Except, “Where’s your coat?” And then, “And you don’t have shoes on!”
She made a face. “No time.”
He shook his head, then pulled off his jacket, put it around her.
Then he pulled her up into his arms. “You are too much, woman.”
“I think you mean that I’m trouble.” She curled her arms around him and hung on.
“Oh, yes. Yes I do.”
And that’s when Orlando showed up, covered in snow, voices behind him, lights shredding the darkness.
“He saved my life,” Harley told him. “I thought Mars would shoot me dead in the chest and then, out of nowhere, Orlando leaped at him. I thought the gunshot would spook him.”
“Clearly fear isn’t going to keep him from saving his girl.”
She smiled at that. “Except, he’s not a combat dog—”
“Everyone is a combat dog when the person they love is in danger, trust me on this.”
She laughed then, and he was about to lower his mouth to hers again when those voices burst out of the darkness of the forest.
Sully, dressed in his oversized buckskin jacket, carried a rifle, running hard.
Deke and Hudson came next, and Crew behind them, all breathing poofs of smoky air.
Orlando circled, barking as if to say,Look,Dad,I did it!
Trust the dog.
Deke stood at the edge, peering down at Mars. “Think we should just leave him there? Maybe all that shouting will wake up some grizzly who will want a snack.”
Jericho glanced at Sully, who raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not serious,” Deke said and shook his head. “Crew, let’s get down there and get him cuffed. Then we’ll call for rescue.”
“Take your time,” Sully said, almost a growl.
“Any reason we need to worry about Sloan?” Hudson said, looking around.
Jericho stiffened, his gaze scanning the darkness. He looked down at Orlando. The dog stood, alert, his tail wagging. “No. I think Mars was alone.”
“Which means Sloan is after Wilder,” Harley said quietly. But she shivered in his arms, and the cold started to bite through his sweater.
“I’m bringing her back to the house,” he told his brothers. “I’ll leave you all to clean this up. My job here is done. Heel, Orlando.”
The dog fell behind him as he turned into the darkness.
Sully threw him his flashlight. “You might need this.”
Naw, he knew the way. He was going home.
HARLEY BALANCEDa box marked “Kitchen” against her hip and nudged open the big oak doors of the Bowie house with her boot. The scent of cardboard and pine cleaner drifted through the grand entrance.
Her brother’s laughter echoed from somewhere upstairs, followed by Sunni’s giggles. They’d probably discovered another box of his childhood treasures that Harley had brought over from her closet in the dome.
“Auntie Hawley!” Daniel barreled around the corner, socked feet sliding on the floor. “Come see my new room! Daddy says I can paint it blue like the sky!”
