Page 5 of No Man Left Behind

The scenes had her fingers itching to create a comic. Several of them, actually. She moved across the street and sat on a bench under a maple tree. Its leaves were edged with the barest of red, and she imagined it would be glorious in a few weeks. The leaf-peepers would be impressed.

She pulled out her tablet and opened an empty strip. She’d refine the ideas later, but for now, she sketched the wall where Owen climbed and added him clanging the bell in triumph.

Bending reality, she moved her bench and maple tree closer to the wall. It was the perfect place to hide her critters who could cheer on the boy.

Lobo, the wolf, curled up beneath the bench. Zorro, the fox, peeked around the tree. Those were her two most frequent animals. They also received the most fan mail.

Grinning, Elina sat back to check out her sketch. She’d expand it to a four-panel later, showing Owen’s progress up the wall and the animals’ fear when he wobbled. But this would be the basis for the final panel. A boy’s triumph that brought joy to the onlookers.

Another addition to her quiet, happy comic series that brought in more money than she’d ever expected.

She pulled up a fresh strip and sketched in a group of leaf-peepers checking out the leaves. Maybe she’d have the leaves all green and the locals telling them to return in a few weeks. Or maybe one where the autumn colors rendered them all speechless. With the town name of Phail, she wondered about incorporating that into the comic. Phailed Leaf-Peepers for the first one? The second could be Phail-tastic. But the joke would be lost on people who didn’t know the town. And she’d bet very few of her readers had ever heard of Phail, Vermont.

She made a few notes on the side for other titles and other strips. Satisfied, she turned off the tablet. Her body was stiff from sitting in one place for so long, so she stretched before reaching for her bag. Somehow, she’d knocked it off the bench, and the contents had spilled on the ground.

Not unusual. When she was caught up in her drawing, she didn’t notice much, and she might have been sitting there for hours.

She reached for her wallet when a rich, male baritone voice had her stumbling.

“Let me help you with that.”

A voice she knew.

Elina looked up to confirm she wasn’t imagining things. Nope. Arrow squatted in front of her wearing a deputy’s uniform and looking as wonderful as she remembered.

“Arrow?”

He dropped the notebook he’d picked up, and those wonderful, cocoa-coloured eyes widened as he lifted his gaze to her face.

“Elina? Is it really you?”

Arrow had never hallucinated in his life, but he wondered if his thoughts about Elina yesterday were causing him to do so now.

As soon as he’d exited Phail General, he’d been pulled to the woman working intently on the bench. She’d ignored her hair as it had blown around her shoulders. Masses of rich brown curls. Her belongings had tumbled out of her bag but she hadn’t noticed until she’d finished whatever she worked on and looked up.

She’d been facing away from him, but he’d crossed to help her, unable to do anything else.

“Arrow. Itisyou.” Her voice was only a whisper.

He grinned, hearing his call sign from her lips. “It’s me. I’m thrilled to see you. I was thinking about you just yesterday, wondering how you were doing. Made me wonder if I was imagining you being here.”

Her eyes sparkled, and her smile grew. “I wasn’t sure you’d remember me if I ever found you.” Then her eyes widened, and her golden skin flushed.

“I could never forget you.” Not with the chemistry that had arced between them with every look and encounter. Something warm filled his chest at her words. She’d been looking for him. She hadn’t forgotten him, either. “What are you doing here in Phail?”

She shrugged and ducked her head. “I’ve spent the last year exploring the northern part of the country.”

And looking for him? Them? That had been implied in her earlier words, but he wasn’t pushing for an explanation. He wasn’t taking a chance of scaring her away, not when they’d finally reconnected. “I’m thrilled your explorations brought you here. When did you arrive? Do you have a room at the B&B?”

She smiled. “I left Albany this morning and saw the name Phail on the map. It made me laugh, and I decided to visit. Jim and Carl have me in a great room at the B&B.”

He grinned. She was staying for at least a while. “Jim and Carl are amazing.” He handed her the last notebook and then moved to sit on the bench with her. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She laughed. “Me too. I’ve been hoping to find you. I never had a chance to thank you for saving my students and me that day. You looked in bad shape when they choppered you away. I wanted to make sure saving us didn’t cost you.”

He shrugged that away. “I’m fine. We lost Shaggy that day, though.”

Her eyes flooded with tears, and she reached over to squeeze his hand. The zip he felt was inappropriate for the conversation, but he couldn’t squash it.

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