Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
The trail was almost deserted this time of morning, with the exception of one pair of older hikers, talking softly between sips of coffee from insulated aluminum mugs.
“Morning,” I said, moving past them at a quick clip. As I made my way further down the trail, I thought back to the past several days. During the day, Tommy and I were—mostly—professional. Colleagues. Co-instructors intent on ensuring our groups were cross-trained on all aspects of wilderness emergency response. People who took our jobs and our mission seriously.
At night, however, we were like dogs in heat. As soon as the cabin door closed behind us and we were finally alone, we were grappling to get each other’s clothes off, to get hands on bare skin and lips wherever we could.
There’d been no holding back for Tommy, no moment of awkwardness about hooking up with another man. In fact, he seemed to thrive on the physicality of it—being able to wrestle and command, pin each other, and even relish a little pain. Hair pulled a little too much, throat clasped firmly, wrists restrained in a strong grip.
Maybe he’d begun to see that he might have been missing something with women, something he needed and even craved.
And, if so, I tried my best to give it to him.
But strength wasn’t the only thing Tommy Marian seemed to crave. He also melted under tenderness and kind consideration. I’d noticed his surprise when I’d offered to take care of him after a particularly messy hand job, when I’d washed him up with a warm cloth or kissed tender bruises I’d accidentally left on his wrist.
His eyes would flare wide and turn molten, and his chest would expand with a sucked-in breath. Every damned time.
And every time, I’d remember this was supposed to be casual and that I was blurring my own fucking lines. But it was impossible not to want to take care of him.
The radio squawked, scaring the fuck out of me and almost causing me to lose my footing.
“Base to Blake. Status check.”
I shook my head and refocused on work before thumbing the radio. “Blake to base. ETA ten minutes.”
The trailhead buzzed with nervous energy as the summer SAR cohort gathered under impossibly sunny skies. The group was a good mix of about thirty park rangers and deputies, EMTs, a couple of adventure guides, and one guy who’d flown in from Switzerland just for this program.
“Alright, listen up,” I called, spreading the terrain map across the hood of my truck. “We’ve got a missing hiker, twenty-six-year-old male, last seen on the Ridgeline Trail around fourteen hundred yesterday. He was supposed to meet friends at the parking area by eighteen hundred but never showed.”
One of the students leaned in closer to study the map. “Any idea about his experience level?”
“Moderate. He’s done this trail before, but weather moved in faster than predicted last night. Possible injury, possible exposure, possible he just got turned around in the fog.”
I watched their faces as they processed the information. Good. No panic, but I could see the wheels turning.
“Weather’s going to be a factor today, too,” I continued, glancing up at the crystal clear sky. “You can’t see it right now, but we’ve got a fictional weather system moving in quickly. Anticipate the unexpected. If visibility drops to shit, we’ll have to pull everyone off the mountain. That’s always a possibility in wilderness search and rescue, which means time is precious. Efficiency matters. The longer it takes to find our target, the more likely medical intervention becomes”
My students glanced over at Tommy’s team about fifteen yards away. Even from here, I could see him moving through their equipment check with the same methodical efficiency I’d grown to admire. No wasted motion, no uncertainty. Just quiet competence that made everyone around him better.
Focus, Blake.
“Terrain’s going to challenge you,” I said, turning back to my students. “Dense undergrowth for the first two miles, then rocky scrambles with plenty of places to fall. The trail splits three times, and there are at least a dozen game paths that look legitimate if you’re not paying attention.”
I pointed to different areas on the map as I spoke, watching to make sure everyone was following along. “Jasper, you’re team lead today. Sarah, you’re backup. I want radio check-ins every thirty minutes, and I want you calling out everything you see—every piece of trash, every broken branch, every scuff mark that doesn’t belong.”
Jasper straightened his shoulders and glanced at me in surprise. “Me? You sure?”
I nodded.
He took a deep breath and swallowed hard but didn’t disagree.
Jasper was one of the quieter students, and he got along well with both students and staff. I liked him a lot, on a personal level. But it frustrated me that he always tended to defer to other students in the group. If he wanted to be effective in an emergency situation, he needed to start thinking for himself and take some initiative.