Page 65 of One Last Promise

What was that about?

Moose turned to Axel, who still carried Hazel, who carried the puppy. “I want to take her to the hospital.” He reached for the puppy.

“No!” Hazel jerked the dog away, holding on.

Moose looked at her. “Hazel, let’s trade. You give the little troublemaker to my brother. He’ll bring him home. And I’ll take you to the hospital for a look-see on that leg.”

“He’s hungry.”

“Of course he is,” Moose said and finally eased the pup from her arms. Tillie pulled Hazel from Axel’s arms.

“We’re also going to get Tillie’s head wound looked at.”

Axel took the puppy from Moose. “I’m going to check in with Flynn. I’ll tell Mom to make up a couple beds for Shep and London.”

“I have a room at the Samsons’,” London said. “We were already driving up when Axel radioed in that you’d gone down the sinkhole, and I figured we’d be here overnight, so I called them.”

“That’s also when we realized we needed a chopper and called Dodge at Sky King Ranch,” Shep said.

“Thanks,” Moose said, andshook Dodge’s hand.

“We left a car here,” Shep said. “We’ll give you a ride to the hospital.”

“I’ll call Dad to pick me up,” Axel said, crouching to attach a leash to Kip. He glanced at Moose. “Got the lead from Stormi. Good call, by the way. Rome did a good job tracking you down.”

“We left a path the size of a grizzly, so . . .”

“Still.” Axel stood up. “There’s a future there with K9 SAR.” He pulled out his phone and walked away.

Hazel shivered and Tillie kissed her forehead. “We’ll be warm soon.”

Tillie’s head had really started to throb. She’d knocked her brain around good when she hit that rock.

As if reading her mind, Moose turned to her. “I can carry Hazel.”

“Are you sure?”

Moose looked at Hazel. “Can I carry you?”

Hazel nodded, and Moose took her. “Let’s go.”

Watching Moose carry little Hazel had Tillie’s chest all knotted, her throat tight.

He buckled her into Shep’s Jeep, then sat on one side, Tillie on the other as they drove to the hospital.

Hazel leaned against Moose, his big arm over her, keeping her warm.

Then he carried her into the hospital and right into the ER. And while a male intern sutured Tillie’s wound—yes, it needed stitches—Moose waged a thumb war with Hazel and played I Spy and told her a story of the time he’d gotten stitches and how brave she’d been to save Kip, and the entire time, Tillie wished for a different life.

A life that wasn’t riddled with mistakes and hiding and lies and . . .

But then she wouldn’t have Hazel, and it didn’t help to try to rewrite her mistakes,so?—

“You okay, Tillie?”

She looked over from where she lay on the table to see London standing nearby.

Behind her, Shep carried a takeout box from Northstar Pizza. “Anyone hungry?”

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