“Besides—” he gestured to where his dog maintained position at the edge of the search grid “—I trust my partner’s nose, and it’s saying there’s something here to find. You don’t seem like the type to waste everyone’s time and energy, so I’m putting my money on your instincts over your colleague’s opinions any day of the week.”
The compliment pricked at something in her chest, which was ridiculous. She didn’t need validation from any man, especially one she’d just met, no matter how much he oozed appeal. One recovered body would be all the vindication she needed.
Moving on.
“Speaking of which,” she said, redirecting to safer ground, “what’s your timeline for recovery?”
“Depends on how deep she’s buried and what the engineers say about maintaining stability as we start to dig.” He consulted his notebook, where he’d documented her initial report. “The fact that you saw her partially concealed behind that outcropping before the slide works in our favor. Suggests she might be in a relatively protected pocket.”
His quiet competence was extremely attractive. Most men she worked with tried to impress her with bravado. Noah just…did the job. Incredibly well.
Stop obsessing over the pretty man.
“The sooner we can get to her, the better,” she said, fighting the urge to move, to do something besides stand there. Especially if it would help her refocus. “I’m worried the weather won’t hold.”
“I’m not going to let you—or her—down.” Noah’s gaze settled on hers, and it was like slipping into a warm bath at the end of a long day. “Dancer is the best. We’re not leaving here without the truth.”
“Is that what we’re doing?” She couldn’t help but push on this intriguing glimpse into Noah’s mind. Also known as not shoving their association back into the professional realm. Oops. “Discovering the truth?”
“Always.” He paused as Dancer let out a sharp bark. “Excuse me.”
Sabrina watched him jog over to his partner, their silent communication fascinating. The dog’s alert posture shifted slightly, nose working the air, and Noah immediately radioed the change to the recovery team. They worked seamlessly together, mapping out the grid so they could finish the job. Find the truth.
Truth. Noah had dropped the concept into the conversation without apology and she found that she liked thinking of search-and-rescue efforts as uncovering the truth. She’d never really put that together before, but what was SAR if it wasn’t meant to provide answers? Someone cared about the missing person. Family members, law enforcement officials, the coroner. They all had a stake in the results of Noah’s efforts.
And eventually, together, they’d all figure out the truth of why a lone woman ended up out here in the unforgiving wilderness.
Sabrina wanted those answers too.
Thatwas the thing to focus on here, not the tall drink of water directing everything.
The afternoon wore on and Sabrina tried to stay out of the way. Eventually, Noah ceded control of the grid to the recovery team, and the digging began in earnest. The engineering and stability experts had done their jobs well in securing the site, so the pile of rock and silt gradually began to diminish.
Noah drifted closer to Sabrina, his smile easy and pointedly directed at her. “Not much longer now.”
She nodded, savoring the rush of knowing that he’d sought her out. He probably shouldn’t have. She probably shouldn’t have hoped he would. This was an intense search-and-rescue operation, not a bar, but she didn’t make it to social events too often anyway. Where else was she supposed to meet intriguing men but in Peavine Canyon while the temperature hovered near freezing?
Besides, bar flies didn’t interest her. Noah Colton did. Why should she apologize for it?
“Is this like, a normal Tuesday scene for you, or is a rockslide a one-in-a-million call?” she asked, genuinely interested in any glimpse he wanted to give her of himself, his job and his world.
“It’s not my first rockslide,” he said, his expression sobering. “But I much prefer this one to the last one. The victim was still alive when he was buried. It didn’t end well.”
“That must be a tough part of the job,” she said. “Knowing that sometimes it’s just search, no rescue possible.”
“It’s all just establishing the truth,” he reminded her with a head tilt. “Sometimes the truth is more painful and difficult than we would prefer, but it still has to be told.”
Oh, so he had a side of emotional maturity with his blindingly gorgeous face? Yes, please. “Well said.”
Noah gestured toward the dig site. “If the engineer’s calculations are correct, we’ll find your Jane Doe after they remove this next layer. Dancer called that spot early on and never wavered, though some of the team seems to think the rockslide might have spread the scent around.”
It was a delicate way of saying there might be more than one recovery site. Rockslides didn’t always keep the body in one piece.
“That’s where you’ll find her.” She pointed to where the rock face had sheared away. “The initial quake triggered a cascade effect. Multiple slides from different points. But the area where she was lying is flatter, not inclined, so I still think the body didn’t shift much.”
He studied the pattern she indicated, head tilted slightly. “Good eye. You know this area well?”
“Grew up here.” It was so rare to meet someone who didn’t know her life story—and even rarer for her to voluntarily share. Mostly because she was out of practice. “Dark Canyon’s been my backyard since I could walk.”
