All Autumn

by Sandra Owens

  “We’re identical twins, so I know you’re not awesomely big and purple,” Adam said. “You are in trouble, brother.”

  It was impossible to play a serious game with these guys, but who cared? There was nothing better than laughter with the people I loved and counted as my friends.

  I grabbed the card Connor had tossed. “It says—”

  A nails-on-the-chalkboard screech filled the room as the emergency radio on Connor’s kitchen counter blared. Immediately three cell phones—Connor’s, Adam’s, and Dylan’s—emitted an alert signal.

  “I’ll call in,” Dylan said as he punched numbers into his phone.

  Jenn and I shared a worried glance. All three of our guys were on the volunteer rescue team, the reason each of them had been paged. Someone was in trouble. It was approaching eleven, and whatever this was about, they’d head out into the dark to try and save whoever it was. That could be all kinds of dangerous.

  “A five-year-old boy’s missing,” Dylan said after tucking his phone back into his pocket. “His family’s camping out at Mountain Pines Campground. They went for a short hike before it got dark. One minute the kid was with them, the next he wasn’t. The parents looked for him for a while, and when they couldn’t find him, the mother made her way back to the campground to call for help. The dad’s still out there somewhere.”

  “And now we probably have a lost father along with the boy,” Connor said as he stood. “We can take the Jeep.”

  “I’ve got my bag in the car,” Dylan said, heading for the door.

  “Me, too.” Adam followed him out.

  Everyone on the rescue team kept a bag in their cars with suitable clothing and emergency supplies. Dylan and Adam returned, and they all went up to Connor’s bedroom to change.

  “I hate when they have to go out at night,” Jenn said.

  “Yeah, me, too. And it’s supposed to rain soon.”

  The guys came back down, dressed in cargo pants, white long-sleeved T-shirts with our volunteer rescue squad logo on them, jackets with the words Blue Ridge Valley Rescue in neon yellow on the backs, and hiking boots. They were all business now, the laughter from our game forgotten.

  I exchanged a glance with Jenn, knowing she was thinking the same thing as me. These three were men who cared about our town and the people who lived here. Pride swelled that they were my friends. My gaze fell on Connor, and he caught me looking at him and winked. Long-dormant butterflies woke up, fluttering their wings like crazy in my stomach.

  “Why don’t you both stay here?” Connor said. “Hopefully we’ll be back in a few hours. If not, make yourself at home. You’re welcome to the guest bedroom, Jenn.”

  “Thanks,” she said. She and Dylan walked out, their arms around each other, and Adam followed.

  Connor pulled me to him, giving me a quick kiss. “My bed for you, beautiful.”

  I walked out with him, and when I noticed Adam standing a few feet away from Dylan and Jenn, who were in a lip-lock, I tugged Connor over to him.

  “Stay safe, okay?” I gave him a hug. It was the first time I’d ever hugged Adam, and it was strange because although he was Connor’s identical twin, he smelled and felt different. I liked knowing that if I were blindfolded, I could still tell them apart.

  “Always,” he said, hugging me back.

  Then I turned to Connor. “That goes for you, too.”

  “Don’t worry about us. We’re trained for this, and we’re always careful.”

  I would worry about him, about all of them. He put his hand under my chin, lifted my face, and kissed me again, and then he jogged to the driver’s side of the Jeep. Jenn and I watched until they disappeared from view. In the distance thunder rumbled.

  Jenn looked up at the sky. “I hope they find the little boy and his father fast.”

  So did I. The temperature was already dropping, and when that storm got here, it would be wet and cold. “Let’s go clean up the kitchen.”

  “You and Connor getting serious?” she asked as she loaded plates into the dishwasher.

  “I keep telling you that we’re just having fun together.”

  “That’s what Dylan and I said.” She flashed her wedding ring at me. “And look at us now.”

  “Not going to happen with us. I meant it when I said I was never getting married again, and you know Connor. He’ll get restless soon and move on.” It was what we wanted and had agreed on. We weren’t long-term, but lately, every time I thought that, I felt like crying.

