“One, two, three, look at me. I’m a happy cowboy. Four, five, six, ropey tricks, are easy for a cowboy….”
For the hundredth time, he wondered where his mommy was. He knew she was going to be worried. He hoped she wasn’t mad. He couldn’t help it if he was lost. He’d been trying so hard to find her. He wondered if she was still where he’d left her. He hoped she’d woken up and gone back to the ranger station.
Turning slightly, Eddie set Bunky Bear on the rock opposite him, so he could see him better. “Mommy knows all about the woods and camping,” he said. “She’s the smartest mommy in the whole world, Bunky Bear. Don’t worry. She’s not even going to be mad. She’s out looking for us right now. Probably has a bunch of people helping her. Really smart people who wear hiking boots and cowboy hats and know all about the mountains and stuff.”
The thought of his mommy made him smile. He looked up at the sky again, felt the first fringes of fear at the thought of the coming darkness. Or a storm.
Last night had been so scary. Even though he had a jacket, he’d been cold. So cold he hadn’t been able to sleep. And he’d heard all sorts of noises. Strange growling sounds. Rustlings in the bushes.
The thought of spending another night alone scared him so much Eddie began to cry. “Don’t cry, Bunky Bear,” he said, sniffing loudly. Reaching for the stuffed animal, he hugged it close and started to sing the song again.
Chapter 7
K elly found the candy bar wrapper just before dusk. Lingering several feet behind her as they clamored over rocky terrain, Buzz saw her kneel.
“He was here!” she cried. “Buzz! Oh, my God! He was here!”
Holding the wrapper up as if she’d just found the world’s largest diamond, she rushed toward Buzz, covering the rugged terrain at a dangerous speed. She was breathless, smiling, her face lit with new hope when she reached him. She waved the wrapper like a victory flag. “This was in his backpack. Buzz, he was here!”
Without waiting for him to reply, she spun and cupped her hands to her mouth. “Eddie! Honey, it’s Mommy! Where are you, sweetheart!”
Grasping the whistle hanging from the chain at his neck, Buzz put it to his mouth and blew three times in quick succession. The ear-splitting sound echoed off the treetops and the rock face on the other side of the creek. A flock of birds flurried into the air a dozen yards away.
“If he’s within earshot, he’ll hear the whistle,” he said.
As if holding her breath, Kelly turned in a circle, her eyes skimming the surrounding forest and rock. “He’s got to be close,” she said. “Even if he can’t hear us, he’s got to be close.”
“Let me see the wrapper,” Buzz said.
She passed it to him, but her attention was riveted to the surrounding vistas. Buzz studied the wrapper. Residual chocolate had melted on the inside. A few tiny ants had discovered it and scurried about the paper. Judging from the amount of chocolate consumed by the ants, he guessed it had been on the ground an hour, maybe two.
He blew the whistle again. Three long durations. Then they listened. He could practically feel the excitement coming off Kelly. While the wrapper was good news, he knew it wasn’t a guarantee that they would find him any time soon.
Buzz was in the process of handing her the water when a voice came over his VHF radio. “This is Homer One. You there, Tango?”
Buzz slid the radio from his belt. “I’m here.”
“Flyboy just called in with an update on the situation up north.”
Instinctively knowing why the man on the other end hadn’t used the word fire, Buzz turned away from Kelly and lowered his voice. “What’ve you got?”
“Twelve homes burned last night near Meredith. Two firefighters are missing. Flyboy’s out looking, but it doesn’t look good.”
Buzz cursed. Damn, he hated it when the good guys lost one of their own. “I’m four miles south of there. We’ve got plenty of smoke.”
“Fire’s moving fast, Buzz. Front came through and everything went to hell.”
“How many people we got left looking for the boy?”
“They’ve expanded the grid search. Jake Madigan is out with a few other volunteers. Maitland and Scully are still out in the ATV.” The man on the other end paused. “They needed the chopper to find the two firefighters, so Flyboy is gone.”
“Roger that.”
“Any sign of the kid?”
“That’s a negative.”
“We’re not going to quit, but in light of the conditions up there, you might consider sending the mother back. That fire’s burning uncontrolled. Things could get squirrelly.”
Buzz sighed. He knew Dispatch was right; he knew the time had come for him to send Kelly back. Just as he knew he was going to have a knock-down-drag-out fight on his hands. Holy hell. He couldn’t think of a more impossible situation.
“Flyboy is going to do a fly by on his way to base when he fuels,” Dispatch said. “He’ll keep an eye out for the kid.”
“Tell him I appreciate that.”