Chapter Sixteen
Exhaustion had begun to set in. Katie’s legs felt heavier with every step.
Even Raider, though determined to continue, was favoring his bad leg.
More than once Katie considered it might be time to take the poor dog home, but every time she opened her mouth to broach the subject with Josh, Raider looked at her with big soulful eyes that seemed to be pleading with her to let him keep looking.
A small part of her would have argued the dog had no idea why they were here or who they were looking for; after all, he had not sniffed Luke’s jacket as Brady had, but looking in his eyes, no one was going to convince her that the dog was not fully aware of exactly what was going on—and what the stakes were. So they pushed on.
When she wasn’t watching Josh, the dogs, or the horizon, she looked over her shoulder. After she’d told Alice that they’d found the lovie, the family matriarch had texted that backup was coming to help search that area. That was over half an hour ago.
“The sun is beginning to set.” She’d just stated the obvious, but there was no ignoring how the sun was hanging lower in the sky already.
Josh stopped. “I hate to think of him spending another night out here alone.”
She couldn’t agree more. Texts had been bouncing back and forth, search teams reporting little other than where Luke was not hiding.
Even though more people were coming their way, no one was giving up anywhere else.
But as long as Brady still had a scent to follow, backup or not, neither she nor Josh, nor the dogs, were ready to give up.
Moving forward, keeping her eyes out for more snakes or, heaven forbid, the mountain lion, Brady alerted.
His ears pointed forward, his nose twitched, and he gave a low sharp bark, loud enough to announce, not so loud to alarm Luke.
How the dog knew that she did not understand, but she was glad as heck for it.
Brady pulled toward a dark opening in a crop of rocks ahead.
She had no idea there were caves out here.
Only as they got closer did they realize this was not an organic cave.
The beam of the flashlight revealed rotted timber framing and a rusted metal sign that hung crookedly from a post: DANGER. KEEP OUT.
Josh shone his light into the gloom. “Looks like an abandoned mine.”
“You think he went in there?” If he did, that poor kid had to be scared to death.
“It’s a shelter from the wind. And if that cat was stalking him…” Josh didn’t finish the sentence. He unclipped Brady’s leash. “I’m going in. You stay here.”
He might have been talking to her, but Brady was having none of it. Pressing against Josh’s leg, he poked at the lead with his nose.
“All right.” Josh heaved a sigh. “I suppose if anyone knows how to walk gingerly it would be you, boy.” He looked up at her. “You two stay here. If I find anything I’ll let you know.”
“I don’t like it.” Every internal alarm she had was going off. If she’d been on an old sci-fi television show there’d be a robot shouting Danger, Josh, danger. “It does not look very stable.”
He shook his head. “No, it doesn’t. But if Luke is in there, we don’t have a choice.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Not sure what possessed her, but she lurched forward, grabbed hold of his arm, leaned in, and gave him a good hard kiss on the lips. “Be careful.”
Eyes wide, he stared for a moment before a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You too.”
Her gaze remained on him until they disappeared into the black mouth of the shaft. Raider pulled at her, twisting at the end of the leash. “Take it easy, boy. They’re okay.”
The dog did not like what she had to say. He continued to tug and twist and was actually trying to wiggle his way out of the leash.
Pulling out her phone, she shot Alice a text about the cave.
Alice texted back: Should be at your location in a few minutes.
Katie stood staring at the dark hole, straining to hear anything over the wind. Counting the minutes down on her watch, wondering if Josh could send a text inside that shaft.
Leaves crumpled behind her and instantly Alice appeared with Clint at her side. “Any luck?”
She shook her head. “They’ve been in there for almost ten minutes…” A low rumble echoed from somewhere inside the mine and Katie’s head snapped around. The ground beneath her feet vibrated, followed by a sickening CRACK.
“Josh!”
No answer, followed by a roaring rumble. Plumes of dust and smoke billowed from the entrance.
“Oh my God!” She ran forward, but Raider blocked her path, his body a wall. “Josh!”
No answer. Rocks slid down the canyon wall, burying the entrance in a pile of rubble and timber.
This time Alice screamed, her voice tumbling over Clint’s and Katie’s. “Josh! Josh, answer me!”
The three ran toward the pile. Coughing, she and Clint clawed at the rocks with bare hands. Alice had the sheriff on the phone calling for more help. Luke may or may not be inside, but now they had Josh and Brady to rescue.
Alice’s next call was to her son Carson. “We’ve had an accident.”
“I heard. Sheriff already called. Hardware store is on their way with lumber. Keep everyone away until I can get there and shore the shaft up. If it’s the one I’m thinking, that sucker is probably held up by beams turned to dust.”
Katie didn’t care what she’d overheard, she was not stopping. She had to reach Josh. He had to be okay.
Within minutes, organized chaos ensued. Men brought two-by-fours from the trucks. Carson barked orders about load-bearing rocks. People were carefully pulling debris away, but every time they moved a stone, the earth groaned. And then…CRACK. Another plume of dust shot out.
