Desert Rescue (K-9 Search and Rescue)

by Lisa Phillips

  “No. Of course not.” More tears slipped free. “I went to your house, but you were already gone.”

  “I sent you letters.”

  It was her turn to nod. He figured because he’d told her about the letters earlier. Then she said, “I never got them.”

  “And I never knew you were pregnant.” Yes, he was restating what they knew, but it brought with it so much sadness. He just had to get it out. A thought occurred to him. “I wonder if my mom did.”

  “I think she hated me in the end. Or blamed me for what my father did to the two of you.”

  “You think if she did know, she’d have purposely not told me?” Patrick wasn’t sure. But he did know people in pain did strange and stubborn things sometimes, thinking it was the right choice. “I guess maybe she might’ve not wanted us to be tied to your family forever. Never able to separate our lives again.”

  She looked away.

  “What’s done is done, Jen.” But he needed to talk with his mother. “We are tied together, and it’s a good thing. Nate is amazing. There are a lot of things about what happened that I would want to change, but he isn’t one of them. I should have been here. You shouldn’t have had to do this alone.”

  Jennie let go of his hand to wipe her tears away. “Thank you.”

  “You raised Nate all this time.” He leaned close to her and touched her cheeks. “Thank you.”

  Tucker barked. Patrick was out of his chair before it even registered what that particular sound meant. Followed by a series of barks, it usually indicated danger. Tucker needed to alert him to something.

  He reached the door to Nate’s room and saw the boy, sitting up in bed.

  “What is it?” Tucker was at the window to the backyard.

  Still barking.

  “You’re awake.” Jennie moved around him and crossed to the bed. “You were probably dreaming.”

  Nate turned a pale face and shocked expression to Patrick and shook his head. “It wasn’t a dream. Someone was out there.”

  FIFTEEN

  Jennie sat beside her son. His face was pale, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Patrick came over, as well. They’d been close just a second ago, and it had been sweet. Now she wanted to glare at him for putting their son in danger. To remind him that he’d promised they would be safe.

  But it wasn’t Patrick’s fault. No, this was down to her brother, which meant it was more Jennie’s fault than his. Neither option was all that rational of a conclusion considering her brother was an adult she hadn’t seen in years. Martin made his own choices. He was the only one to blame for this.

  Patrick stood over the bed. “What did you see, Nate?”

  The boy looked up at him. Scared. Did Patrick not know how imposing his tall figure was, standing over the bed like that?

  Jennie twisted to face Nate. “Tell us. Okay?” She kept her voice soft and touched his shoulder.

  “It wasn’t a dream, Mom.”

  “I know you think—”

  “I know it wasn’t.”

  Jennie pressed her lips together. Patrick touched her shoulder. He said, “Please tell me what you saw, Nate.”

  “A man.” Nate swallowed. “In a blue jacket.”

  “Hair color?”

  “Brown.”

  Jennie bit her tongue and kept quiet while Patrick basically interrogated Nate. Was it a dream, or had it actually been real?

  “Outside the door,” Nate said.

  She looked over at the French doors that led out to the backyard. Tucker stood, his focus on the door, his body straight and tight. As though the second Patrick opened it, he would bolt.

  “I’m going to take Tucker and look around outside, okay?”

  The dog understood enough of what he heard that he bounded over, tail wagging. Animated now, excited to get to work. Patrick got a leash, hooked it on Tucker’s collar and led him outside with a command to “Look.”

  Was there really someone out there? Jennie knew what her son believed, but she didn’t want to agree even though there was a high chance he’d actually seen someone. There was no way her brother had found them this quickly, right?

  She looked at her son, who stared at the door where his father had gone. She forced her face into a wry expression. “Did you really tackle an armed man in an elevator with a wheelchair?”

  Patrick had mentioned a wheelchair move, but she’d had to put the pieces together herself. She didn’t know whether to be proud of the man she was raising or horrified.

  He blinked. Distraction accomplished. “Saul taught me how to do it.”

  “Ah.” Nate’s school friend had a condition that left him wheelchair-bound. He also played in a kids’ wheelchair basketball league. “He taught you how to face down gunmen?”

  “There was only one. Dad needed my help.”

  She wanted to groan but forced it back. “That was very brave.” And foolish. And he should never have done it. But she knew now that Patrick blamed himself.

  “I couldn’t hurt him. But I turned like Saul does and kicked him.” He frowned. “It didn’t really work.”

  She found the wherewithal to smile. “I’m sure your dad appreciated your help.”

  He gave a small shrug with one shoulder. “I think he was mad.”

  “Sometimes adults look and sound like they’re mad, but they’re actually scared. It can be confusing. You know what I could use?”

  He eyed her. “What?”

  “Hot chocolate for breakfast.”

  He grinned, all trace of that earlier fear gone now. “Do you think we have marshmallows?”

  “We can certainly look.” She figured he needed to use the bathroom, so she said, “Meet me in the kitchen?”

  They went their separate ways, but her mother’s senses tracked his movements. Like when he locked the bathroom door. When the toilet flushed. She watched out the window, but couldn’t see Patrick or Tucker.

