oliver Wilson.”
“Reschedule it.”
I didn’t wait for Leona’s response as I walked back down the hallway to my office. I pushed the door open so abruptly that Hound raised his head in surprise from his dog bowl. I moved to the phone and called Jodi’s cell.
“Hey? Didn’t you just leave here?”
I paused before responding, letting the chill run through my body. The sound of her voice had that effect on me. It was unexplainable, but a reaction I came to enjoy nonetheless.
