2. Elliot
CHAPTER 2
ELLIOT
“T hat ought to do it.” I finish turning the wrench one final time then slide out from beneath the old truck. As soon as I’m standing, I tap on the olive-green hood so my brother, Riley, can turn the motor over.
It purrs to life, sounding better than it has in over a decade.
Riley grins at me. “Good work, brother.”
“All in a day,” I reply then head into the shop to retrieve a bottle of sweet tea from the refrigerator. It’s not nearly as good as the stuff Mom makes, but it’ll do in a pinch. “Want one?”
“I’ll take one, thanks.”
I hand Riley a bottle of tea, and we both take seats on the old couch kept in the auto shop. It’s worse for the wear, with grease stains and the smell of motor oil clinging to it, but it’s comfortable and reliable. And after a day of working underneath a truck nearly as old as my own father, it feels darn good to sit on.
My service dog, Echo, lies on an old blanket in the corner alongside Riley’s dog, Romeo. Both German shepherds are enjoying a relaxing afternoon. You wouldn’t know by looking at them that they can be lethal—or that they spend a good portion of their lives chasing bad guys and bringing people home to their families.
Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue is a job that leads us down some dark roads but one I wouldn’t trade for anything. We bring lost people home, and that’s a calling that I’ll answer until the very last breath is drawn from my lungs.
Even if there are days it’s haunted by failure.
Grief burns my throat, but I wash it away with sweet tea because there’s nothing I can do to fix the past. Not when it’s dead and buried.
“It’s so hot already. How is this April?” Riley asks, rubbing an old handkerchief over his forehead.
“That’s Texas for ya,” I joke. “One day it’s freezing, and the next, it’s summertime. Who knows, maybe tomorrow it’ll be winter again.”
He laughs. “Isn’t that the truth?” Riley downs the rest of his tea then gets up. “You coming in yet? I’m guessing Mom will have supper ready to go here in the next hour or so.”
“I’ll be in soon,” I tell him. “I want to check a few more things before calling it a night.”
“Sounds good.” He turns and offers me a wave over his shoulder. “ Heel , Romeo.”
His dog hops up and joins him, and the two of them head out of the shop together.
Even though we each have our own houses on the ranch, Mom still insists on cooking dinner at least once a week. More if she can get us there. She loves it, and frankly, so do we.
I’m helpless in the kitchen, despite her best efforts to teach me when I was growing up. So, during the winter, when grilling is unpleasant, it’s frozen dinners or takeout for me. Except on the nights she cooks. Given that I’m thirty-five now, I probably should have figured out how to cook at least a basic meal without a grill, yet here I sit, still hopeless. But when Mom’s meatloaf is on the menu, that’s something I can live with.
After taking a deep breath, I toss my bottle into the recycling bin then head out into the early evening. It’s not quite six yet, so it’s still bright enough that I can get one final ride in before the end of the day.
Since I spend most of my time repairing vehicles, tractors—anything with a motor—I like to end my day on horseback. It’s so freeing, so comfortable. Therapy when I can’t sleep well. Which I haven’t been doing for quite some time now.
I head out of the auto barn and start toward the barn where we keep our horses. “ Heel, ” I order Echo. He falls into step beside me, the dog never straying far from my side. He’s my best friend and the greatest partner I could ask for. Truth be told, he’s saved my life in more ways than one.
When I got back from my final deployment, I was a mess. The things I saw?—
I shake my head, not even wanting to relive them for a moment. I’d struggled with the transition into civilian life. Even starting our search and rescue team hadn’t culled that pain. Not until we all nearly lost our lives during a rescue after an enemy flanked us. When we got home, Bradyn had the idea to get service dogs so they could alert us to any movement we might miss.
And here we are.
Getting and training Echo was the best decision I ever made.
Each of my four brothers has his own service dog. Bradyn has Bravo, Riley has Romeo, Dylan has Delta, and his twin brother, Tucker has Tango. All brothers themselves. German Shepherds we trust with our lives. They’re our lifelines.