  Jennie didn’t want to be too far from her son, so she met him in the hall and they moved together to the kitchen. She’d have liked to hold his hand, but he hadn’t appreciated her doing that for a few years now.

  She set the kettle going, and found enough of what she needed to make this work before Patrick came back in.

  * * *

  There was someone out here.

  Tucker strained on the leash, his nose scenting the air as they jogged across the yard. At the far end was a path and a tiny gate they could both hurdle if they had to. But Tucker didn’t go near it.

  He only moved through the yard, looking for a scent. Over the berm that had been covered with decorative boulders, shrubs and desert bushes.

  “Tuck.”

  The dog halted and Patrick crouched by what had snagged his attention on the ground. A footprint. Just one thick-treaded print, by itself, angled toward the side of the house.

  They walked that direction, all the way around to the front door.

  Nothing.

  When it was clear he wasn’t going to find the intruder, Patrick commanded Tucker to heel and they went back to sniff at the gate. Just in case. But there was nothing out there to track.

  He’d seen a figure on the far side of the berm when he first stepped out, but there was no one around now. And if Tucker couldn’t find a scent, then Patrick would only be walking around and looking randomly. Taking him farther and farther from the house where Jennie and Nate now had no protection.

  Once inside, he took Tucker’s leash off and fired off a quick text to his mom before he found them in the kitchen. Before Nate turned around, Patrick gave Jennie a small shake of his head.

  Still, simply because he hadn’t found anyone didn’t mean there was no danger.

  Tucker moved to Nate, who leaned against the counter by the silverware drawer. The dog turned and sat with his back to the boy, resting again
st his leg the way Nate rested against the counter.

  Patrick said, “That means he trusts you.”

  Nate petted the dog’s head, a frown on his face.

  “He’s turned so you’re behind him. It means he trusts you won’t try to hurt him while his back is to you. Like watching his back. The way he’s watching your back.”

  “Did you find the man?” Nate asked.

  “No, buddy. I didn’t.” Patrick quickly added, “But that doesn’t mean it was a dream. Just that whoever was there ran off before we could catch him.”

  Nate was silent.

  “You okay?”

  Nate shrugged.

  “Do you...want a hug?” Patrick shrugged as well, wondering why he felt so nervous.

  Across the kitchen, Jennie poured hot water into three mugs, but he knew she was listening. Patrick hugged his son. Their son. She glanced over and shared a smile with him. They’d covered a lot of ground—especially with their earlier conversation. Things were in no way settled, but it definitely felt like they were getting somewhere. He’d thanked her for raising their son. Of all people, Patrick knew what it was like to be raised by a single mother. That also meant he understood how hard it would have been for her over the years.

  “Hot chocolate?” She turned, holding the three mugs.

  Nate slid onto a stool. “Mom makes the best hot chocolate.”

  Jennie smiled as she slid his mug over then pushed one toward Patrick. His fingers glided over hers. Warmth. Those tingles he remembered from high school.

  They might be adults now, but the rush of attraction was still there.

  “Are you going to drink yours, Mom?”

  Jennie jerked out of her musings, her cheeks flamed. Before anyone could comment, Patrick’s phone rang. When he pulled it out, he saw it was his mom, replying to his text with a call. “Hey, Mom.”

  Across the breakfast bar, Jennie stiffened.

  “Patrick. I thought you were out of town, working.”

  “I am. I just had a question, though.” Was there even an easy way to ask this? He should probably just rip off the bandage. “I’m in Erwin.”

  She was slow to respond. “What...would you be doing there?”

  “There was a missing boy and his mother.” Patrick reached over and rubbed Nate’s back, between his shoulder blades. “It was Jennie.”

  “Jennie.” His mom breathed her name. Patrick wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  Jennie took her mug to the sink, where she stared out the window.

  Given Nate might have seen someone outside who could still be there despite Tucker’s search, Patrick got up and moved to her. He motioned for her to come away from the window. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks before sitting beside Nate.

  Patrick took up her spot. “Jennie has a son.” Before his mother could ask, he said, “I have a son. His name is Nate.”

  Jennie reached out and took Nate’s hand in hers.

  “And he’s missing?”

  “No, Tucker found him.” Patrick and his son shared a smile. “He’s safe, and so is Jennie.” Maybe. His brain insisted on reminding him their safety was currently tenuous at best. He needed Eric to call back, or the sheriff. In the meantime, he was on point protecting them. And while there was definitely nowhere he’d rather be, it would also help if he could investigate this and find her brother.

  Talk to the two they had in custody from the hospital. Look for the other man who had taken them.

  “Just...wow.” His mom exhaled, the rush of breath audible against the phone’s microphone.

  “I know. It’s a lot to take in. I’m having trouble believing it myself, even though he’s sitting right in front of me.”

  “He’s there?”

  “He looks like me.”

  Nate’s eyes filled with a kind of wonder Patrick didn’t even know how to feel. But he was getting there. And it was probably written all over his own face, as well.

