Search And Rescue

“I suppose it’s possible,” Shane said. “Some lowlife sure has it in for our head trainer. Since the bullets missed her this morning, I did wonder if they tried to kill her with a batch of rattlers.”

“Kind of hard to plan ahead for an attack like that,” Ryder said. “Although I suppose they might have gathered them to release at the training center and changed their minds.”

“Terrific.” He snorted wryly. “Look, the worst of the danger is over and nobody was bitten. I just thought it would be good to get your input on this. You know how Harmon and Marlton can be when they’re trying to avoid paperwork.”

“Yeah. The sooner they retire the better,” Ryder replied. “I can’t believe Louise didn’t call me right away. Isn’t she covering the desk?”

“Not this late. So, should we hang around? Are you coming out?”

“Yes,” Ryder said. “I’ll have to drop Lily at the babysitter’s. Give me fifteen minutes, tops.”

“Copy,” the rookie officer said as he prepared to end the call. “Wear your boots.”

Ryder looked over at his drowsy, little blonde five-year-old and had to smile. He’d been reading her a bedtime story and she’d laid her head on the cushiony arm of the sofa when he’d stopped to answer the phone.

The sight of such a loving, beautiful child made his heart beat faster, yet constricted his gut as if he’d just taken a body blow. He’d failed to protect her mother. He was not going to fail Lily. The mere concept was abhorrent. This child was his life, his legacy, his and Melanie’s, and nobody was going to harm her. He’d die before he’d let that happen.

He gently rubbed Lily’s bare feet. “Wake up, honey. I have to go out. I’m taking you back to Miss Opal’s.”

“Uh-uh. It’s story time. You can’t go away again.”

Ryder felt guilty and compensated as best he could. “How about we go out for ice cream after I get back?”

That seemed to brighten the child’s mood although she was still making a face. “With sprinkles?”

“If that’s what you want,” Ryder promised. “Now put your shoes on while I get my boots. I need to hurry.”

Lily’s innocent blue eyes focused on him. “What happened, Daddy?”

“A lady found rattlesnakes in her yard.”

“Are you gonna shoot them?”

Ryder couldn’t tell whether the child was asking because she needed reassurance or because she felt sorry for the snakes. “I’m not sure about all of them. I imagine my officers had to shoot some.”

Sadly, she said, “Oh.”

“They had to protect the lady and her dog.”

“Dog? She had a dog?”

“Yes.”

“Like Titus?”

“Uh-huh. Kind of.”

Lily began to smile. “That’s different.” Sitting up, she rested her bare feet on the big yellow Labrador retriever lying against the front edge of the couch and wiggled her toes into his fur. His tail thumped but he didn’t rise. “I love Titus.”

“Me, too,” her father replied with a sigh. There was only one thing worse than having to retire a faithful canine partner and that was losing one in the line of duty. He knew it was time to give the old dog a rest, but he also knew that Titus would brood about being left behind. That was a given.

He reached down and patted the dog’s broad head. “No other dog will ever work as well as you do,” he said soothingly. “I don’t care who says otherwise.”

“Can Titus go with us?”

“Not this time, honey. You know Miss Opal’s cats don’t like to play with him.”

The scowl returned. Nevertheless, the child had her sandals on when Ryder returned wearing his boots.

He held out his hand. “Ready?”

“No.” Lily tossed her blond curls, dropped to her knees and hugged Titus’s furry neck, placed a kiss on the top of his nose, then jumped to her feet. “Okay. Now I am.”

The poignancy of the scene almost choked him up. So did the trusting way she grasped his fingers. Losing Melanie had nearly broken him—would have—if he hadn’t had Lily. Every day that passed he loved her more. And every time he went out on a call he prayed even harder for her continued well-being.

Yes, he could have sent her away when Carrie Dunleavy’s crime spree was uncovered. But that would have meant trusting his little girl to someone else’s care 24/7 and he simply could not do that. No one’s vigilance could be as sufficient as his because nobody could possible love Lily as much as he did. Nobody.

He’d die before he’d let anything happen to her.

* * *

Sophie wondered who in the crowd of officers combing her backyard was going give the all clear. Rookie Ellen Foxcroft was probably at the hospital visiting her comatose mother, Marian, but Shane Weston, Whitney Godwin, James Harrison and Tristan McKeller had responded. They’d done most of the actual work while Eddie Harmon and Dennis Marlton, the old-timers, had stood back and relaxed, occasionally barking an order or chuckling when one of the novices found and dealt with another snake.

“Typical,” she muttered, preparing to call out to either Eddie or Dennis and insist that one of them release her to go back to the house. Before she could, they both straightened and began to feign being busy. That could mean only one thing. The chief was here.

To Sophie’s amazement, the sight of Ryder’s six-foot-two, athletic self brought instant relief and more than a touch of joy. He looked just as good out of uniform, in jeans and a T-shirt, as he always did with his badge on. She waved. “Over here!”

Though he paused to speak with Shane and then James, he didn’t tarry long. Sweeping the beam of a flashlight ahead of him to double-check his path, he came directly to her.

“You okay?”

“I am now,” she replied, having to restrain herself from leaping into his arms like a scared kid. “Thankfully my neighbors heard me shooting and reported trouble. It’s been a very long evening.”

“So they tell me. Why aren’t you and that mutt in the house?”

“Because nobody has given us the all clear.” Scowling, she eyed the part of the yard she could see from her perch. “How bad was it? I heard enough shooting and shouting to last me for the rest of my life.”

A smile quirked at the corners of Ryder’s mouth. “Fortunately, that will be a long time thanks to my officers.” He held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll get you to the house.”

“I’d rather you carried Phoenix, just in case,” Sophie told him. “What if they missed one?”

“Carried him?”

“Yes.” She tried not to smile. “Please?”

Ryder handed her his flashlight and arched a brow. “If he bites me, we send him back where he came from tomorrow. Deal?”

That wasn’t fair. She hadn’t had enough time to fully assess the dog’s quirks. Still, he was eventually going to have to work with the chief and had performed amiably in his initial placement so she nodded. “Okay. Go for it.”