Page 210 of Ignite

“Okay. You stay here. He might track his scent back to here, or yours even. I’ll head that direction and see.”

I can feel the fear coming from her.

“If you need me, scream.”

Before she can reply, I set off in a jog through the tree line.

There’s still six hours of daylight.

I keep tracking for paw prints, descending deeper into the trail. She’s right—he does run fast.

The sun streams through a gap in the trees and I inhale the fresh forest scent. This is what I love most.

Being outdoors, turning off my brain, and just hunting.

I’m almost an hour in, following fresh prints, when the sound of water falling catches my attention to my left.

It’s worth checking. Bertie is probably thirsty on his little adventure.

The water cascades down the rock face, landing in a small lake.

And there he is. On the right, just lying down on the leaves and relaxing.

My foot crunches on a twig and his head snaps up. He barks in warning.

“Bertie. Come on, boy. It’s me.” I make my voice excitable for him.

“Come on. Let me take you home to Mom.” I tap my knees, and he jumps up.

Relief fills me when his tail wags and he bounds toward me.

“Hey, boy.” I ruffle his head.

He keeps nudging my hand to carry on. I take that opportunity to loop the rope I brought from my car into his collar.

Crouching back down, a wave of emotion washes over me. His tail wags like crazy.

“You can’t leave your momma, Bertie. She really needs you.”

He lets out a little bark. I think he knows I’m talking about Hallie.

“You miss her too?” I whisper and tickle under his jaw.

As I sit on the ground, Bertie joins me and rests his head on my lap.

“At least you still like me, bud,” I sigh.

I just let nature calm me.

Peace.

I’ve found Bertie, which means Hallie will be happy. That’s all that matters.

“Right. Let’s get you back. You’ve got a few nights with me,” I tell him, jumping to my feet.

“I’ve seenyou bed some dogs before, but this is fuckin’ new,” Finn teases.

I sit up and rub my eyes, finding him standing in my bedroom doorway.

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