“Get back! Everyone back!” Carson roared.
The rescuers scrambled away as more rock shifted. Katie stood frozen, her eyes fixed on the pile of rubble that had become a tomb. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Alice stood at her side, her face white as a sheet, but her grip solid.
“He’s okay,” Alice whispered, though her voice shook. “He has to be.”
Katie leaned into the older woman, watching the dust settle.
A bitter thought clawed at her throat. Josh had survived multiple tours in the sandbox.
He had survived IEDs and ambushes. She didn’t want to think how that’s the way it always happened.
Good men survived multiple deployments to war zones only to trip on a bar of soap and crack their skulls open.
She reached down blindly to scratch Raider’s ears, needing the comfort of the animal.
Her hand met empty air. Katie looked down.
The leash was trailing on the ground. “Raider?”
She spun around. “Where’s Raider?”
The frantic energy of the rescue site paused. One of the men working on the lumber supports stretched out his arm. “The gray dog? He bolted that way a minute ago. I thought he was chasing a rabbit.”
Without thinking, she grabbed a flashlight and ran in the direction the hand pointed.
If she couldn’t dig out Josh and Brady, she was damned if she was going to lose Raider.
Hurrying through the tall grass, pushing any fears of snakes out of her mind, she searched for any sign of the newly missing dog.
Exhaustion and desperation taking over, she slowed, came to a stop, leaned over, her hands on her knees, her eyes closed as she gathered the strength to keep going.
Fighting back tears, she sucked in a deep breath, straightened her back, and looked to the sky. “Oh, Josh.”
“You rang?”
Spinning around to where the deep voice came from, she found Josh covered in dust, cradling a small boy against his chest, with a dog seated at either side of him.
She didn’t dare move. If this was a dream, she didn’t want to break the spell.
Of all the times Josh had been caught in a less than positive situation where he had thought he was surely going to buy the farm and meet his buddies in heaven, being trapped in a collapsing mine had definitely moved to the top of his list. Never had he been so happy as to see Raider inching toward them from the opposite direction, or happy that he’d followed the smart dog.
Only when he heard Katie calling his name to the heavens as he reached the light of day, did it truly sink in that this time, he was not going to die.
Standing in front of him, mouth open, hands clasped in front of her, Katie wasn’t moving, wasn’t speaking.
Zipping around him, Raider bolted to where she stood and wiggling around like a dog much younger and healthier than him, he barked at Katie.
Down on her haunches, she blinked, pet the scruff of the dog’s neck, leveled her gaze with Josh and slowly opened her mouth. “You’re real.”
“Last time I checked, yeah.” Now, he stood in front of her. “I hope that’s okay.”
Katie sprang to her feet, and carefully placing her hand on Luke’s back, smiled up at Josh. “Better than okay.”
“You had me scared for a minute.”
“I had you scared? Are you kidding? I’ve never been more afraid of losing someone I loved in my entire life.”
“Well, if you put it that way…” his words suddenly clogged in his throat as his brain fully processed what she’d said. “Wait. You love me?”
Her cheeks flushed, she took a step back, and nibbling on her lower lip, slowly nodded.
If it were possible for a human heart to burst with joy, his was pretty dang close. “Does this mean it’s okay to mention that I love you?”
“You do?” She inched closer again.
He nodded, and Luke pulled away from the crook of his neck. “Mama.”
“Mama!” Katie threw her hands in the air. “I’d better let Alice know.”
“No need.” Alice trotted up to them, Clint on her heels, his phone at his ear. “Well, young man,” she stopped at Josh’s side, “you are a sight for sore eyes.”
Clint gently placed a blanket on Luke. “How’s he doing?”
“Doesn’t seem to have any issues. I think he was in the mine most of the night. No sign of animal tracks in the mine. I didn’t notice any bruises or injuries and he doesn’t feel warm or cold, so I think he’s going to be all right.”
“We have Doc Conroy on his way anyhow.” Alice gently patted Luke’s back, pulling her hand away when the boy snuggled deeper into Josh’s shoulder.
The crowd grew. Luke’s mother appeared, her husband at her side, and practically ripped her son from Josh’s arms. Another moment later and the doc showed up.
Cheers and high fives made their rounds all the way back to the Miller’s yard.
The command post dismantled, the volunteers making their way back to town or home, Doc Conroy giving Luke a clean bill of health, Josh walked Katie to the truck.
Opening the back door, the two dogs gingerly climbed in and settled in the back seat.
Josh closed the door behind the dogs and turned to Katie. “Back to the ranch?”
Nodding, rather than step up into the truck, she stepped into his personal space.
With an ease he hadn’t expected, Josh wrapped his arms around her. “I meant what I said. I love you.”
“Me too.”
“You love you too?” he teased.
Chuckling, she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “I love you too. Now the question is, what are we going to do about this?”