Excerpt
ONE
“Caleb, Daddy’s home.” Gunner Jacobs stepped into his cabin, glad to finally be home after a long day on the ranch.
The fence in the east pasture had a break, and several of his cattle had gotten out on the rock road.
It had taken him longer to find the last five head of Brahman than he’d anticipated.
With the help of a neighbor, he’d finally been able to get them back in.
He had to admit the ranch was the perfect place to raise his ten-month-old son—much better than a big city.
Recently, he’d hired a nanny. Before then he had used the day care center.
Just making the drive back and forth to town and having to pack a diaper bag had been time-consuming, not to mention how difficult it was to remember everything.
Having a nanny meant when he was around the house for the day he could stop in and check on Caleb multiple times if necessary.
His boy wasn’t walking yet, but he could get around by holding on to furniture.
It would only be a matter of days before the boy would take off.
Wasn’t that walking early? He believed it was.
Summer, his nanny, had been working for him for just over two weeks, but it had made a vast difference.
Twice Gunner had gotten to eat lunch with his son.
The house was dark and quiet. He strode through the small cabin built by his grandaddy over sixty years ago. He went to straight to the kitchen, figuring Summer and Caleb were there, but there was only a plate of butter cookies on the counter.
Maybe Caleb was getting his diaper changed, but after he checked, he found his son’s room was empty also.
Concern grew, but he tried to shove it aside, guessing the nanny must’ve taken him outside to his new plastic play fort, complete with a slide and swing.
Gunner had bought it for him last week and put it together only two nights ago.
He was a tad later getting home than normal, and Caleb sometimes grew fussy by suppertime. It was past seven now.
But they weren’t by the fort.
He put his fists on his hips and looked around.
Where were they? Summer had only worked for them a couple of weeks, but she was extremely reliable and had never left the ranch with Caleb in that time.
She was thirty-two years old and had excellent references.
It was the reason he had chosen her. As he circled the cabin, he spotted her sedan under the pecan tree.
A sinking feeling settled in his stomach.
Where were they? Since her car was here, he wondered if someone had picked them up. But who? He had no family in the area, and as far as he knew, neither did she.
He returned through the back door. The stroller was still there. Another glance in the kitchen showed the diaper bag on the table. His mind raced, trying to figure out a simple solution that would calm him. He grabbed his cell phone and hit Summer’s number. The call went straight to voicemail.
A door slammed at the front of the cabin.
“Caleb?” But as he took a step forward, an odor of rotten eggs assaulted him.
Gas!
He ran for the back of the house, and he had barely made it through the door when a gunshot went off, followed by an explosion.
Heat engulfed him, knocking him to the ground. He dropped his cell phone, but he couldn’t see in the smoke to reclaim it. He crawled on his knees and elbows as flaming embers rained to the ground. Something hot landed on his back, and he shook it off. His ears rang painfully.
A man’s voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.
Gunner climbed to his feet and rushed for the woods. Another explosion. Intense heat surrounded him, but he kept going for the protection of the trees. When he made it to the edge, he paused long enough to turn around.
Towering plumes of smoke filled the sky, and dancing orange flames licked up a hundred feet.
The cabin was old, making it burn faster than a matchbox.
A bald man with a beard who Gunner didn’t recognize stood at the edge of the yard staring at what used to be his cabin.
Suddenly, another man, shorter and paunchier than the bald guy and wearing a green plaid shirt, moved beside the first, with a rifle in his hand.
Amidst the black haze, the two men appeared to talk to one another in a lighthearted fashion.
Anger filled Gunner that people could be so cavalier about destroying someone’s home. If he learned the men had something to do with his son’s sudden disappearance…
Abruptly, the bald man in a gray T-shirt jerked and pointed at Gunner. “There.”
The short one raised his weapon and fired.
The ping of a bullet hitting a nearby tree made Gunner duck. He wove between the trees as multiple shots rang out. Thankfully, the thick haze provided some cover.
As he continued deeper into the trees, his mind went to Caleb. Where was his boy? Did these two men have him?