Or at least, that’s what I consider them. Attachments that have tethered us in the real world when we’d felt so lost. They continue to tether us still when things go wrong. Which, unfortunately, they sometimes do.
The barn is empty right now with our three ranch hands likely finishing the new section of fencing dividing a pasture into two. Most of the horses are gone, including Bradyn’s horse, Rev, and his fiancée’s horse Midnight.
“Hey there, boy.” I reach over and run my hand over the forelock of Bobby, my quarter horse. His intelligent brown eyes close as he rubs his face against my palm. “You ready to go out?” I saddle-broke and trained Bobby when I was home on leave after my first deployment, and now he’s like an extension of me.
I retrieve his halter, slip it over his head, then open the gate and guide him over to the tethering post. After brushing him out, getting a saddle onto him, and slipping the bridle over his large head, I guide him out of the barn.
“Hey, just heading out?” Bradyn’s fiancée, Kennedy, asks as she dismounts from Midnight. Her blonde hair is braided down her back, and when she smiles, there’s no longer darkness hidden behind her bright blue eyes.
Bradyn has been good for her. Just as she’s been good for him.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’d been a bit jealous. Not of Bradyn and Kennedy, of course, but of what they have. Attachment is something that I used to long for.
Back before I realized that this life takes too much from us. And falling in love again could be deadly for an already broken man like me.
“Yeah, I want to take a quick ride over the ridge. Spent all day working on that old Chevy, so I’m ready to stretch Bobby’s legs a bit.”
“Totally get it.” She beams at me. “The new fencing looks great. Bradyn’s finishing up out there then heading in himself. You should check it out if you get the chance.”
“Awesome. Will do. Thanks. So is it date night tonight?” I ask, knowing that they’re in the final preparations for their wedding and likely spending the evening going over the last-minute details before their walk down the aisle in a month.
“Yes.” She grins. “We’re so close to having everything ready. I can’t wait.”
She currently lives in one of the ranch hand cabins on the property, though she spends quite a bit of time with her parents in town. They just bought a house a few weeks ago, and she’s been helping them get everything unpacked and in its rightful place.
“It’s going to be great to have you in the family.” I smile then climb onto Bobby’s back.
“Hey, I thought I already was a part of the family?”
I laugh. “You know what I mean.”
“That I do. See you later!” she calls out.
“See ya!” I urge Bobby into a trot while Echo runs silently beside us. The ridge is a nickname my brothers and I gave the tallest hill on the ranch. It leads into some thick oak trees we used as cover when we’d play army as kids.
A game that turned into a desire to serve our country for the better part of a decade. Until we all felt pulled back home.
I reach the bottom of the ridge then ride up, stopping only once we’ve made it to the top. From here, I can see the entire ranch. Two hundred acres of beautiful bliss, with our houses scattered throughout, just far enough apart that we get privacy but close enough that family is never too far away.
It’s home.
Clicking my tongue, I urge Bobby to head down the other side. With it being spring, we’ve had a lot of rain recently, more so than usual even at this time of year. Not that I’m complaining. The creeks are all full, the pastures green, which will make for happy, healthy cattle.
Ahead, the largest creek on our property is overflowing with glistening water. It’s fed by the Red River that runs along the border of Oklahoma then splinters through our property and even on into the next ranch.
My brothers and I spent many summers swimming in this creek as it’s a good fifteen feet across and typically has at least a foot of water in it at all times. Though, thanks to the storm last night, it’s nearly spilling over.
When we were young and the creek was at its lowest point in the summer, my brothers and I would come up here with our youngest sister, Lani, and spend the day eating fruit and playing in the water. A wonderful summer afternoon in the sun.
At this level, though, it’s dangerous. The current is far stronger than I care to combat even as an adult. All it takes is one wrong step, and you’ll be carried away, lucky if you even get the chance to resurface.
I keep riding, continuing up the creek a bit, enjoying the solitude. Birds chirp overhead, and somewhere a bullfrog calls out. Man, I love spring. It’s my favorite time of the year. How everything just comes back to life. If only it worked on people, too. Heaviness settles over my heart, an anchor dragging me into the depths of the past.
