Stay focused,okay?
“I was young. Probably idealistic. And yes, I can admit maybe I said things, hurt him too. But the truth is I’m not going to fall for anyone who can walk out of my life again. I’m done with hurt.”
In the darkness, Winter’s hand touched her shoulder, and she found herself reaching out, meeting it.
“You’re not alone,” she said, her voice quiet, her grip firm. “Not anymore.”
Of course her best friend would know exactly what to say for her throat to thicken, for her eyes to blur.
“I know you know this, but ... God hasn’t forgotten you either, Harls. You’re back here for a reason. And my heart believes that it’s for more than just to capture Mars.”
Overhead, the clouds shifted, and for the smallest of moments, the moon peeked out, bright and glowing against the darkness.
Harley let go of Winter’s hand. And said softly, almost to herself, “We’ll see.”
“ORLANDO!”
He knew it was just a dream, because in it, Jericho stood on the hill—the same one, every time—with the craggy serac hovering like a hand, shadowing the chunky debris field below. A brusque wind bullied mottled storm clouds. Not a great day to be trapped in the snow.
Even if it was just a training mission.
Training.The word bulleted through his dream, but he couldn’t shake away the hitch of his breath, the thunder of his heartbeat.
“Orlando!”
Jericho’s thick boots punched through the snow, poking the ground, more for balance than probing—he knew where Gunther lay in the snow cave they’d dug out.
But did Orlando?
The dog bounded through the snow, trying to catch the scent cone, the smells scattered by the breeze. The black markings on his coat, the orange harness, and the bell kept him from getting lost in the spray of snow picked up by the wind.
A crack above and Jericho’s breath caught.
Wait—snow bombs?
His chest burned as he searched for the sound.
Maybe he shouldn’t have taken the dog out today, but he’d needed the training ahead of Orlando’s certification.
Orlando turned, a profile, nose up, twitching, tail wagging, a big game of hide-and-seek.
The moment snapshotted in Jericho’s mind every time. A breath of hope that this time might be different.
In the distance, behind the mountain, the rotors of a chopper churned the air, and he found it—the bird soaring over the backcountry slope of Big Mountain, blades slicing the silence.
Oh no.
Blasting day. He hadn’t seen it on the schedule, but after last night’s powder—
“Orlando, hold!” He took off through the powder on snowshoes, but his steps were bogged down in the thick powder.
Orlando turned, clearly picking up the scent. Maybe the dog hadn’t heard him—
Another blast ripped the air, thundering closer, rumbling all the way to his bones.
No!
Farther downhill, Orlando circled, then started to dig. He’d found Gunther. “Good dog!” Jericho started to run.