  Before Jenn could grill me any more on Connor, I said, “Let’s call Savannah.”

  She glanced at the clock. “You don’t think it’s too late?”

  “Eleven in New York City is like sundown to us.”

  “You’re right.” She grinned. “And even if we wake her up, too bad. Her fault for not keeping in touch better.”

  “Exactly.” I got my phone and punched in Savannah’s number, then put it on speaker.

  “Hello,” a male voice said.

  Her boyfriend, I mouthed to Jenn, wrinkling my nose.

  “Hi, Jackson. This is Autumn, Savannah’s friend. Jenn’s here with me, too. Is Savannah available?”

  “No, she isn’t. I’ll tell her you called.”

  I met Jenn’s eyes. “The jerk hung up on us.”

  “A hundred bucks says he doesn’t tell her.”

  “Not only that, but why is he answering her cell phone?” I didn’t at all like how Savannah had become inaccessible to us. We were her longtime friends, but she rarely called us anymore, and when we tried to get in touch with her, we usually got her voice mail but no return call.

  “He’s cutting her off from her friends,” Jenn said.

  “We don’t know that. I mean, it feels like maybe he is, but Savannah’s stronger than that. I can’t see her allowing a man to control her like that.”

  Jenn shook her head. “I don’t think she is. Think about it. What’s the real reason she left for New York to pursue a modeling career?”

  “That’s all she ever talked about from the time we met her. From first grade on, she never wavered from that, while you and I wanted to be ballerinas one day and airplane pilots the next. It’s what she’s always wanted.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Jenn opened a cabinet door. “Where does Connor keep his coffee?”

  “He has those K-Cup ones. They’re in the cabinet right above the coffee maker. I’ll have one, too.”

  She pulled down a box and peered inside. “There are all kinds of flavors here. I think I’ll have an amaretto-flavored one. What’s your pick?”

  “Is there a chocolate? If not, then hazelnut.”

  “Mocha swirl work?”

  “Yep.” After we made our coffees, we settled on the sofa in Connor’s living room. “So what are you saying? That Savannah didn’t want to be a model?”

  “Think about it, Autumn. Who told Savannah she wanted to be a famous model, probably from the day she was born?”

  “I know it’s what her mother wanted, but I just thought Savannah was on board, too. I never saw any indication that she wasn’t.”

  “Me either, until Adam. I thought at the time, and I still do, that she didn’t want to leave him. Did you know her mother went to Adam and told him that he was standing between Savannah and her dream?”

  Surprised, I shook my head. “No! She did? How do you know that?”

  “I stopped by the twins’ house one night to drop off some CDs I’d borrowed. Mrs. Graham was leaving as I drove up. When I went inside, it was obvious Adam was upset. Their parents were out to dinner, and Connor was out on a date. I didn’t want to leave Adam alone.”

  She glanced down at Beau, sleeping at our feet. “I’m breaking that confidence now because I think Savannah’s in trouble. Adam finally told me that Savannah’s mother had said, among other things, that Savannah would end up hating him if Adam kept her from going to New York to pursue her dream. The next day he broke up with her.”

  Tears were burning my e
yes by the time she finished. “I never knew. I always thought she’d broken up with him, but now that I think about it, neither one said exactly what had happened.”

  “I know. Everyone, including Connor, thinks that Savannah was the one who broke up with Adam. The real truth is that her mother made that happen. He swore me to secrecy, said he didn’t want anyone to know, including Connor. He said his brother would ask a thousand questions he didn’t want to answer.”

  “As sad as all that is, her mother might have been right. Savannah could have ended up resenting Adam if she’d stayed here with him.”

  “I guess we’ll never know, but it should have been left to them to decide their future. I think the reason Mrs. Graham paid that visit to Adam was because Savannah was having second thoughts about leaving him. When he told Mrs. Graham that he would go to New York with Savannah if she asked, she laughed, telling him that he was just a small-town mountain boy and that he would be both an embarrassment and a hindrance to her career.”

