Chapter Ten – Knox

His promise to surprise Hannah had left him in a quandary. What kind of food did she like? The first night they’d met she’d been eating pizza; perhaps she liked normal food. Or would she prefer to eat in town at a fancy restaurant? This was their first date; he should be out to impress her. Even if they had already slept with each other.

“She’ll like whatever you pick,” Dani advised him. “It’s the thought that counts.”

Knox pored over the array of restaurants from his Google search. “What if she’s allergic to something?”

“You are putting way too much pressure on yourself,” Jamie told him. “Dani is right, she’ll appreciate the effort.”

His phone rang and he answered the call. It was Hannah, he was simply going to ask her what she liked. “Hi, Hannah. I was thinking of calling you. What kind of restaurant do you want to go to? I know I said I’d surprise you…”

“Knox, can we take a rain check on dinner?” Hannah’s voice had an edge to it that made him sit up and pay attention.

“Everything OK?” Knox immediately got the attention of Jamie and Dani, who were making dinner while the kids played in the living room.

“Not really. I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.” He wanted to add that she would never need to ask if he could do her a favor, he was there for her through thick and thin.

“I know you only just got into town and don’t know the mountains that well. But I have a map.”

“Slow down. You want me to go into the mountains?”

Her voice quivered. “The kid I told you about. The one who lost his father nearly a year ago.” Knox closed his eyes, and fended off the thought of Smithy’s fatherless kids. “He’s been having a hard time. It’s his dad’s birthday tomorrow and something happened. He’s disappeared into the mountains. The local sheriff, Brad, has shown me where his dad died, and that’s where we think he’s headed.”

“OK.”

“Brad can get a search party together, but he’s given me a head start to try to get there first. I’m scared if the kid thinks he’s in trouble, that he’ll run.”

“I understand.”

“You’ll do it?”

“Of course.”

“Great, can you meet me at my place? I have a backpack, and I’ll grab some food on the way home.”

“Wait, you’re coming too?”

“Of course. He knows me. I’m fit, we can make good time.” Her voice was firm and he wasn’t going to argue with her, but the thought of going into the mountains in the dark didn’t sit well with him. As a bear, he would be fine, but Hannah would slow him down, no matter her intentions.

“OK, I’ll ask Jamie if he has any gear I can borrow. I’ll meet you as soon as I can.”

“Thank you.”

“Hannah, I won’t let you down.”

“I know. See you soon.”

The call ended and Knox turned to face Dani and Jamie. “Do you have any hiking gear?”

“Sure. What do you need?” Jamie asked, heading out of the room.

“Hang on a minute, why do you need it?” Dani added.

“There’s a kid gone into the mountains. His dad died up there, and Hannah believes he’s headed there alone. We’re going to bring him back.”

“Surely that’s a job for the sheriff or mountain rescue?” Dani didn’t look happy.

“The kid might freak if he sees the authorities.” Jamie placed a hand on her shoulder. “You know how teenagers can be.”

“No, no, I don’t. I’m used to dealing with young kids.” Dani blew the air out of her cheeks. “I’m not sure how we’ll deal with four shifter teenagers.”

“One at a time,” Jamie assured her. He kissed her cheek. “Can you take care of dinner?”

“Of course, you two go.” Dani ushered them out of the kitchen.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come too?” Jamie asked. “The light is fading. The mountain looks different at night. Especially if you’re human.”

“I’ve got this. You know I spent most of my time in human form while on my last tour. I honed my human senses. I can do this.”

“I don’t doubt you. But another set of eyes, another pair of hands?” Jamie wanted to help, it was in his nature, but Dani and the kids needed him here.

“I’ll be OK,” Knox assured him.

“My stuff is in the garage.” Jamie led Knox into the garage. Lifting a backpack down, he handed it to Knox. It was heavy, fully stocked; Knox would expect no less from Jamie. “I still go over the mountain with this on my back. I don’t want to go soft,” Jamie explained.

“Thanks, Jamie.” Knox hefted the heavy pack on to his back and took the strain.

“It’s got everything you need. Emergency rations. Matches, flares, climbing gear.” Jamie continued to reel off a long list of items while they went outside to Jamie’s truck. There he handed over the keys. “Take care of it.”

“You’re going to let me take your truck?” Knox was incredibly grateful.

“I am. Follow the roads up as high as you can into the mountains. Hannah does have a map, right?” Jamie asked.

“She does.”

“Well, your boy would have walked. If you can follow one of the roads high enough, you are going to cut several hours off his time.” Jamie clapped him on the back. “I’ll see you soon.”

Knox opened the truck door and threw the pack on the passenger seat. “Thanks, man.”

“Bring him home.”

Knox nodded. “I will.”

As he backed out of the driveway, Knox understood why Jamie gave him the pack and the truck. He thought that if Knox could bring the boy home, it would help heal the scars left by the ambush. Knox was certain it wouldn’t be that easy. Yet he hoped it might be.

He drove the truck over to Hannah’s house and pulled up behind her small car, thankful they were not going to try to climb the mountain roads in that. Jumping out of the truck, he ran to the front door and entered without knocking.

“Great, you’re here.” Hannah was dressed in combats and hiking boots. She wore a t-shirt and a thin base layer jacket; on the kitchen counter sat a warm jacket and a backpack. “I’m ready to go.”

“You have the map?” Knox asked, his familiar need for her tempered by the urgency of the situation.

