Page 11 of Natalie's Nighthawk

“You tried to climb out, didn’t you?” he asked as he cleaned and wrapped each finger with a bandage.

Colin nodded. “Kept slipping. Couldn’t get a good grip.”

“Is that how you messed up your ankle?”

Another nod. “It was so foggy I didn’t see the hole until Lucy was already falling. I tried to stop her fall, but the ground gave way under me, and we both fell in. I wanted to climb out, get help, but …”

“You did all you could,” Graham assured Colin. “Are you a scout?” Colin nodded. “Is that where you learned to ration your food? I noticed the lunch boxes; that was really smart.”

“I didn’t know how long we’d be down here.”

“You’ve got more survival instincts than some of my best Nighthawks.” Colin beamed. “And the singing! That was genius.”

“Lucy started that. She loves to sing. Especially Christmas songs. It kept her calm.”

“Well, it worked. Miss Ghannon heard you from pretty far away. Without that, we might not have found you so soon.”

Colin looked confused and disappointed. “I … I thought someone would have found us long ago. Why did it take two days?”

“Well, the Sheriff had everybody looking in the woods behind your house. He figured you would have gone in there. It wasn’t until Miss Ghannon began talking to some of your classmates that she learned about Donnie.”

Colin made a disgusted sound in his throat. “I don’t like him.”

“Believe it or not, it was Donnie who helped us find you. He showed us where he lost you in the woods. I think he feels really bad about what happened to you.”

“Sure,” Colin said sarcastically, taking another chug from his water bottle.

“Anyway,” Graham continued, “Miss Ghannon figured the Sheriff could use more manpower to search, so she came and got me this morning.”

“Aren’t you that guy who saved Marcus Rayne?”

Graham groaned inwardly. He was never going to get away from that. “Yup.”

“And you came for us?”

“Well, when Miss Ghannon told me her kids were missing, I didn’t hesitate.”

“I didn’t know she knew you.”

“We grew up together. She was my neighbor. Can you believe today is the first time I’ve seen her in twelve years?”

“Really?”

“Yup. Sure did miss her,” he mused.

“Hey Boss!” Finch, a Nighthawk teammate, called down to him from above. “You okay down there?”

“Absolutely!” he called back. “But I think my new friends would like to get out of here. Got a way to do that yet?”

“Working on it.”

A few minutes later, Graham had strapped the kids into modified harnesses and was watching as they were hoisted out of the hole. Lauren had arrived with the O’Donnolls, and he could hear Lucy excitedly chatting to them as Lauren handed the girl a cookie. All was right with their world again.

Hours later, the Nighthawks, along with Natalie and Maddie, were enjoying dinner at Jolene’s, a local Lake Haven watering hole. Atticus Mobey, who went by Finch in honor of hisTo Kill a Mockingbirdnamesake, was regaling the women with stories of some of their exploits. And of course, much to Graham’s chagrin, they wanted to know all about the rescue of Marcus Rayne.

Finch, the Nighthawk helicopter pilot, had spent the first ten years of his adult life in the Air Force, having enlisted straight out of high school. He had a curly mop of red hair on the top of his head with the sides trimmed close. His hazel eyes shined with mirth. “And then he says to the boss man, ’Your life story would make a great movie. I’d like to buy the rights.’ You wouldn’t believe the look on boss man’s face.” He made a face somewhere between shock and disgust to illustrate.

The whole table erupted in laughter. “What did he say to that?’’ Maddie wondered.

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