Cody’s forty-eight hour shift was ending in fifteen minutes. He finished putting his turnouts into his locker and glanced at the clock, hoping there wouldn’t be any more calls. With the university’s classes back in full swing and the city flush with students, there were plenty of alcohol-related incidents that always seemed to happen outside of normal business hours, keeping the fire crews up well into the night. This had been a weekend shift, and Cody estimated he’d gotten about seven hours of sleep total over the past two days.

Worse, the sleep he had gotten was haunted by dreams of Cassie, by waking up in the middle of the night and remembering that she was leaving Alaska. Leaving him.

“Well, that was a pounding in the ass,” said Josh Barnes, approaching Cody from behind. “I can’t wait to get some sleep. After I feed the dogs, of course.”

“Right, you have commitments.” Cody thought of Josh’s sled dog team and the kennel he ran.

“One fewer these days.” Josh glanced around. “I’m telling you, dude. Women. They’re a complication.”

“Shannon?” Cody asked, referring to the ladder captain’s younger sister.

“Shannon,” Josh confirmed. “I should have known better than to date her in the first place. I ended things, and now Tom’s pissed, although it seems like more at Shannon than me. He didn’t want her dating someone on his crew in the first place, and especially not when she already can’t be in the same room with Dylan.”

Cody raised his eyebrows. This was news to him. “What do you mean—her and Dylan?”

Josh nodded. “I guess it was a long time ago, way before he got on the department.”

Cody remembered Dylan’s reference to broken hearts and wondered if he’d meant Shannon Steele.

“So Tom’s not happy with you, huh?” Cody asked. He loathed the kind of drama that was obviously going on with the ladder crew.

“He’s the protective big brother, you know? But at least he admitted I’d been honest with her about my intentions. And he knows damn well she’s a wild child.” Josh sighed. “Anyway, it’s just as well for me. Back to my dogs. They’re so much simpler.”

“Really?” Cody had to challenge that. He knew of the long hours, the grueling training, the bitter cold nights Josh spent racing. He often came back from his races frostbitten, and always came back depleted. “Running an eight-day, thousand-mile race is easier than maintaining a relationship with a woman?”

“In some ways, yeah.”

Cody shrugged. “Well, it’s back to my dogs, too.”

“What’s going on with you and Cassie Holt, anyway?” Josh gave him a sharp look.

“It’s over.” That was all Cody wanted to say, and even that was hard. He was grateful their shift was about to end so he could escape a long conversation.

“Shit, man. What happened?”

“She got a job offer in Atlanta. Leaves in a week.”

Josh shook his head. “That sucks.”

“I guess I should have known better, too,” Cody said. “Cheechakos.”

“Cheechakos,” Josh agreed.

Cody’s replacement firefighter on B-shift arrived with a wave and a hello, followed a minute later by Josh’s replacement. As they were walking across the parking lot to their trucks, simultaneous phone noises went off for Cody and Josh—notifications for text messages. Cody checked his and saw it was from the Search and Rescue coordinator at the Sheriff’s Department.

Damn. So much for going back to his dogs.

The message read, Troop of 10 Boy Scouts and 2 adult leaders reported missing. Last known location, Denali National Park, Riley Creek backcountry unit. Due back yesterday. All S&R responders assemble at SD.

“Oh boy,” Josh said.

The wilderness Search and Rescue team for the Nanook Valley was all-volunteer, so Cody didn’t have to go. However, there was no question for him: he always responded when called. So did the other guys at Station One along with Josh who were on the team: Sean Kelly and the ladder captain, Tom Steele, both came out of living quarters with their gear bags in hand.

“We doing this?” Josh said.

“You bet.” Cody kept all his personal S&R gear, intermingled with gear from the fire department, in a duffel in his truck. “See you guys there.”

As he drove, the throaty rumble of his diesel engine helped drown out his thoughts. So, too, did the diversion of a wilderness rescue. It meant he wouldn’t have to be at home, thinking in solitude, hating it for the first time in his life. Timber and Diamond had plenty of food and water and would be fine in their large sheltered run for a while longer.

At the Sheriff’s Department, about two dozen volunteers assembled in the briefing room. Quite a few were off-duty firefighters from other shifts or other stations. In addition, there were ambulance paramedics, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, civilian outdoor enthusiasts, bush pilots, and even a group of employees from the Golden Falls outfitter’s, who probably had the best gear of anybody.

“Here’s what we’ve got,” said the deputy giving the briefing. “S and R from all surrounding counties are coordinating with us because of the potential for a real bad situation. The missing hikers are ten Boy Scouts, ranging in age from twelve to fourteen, and their two adult leaders. They are not from Alaska. The group’s from California.”

Groans filled the room. Too often, people from the Lower Forty-Eight underestimated the rigors of the wild landscape.

“They flew in a week ago for what was supposed to be a four-day backcountry trip. They were due to report to the ranger station at the visitor center three days ago, but due to staffing issues, no one noticed until they missed their flight home yesterday. They have no radios, just cell phones. No signal out there, as we all know.”

The deputy outlined the plan. Those trained in technical rescue skills, like Cody, would be up in helicopters; the bush pilots would fly their own planes; and everyone else would be on foot, tracking and looking for signs of the lost hikers.

“Three days is a long time for a bunch of kids. This could be bad,” Josh said to Cody on the way out.

“Roger that.” Cody hoped like hell they weren’t going to find a bunch of dead Boy Scouts. That would be quite a story … which made him think of Cassie. Did she know about this?

He got his answer when he arrived at the Golden Falls International Airport to deploy by helicopter. As he walked across the tarmac toward the waiting helicopter, he saw a single news van behind the fence with its antenna raised. KFLS Channel Eight.

Cassie.

It was a jolt to see her there, with her sweet flip of blond hair and her curvaceous backside. Holding a microphone, she spoke into a camera. No other news crews were there.

Despite the knife-like agony of seeing her, Cody also felt a quickening of pride. Leave it to Cassie to scoop a huge story like this. And no wonder Atlanta wanted to steal her away.