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“We’ve got a lost boy. Four years old.” He indicated the general location on the map. “White River National Forest. East slope.” Pulling in a deep breath, he looked at Kelly. “They’ll need a description. You’re familiar with the area. I’d like you to point out the exact location. Give us the circumstances.”
Buzz watched her approach, aware of the dull thud of his heartbeat. In the harsh light of the galley, she looked pale and badly shaken. The cut on her temple stood out in stark contrast to her ashen complexion. The bruise forming beneath was going to be brilliant once it bloomed. She’d shed her coat in the foyer, and for the first time he realized just how bad the fall she’d taken must have been. Her jeans were dirty at the left hip and torn at the knee. The flannel shirt she wore had come untucked at one side and hung ungracefully to mid thigh.
He might be angry with her for lying to him about their son all these years, but he damn well was going to make sure she got checked out by a doctor before this was through. Damn hard-headed woman.
“This is Kelly Malone,” he said.
Absolute silence filled the room. The four men watched her carefully and with great interest as she took her place at the front of the room and let out a shaky breath. Her brown eyes scanned the male faces watching her.
“Eddie is four years old,” she began. “Dark hair, brown, cut short. Gray eyes. He’s wearing a white Denver Broncos sweatshirt and a pair of blue jeans. White sneakers. He had a green jacket tied around his waist, but he might be wearing it now. His backpack is blue.” Setting her purse on the table, she pulled out her wallet and dug the photo from it with trembling fingers. “I’ve only got one picture. It’s a couple of months old, but it’s a good one.” She looked longingly at the photo, then closed her eyes briefly. Without looking at it again, she handed it to John Maitland.
“Where did you last see him?” Jake Madigan asked.
Taking Kelly’s arm, Buzz eased her toward the map. “Did you say the eastern edge of the park?” he asked her.
She nodded, then turned to study the map.
Buzz could feel her shaking, knew she was holding onto her composure by only a thread. A very thin thread that wouldn’t hold much longer. He didn’t want to be there when it snapped, but knew he’d rather it be him than someone else.
He was aware of the men watching her, could practically feel the curiosity bubbling in the room. He knew they were wondering if their surly team leader had an ex-wife and a child he’d never told anyone about. Holy hell, this was a mess.
Forcing his mind back to the matter at hand, he gently squeezed her arm to let her know she was doing all right. That they were going to get through this. That they were going to get their son back.
Kelly gave him a grateful look, but her hand shook violently when she raised it to point out the hiking trail where she’d fallen. “Right here.”
“That’s the eastern edge of the hiking trails,” said John Maitland. “Terrain gets rough to the north.”
She nodded. “We were on the southernmost trail. About two miles from the campground.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“Almost four and a half hours.” Her voice cracked with the last word.
Knowing she couldn’t take much more before she broke, Buzz moved her gently aside and stepped forward. “Flyboy, what’s the weather situation?”
“There’s a front to the northwest. Weather Service is expecting sustained winds of fifty knots. It’s going to get rough when that sucker blows through.”
“What’s the flying time frame?”
“I’d say we have a couple of hours of fly time before I have to recall to base.”
Buzz’s curse was interrupted by Jake Madigan’s. Buzz looked over at the tall man wearing the battered Stetson.
“That’s not the only problem,” the cowboy said.
The hairs on Buzz’s nape stood up. Next to him, Kelly jerked her head toward Jake. Buzz shot the other man a questioning look.
Jake sighed, glanced from Kelly to Jake.
Buzz understood what the other man was trying to say an instant too late. Kelly darted around the table and walked over to Jake. Chin jutting, she raised her hand and pointed a finger in the general direction of his face. “Don’t you dare keep information from me just because you think I can’t handle it. I need to know what’s going on.”
Grimacing, Jake removed his Stetson, then looked helplessly at Buzz. “Well, ma’am…uh, with all due respect—”
“What problem?” she pressed.
Realizing abruptly what Jake was about to say, Buzz stepped forward and put his hands on Kelly’s shoulders. “We’re professionals, Kel. Let us take care of this. We’ll find him.”
“No.” She whirled on Buzz. “Don’t try to keep me out of this. I’m not going to sit this out.” She turned back to Jake, who looked as if he’d just backed into a cactus. “Damn it, tell me what the hell is going on.”
Jake sighed, shot Buzz a questioning look.
Knowing his ex-wife wasn’t going to back down, Buzz gave him a minute nod.
“The ranger station up on Ruby Lake reported a fire a few hours ago,” Jake began. “There was a lightning strike. With the drought and high winds, the fire is gaining momentum. It’s still small at this point, but it’s burning uncontrolled and heading this way.”
Kelly put her hand to her mouth to stop the sob that bubbled out, but she didn’t succeed. Her free hand went to her stomach, as if she’d been gut-punched. “Oh, God. Oh, no.”
