“Gleaves knows a guy.”
She breathed out a relieved laugh. “’Course he does.”
“I know you’re runnin’ this show—and doin’ a damn fine job of it—but I’ve got your back. All right?” He reached out and gripped her hand, giving it a squeeze. “We’re gonna find her.”
She rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded shakily. “Yeah. She…she knows how important it is to have on brightly colored clothes, and she’s smart enough to figure something out. She hates that damn hat, though.”
He could hear the worry in her voice, so he tried to reassure her as best he could. “But like you said, she’s smart. She’ll know what to do. She’ll do exactly what you taught her.”
“I hope so.”
“She will.” Without hesitation, he bent and pressed his lips to hers, whispering against them, “Be safe out there.”
And then he turned and walked toward Caleb and the waiting chopper, leaving Kenna to do her job while he did his.
Mac had executeddozens of searches in the time since she’d first been certified as a wilderness responder. Some fake—done merely for the sake of training—and some real, but she’d never had this excruciating weight pressing on her chest with any of the others.
She trudged through the brush, her eyes sweeping in a methodical pattern—never straying too far ahead—to ensure she thoroughly covered the ground she was working. Besides finding her niece and bringing her home, all she could think about was that if she’d pushed and fought harder for the search and rescue team she knew Havenbrook desperately needed, they’d be better equipped to find Ella. Instead, they were relying on the piss-poor knowledge of the well-meaning but average Joes and Janes of town.
And her. They were all relying on her.
Mac had never seen Rory so shaken up. Their momma had run out to be with her so Nash could help search, leaving Gran home with Daddy. This was the last thing he needed to be stressing about at this point in his recovery, which meant Mac wanted to get this done as soon as possible for more than one reason.
“C’mon, Ella. Gimme a sign,” she said quietly. Then she called out her name, the sound echoing back to her as others in the search party yelled for Ella from their locations.
She and Ella had practiced wilderness survival enough times that Mac hoped her niece remembered everything she was supposed to do. Stay in one spot when she realized she was lost and couldn’t find her way out. Keep her eyes and ears open. Listen for a search party. And utilize whatever she had to make her survival certain and her rescue as easy as possible.
If this were one of their training exercises, Mac would have told her to put on that ugly cap her momma had gotten her because it was bright and would be a beacon in the otherwise brown of their surroundings. And, though it might be cold initially, to take off her sweater and reverse it with her coat, layering the more brightly colored piece of clothing on top. A red, flashing sweater was a hell of a lot easier to spot than something as dark as a nighttime sky.
The chopper swept by overhead, the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of the blades a welcome interruption to her thoughts. Though she wasn’t sure how much Hudson would be able to see from above, just knowing he was there when she needed him to be—despite being required elsewhere—was a comfort she desperately needed right now.
After covering another twenty yards, she called out, “Ella!Ella!”
A muffled shout met her ears, and Mac whipped her head in the direction she swore she’d heard the distant voice come from. “Ella?”
She didn’t receive a response, but she changed her course, her eyes sharp as she moved toward the source of the noise. After another ten yards, she called out for her niece again.
“Mac!” This time, there was no mistaking the faraway quality of her niece’s voice as she yelled in response.
She took off at a sprint, her walkie-talkie gripped in hand as she checked her coordinates to rattle them off. “I have ears on Ella. I’m moving northwest, about thirty yards beyond the creek.”
“Headed your way.” Hudson’s voice came over the line immediately, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t near dark yet—thank God—but all the looming trees, dead as they may be, cloaked the forest, making it difficult for the sun to reach. Now that Hudson knew the approximate location, he could fly low enough and sweep a spotlight over the area, hopefully making it easier for them to spot Ella.
Mac holstered her walkie-talkie and called out, “Keep talkin’ to me, bug! Where you at?”
“Here!” Ella called, her voice quavering but getting clearer with every step Mac took. “Mac, I’m here!”
If Mac hadn’t been the one leading this rescue, she might’ve broken down right then at the fear and uncertainty she heard in her niece’s voice. But since shewasthe one leading, the one everyone was counting on, she powered through, playing what felt like a life-or-death game of Marco Polo with Ella until suddenly Mac spotted her.
Ella stood ten yards away, banging a large stick against a huge tree trunk, her eyes squeezed shut tight while she yelled herself hoarse. Not only was she trying to make as much noise as possible, but the smart girl had done exactly what Mac had hoped she would. Her sweater was stretched tight over the bulkiness of her coat, and the ugly-as-hell bright-green hat was perched on her head.
“Ella!”
The little girl’s eyes popped open, and elation spread across her face. She dropped the stick and sprinted straight toward Mac, not stopping until she nearly bowled her over. Mac dropped to one knee and wrapped her arms around her niece, squeezing her as tight as she dared as Ella nearly choked her with her grip.
Without letting go, Mac brought her walkie up to her mouth. “I’ve got her. Someone let Rory know I’ve got her.”
Whoops went up all around her, the sounds echoing in the wilderness as well as through the walkie-talkies. The chopper got louder and louder until suddenly the spotlight was right on her, and though she couldn’t see Hudson, she knew he could see her. She closed her eyes and smiled up into the sky and the blanket of branches she had no idea how he’d found her through. Sending up every ounce of thanks she could without saying a word.