He could only pray his nanny had somehow recognized the danger and taken him somewhere safe. Maybe she was hiding in the woods. Her car was there, so it was possible.
But his gut told him it was up to him to find baby Caleb. After losing his wife in a terrible, but preventable, accident, there was no way he would trust any of his family members’ safety to anyone else again.
Another shot went off, originating closer behind him. They were pursuing him. Why were they doing this? He had no money. Nothing except for a ranch that barely provided a living, and a baby.
After another gunshot, a branch inches from his head fell to the ground. His heart raced. He might not own much, but today he was someone’s enemy.
* * *
“Search, Parker.” Emma Cantrell gave the command to the German shepherd.
Parker was only eleven months old, but he was adorable.
He had a wayward ear that didn’t want to stand, and she had taped it for three nights.
Already it was standing much better. He was catching on quickly to the K-9 Search and Rescue training.
The pup sniffed the T-shirt again, his tail wagging happily.
She gave him a lead on his leash, allowing him to run to the north where she had hidden the cotton rag.
She ran behind him, trying to keep up while dodging thick bushes.
Emma had been to the Piney Woods of East Texas many times, but never to train a dog in tracking.
The woods were denser and more overgrown than she remembered.
Parker was the first dog she’d bought since leaving the army, where she trained K-9s for the military.
He was a friendly pup with lots of energy, and so far, he was proving to be a great choice.
Her family owned Cantrell Security and Investigations and she hoped to add search and rescue and tracking to the business.
Later, she might even add more teams, but first she had to prove that she and Parker would make a good addition to the program.
It wasn’t easy to be the only girl out of six siblings.
Towering thunderheads built to the west, showing they were in for a storm.
It was just past seven thirty, but with the clouds rolling in, it would get dark soon.
Her Ford Explorer sat about two miles to the south, where she had had to leave it due to no access.
She and Parker had trained yesterday in another location that was more of a touristy area, where vacationers were trying to get their last camping trips in before fall.
She didn’t mind parking far away today because she enjoyed the peaceful exercise through the woods.
Parker trotted quickly, occasionally putting his nose to the ground. He stopped and smelled the grass and then stopped to look at a red spider lily that was blowing in the wind. He sniffed the flower several times and then cocked his head as the large bloom danced.
Emma couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. She squatted beside him and rubbed his soft fur. “Let’s try this again.”
Big brown eyes stared up at her as he sat.
She took the shirt out again from her back pocket. The tee was Shaylee’s—the housekeeper at Thunder Ridge Ranch. She had allowed Emma to borrow the shirt she’d worn and then had rubbed the rag on her arms to transfer her scent. “Sniff.”
The German shepherd pup smelled it and climbed back to his feet. He tugged on the leash.
“Search.” She kept the command simple so that the meaning didn’t get confused in a long phrase. The pup put his nose to the ground and ran in a tight circle before picking up the scent again. He took off, but less than thirty seconds later, he stopped and his ears moved forward in attention.
“You’re having a tough time concentrating.” She sighed. “You must be tired.” Again, she rubbed his neck.
In the military, the specialized training of canines didn’t start until they were eighteen months old, but basic obedience began between six and eight months old. Parker had learned the basic commands quickly, so Emma was excited to start him with tracking basics.
Parker stared into the distance and barked. He took several steps away from her and yapped.
“What is it, boy?” She didn’t hear anything but wondered if it was the wind blowing through the pine trees that got him excited. Still being an adolescent, it didn’t take much to snag his attention. They needed to head back to her SUV.
When she tugged on his leash, Parker leaped in the opposite direction, causing the leash to fly out of her hands. He took off. “Wait.” She realized she needed to say a command. “Come, Parker.”
But he was already through the brush and in hot pursuit of something. As she took off at a dead run, she thought to herself that he’d better not be chasing a rabbit or squirrel. This wasn’t the first time his attention had been diverted by a furry animal. She followed his yelps.
Suddenly, a strange cry echoed in the woods, making her stutter-step. What was that? It didn’t sound like a bird. As she ran, the cries became louder. Almost like the cries of a baby…
That couldn’t be, unless there were campers nearby.