Buzz pressed his fingers into her shoulders. “Kelly, the fire is small. Chances are the firefighters will be able to contain it. Let us take care of this. These men are the best. They’ve got to go to work. Right now. I’ll have Dispatch take you to the hospital to get that bump checked—”
“I’m not leaving Eddie.” Shaking off his grasp, she turned to face him, a waif ready to take on an army. “Don’t ask me to stay out of this. I know the area. I know the trails. I’ve got to be out there, looking for him.”
“You were knocked unconscious, damn it. You’re not going to do anyone any good when the adrenaline wears off and you find yourself flat on your back with a concussion.”
“The only thing that’s wrong with me is that I’ve lost my son.”
“You’re scared spitless and bleeding and running on nerves and your own hard head—”
“Don’t you dare try to shut me out of this. I’m not going to sit it out.”
“You’re out of control.”
She advanced on him, shaking so violently she didn’t trust her legs. “You’re damn right I am! I thought you might feel the same way, but obviously, your heart is still as cold as it ever was!”
She hadn’t meant to go there. Hadn’t meant to say those words or make this any more personal than it already was. Her control broke with an almost audible snap! The tears came in a rush. A useless, humiliating show of emotion that wasn’t going to accomplish anything except give her a wham-banger of a headache and prove to the men in this room she wasn’t going to be much help. She struggled valiantly to staunch the sobs that wrenched from deep in her chest, but they were powerful and shook her from head to toe.
Realizing the room had gone utterly silent, Kelly sucked in a breath and stopped herself cold. Buzz stared at her as if she’d just announced that she was an alien and would be moving back to her own planet in another galaxy at the end of the week. Tony Colorosa and Pete Scully had found something fascinating in the wood planks of the floor. John Maitland stared at the map. Jake scratched at a non-existent stain on the felt of his hat, his brows knitting as if in intense concentration.
Knowing her credibility was on the line, she let out the breath she’d been holding and addressed the men. “Eddie also has a flashlight with him. Since it’s dark, he may have it on. It’s plastic and not very bright, but the batteries were new, so it should be working.”
Buzz cleared his throat. “If that’s all….”
She jerked her head. “Please, find him. I want him back.”
He addressed his team. “Let’s get this show on the road, gentlemen.” He looked at his pilot. “Do your best for me, will you, Flyboy?”
“Piece of cake.” Some of the cockiness went out of Tony’s expression when he glanced at Kelly. “We’ll find him, Ms. Malone.”
Because she couldn’t speak, she nodded her thanks and within seconds, the men had grabbed their canvas equipment bags and rushed out the rear entrance, leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake.
Without speaking to her, Buzz left the room and picked his coat off the floor in the hall. Kelly followed. “I’m sorry I broke down like that,” she said.
“You’re entitled.”
“I know this is hard for you, too.”
He turned to her, striking her with a gaze as sharp and cold as an alpine winter. “Whatever you do, don’t apologize.”
“Buzz….”
“I still plan to rake you over the coals.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to miss out on that.”
Buzz shot her a thin smile. “That’s one of the things I’ve missed about you, Kel.”
“What’s that?”
“Your smart mouth.”
“Not something to base a relationship on, I guess.”
“I guess not.” Grimacing, he started toward the door. “Let’s get out to the site.”
“I hope it doesn’t rain, Bunky Bear.” Eddie Malone shone the flashlight on the stuffed animal’s face, wishing the little bear could say something back. “Mommy always told me thunder was just this big guy up in the sky throwing thunderbolts, but I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t tell her ’cause I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I thought that was a really dumb story.”
Bunky Bear stared back at him with his one good eye and a little smile on his mouth that always made Eddie laugh. But Eddie wasn’t laughing tonight. He was scared. More scared than he’d ever been in his whole life.
It had all started when he’d dropped Bunky Bear down that big hill. He’d tried not to cry, but he’d wanted his bear back. Mommy had climbed down after Bunky, but the branch she was holding onto had snapped and she rolled and rolled all the way down the hill. It had scared Eddie even more when he called out to her and she didn’t answer. When he’d climbed down after her, she was asleep. He tried to wake her, but she wouldn’t wake up. He knew he shouldn’t cry, but it scared him so much he just couldn’t help it. He’d sat down beside her and cried for a long time.
Then he saw the cut on her head and thought he should go for help. Isn’t that what Captain Kudo on “Kudos and Kids” would do? Knowing it was the only way to save his mom, Eddie had grabbed Bunky Bear, stuffed him in his backpack and started back toward the campground where Aunt Kim would know what to do. He’d thought for sure he was going the right way. But it seemed like he walked forever and never got back to the campground. Then the wind had started blowing, and it started getting dark.
Snuggled up against Bunky Bear, Eddie shivered and huddled deeper into his jacket. “Don’t worry, Bunky Bear,” he said. “Mommy’s okay. She’s a good hiker and knows everything there is to know about camping and stuff.”
