And he was just so done with it. Done with darkness winning.
Not today. Not on his watch.
The feeling in his gut solidified, took form.“Underthe aurora’s glow,can we dare to dream sofar?”
Yes, maybe they could. He could.
He found the stairwell, Caspian on his heels.
He hadn’t forgotten how to use the stairs with crutches and got down them faster than he’d imagined possible. Down with the bad—
He reached the landing and pushed his way out of the building, dropping Caspian’s lead.
The team was still wheeling Wren to the helipad out in the lot. No wonder the plows had been out. They’d cleared a space for the red Bell 429 chopper with Air One Rescue imprinted on the side.
Caspian ran ahead, barking—good dog.
“Donald!” No chopper wash yet, and Donald turned. Waited for him to catch up. Sweat ran down Dawson’s back.
“Do you know where she went?”
Donald raised an eyebrow.
“Keely. Where did she go?”
“Oh.” He glanced at his daughter, the team, then back to Dawson. “She mentioned wanting to call someone to get a ride back to Anchorage. I think she was going home, man. Sorry—”
Home.
The word punched him. But of course she was.
Donald turned and caught up to his daughter. Shep and Boo were loading her into the chopper as London did her preflight check. Shep waved, grinning.
“I’m not giving him back!” Dawson yelled, not sure why, as Caspian sat next to him.
He stood there as they closed the door. Then he dropped a hand on Caspian, who leaned against him, and backed away as the chopper fired up and took off. He watched it go.
Maybe he should have gone with them.
And just like that, it was over. The sky clear, the storms gone.
The chase, the fear, the danger—
Hope.
And again, he was left standing, a little in pain, just him and his dog.
“OfcourseI knew who you were.”
Vic sat at a table in the Starlight Pizza, sharing a Twilight special with Keely—pepperoni and mushroom, green peppers, and a mozzarella-filled crust.
Genes apparently included pizza topping preferences.
Thankfully, Keely hadn’t hurt Nora’s feelings when she turned down the venison stew. She seemed to understand Vic’s need to talk someplace private.
Privateclearly meant a table next to the window in the pizza joint. Still, they sat in the corner, the place not crowded, the alluring scents of baking bread and tomato sauce sneaking from a kitchen busy with take-out orders.
Their spot in the corner overlooked the town, and Keely kept glancing out the window, searching for a glimpse of Caspian, or maybe Dawson.
