Her Rocky Mountain Protector

Grady paused and the next sound was that of a dog barking. He put two fingers in his mouth and let loose with a loud whistle. He was rewarded with another bark.

“This way,” he said. “It’s coming from the Lucky Penny.” He pointed toward their left, then took her hand and helped her climb up the slope. When they reached the cluster of boulders, a dog and child appeared.

Her heart was beating wildly. “Zack,” she cried, and ran to her son.

“Mom,” he cried, throwing himself into her arms.

“Oh, Zack.” The tears poured out of her as she hugged him tight, breathing in his familiar smell. Even with the mixture of dirt and sweat, it was heavenly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re safe.” She pulled back and did a quick examination. “We were so worried. Where did you go?”

The child looked worried. “When I got untied, I was afraid Dad would come back to get me. So I ran away.

Where is he?”

“Oh, honey.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. Sheriff Larkin has your dad in jail. Mr. Fletcher helped capture him.” She hugged her son again. “He’s never going to hurt us again. I promise, Zack. I promise. You must have been so scared.”

Her son pulled away. “I was at first.” He glanced down at the dog. “Scout came and stayed with me.” His brown eyes widened. “Mom, he’s a military dog.”

She managed a nod. “I know. He’s trained to find people and I’m so grateful that he found you.”

“He kept me warm all night long.” Zack looked at Grady. “Is he your dog?”

“Yes, he is.” Grady stood next to the animal, who sat perfectly still. “We’ve been in a lot of tight situations together. Scout was trained to find bombs. I guess now he can add little boys to the list.”

Gina had completely forgotten about the introductions. “Zack, this is Mr. Fletcher. He’s helped me search for you.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you had Scout.” Zack went over to the animal. “Can I pet him?”

“I know Scout would like that.”

Grady watched the affection between the two. This was a new experience for Scout. A child was hard to resist, could even be distracting. Grady glanced at Gina Williams. So was his mother.

“Maybe we should head back down,” he said. “You need to get warm and checked out to make sure you’re okay.”

They started walking down the slope just as the sheriff’s vehicle appeared next to his truck. The next ten minutes were chaotic as Grady stood back and let the paramedic look over the boy. Then they all piled into the vehicle.

“I can’t thank you enough for all you did, Grady.” She smiled for real this time and he found he liked it too much. “My son is everything to me,” she managed to say.

“Then you’d better go tend to him.” Scout sent a bark toward his new friend in the SUV. Grady watched Gina get into the vehicle and drive off. Suddenly he was alone once again, and realized it wasn’t what he truly wanted at all.

Be careful what you wish for.

CHAPTER FOUR

FOUR hours later Gina stood at her sister, Lori’s, family room entrance and watched her son sleeping on the pull-out sofa bed. She still felt shaky, thinking about the thirty-six-hour ordeal. Worse, how things could have turned out.

A tear fell against her cheek. Zack was back safe with her. She had so many people to thank; one in particular, Grady Fletcher. The stranger who had put everything else aside and led the sheriff to Eric, then had stayed with her the entire time, keeping her sane until they found Zack. And Scout. What a special dog to protect her son.

“Is he asleep?” Lori whispered as she came up behind her.

Gina nodded, and followed her sister into the kitchen. “I promised I’d stay close by.”

Lori motioned for her to take a seat at the large kitchen island. “I think we’re close enough to hear him if he wakes.”

Technically her half sister, Lorelei Hutchinson Yeager was a pretty blonde with big brown eyes and a generous heart. Last fall she’d come to Destiny when she inherited her estranged father’s fortune. She’d fallen in love and married a building contractor, Jace Yeager, and moved into his house with his daughter, Cassie. Just recently they’d got a big surprise when Lori learned she was pregnant.

Gina glanced around the newly remodeled room. Jace had done a great job of refinishing the fixer-upper home, especially the kitchen. The large space had custom maple cabinets, granite counters and top-of-the-line stainless-steel appliances.

Gina was proud she’d helped Lori add some special touches with the burnt-orange paint and bright yellow accents.

Lori set a cup of hot tea in front of her. “Here, drink this.”

“Thanks,” Gina told her. “You should sit down, too. You have to be tired.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

When Gina was growing up, Lori had been more than a big sister. She had filled in where their mother couldn’t or wouldn’t. Still Gina had become a rebellious teenager when she’d met wild boy Eric Lowell. Lori had never deserted her though, especially when things had got rough and Eric had begun knocking her around.

Last fall when Lori had come to Destiny to claim her inheritance from her father, Lyle Hutchinson, she’d sent for Gina and Zack, hoping they all could start a new life here together. Then somehow Eric had found them.

Gina felt the emotions churning up again, but this time she couldn’t push them away and she began to sob.

Lori shot around the island and pulled her sister into her arms. “Oh, honey. Let it out. You’ve been through hell the past two days.”

Gina cried until her throat was raw and she finally wiped away the last of her tears. “I thought we were safe. How foolish could I be to think Eric would leave us alone?”

“Well, he’s going to be staying away now. He’ll be in jail. If the kidnapping charge doesn’t stick, shooting at the sheriff and at you should carry some weight.”

Heavens, she prayed that would work. “He’s got off before.”

“This is his third offence, Gina. That hateful man took my nephew and he isn’t going to get away with that. Not this time.”

Gina thought back to all the people who’d helped her in the past few days. The entire town had volunteered. They’d cooked meals, asked to be deputized and searched for Zack, or just prayed for his safe return. Once again she thought of the one man who had truly helped her find her son.

“Lori, what do you know about Grady Fletcher?”

Her sister blinked at her question, then smiled. “Not much, only that he’s been in the bank a few times. I know more about his grandfather, Joe Fletcher. The old miner is recuperating from a broken hip at Shady Haven Nursing Home. Since Grady was listed as next of kin, he’s been handling things until Fletch gets back on his feet. I’m not sure that’s going to happen since his grandfather has to be in his eighties.”

“So he doesn’t live here?”

Lori shrugged. “It would be nice if he did. From what Reed told me about what happened on the mountain, I’d say Grady is a take-charge kind of guy. And for what he did for Zack, he’s pretty high on my list of good people. Not bad-looking, either.”

Gina wasn’t surprised by her sister’s assessment. She hadn’t had much time to notice, but once the dust had settled, she had taken a look at the handsome man. “You’d better not let Jace hear you talk like that.”

Lori smiled. “He has nothing to worry about. I only have eyes for my husband.”

“That’s good to know.”

They turned around to see Jace Yeager standing in the doorway. The tall, dark and handsome man was smiling at his wife. “Because I’m kind of crazy about you, too.”