It’s been three years, but I still see her everywhere.
Echo lets out a warning bark. Instinctively, I reach behind me, hand closing over the grip of my pistol. It’s more than likely a coyote or other wild predator, but just in case, I withdraw my firearm and climb down off Bobby.
He’s not the least bit spooked, which isn’t typical if there’s an animal nearby. The hair on Echo’s back is standing up, his ears forward.
“What is it, boy?” I ask, walking to Echo’s side.
He lets out another warning bark then heads toward the creek. I follow on foot, leading Bobby behind me.
We make it five steps, and I see exactly what caught his eye. Dread coils in my belly, and fear ices through my veins. Oh no.
No longer worried about the strong current, I drop the reins and rush forward, holstering my weapon as I jump into the creek. The water is cold against my legs and hits up to my waist, but I push forward through the strong current, adrenaline surging through my veins as I fight the water on my way to the other side of the creek. A slender body is draped over a fallen limb, partially hidden, thanks to the canopy of trees over this side of the creek.
Shoving the branches aside, I get my first full view. Bright red hair falls in a curtain over her face, her arms dangling over one side of the branch. The blood drains from my face. No. It can’t be. Water sloshes around my waist as I move closer, shoving the impossibilities aside and focusing on the now.
Renee is dead. But this woman might be alive.
A cascade of soaking wet red hair is matted and tangled in the bark of the fallen tree, but I manage to brush it aside. Her eyes are closed, her lips tinted blue. “Come on, please be alive.” I slip my fingers along her cool skin toward the side of her throat so I can check for a pulse.
It’s there. A weak thud, thud. But it’s still something. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?” I tell her.
Her hair is so tangled I can’t get it free, so I reach into my pocket and withdraw my knife. Working quickly, I cut her free, leaving a good bit of hair on the log. After sticking my knife back into my waistband, I gently roll her body back and into my arms. She falls limply, eyes still closed.
I note blood on the front of a white men’s shirt. Saturated enough that even the creek didn’t wash it away. There’s so much. How is she still breathing? Her face is covered in scratches and bruises, her legs the same. Even her feet have been torn up, though the injuries there have been washed clean by the creek.
“Hang in there,” I mutter to her as I carefully make my way across the creek. I nearly fall twice, thanks to the strong current, but somehow, I manage to make it to the other side. As soon as we’re on the embankment, I lay her down and strip out of my jacket.
Echo rushes over and starts licking her face, whining as he moves around her body, trying to wake her up. He lays directly beside her, likely realizing just how cold she is. I brush the hair from her face, noting a silver cross dangling from her neck. It’s the only jewelry she’s wearing.
Quickly, I cover her with my jacket then carefully raise it and the shirt to check her injury to make sure there’s nothing immediate that needs tending to. The black dress beneath the shirt has a hole in the abdomen. Blood streaks from it, adding fresh stains to the clothes she’s wearing.
A gunshot wound. Oh no. Working quickly, I strip my T-shirt off then grip the bottom and tear it into one long strip of fabric. Taking as much care as I can, I lift her body and slide it beneath her then tie it around her waist, pulling it just tight enough to hold sufficient pressure on the wound so she hopefully won’t bleed out before I get her to the hospital.
She begins to tremble, her lips parting slightly. Eyelids fluttering, she’s trying to come out of it. Echo whines at my side, whimpering as he nudges her with his long snout.
“I’ve got you, okay? You’re safe.” I have no idea if she can hear me.
Bleeding momentarily tended to, I reach for my cell phone. But when I pull it from my pocket, I’m greeted with wet metal and a dead screen. I shove it back into my pocket and lift the woman into my arms. Draping her carefully over my shoulder, I climb onto Bobby then reposition her so she’s leaning back against my chest.
“ Heel, Echo!” I push Bobby into a run, and we race over the ranch.
I just hope we get there in time.