Excerpt #2
Parker stopped up ahead in the tall weeds.
The babbling of running water caught her attention, but at least the cries had stopped.
Something moved in the grass, and Parker cocked his head at it.
She hoped it wasn’t a skunk or wild animal that would bite her dog.
But as she drew twenty yards away and her eyes focused, her heart stopped.
A baby was in the brush at the water’s edge. It was zipped in one of those baby carriers you strap around your waist and shoulders.
She rushed forward just as the baby crawled forward and fell face-first into the water. “No!”
The edge of the water was much shallower, but the current stretched the shoulder strap of the carrier to full length. Parker instantly grabbed the strap between his teeth and tried to stand up with him, but the baby was too heavy. The baby’s face was still under the surface.
Emma made it to the rocky edge and snagged the wiggling infant out of the water, her heart racing uncontrollably.
The baby wrinkled his face and let out a healthy scream. The carrier’s strap was frayed, and Parker still gripped one end, but the other was tangled in a dead bush. “Release, Parker.” When he obeyed, she said, “Good boy.”
She pulled the baby boy against her chest as she attempted to untangle the strap.
With him kicking and squirming, it was no use.
She held the boy with the intention to unzip him from the contraption when a lightning bolt hit nearby.
It only upset the little fella more, his big blue eyes wet with tears.
He wore a pair of denim overalls, and she latched on to the bib so she wouldn’t drop him if the carrier strap were freed.
“I’ve got you. I’ll get you out of there. Hold on, sweetie.”
She glanced over her shoulder. Where were his parents?
Suddenly, something moved from behind her, and then pain exploded as something hit her before tackling her to the ground. Shocked, she fought from underneath the weight but caught an elbow in the nose. Pain shot through her and wetness ran down her lip. Blood.
The baby screamed. Parker barked in a frenzy with his hackles raised.
A shadow hovered above her. She looked up in time to see a woman holding a long stick. Emma threw her arm up to protect herself. “No! Don’t!”
The thick wood came down on her head. Fireflies danced before her eyes, momentarily stunning her. The woman grabbed the baby and gruffly yanked him free from the brush.
“Be careful with him!” Even though her entire being was in agony, Emma clawed her way to her feet. She couldn’t understand who this woman was or how the baby wound up dangerously next to the river, but she had no intentions of allowing her to take the baby. “Give me the boy.”
The woman turned to Emma, her black wavy hair dangling across her angular, pretty face. Their gazes locked for a full second, confusion and fear dancing in the other woman’s black eyes. “I can’t.”
“Wait. Who are you?”
A gunshot blasted somewhere over the hill, making Emma flinch, and Parker moved beside her leg while staring off into the distance, and he emitted a low growl.
The lady took off with the baby, and Emma followed, but the woman leaped into the water and attempted to wade across the wide stream. She fell under the water and resurfaced seconds later. The baby continued to bawl.
“Caleb!” a masculine voice yelled, but Emma couldn’t see the man.
She didn’t know if the man was the one to fire the weapon, but she didn’t trust the woman to care for the child. Something was off with this situation. If the lady was the child’s mother, she was neglectful, at best. Emma jumped into the thigh-deep water and followed them. “Wait.”
But the lady had a decent lead, even considering she had a child with her. The woman held the crying child against her chest and used the other arm to swim.
The stream was deeper in the middle than at the edges.
For several minutes, Emma half swam and half ran, trying to catch her.
Slowly, the two disappeared out of sight.
Her breath came in spurts as her chest heaved with the effort.
Emma had considered herself in decent shape, but it was clear the woman knew how to swim better than she.
Finally, she stood up and made her way back to shore.
Considering she was used to hiking many miles, she should’ve stayed on the shore instead of jumping into the water after the woman. Parker paced along the bank.
“Where is he?”
A man wearing faded jeans and boots stood in front of her.
Dirt was smeared across his strong jaw and over the snug purple Western shirt he wore with the sleeves rolled up.
He wasn’t carrying a gun that she could see.
Penetrating dark eyes bore into her. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky behind him, seeming to match his mood. She asked, “Who?”
“My son!” He didn’t say the words too nicely.
It was obvious by his attitude and the concern in his sharp gray eyes, he was scared. “Your wife took him. I don’t know why she left the baby alone by the stream. That wasn’t safe!”
He squeezed his hands into fists. “Did she have long, straight black hair?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not my wife.” He spoke fast. “Which way did they go?”
“Down the stream. That way.” She pointed, even though it was unnecessary.
“Was he hurt?”
She shook her head. “No.”
The man took off at a run along the bank before the word was out of her mouth.
A blast of wind swayed the pines, and the sky rumbled with the approaching storm.
She didn’t understand why the woman was running from the man, or why the baby was alone by the water, or who was shooting, but it was obvious the baby was in trouble. “Come, Parker.”
The pup’s ears stood, his left ear flopping to the side.
She was a Cantrell, and if nothing else, everyone knew Cantrells could be depended on to help in times of trouble.
She headed in the direction the man had gone, determined to find out who the lady was that had put the baby in harm’s way—but most of all, to make certain the baby was safe.
Copyright ? 2026 by Connie Queen