Page 22 of Scent of Peril

“Logan has a point,” Shane said. When Jess glared at him, he raised a hand. “I know Teddy is rarely wrong when it comes to finding drugs. But having drugs in your pocket for personal use and dealing them are two different things.”

“You’re all nuts,” Jess muttered. “And if Doug were here, he’d agree with me on this.”

They finished the rest of their meal in silence. Logan knew that no matter what he said, Jess would insist on being included in the trip back up the mountain.

When their server brought their bill, he dug in his pocket for some cash to pay for his meal. Chase waved him off. “Put it away. We’ve got this.”

Sensing that arguing was useless, he let it go. The Sullivans were known not to accept more than a bag of dog food for their services, and he’d always assumed they’d gotten some sort of inheritance from their parents.

Yet that didn’t mean he shouldn’t pay his way.

They all stood and began pulling on their winter coats, hats, and gloves. The dogs jumped to their feet, raring to go. Logan could feel the curious gazes as they trooped toward the front door.

“Nothing like drawing a whole lot of attention,” he said to Shane. “Does this happen all the time?”

Shane lifted a brow and shrugged. “Didn’t notice.”

Because they’re the closest thing to royalty around here. He shook his head and stood watching as the three Sullivan siblings sent their dogs out for a quick romp around the restaurant before calling them back. Even Teddy, who had to be exhausted from their earlier trek down the mountain, eagerly played along with Rocky and Bryce.

As usual, Rocky was the last one to head over when called. Logan tried to hide his amusement at Chase’s frustration.

“Rocky, heel!” He shouted the command loud enough to be heard all the way to Cody. After staring Chase down for a long minute, Rocky relented and trotted over to the SUV.

“That dog is something else,” he said in a low voice to Jess as Chase managed to get Rocky settled in the back crate area of the SUV. “I thought all K9s were well trained?”

“Elkhounds are a different breed.” She grinned. “More independent than most and not as anxious to please their handlers. Somehow, I don’t think Chase will get another Elkhound once Rocky retires from SAR duty. But since Rocky is only five, he has many years of fighting with that dog ahead of him.”

Logan held the back door open for Jess and Teddy. Soon, they were back on the highway. His log cabin home was only another three miles down the road on the outskirts of town. He’d purchased the property after his mother died. His dad had left when he was just a kid, and Logan had no real memory of the guy. Other than the scent of cigarette smoke. When Logan passed a smoker, he thought only briefly of the man who’d walked away without looking back.

His mom had done well enough without him, working at a small motel and then buying the place when the owner retired. Logan had felt bad selling the motel after she’d died, but his mother had always encouraged his love of flying, so he was sure she’d appreciate his desire to purchase a property with a built-in airstrip. Not to mention an airplane hangar. The previous owner had left an old plane behind, and Logan had pretty much rebuilt the engine from scratch to get her back in flying condition.

That was how he ended up with three planes.Well, two now, he thought with a sigh. He hadn’t had time to examine the damage too closely after the near crash landing. He hoped it wouldn’t take too much to get the bird airborne.

A few minutes later, Chase pulled into his driveway. He quickly pushed his door open. “Thanks again.”

“Back at you,” Chase answered. “We appreciate everything you did for Jess.”

“Jess can speak for herself,” she said irritably. Then she sighed. “I am grateful you were with me last night. And I hope to see you again soon.”

“Sure thing.” Logan told himself Jess didn’t mean that the way it sounded. She was more concerned about tracking the potential drug dealer than seeing him again on a personal level. And that was fine. He needed to focus on repairing his plane anyway.

He grabbed his oversized backpack from the rear seat and slung it over his shoulder. “Take care.” He gave Jess a nod and turned to head toward the airplane hangar. No reason to haul the pack into the house. He’d have to go through it to rearrange stuff, but he wanted to be sure he had the pack stored in his second favorite plane for his next trip.

Obviously, it had been a good thing he and Jess had been able to use the tent and other camping gear last night.

He was about halfway to the hangar when he heard the sharp crack of gunfire. Seconds later, he felt the impact of a bullet striking his backpack. It was enough to throw him off balance. He instinctively dropped to his knees while digging his gun from his pocket.

“Logan!” Jessica’s shout echoed around him. It was quickly followed by the roaring of the SUV engine. He frantically searched the section of woods located just north of his house, the most logical location for a gunman to hide.

“Get in!” Jess sounded angry now. “Hurry!”

He wasn’t sure that was the best move, but he feared if he didn’t go to the car, she’d rush toward him, placing herself in harm’s way. Without giving himself too much time to think it through, he leaped to his feet and used the backpack to shield his head and neck as he ran toward the SUV.

Jess had the back door open. He didn’t hesitate to dive inside. Without waiting for him to get situated, or even to get the door closed, Chase put the SUV in reverse and shot out of the driveway.

He finally managed to shove the backpack to the floor, leaning forward to grab the door handle to close it. Chase was still driving as fast as possible away from his home.

“Did you see who shot at you?” Chase demanded.

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