Zack.” The tears poured out of her as she hugged him tight, breathing in his familiar smell. Even with the mixture of dirt and sweat, it was heavenly. “Oh, thank goodness you’re safe.” She pulled back and did a quick examination. “We were so worried. Where did you go?”
The child looked worried. “When I got untied, I was afraid Dad would come back to get me. So I ran away.
Where is he?”
“Oh, honey.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. Sheriff Larkin has your dad in jail. Mr. Fletcher helped capture him.” She hugged her son again. “He’s never going to hurt us again. I promise, Zack. I promise. You must have been so scared.”
Her son pulled away. “I was at first.” He glanced down at the dog. “Scout came and stayed with me.” His brown eyes widened. “Mom, he’s a military dog.”
She managed a nod. “I know. He’s trained to find people and I’m so grateful that he found you.”
“He kept me warm all night long.” Zack looked at Grady. “Is he your dog?”
“Yes, he is.” Grady stood next to the animal, who sat perfectly still. “We’ve been in a lot of tight situations together. Scout was trained to find bombs. I guess now he can add little boys to the list.”
Gina had completely forgotten about the introductions. “Zack, this is Mr. Fletcher. He’s helped me search for you.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you had Scout.” Zack went over to the animal. “Can I pet him?”
“I know Scout would like that.”
Grady watched the affection between the two. This was a new experience for Scout. A child was hard to resist, could even be distracting. Grady glanced at Gina Williams. So was his mother.
“Maybe we should head back down,” he said. “You need to get warm and checked out to make sure you’re okay.”
They started walking down the slope just as the sheriff’s vehicle appeared next to his truck. The next ten minutes were chaotic as Grady stood back and let the paramedic look over the boy. Then they all piled into the vehicle.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you did, Grady.” She smiled for real this time and he found he liked it too much. “My son is everything to me,” she managed to say.
“Then you’d better go tend to him.” Scout sent a bark toward his new friend in the SUV. Grady watched Gina get into the vehicle and drive off. Suddenly he was alone once again, and realized it wasn’t what he truly wanted at all.
Be careful what you wish for.
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