“I need to be there,” she said, almost in a daze. Suddenly, she spun around, her eyes wide. “Nash! I need to call Nash.”
“Already handled it, crazy pants.” Nat’s voice was warm despite her words. “He was halfway to a job in Parkersville, but he’s speedin’ back this way. And I’ll let the sperm donor know, too,” Nat said, referring to Rory’s ex-husband.
“Y’all get her to the school.” Mac shuffled Rory into her sisters’ arms. “I’ll head over in my Jeep.”
She left off the fact that she needed her car because she needed the rescue bag she always kept inside, complete with first aid kit. Rory’s mind was no doubt already producing horrifying scenarios, and Mac sure as hell wasn’t going to add to them.
The four of them burst out the front door, Will, Nat, and Rory heading toward Will’s car, while Mac went in the opposite direction. Or she tried to, anyway. Instead, she ran face first into a body that smelled an awful lot like home to her.
“Kenna?” Hudson asked, holding her out by the shoulders to steady her. With one look at her face, his brows drew down and his spine snapped straight, his eyes darting over her shoulder to where her sisters had fled before scanning the space around them. A soldier on alert. “What’s wrong?”
She swallowed down her fear, focusing instead on the job she had to do. “It’s Ella. She’s lost in the woods by the school.”
Recognition dawned on his face. The only woods by the school were the same ones they’d hiked through to get to the Ridge. The same ones experienced hikers needed classes on just to traverse. And her eight-year-old niece was roaming them by herself.
As much as it hurt to be this near Hudson and not be able to fall into his chest and take comfort from him, she couldn’t now. Time was wasting, so she had to shove all of it down and focus on the task at hand—finding her niece and bringing her back safely.
Mac was ready for this. She was trained for this. And, for once, she didn’t doubt her ability to do it.
Hudson hadn’t spent his last night in Havenbrook how he’d wanted, namely in the bed of the woman he loved. Getting lost in her touch and her taste and her scent. Studying every inch of her as if he didn’t already have them all memorized. As if he hadn’t replayed them in his mind a thousand times over the years.
Instead, he’d spent it with his momma and sister, Caleb being the near-silent anchor to their foursome as they’d passed the night reminiscing about Jack Miller. It’d felt good talking about his dad, even if it hurt—that sting of knowing that all they had now were just memories sitting heavy in his heart.
After he’d gone to bed, when he’d fantasized about delaying his flight back to base by convincing Kenna to give them the shot he knew they deserved—the shot he knew she secretly,desperatelywanted for them, too—he hadn’t once wishedthiswould be the reason he’d stayed behind.
He’d only needed to catch a single glimpse of Kenna’s face to know something was wrong. And as soon as the words had spilled from her mouth, he’d leaped into action, following her straight to her Jeep and jumping in the passenger’s seat.
He’d called Caleb on the way and barked orders for him to get his ass to the school as soon as fucking possible. Luckily, the two of them had been on enough missions together for Caleb to recognize in Hudson’s tone that shit was real. There’d been no joking. No hesitation. Just a “Yes, sir” before he’d hung up.
He and Caleb, along with dozens of well-meaning Havenbrook residents and onlookers, on- and off-duty officers as well as first responders, stood in the school parking lot, hanging on every word that came out of Kenna’s mouth as she outlined their rescue plan.
“This isn’t her first rescue,” Caleb said, his voice barely loud enough for Hudson to hear.
It wasn’t a question but a statement, so Hudson didn’t bother to respond, his eyes locked on Kenna. It’d been a long time since he’d seen her shine like this, but she shone like a beacon now, completely self-assured as she bossed around men twice her size and didn’t even blink while doing so. The woman who was hesitant to do town business and instead leave it to the good old boys was nowhere to be found.
He tried to ignore the way his dick twitched as he watched her command dozens of people without an ounce of self-consciousness. Now was certainly not the time to sport a raging hard-on for the woman he loved. Not when her niece was in danger. Not when Rory was near hysterics—something he’d never seen in his entire life. Rory Haven didn’t do hysterics. She did calm, cool, and collected as she ordered people around with a heaping spoonful of sugar and a bright smile. Now, though, Nash consoled her, his sharp eyes also trained on Kenna.
“That means you, you, and you,” Kenna said, pointing to three people standing in the loose circle, “are gonna start at these coordinates.” After rattling off the numbers, she dismissed them with a jerk of her chin, then continued down the line until everyone who’d volunteered had fled in the direction they were ordered, walkie-talkies strapped to their pants or belts or tucked away in their coat pockets. All of them on a mission to find Ella.
It wasn’t as cold today as it could’ve been—thank fuck—but he still hoped Ella was wearing a warm coat, a hat, and gloves or mittens. If she was, it’d make it harder to see the lights from her sweater that Kenna had detailed, but they’d make do. Ella wore a dark, navy-blue coat—also making it difficult to spot in the dense brush—but he was banking on her donning her bright green hat Rory had given her.
Kenna’s surprised eyes jerked to his when he stepped up to her after everyone had fled. “Hudson! You’re not supposed to still be here. You’re gonna miss your plane.”
A plane he’d already put Caleb in charge of rescheduling.
He ran his eyes over her face, searching for any sign of stress or worry, but all he found were determination and focus. And he’d be damned if he didn’t support her in this like she deserved. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
“But—”
“Caleb and I are gonna be helpin’ from up top.”
“You’re what?” she asked, whipping her head toward him.
“We’re takin’ a chopper up to see what we can find with eyes in the sky. With the trees losing most of their leaves, it’ll be easier to spot her.” But noteasy. Something he didn’t have to tell Kenna if the look on her face was any indication.
“How the hell did you get a chopper?” she asked, her brows pinched.
That was the thing about Havenbrook—people helped each other out. Above all else, they did whatever was best for their family and friends and neighbors. Which would explain how he’d managed to commandeer a helicopter faster than he ever had in his life.