  “That’s awful. Adam would have never stood in Savannah’s way or been an embarrassment to her. I mean, just look at him. He’s drop-dead gorgeous. She’d have been the envy of any woman who laid eyes on him.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s all spilt milk now. The question is, what are we going to do about Savannah? If she’s in trouble, then she needs us.”

  “And if she’s not and is perfectly happy with the way things are?” I thought about it for a moment. “There’s only one way to find out. We pay her a surprise visit.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Either she needs us or she’s putting her past life, including her childhood friends, behind her. If she’s moving on and we don’t matter to her anymore, then I want to know so I can stop worrying about her.”

  I nodded my agreement. “Talk to Angelo, see when you can get a few days off, and then I’ll rearrange my schedule.” Thunder boomed, shaking the house and startling me.

  Jenn and I both looked out the window when lightning flashed. “I hate that the guys are out in this storm,” I said, hoping they’d find the boy soon.

  36

  ~ Connor ~

  The weather was miserable. It was pouring rain and cold. Any tracks the dogs might have been able to follow had been lost in the deluge. But there was a lost boy out here somewhere, and he didn’t have warm clothes and rain gear on like the searchers, so we’d keep looking until we found him. It was unfortunate that the much needed rain had decided to make an appearance tonight.

  “Rusty,” I called, then listened. Nothing. We’d called out his name until we were almost hoarse.

  The father had been located an hour ago and reunited with his wife, so at least we were only searching for the kid. I couldn’t imagine how scared he must be, and I hoped we found him soon. The temperature had dropped considerably, and in this weather hypothermia could happen fast, especially for a child. Would a five-year-old be able to find ways to stay warm and dry? Probably not, which only increased the urgency to find him.

  Adam and I had buddied up. We always did on searches. It was raining so hard that even with headlamps on our helmets and the heavy-duty flashlights we both held, we couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead.

  “I’m not even sure where our grid is anymore,” I grumbled. If it was an adult lost in the woods, the search probably would have been called off until the morning to protect the safety of the volunteers. But everyone on our team, along with the other searchers—probably close to a hundred men combined—refused to give up until we found the boy. I wasn’t worried about getting lost. Along with our GPS trackers, we both had a compass, satellite radios, and other emergency supplies.

  Adam stopped in a clearing, making a full circle. “I can deal with the rain, but I hate the damn lightning. Which way?”

  “How far are we from the campsite?” I don’t know why I bothered trying to see ahead. There was nothing but rain and blackness.

  “No more than a mile, I’d guess.”

  “Let’s work our way back. I doubt a child would have made it this far. Pay attention to any rock outcroppings or such that he might have taken refuge under.”

  Adam called Rusty’s name as we pushed past bushes and tried not to stumble in slippery mud. Hopefully we weren’t waking up any bears. With this weather they should be tucked away, nice and warm in their lairs. One bear experience was already one too many. Had that been only last week when Autumn and I had gone to the waterfall?

  I’d had a moment back at the house, two of them actually. The first was when I’d winked at Autumn and a brilliant smile had appeared on her face, one meant just for me. I’d gone all warm and fuzzy inside. Then she’d noticed Adam standing off to the side when we were getting ready to load up, and she’d gone over and hugged him, telling him to stay safe.

  It was impossible to ignore what was happening. I was falling for her. That wasn’t good. It was the last thing she wanted from me, and if I gave her the slightest hint that I might want more with her than a fling, she’d run for the hills. Maybe that would be for the best, stop before I ended up like Adam with a broken heart. Yet the thought of not having her in my life hurt. I had some serious thinking to do.

  Until we found Rusty and could go home, I needed to concentrate on our search, along with not slipping and ending up with a sprained ankle or worse. Later I’d think about Autumn and what I wanted to do.

  “We should be about halfway back by now,” I said.

  Adam glanced over his shoulder. “What would you do if you were a boy lost in the woods at night?”

  “Cry.”

  He chuckled. “Me, too, but after that?”

