Page 98 of Serenity Harbor

“No, no, no.”

She hadn’t heard that chant from him in a long time, especially not on a distressed wail. “You have to,” she said as she made her way through the thick undergrowth. “Everyone is so worried about you, especially Bo. He’s very sad and scared for you. You can’t hide away here, sweetie.”

“No, Kat. No, no, no,no,” he cried, louder still.

When she moved closer and aimed the flashlight at him, she suddenly realized the trouble. His pajama top had tangled in a low tree branch. He wasn’t being obstructive. He was saying “no” because he couldn’t move.

Another child might have made the connection to take off his shirt and leave it there, but Milo’s panic had held him fast as much as the tree branch.

Relief rushed through her, and she hugged him. “We’ll get you out of there. Hold on. Easy.” She knelt beside him, heedless of the mud and pine needles, and lowered her head so she could wedge the flashlight between her chin and her chest while she worked to extricate his shirt. It was stuck fast, so she finally just yanked it out with a loud rip that made him jump.

“There we are. You’re free. Come here, come here.”

This boy who didn’t always like being hugged jumped into her arms and held on tight. She rocked back, falling to the mud. He wore only pajamas and was soaked through and barefoot. His little feet were freezing, and he shivered in her arms.

First order of business was warming him up. Though it was tricky with him holding on tight, she managed to pull off her own shoes and socks and the rain slicker and sweatshirt she had thrown on in a panic. That left her in a T-shirt and jeans—not enough for these conditions, but she knew it would be only a short time until she could get him home.

“Here you go. Let’s get these piggies warmed up.” She pulled her socks, warm from her own feet, onto his feet and then slid him out of his ripped pajama shirt and put the sweatshirt in its place. It draped almost to his knees.

“Coat next,” she said and pulled the rain slicker on over the sweatshirt. “There. Is that a little better?”

He nodded, and it seemed his shivering had subsided a little. They were relatively sheltered under the spreading leaves of a pine tree, and while all her instincts yelled at her to get the boy to safety, she knew it would take only a moment to put Bowie’s fear to rest.

She supposed she technically should call Cade first to have him call off the search, but she would let Bowie do that. Her hands shook from relief as much as the cold, misty rain already seeping through her T-shirt as she found his number on her phone and dialed, slipping her shoes back on her bare feet as she waited for him to pick up.

“I’ve got him,” she said before he could even say hello. “He’s safe and he’s fine, just wet and cold. We’re on the lake trail just before the Lawsons’ house. He was caught in a branch.”

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed, as much a prayer as an exclamation. “I’ll come pick you up.”

“No need. We’ll meet you at your house. It would take us almost as long to walk up to meet you at the road as it would to just come home. Call Cade and let him know to call off the search, would you?”

“I’ll do that.” He paused. “Katrina. Thank you.”

The emotion in his voice seemed to vibrate through her. “You’re welcome. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Bo?” Milo said when she disconnected the call.

“Yes. That’s Bo. Let’s get you home to him. Come on, kiddo. Piggyback time.”

She crouched in the mud, and he climbed onto her back. For the first time since she met him, she was grateful he was small for his age.

“Can you hold the flashlight? That’s it. Just shine it ahead of us.”

With distant lightning flashes across the lake and the occasional rumble of thunder, she took off on the trail back to Serenity Harbor. The trail was slick with mud, so she didn’t dare run, but she knew she needed to get him in out of the cold. The legs of his pajamas were still wet, and she could feel his occasional shivers against her back.

She had made it only about halfway back to Bowie’s house when she saw the wavering light of a flashlight moving toward them at a fast clip through the trees. She caught glimpses of the dark figure carrying the light between the trees.

“Bo,” Milo said, his voice gruff, probably from the cold and his earlier cries.

She wasn’t sure how he knew, but it was definitely Bowie. The muddy trail didn’t appear to worry him. He was running full out. He faltered a little when his beam caught them, then moved even faster, reaching them an instant later.

“There you are. You scared the hell out of me, kid.”

He pulled Milo off her back and into his arms, and Milo hugged him back.

“He’s cold,” Katrina said. “We should get him back to the house, where he can warm up.”

“One minute.”

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