Page 4 of Scent of Peril

“Thank you.” Her smile made his pulse jump. He forced himself to ignore the response. He was the last person Jess would consider dating, and the sooner he came to grips with that fact, the better.

“Anytime.” They took a moment to tuck the supplies away before donning their thick outer gear. Jess stuffed some dog food into her backpack. They each had a pack, so he couldn’t carry hers. “I have room if you need more supplies.”

“This should be fine.” She bent to give her dog some water from a collapsible dish. Then she straightened and tucked the dish into the pack. “Okay, we’re ready.”

“Let’s do this.” He headed off across the open stretch of land toward the woods surrounding the base of the mountain. Double-checking his compass, he verified they were headed in the correct direction.

Teddy navigated the rugged terrain without difficulty. He and Jess took things more slowly. It wasn’t just the snow-covered rocks and fallen branches, but there was no distinct path for them to follow. They had to forge their own way, often through thick brush.

They didn’t talk much, conserving their strength for the hike. After about forty minutes, Jess lifted her hand. “I’d like to give Teddy a break.”

“I need it more than he does,” he joked, sitting on a fallen log. Jess dropped beside him.

“Me too. I haven’t given Teddy the search command to track anything, but the way he’s sniffing around, I’m sure he’s burning as much energy as if he were on the hunt.”

Teddy sat beside her, looking up at her adoringly. The dog was protective of her, but thankfully, he didn’t view Logan as a threat.

He checked his compass. Years of flying had honed his sense of direction, and he could easily picture the area where they’d spied the plane piece in his mind. “We’re on the right trajectory. But we still have a good three miles to go.”

“Okay.” She took a sip of water, then passed the bottle to him. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

He didn’t doubt her ability to keep up. Over the five years that the Sullivan family had been working search and rescue, he’d noticed they’d gotten in prime physical shape. He’d been so shallow in high school, far too concerned with dating the pretty, popular girl, that he’d overlooked the sweet and kind Jessica.

Reminding himself there was no point in reliving the past, he tucked the water bottle into his backpack, then stood and stretched. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She rose to her feet. “Come, Teddy.”

As if the dog wouldn’t follow, he thought with a wry smile. With his black coat and protective nature, Teddy’s name should have been Shadow.

They hiked for another thirty minutes, mostly in silence. Their conversation consisted of warning each other about environmental hazards such as fallen logs or the sudden appearance of a creek. Teddy forged ahead, then turned to wait for them to catch up before bounding forward again.

“He acts as if he knows our final destination,” Logan said.

“I’ve noticed that too.” She tracked the dog with her gaze. “Maybe he’s just glad to be out in the wilderness.”

He nodded. Jess would know her dog better than he did.

They stopped for another break. Once more, he looked down at his compass. “We’re making good time,” he said. “I estimate we have another thirty to forty minutes to go.”

She gave her dog some water, then tipped her head back to gaze up at the sky. “As much as I hate daylight savings time, it’s nice to know we have several hours of sunlight left.”

He grunted in agreement.

After a ten-minute rest, they continued moving through the brush. He broke through a particularly dense section of woods to find the clearing.

“I don’t remember seeing this from the plane,” Jess said with a frown. “Do you?”

“Not really.” He pulled out his compass to verify their location. “We may have veered slightly off course to the south. We’ll need to turn north, up the slope.”

“Okay.” She flashed a grin. “At least heading back to the plane should be easier.”

He took the lead, noticing that Teddy stayed closer to Jessica’s side now. He didn’t see any people tracks in the snow, so he didn’t anticipate danger from a human perspective.

Wild animals were another story.

He made another correction in their path, then continued climbing. When he crested a hill, he stopped and swung his gaze to the right.

“I see it!” Quickening his pace, he slipped and slid on the snow toward the metal object that was larger here than he’d anticipated. He bent and picked up the large chunk of metal that was clearly from a small plane.

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