The rumble of thunder in the distance made his teeth chatter. He looked up, saw the sky flicker. Around him, the treetops swayed and whispered. He wished it wasn’t so dark. He hadn’t been quite so scared when the sun was shining.
He wished Mommy would hurry up and find him so they could go home.
Buzz didn’t bother with the speed limit on the way to White River Campground, and the trip took less than half an hour. Using his cell phone en route, he checked in with the ranger station where the base camp for the search had been set up, as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Department to see how the search was progressing. Neither agency reported any sign of Eddie. Another call to his contact at the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department told him a team of scent-trained bloodhounds would be brought in at first light. Buzz hoped to God they found him by morning. If they didn’t, he hated to wait that long to bring in the dogs, but he knew how difficult nighttime searches were.
Next to him, Kelly stared into the darkness beyond the window as silent and still as a mannequin. The tension coming off her was palpable. Buzz felt his own tension like a knot being drawn ever tighter in his chest. But as angry as he was with her, another side of him felt a pang of compassion every time he looked at her and saw the profound sadness in her eyes. He wasn’t going to let her down.
A hundred questions rang in his head. Even though Buzz knew now wasn’t the time to raise them, there was a small part of him that wanted to know everything about his son. He wanted to know how tall he was. What he liked to eat. His favorite stories and movies and toys. If he took after his mother—or, God forbid, him. Another side of him—the side that was an ex-detective and had worked some of the worst child abuse cases in the city—cringed at the thought of bringing something so precious as a child into a world that was many times less than kind to the innocent.
Feeling the urgency press into him with an almost physical force, all too aware of the minutes ticking by and the fire raging just a few miles to the north, Buzz looked at his watch, felt another snap of tension go through his system. Eleven o’clock. Eddie had been missing for five hours now. As an ex-cop, and now a Search and Rescue professional, he knew all too well how much could happen in five hours.
Where are you, son?
Surprise rippled through him that he was now thinking of this child as his son. He wondered how smart that was when he didn’t have any idea how he was going to handle being a father—if he would even get the chance, if he wanted it at all.
The campground was humming with activity when Buzz drove into the parking lot. Park rangers and volunteers and sheriff’s deputies hustled about, talking into their radios and looking harried. Buzz parked the truck next to a Lake County sheriff’s van and shut down the engine. Next to him, Kelly reached for the door handle.
“We’re going to hit the trail, so make it brief,” he said.
Nodding once, she slipped out the door. Buzz gathered his gear and got out of the truck. He was in the process of slipping his pack over his shoulders when a tall man dressed in khakis and a button-down shirt rushed toward Kelly with a determined stride. Buzz couldn’t see much of him in the dim light cast from the single sodium vapor lamp overhead—just enough to recognize the glint of male interest in his eyes.
“Any word?” Kelly asked the man.
“Nothing yet.” He opened his arms to her. “I’m sorry.”
She went into his arms without hesitation.
Standing next to the truck, Buzz watched the exchange, trying in vain to ignore the hot snap of jealousy.
“I came straight over from the office,” the man said to her. “Your sister called and talked to my assistant. I wish you’d called me.”
“There was nothing you could do.”
“I could have been here for you.”
“God, Taylor, I’m so worried. It’s been over five hours.”
“I’m sure they’ll find him.” The man eyed Buzz over Kelly’s shoulder, taking his measure much the same way a contender did in the minutes before a boxing match.
Buzz stared back with his best bad-cop glare, wondering if it would be considered politically incorrect of him to wipe that superior expression off the other man’s face with his fist. Buzz wasn’t a fan of politically correct.
Never taking his eyes from Buzz’s, the man lowered his hand to the small of Kelly’s back in a silent message that wasn’t lost on Buzz.
She’s mine.
“You holding up okay?” the man asked her.
“I’m all right,” she said. “I just need to find him.”
“You’re cut—”
“It’s nothing.”
Buzz refused to identify the brutal twist of emotion in his gut. He was not a jealous man. Never had been. Hell, he wasn’t even possessive. Not that he had a right to be in the first place. He and Kelly were through. She was free to see whomever she chose. Just because Buzz had never quite reconciled himself to the fact that their divorce meant things were over between them for good didn’t mean he was going to let the possibility that she was having a relationship with this bespectacled corporate jerk cloud his judgment.
Easing back from the man, Kelly turned to Buzz. “Taylor, this is Buzz Malone.”
The other man stuck out his hand. “Taylor Quelhorst. Glad to meet you.”
Buzz hesitated an instant before accepting the handshake. If the other man knew Buzz was the father of the child in question, he gave no indication.
“You’re a retired policeman.” Taylor squeezed Buzz’s hand.
Buzz squeezed back. “Ex-detective.”
