He turned back toward the visitors center. It was only ten a.m., but he’d learned it was never too early for someone to get off track and need finding. That was the thing about being part of a SAR team, you could be called down here at any moment of any day, even on a day off.
Wind brushed across his face, his feet sinking into the path as he moved. After a heavy night of rainfall, the mountains were wet and cold. They were beautiful, but if you weren’t familiar with them and got lost for too long, they wouldn’t be kind, especially considering some of the steep declines in the area.
He sped up his steps as a few drops of water fell onto his shoulders. He didn’t mind the wet and cold though. In fact, often he welcomed it. It kept him alert.
When he entered the visitors center, Pixie was stepping out of the eco room, her mouth spreading into a wide smile as she lowered behind her desk. “Hey, Kayden. I heard you guys found the girl who went off-trail.”
“Jake did. He’s bringing her back now. Are her parents in the café?”
“Yeah, they’re waiting for her. Elle made them coffees, but I doubt they’ve touched them. They’re pretty anxious.”
“Understandable. Can you make sure she has some water and dry towels waiting?”
“Of course.” She moved out to the deck.
The office door was ajar. He placed his hand on the wood and was about to push inside when he stopped and cursed under his breath. Goddammit, how did he keep forgetting? It wasn’t Linda’s office anymore. In fact, she was far away on her around-the-world cruise. He couldn’t just enter whenever he wanted.
“Really? No appointments until next week?” Tilly’s hushed voice just reached his ears. “Okay, yeah, that will have to do then. Um, maybe I can leave my number in case you have a cancellation before then?”
Kayden was about to go when he heard Tilly hang up. He knocked, and there was a brief pause before she spoke.
“Come in.”
He pushed the door open to see Tilly sitting at her desk, seat turned toward him. “Hey, Kayden.” Her voice didn’t have its usual ring, and dark circles shadowed her eyes.
“Hey, do you have next month’s schedule for our team tours?”
“I do. I just finished it last night.” She swiveled her seat back toward her screen and tapped a few keys. When she moved her arm to use the mouse, he noticed she flinched, and her movement was almost rigid.
“I tried to accommodate what everyone requested, but if anything needs changing, just let me know.” She hit print, but when she went to reach for the sheet, she gasped and tugged her arm back.
He frowned and shot forward. “Hey. You okay?”
Her breaths were loud as she cradled her arm. “Yeah, I just…I had a small fall this morning and hurt my shoulder.”
“How bad is it?”
“I’m not sure. I can’t seem to get a doctor’s appointment.”
That’s who she was on the phone with as he’d walked in. “Can I have a look at it?”
Her brows rose as she stared at him from where she sat. “You want to look at my shoulder?”
“I’m not a doctor, but I know more than basic first aid and have provided medical attention to quite a few people in my time before getting them to emergency services.” Understatement of the century. In his line of work, a lot of people needed emergency medical care right away.
“Um…okay, sure.”
He crouched in front of her chair and touched her shoulder. She flinched, but he wasn’t sure if that was more because she’dexpectedpain than because he’d actually caused it. Tentatively, he touched around the joint, taking note of which areas and movements seemed to incite pain.
“You said you fell?”
She nodded. “Yeah, off my coffee table.”
What the hell? “What were you doing on your coffee table?”
“I was…looking at something.”
There was definitely a story there, but she didn’t want to share. Did it have anything to do with the circles shadowing her eyes? “Did you get any tingling or numbness when you fell?”