  “At his age he probably doesn’t know to stay put until someone finds him, and even if he was told to do that, he’ll be scared and forget. He’ll be trying to find his parents, which means he could be anywhere.”

  Adam let out a sigh. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”

  “The other option is that because of the rain he found a place to take shelter. If he’s curled up under a rock outcrop or a fallen log, we could walk right past him and never see him in this weather.”

  “Yeah, his mother said he was wearing jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, so he’ll blend into the night,” Adam said.

  “Parents should dress their kids in neon yellow if they go hiking in the woods.” We trudged on, calling Rusty’s name. From the updates on our radios, the other searchers hadn’t found a trace of him either. It was becoming worrisome.

  Lightning flashed again, and out of the corner of my eye something caught my attention. I aimed my flashlight at the object. “Adam, hold up.” Almost hidden under a bush was a boy’s blue and white sneaker, the size about right for Rusty.

  “What is it?”

  I held up the shoe. “Did we get a description of his shoes from the mother?”

  “Yeah, blue and white.”

  We searched all around the bush, but the other sneaker wasn’t there. “Okay, he’s been here but no way to know how long ago. Let’s call it in, get some others in this area to help us search.”

  “What’s that?”

  I looked to where Adam was shining his light, about ten feet higher up the mountain. We headed that way. Dangling from the top of a bush was a soaked sock. “Smart kid. He’s leaving signs for us to follow. Keep going,” I said. “He’s got to be around here somewhere.”

  Adam called in our report and GPS location. We started moving in a circle, widening our search pattern as we went. We were on the side of the mountain, and between the steep incline and the slippery mud, it wasn’t easy going.

  Not five minutes later we came to a large boulder. I shone my flashlight under it, and sure enough, there was a small cave-like indentation. Falling to my knees, I poked my head underneath.

  “Shit,” I exclaimed, jerking away.

  Adam was instantly next to me. “What?”

  “Quiet.” I grabbed his arm. “He’s under there, but we have a big problem.” I pulled him down with me. “When I shine
my light, look right behind his knees.”

  “Fuck,” Adam whispered.

  We quietly backed away. The boy was curled up, asleep, or I prayed he was only sleeping. Coiled behind his legs, as if seeking the boy’s warmth, was a rattlesnake. The snake’s head was tucked under his body, so at least he was also sleeping. For the moment.

  “We need to wait until the others arrive,” Adam said. “Maybe one of them has a gun on him.”

  “And we shoot the snake, the bullet goes through his body, then ricochets off the rock into the boy? Too dangerous.”

  “Well, a fucking rattlesnake ain’t exactly a tea party, Connor.”

  “Tell me about it.” I knelt again and peered under the overhang, hissing a breath at what I saw. Staying on my knees, I leaned away. “The snake’s awake.” The bastard had his head up, flicking his tongue in the air. We had to get the boy out of there before he woke up and moved.

  I pulled off my backpack, handing it to Adam, and then gave him my flashlight. “I’m going to jerk the kid away.”

  “You be damn careful, brother. You get bit, I swear, I’m going to leave you out here to rot.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” In an effort to stay out of the snake’s line of sight, I fell onto my belly, then inched my arms along the ground toward the boy. I prayed he didn’t wake up and make any kind of movement.

  When I got to Rusty, I slipped my fingers into the waistband of his jeans. A warning rattle, like rice being shaken in a paper cup, sounded. Closing my eyes, I said a little prayer, and then I yanked with every bit of strength I owned, pulling the boy with me as I rolled. He screamed and started kicking me.

  “Easy, Rusty,” was all I had time to say before I hit a small tree. It gave way, and then the ground under me crumbled.

  “Adam!” Unable to find purchase, I tossed the boy to him, then fell, tumbling head over heels for what seemed like a hundred years. At one point my foot hit a rock, and pain sliced up my leg. Glad that wasn’t my head, I managed to think. I don’t know how far I fell, like my very own avalanche, but I finally came to a stop on my back, unable to breathe.