LITMIR.BIZ

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activity when Buzz drove into the parking lot. Park rangers and volunteers and sheriff’s deputies hustled about, talking into their radios and looking harried. Buzz parked the truck next to a Lake County sheriff’s van and shut down the engine. Next to him, Kelly reached for the door handle.

      “We’re going to hit the trail, so make it brief,” he said.

      Nodding once, she slipped out the door. Buzz gathered his gear and got out of the truck. He was in the process of slipping his pack over his shoulders when a tall man dressed in khakis and a button-down shirt rushed toward Kelly with a determined stride. Buzz couldn’t see much of him in the dim light cast from the single sodium vapor lamp overhead—just enough to recognize the glint of male interest in his eyes.

      “Any word?” Kelly asked the man.

      “Nothing yet.” He opened his arms to her. “I’m sorry.”

      She went into his arms without hesitation.

      Standing next to the truck, Buzz watched the exchange, trying in vain to ignore the hot snap of jealousy.

      “I came straight over from the office,” the man said to her. “Your sister called and talked to my assistant. I wish you’d called me.”

      “There was nothing you could do.”

      “I could have been here for you.”

      “God, Taylor, I’m so worried. It’s been over five hours.”

      “I’m sure they’ll find him.” The man eyed Buzz over Kelly’s shoulder, taking his measure much the same way a contender did in the minutes before a boxing match.

      Buzz stared back with his best bad-cop glare, wondering if it would be considered politically incorrect of him to wipe that superior expression off the other man’s face with his fist. Buzz wasn’t a fan of politically correct.

      Never taking his eyes from Buzz’s, the man lowered his hand to the small of Kelly’s back in a silent message that wasn’t lost on Buzz.

      She’s mine.

      “You holding up okay?” the man asked her.

      “I’m all right,” she said. “I just need to find him.”

      “You’re cut—”

      “It’s nothing.”

      Buzz refused to identify the brutal twist of emotion in his gut. He was not a jealous man. Never had been. Hell, he wasn’t even possessive. Not that he had a right to be in the first place. He and Kelly were through. She was free to see whomever she chose. Just because Buzz had never quite reconciled himself to the fact that their divorce meant things were over between them for good didn’t mean he was going to let the possibility that she was having a relationship with this bespectacled corporate jerk cloud his judgment.

      Easing back from the man, Kelly turned to Buzz. “Taylor, this is Buzz Malone.”

      The other man stuck out his hand. “Taylor Quelhorst. Glad to meet you.”

      Buzz hesitated an instant before accepting the handshake. If the other man knew Buzz was the father of the child in question, he gave no indication.

      “You’re a retired policeman.” Taylor squeezed Buzz’s hand.

      Buzz squeezed back. “Ex-detective.”

      “Buzz and I are going to hike the trail where Eddie was lost,” Kelly said.

      Taylor released Buzz’s hand abruptly and gave her a sharp look. “I was planning to take you back to the motel where I’m staying.”

      “No. All my things are here. You go. I’m going to join the search.”

      “Well, then, I’ll go with you.”

      “You don’t have any gear,” Buzz cut in, then motioned toward Taylor’s Italian loafers. “You’d just slow us down.”

      The other man’s annoyed gaze swept from Kelly to Buzz, and then back to Kelly. “Do you want me to go—?”

      “No, I want you to go back to the motel,” she said firmly. “Make sure the rangers and sheriff’s department have the number there, so they know how to reach you.”

      “They do.”

      “All right.” Pulling away from him, she sighed. “You’ve got my cell number. Please, call me the instant you hear anything.” Her eyes intensified. “Anything.”

      “You got it.” Leaning forward, he kissed her gently on the cheek.

      Unwilling to witness any more of the exchange, Buzz turned away and started toward a couple of sheriff’s deputies holding a thermos of what he hoped was coffee. He might be divorced from Kelly, he might even be fine with it, but he sure as hell didn’t like seeing another man put his hands on her.

      A moment later, Kelly drew up beside him. “All right. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

      All too aware that he was annoyed as hell and his heart rate was up to a dangerous level, Buzz risked a look at her, but he didn’t slow down. “You finished with Mr. Corporate America?”

      “His name is Taylor Quelhorst, and he’s my boss.”

      “Seems friendly.”

      “We’re friends. He cares for Eddie.”

      “I’ll bet.”

      Buzz stopped walking on reaching the two deputies. Setting his pack on the ground, he offered his hand. “I’m Buzz Malone with RMSAR.”

      A young, muscle-bound deputy grinned and shook his hand enthusiastically. “You guys found that lost Boy Scout last summer. Good going. We’re glad to have you here.”

      “This is the lost boy’s mother, Kelly. What’s the stat?”

      After introductions were made, one of the deputies poured coffee from a thermos and handed a cup to Kelly, another one to Buzz. The other young man updated Buzz and Kelly on the search. “No sign of the subject yet. Someone reported tracks up on Cougar Ridge, but they didn’t pan out. We’ve had so many volunteers, the area is pretty trampled. Most of the volunteers have gone home for the night, but they’ll be back first light. What are you folks going to do?”

      “We’re going to hike up to the site where the child was initially lost.”

      Grimacing, the deputy glanced down at Kelly. “You sure you want to do that in the dark? You can’t see much. You’ll have a better chance of spotting him tomorrow if you’re fresh.”

      Buzz knew the deputy was experienced enough to know that many times the parents of lost children exhausted themselves early and then weren’t much good to anyone—including the child—thereafter. What he didn’t know was that Buzz intended to make sure Kelly got some rest tonight whether they were on the trail or not.

      “I’ve got a halogen spotlight and a whistle.” Buzz finished his coffee and passed the empty cup back to the deputy.

      “That’ll help.” The deputy collected Kelly’s cup as well. “You got a radio with you?” he asked Buzz.

      “VHS. What frequency are you guys using?”

      “Emergency channel 16. All agencies involved.”

      “Got it.”

      “You folks be careful.”

      Hefting his pack, Buzz slipped it over his shoulders and started toward the darkened trail. Kelly had to trot to keep up with his long stride.

      “I don’t have a pack,” she said.

      “I’ve got everything we need in mine.”

      “I didn’t know you had a whistle,” she said. “That’s a good idea. I wish I’d thought of it.”

      “I do this for a living

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