CHAPTER 44
Micah quickly looked Naomi over.
She was dirty and shaken but otherwise appeared okay.
However, as she straightened, she winced.
Concern flooded him. “Your ankle.”
“It’s fine. I just twisted it a little.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. “Sit a minute.”
She didn’t argue. She sank onto a fallen log, and Micah knelt in front of her, carefully lifting the edge of her jeans.
Her ankle was swollen enough that walking on it had to hurt.
He frowned as the reality of the situation washed over him again.
“You’re lucky it’s not broken,” he muttered.
“I know.”
He looked up at her and kept his voice low and controlled as he asked, “What were you thinking? I told you to stay home. I told you I’d handle this.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just—I just decided not to play it safe for once. I didn’t plan on being a hero.”
“So you walked into a situation you knew nothing about. Alone. Without backup. Without telling anyone where you were going.”
“I know it was risky. I’m sorry. I just wanted to see if Good Boy was here. He is, Micah. They have him. He’s tied up in the backyard.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back.
Micah stared at her a long moment.
He wanted to be angry. Wanted to yell at her for being reckless, for putting herself in danger, for making him drive ninety miles an hour through mountain roads because he thought he might be too late.
But relief filled him instead.
Naomi was here. She was alive. She was okay.
He let out a slow breath and lowered himself beside her on the log.
They sat in silence a moment, the woods settling around them.
Then Micah turned to her. “You could have been hurt. Or worse.”
“I know.” Her voice cracked. “I just—I didn’t know how long you’d be on that call. I couldn’t stand the thought of Good Boy being in danger.”
Micah understood that. He really did.
But it didn’t make what she did okay.
He reached out and pulled her into a hug.
She melted against him, her face pressing into his shoulder and her hands gripping the front of his jacket.
He held her until he felt her breathing slow and her trembling ease.
“You’re okay,” he murmured. “You’re okay.”
