They eye her warily, so I put myself directly in front of her, offering her my comfort, which she takes, even so, she paws at the ground, her head bobbing.
“You lost?” I press.
“No,” The one closest to me says, his hand still behind his back, “We’re looking for someone.”
“Oh, yeah?” I dangle the hammer at my side, a picture of ease as I rub at the back of my neck. “You got a name? Maybe I can help, though we’re the only ranch within fifteen miles from here.”
“She’s not from around here.” He relaxes a touch. “Went hiking and never camehome.”
“You contacted S and R?” I ask.
They frown, confused.
“Search and Rescue,” I clarify, “Got a whole team down in town that specializes in that kind of thing, we get quite a few folks that go missing in these mountains. Dangerous place to be if you don’t know it.”
“We’ll get right on that,” He says, “You sure you haven’t seen anything? She’s quite hard to miss.”
Damn right she’s hard to miss.
“Black hair, blue eyes.”Wrong.Her eyes aren’t blue, though I can understand why someone could mistake them as such. In passing, that’s how they look, but they’re a violent storm, tumbling clouds lit up from within by lightning. “Pretty.” He finishes.
Not the word I’d describe her as either.
“Not seen her,” I tell them. “Are you sure she came this way?”
“Not sure,” They answer, “We’ve been searching for days.”
“Days?” I let out a long breath. “These parts aren’t kind, if she’s been out here days…”
I let the last of my sentence hang in the air.
From inside his jacket pocket, the first man pulls a card, handing it over to me. I reach for it, seeing a telephone number and that’s all, but there is an emblem in the corner.
ADL.
“You hear or see anything, give us a call,” He says. “You’ll be rewarded, of course.”
“Is she a criminal?” I keep up my clueless mask.
“Something like that,” He replies. “Just call us if you see or hear anything, yeah?”
“Sure,” I agree. “You’ll find your way okay?”
“No issues.” He steps back.
“Well, y’all have a good day.”
“You too,” He replies as he turns and begins walking back into the trees. With their retreat, I get back to work, keeping at it long after the sounds of them disappear. I keep going for at least twenty minutes, ensuring they’re long gone when I finally relax and look toward the place where I last saw Elena. I suck my lips between my teeth and whistle, the sound a screech in the silence around us.
A few seconds pass before I hear branches snapping, but she stumbles out of the trees a moment later, her hair disheveled, branches and leaves stuck in the tresses as if she had literally climbed into a bush to hide.
Her eyes flick left and right, scanning her surroundings.
“They’re gone,” I assure her, offering my hand to her.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, darlin’,” Her soft palm slides across my rough one, and I see her body physically relax on her. Too much.