  “Let me show you. Turn on your video chat.” Patrick tapped the screen to change their phone call to a video call. Then she’d be able to see her grandson. He moved around the breakfast bar and pointed the camera at the two of them while he stood behind Nate, his arm over Nate’s shoulder.

  “I can hold it.” Nate took the phone.

  The camera image loaded and his mom’s face came into view. “Patrick?”

  “We can hear you.”

  Nate smiled wide. “Hi.”

  His mom gasped. “Hello.”

  “I’m Nate.”

  “Hi, Nate,” she said. “I guess... I’m your grandma.”

  Nate chuckled. Patrick hugged his waist. His son said, “Hi, Grandma.” It was tentative, but the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard in his life. Except for Jennie, years ago, telling him that she loved him. Two wondrous things he’d been given.

  It felt like his heart was going to burst.

  His mom started to cry. “Grandma.” She smiled wide and dabbed at her face. Just like Jennie had done.

  He glanced at Jennie, but she didn’t look at him. Two women he respected. Loved, even. In a way, he always would love Jennie. That was something he’d known since they’d driven out of town. She had been everything he’d needed and wanted in high school.

  It astounded him that he now had a second chance. It made him want to believe there really was a God, and He had actually blessed Patrick with everything he needed to fill all those empty, lonely places inside.

  “How can this be?”

  Patrick moved to the side so he could ask her a question where it was a bit more private. “When we left Erwin, did you know that Jennie was pregnant?”

  His mom blustered. “Of course not. Her father nearly killed you. And now you have a son? Just another way to bring you around to her way of thinking.”

  Jennie let out a whimpering sound. She raced from the stool, down the hall to the bedroom. A second later, the door slammed.

  “That was mean.” Nate hopped off the stool and stood.

  “She didn’t mean it,” Patrick said. “She doesn’t know what’s been happening here.” And as soon as he could explain it all to his mother, along with what had happened for Jennie since she’d learned she was pregnant, surely his mother would soften toward her.

  His mom said, “How could you not have known, Patrick? How could she not have told you?”

  He and Nate stared at each other. Torn between their mothers. He was tempted to pray that split wouldn’t result in tearing them apart. “I’m going in the other room. Will you get Tucker’s toy?”

  Nate nodded.

  His mom, thankfully, remained silent. Patrick needed to wade carefully through this.

  Nothing was going to shake what they were building.

  In the bonus room the owners had fixed up like a rec room, Patrick turned the video call back to a regular phone call and put the cell to his ear. “You need to listen to me, Mom.”

  Nate came in with Tucker’s tug toy, and the two started to play. Thankfully out of earshot. Patrick said, “You have to understand that Jennie thought I knew she was pregnant. Her dad told her I asked for money to go away.”

  She gasped. “You would never have accepted that money, and he would never have given it to you.”

  “I know that. She faltered in her belief in me and I have to figure out how to forgive her for it. We were gone, and she never got my letters.”

  His mom fell silent.

  “I have a son, Mom.”

  Nate glanced over from nudging balls across the pool table while Tucker sniffed the carpet underneath. His son and the dog who’d adopted him. There was no going back now.

  “I can’t believe this.” The anger had dissipated. She sounded sad now.

  “You need to see Nate in person. Then you’ll realize what a great job Jennie did. He’s amazi
ng.”

  The boy blushed, his attention elsewhere, but clearly listening to every word of the conversation. Maybe Patrick didn’t have as much work to do as he’d thought. His mom did, though. Nate wasn’t the kind of kid who would accept a grandma at odds with the mother he adored, the one who had saved his life.

  A scream rang out from the kitchen.

  “Mom!”

  Patrick hung up and raced after his son. He’d thought she was in the bedroom.

  “Tuck!” The dog responded by getting in front of Nate in a protective stance. Patrick ushered both of them into the hall bathroom. “Stay here.”

  “But—”

  Patrick cut him off. “I love you. Please, stay here with Tucker.” To the dog he said, “Guard.”

  No one would get through that door.

  Patrick raced down the hall. “Jennie!”

  SIXTEEN

  She heard him call her name. Rick. Jennie turned from the sink.

  He raced into the kitchen and practically skidded to a halt.

  “Nate.” It wasn’t a question and yet it was. Where is he? How is he?

  “Stop!”

  She paused, her foot raised to step toward him. Jennie looked down. Right. She’d dropped a glass in the middle of her freak-out and now there were shattered pieces all over the floor. But was that the point? “Where’s Nate?”

  He moved to her. “In the bathroom with Tucker. He’s safe, and Tucker is guarding him.” He stopped and surveyed the room as though attempting to figure out a problem. “What happened?”

  “I saw my brother. Outside the window. There were two of them.”

  She wanted to ask if he was sure Nate was okay, but would that even be helpful? Not likely. Jennie needed to get around the glass and get to him so she could make sure. Not that she doubted Patrick. Of course not. After the last couple days, and what she’d just seen, she needed to reassure herself.

  Jennie braced her weight and hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter. She scooted to the end and jumped down. Not the most hygienic of moves, but she didn’t want to step on broken glass.