Connor lifted his shoulder. “Being back with the team feels like coming home after being away for too long.”
“I feel it too.” He really did. Deep River was his hometown, but it was the people who made a place feel like home.
He’d gotten along with his parents and brother but had never been too close. And they’d never had the same connection to Deep River that he had. Probably why his younger brother now lived in Singapore and his parents were constantly jet-setting around the world.
“Being bossed around by Ryan feels familiar, but in a good way,” Joel added.
Ethan laughed. Ryan had led them through a team training today, where they’d carried out an evacuation for a mock casualty moving downstream in the river. It had been hard, but the good kind of hard.
“I’m not feeling great about finding those two missing women though,” Connor said, a bit more solemnly. “Too much time has passed.”
Ethan nodded. Tomorrow they were tracking the west end of the river. But yeah, it wasn’t looking good. “We may not find them, but hopefully we’ll be able to prevent it from happening again.”
Both missing people were young females who’d gone into the forest alone. That was never a good idea. The woods around Deep River were vast, and it was easy to get lost, especially for tourists. But it was strange that they hadn’t even found evidence of the women yet. Not a piece of clothing or a dropped water bottle. Nothing.
A woman stepped beside Connor and tried to get the bartender’s attention. Ethan frowned when the guy walked straight past her.
The fuck? There was no way he didn’t see her.
The woman lifted her arm. “Excuse?—”
The bartender turned his back on her to shine glasses.
Connor’s eyes narrowed, and when the guy moved farther down the bar, he called out, “Hey!”
The guy looked at Connor. “You need something else?”
“No. But this woman would clearly like to order something.”
The reaction from the bartender was subtle. A small clenching of his jaw. A tightening of his fingers around the glass in his hand. He turned to the woman. “What would you like?”
“Just an ale.” Her words were quiet, almost unsure.
A small nod, and the guy grabbed her a bottle. Connor had his gaze narrowed on the man the entire time, and once he’d finished serving her, he turned to the woman. “Everything all right?”
“Of course.” She swallowed, not looking the least bit okay. “Thank you for your help.”
Connor nodded, his eyes on the woman as she walked away. When he turned back to the bar, he still looked angry. ButConnor had grown up with three sisters, so he would always be the first to stand up for a woman.
“What the hell’s the bartender’s problem?” he growled.
“I don’t know,” Ethan said. “I might let Dusty know when he comes back to the bar.”
All three of their phones vibrated at once, meaning it had to be the group chat.
Zac: Yo, Joel, I’m at your house dropping off some first aid kits and there’s a cat on your couch.
“The fuck,” Joel muttered, before typing on the phone.
Joel: Whose cat?
Zac: Must have followed me in, but it doesn’t seem to want to leave.
Ethan: Does it have a collar?
Zac: No.
Joel scowled. “Irresponsible owners.”