“Here.” Hannah unfolded it, and pointed to a circle. “This is the cabin Dustin used to visit with his dad.” She drew her finger across the paper. “And this is where his dad died. Brad thinks Dustin will stay in the cabin overnight and trek up here in the morning.”

Knox studied the map for a moment, his skilled eyes figuring out the best route for them to take. “If we drive to here, we can cut across this way. It’s a shorter route, and less of a climb.”

“OK. You are the expert.” Hannah folded the map and tucked it in a side pocket of her pack. Then she walked to the door, jacket hooked over her arm.

Knox jogged to the truck while she locked her house, and started the engine. As soon as Hannah was in the truck, he backed out of the driveway and turned around, heading out of town, following the route he had memorized from the map. It was good to be doing something, making a difference, even if that difference was small.

“Thank you,” Hannah told him once more.

“You don’t have to thank me. I want to help. It must be tough losing your dad at that age.”

“There was a landslide. Lex didn’t stand a chance, and Dustin has been having a hard time at school. I hoped to get him to talk to someone who knows what he’s going through. There are a couple of girls who lost their parents last year. Suzie suggested asking them, but things escalated before I got a chance.” She paused and looked out of the window. “I should have acted sooner. When I saw Dustin last night, I figured he was better. He’d been in trouble at school, but he was talking to his mom, they seemed to have made a step forward.”

“So that’s whose scent was on your skin.”

“Scent? You could smell him on me?” Hannah asked. “Just how good are your senses?”

“Very good. My human senses are strong, but my bear senses are the best.”

“Does that mean you could pick up his trail? If we cross it, would you be able to follow his scent?” Hannah asked.

“My bear could.” He nodded, and turned the steering wheel hard to navigate a hairpin bend.

“If he took a direct route from his house, the trail he followed would intersect the one we are going to follow about two miles from the cabin.” Hannah spoke slowly and deliberately.

“When we reach it, I’ll see if I can track him. But whether I can or not, we should aim for the cabin. We can’t walk all night, and if he’s not there, we’re better off getting some rest and starting again in the morning.”

“I agree.” Hannah nodded. She could not let her need to find Dustin put them in danger.

“As much as I want to help you find Dustin, I have to keep you safe.” Knox’s voice was firm, and he would not be swayed. He needed Hannah to know that.

“Understood. But I’m sure that’s where he’d go. If he’s trying to relive the time he spent with his dad, then that is where he’d go.” Hannah nodded with certainty, but Knox wasn’t sure if she was right. A young boy like that, he could just as easily camp out under the stars anywhere on the vast mountain.

“If we don’t find him tonight, we can trek to the place his dad died tomorrow.” Knox guided the truck to the side of the road and cut the engine. Approximately a hundred feet further uphill was the trail they needed to follow. “This is it, are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Hannah opened the truck door and jumped down, before turning to grab hold of her pack and drag it toward her.

Knox joined her and helped her hoist her pack onto her back. “What have you got in this thing?”

“Water, food, matches. A change of clothes.” She gave him a wry smile. “In case I get wet.”

“Ah, as long as you know this isn’t some fashion parade.” He chuckled at the face she pulled as he picked up his own pack, and put it on. After doing up the clips, he secured the truck and pocketed the keys. “Do you have a flashlight in your pack?”

“I do. But I can see OK in the dark.”

“This might be a different kind of dark. Absolute.” He looked up at the sky. “In three hours we won’t be able to see in front of our noses. Get the flashlight out now, and carry it in case you need it.”

“And the map?” Hannah asked, rummaging through her pack and pulling out a flashlight.

“Keep it where it is. I’ve got the image of it in my head, but we may need it.” He set off, with Hannah following.

“So this is the professional face of Knox?” Hannah asked. He could hear the rustle of fabric as she adjusted her pack.

“It is.”

“Do you miss it? The army.”

“Some parts. Not others.”

“You don’t regret leaving?” Hannah fell into step behind him, taking one and a half steps to every one of his.

“No, I don’t. I thought I would. But things changed.”

“You won’t ever go back?”

Knox cast a look over his shoulder. Hannah was walking with her head down, her expression concealed. “No. Not now. I left for a reason, those reasons still remain.”

“Because you lost someone?”

“More than one.” He breathed in the cool evening air and then let it go. It was easier to talk about those he’d lost when he was surrounded by the open mountainside, and Hannah couldn’t see his face. It was time to tell Hannah the whole ugly truth. “There was an ambush. I blamed myself for their deaths.”

“But it wasn’t your fault?”

“Not really. But not everything is black and white. I needed time to come to terms with what happened. The guilt lives with me every day. I keep picturing the families they left behind. One of them, Smithy, had a teenage son. I can’t help worrying he might go through the same thing Dustin is going through.”

“You can be there for him.” Hannah was right, if only it was that easy.

“I could. But I’m a coward. How do you face a kid who’s lost a parent?” Knox’s voice was raw, cutting through the still mountain air.

“You will find the strength,” Hannah assured him.

“You know today, when you called me, I wondered if you were strong enough to cope with this mountain. Now I see you are stronger than me. What you do, confronting these situations every day, it takes guts.”

“I’m nothing special. You’re the one who went to war, who got fired at by men who want to kill you.”

Knox stopped and turned around to face her. “Meeting you. Knowing what you do. Now I know why I did what I did. It’s to keep people like you, people like Dani, and Jamie’s kids, safe.”

Hannah placed her hands on his chest. “You are a brave, selfless man, Knox. Don’t ever forget that.”

Knox bent his head and kissed Hannah. Here on the mountainside, where anything seemed possible.