Page 97 of Sheltering Instinct

The rope momentarily crossed their path at the root ball and caught.

Reaper grabbed around the trunk as Tess helped him to tie the tree off.

Tethered as it was to the dump truck, the tree rotated around. Now Reaper was closer to the shore, and Levi was down current.

The water did them a solid and shoved the branches closer to the shore.

Goose waded into the water and tied off the main branch with another rope. Reaper and Goose waded out of the water, each grabbing a line and pulling it toward solid ground. “Stay still!” Reaper called.

“Let go of my rope, Tess!” Levi yelled.

The moment the words left his mouth, Tess had complied.

Levi gathered the waterlogged rope and then held out the loose end. “Mojo, bite.”

In the water, following Goose’s line, Levi made it halfway to shore. where he bent in two. “Mojo jump!”

A moment later, Mojo landed on Levi’s back, claws digging into his flesh as he sailed onto dry ground, rope dangling from his teeth. Reaper accepted the end and tied it to the dump truck.

Now, Levi was methodically making his way toward Tess. With an arm around the trunk, one at a time, he grabbed a child’s arm and pressed the little one toward Reaper’s waiting hands. One after the other, to the teacher, and then finally to Tess.

On the shore, Levi and Tess lay, clinging to each other as they caught their breath.

Reaper’s hand jutted toward them, and Levi looked up as he grasped it, accepting the assist.

“Short window, man. You can rest later. We have to get back over the bridge before it falls away. There’s nothing good happening north of here.

The children were all in the back of the dump truck.

The teacher was unresponsive as Goose worked on rendering aid.

“Tess, go up with Reaper in the cab. I need to stay back here and tell Goose what happened so he knows what first aid to give.”

“I can—”

“Please, Tessy, do me a favor and go to the front. I need to know you’re warm and safe.” He put his hand on his chest. “Ineedthat.”

Moments later, the dump truck was retracing its path over the bridge, down the road, and toward safety in Windhoek.

As they pulled up in front of the hospital to deliver the schoolteacher and her class, Tess was back in Levi’s arms with Mojo by their side.

The miracles of these last few days left Levi in awe of how quickly life could change.

This time, he’d gone into the fight and come out with a super-hero dog and the love of his life.

Worth the dangers?

Damned straight.

Epilogue

Tess and Levi walked hand in hand past the rows of white chairs toward the arch made of fruiting grape vines and flowers, where the officiant waited with a welcoming smile.

Adam, Mordecai, and Mojo stood on the bride’s side.

Levi’s SEAL buddies from Iniquus, who were instrumental in setting him on the path back to Tess, stood at his side.

And Betty had ambled in to see what was going on, bending their long, graceful neck to nibble on the arbor leaves that looked so enticing.

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