Page 6 of Scent of Fear

“Normally, I wouldn’t, but the crack of gunfire interrupted the game. Bryce is a good tracker. I need him to stay engaged in the search.” Shane frowned. “I still don’t like that someone took a shot at us. I hope we find your grandfather soon.”

“Me too.” She wanted nothing more than to get her grandfather back home where he belonged. “Bryce will find him.”

“He will.” Shane gave a curt nod, then glanced at his dog. Shane didn’t smile often, but his expression softened when he addressed his partner. “Bryce, come!”

The large dog galloped over to Shane’s side, the yellow ducky looking ridiculous in his clenched teeth.

“Hand.” Bryce held out his hand expectantly. Bryce dropped the toy into Shane’s outstretched palm. “Good boy.” He bent and ruffled the dog’s fur, then he shrugged out of his pack and poured some water into the collapsible bowl. Seeing the water made her realize how thirsty she was.

She’d foolishly followed Shane and Bryce without bringing anything along. She felt like an idiot, but Shane must have read her mind because he pulled a second water bottle from his pack. “Help yourself.”

“Thank you.” She drank only a third of the bottle, not sure how many more he had stashed away.

He tucked the open bottle back in his pack, then finished the bottle he’d used for Bryce. Bryce lapped at the water, then lifted his dark gaze to Shane’s, clearly waiting for the next command.

“This is Marvin.” Shane offered the bag containing the socks and shirt. Bryce sniffed at the items, then looked up at Shane again. “Search! Search Marvin!”

Bryce eagerly wheeled around and lowered his head to the earth, sniffing intently. Then he continued along a path that only the dog could sense.

Bryce led them halfway up a hill, then turned to head east. She huffed and puffed trying to keep up.

The dog had way more energy than she did.

“Good boy,” Shane encouraged. “Search for Marvin!”

The dog gamely pushed forward, sniffing along the ground for her grandfather’s unique scent.

“I hope we find him soon.” Libby gnawed on her lower lip. She was having trouble maintaining her usual sunny disposition. The longer it took to find her grandfather, the more she was forced to accept the possibility that he’d fallen to the ground and injured himself. That he was right now lying in the brush, unable to get up.

Waiting desperately for them to find him.

Hurt but not dead. She refused to believe she may have lost him for good. Her grandfather was the only family she had left. She shared the last name of Tolliver with a guy named Andrew, but there was no relation between them as far as she knew. Her father had walked away when she was a toddler. She had no memory of the man. Her mother had died of a highly aggressive form of leukemia during her sophomore year of college. Libby had left college in Cheyenne, returning home to help care for her mother. But within a few weeks, her mother was gone.

The only thing she had left of her mother was the house. Libby had begged her grandfather to move in with her so they could be together. Grandpa had insisted he preferred living at the cabin. Since she’d gotten the job at the billing department at the hospital, Libby had reluctantly agreed to stay in Cody, using her weekends off to visit and help her grandfather. The arrangement had worked out well.

Until now.

Her grandfather was missing, and her heart ached with the thought of losing him.

Lifting her gaze to the blue sky overhead, she silently prayed.Please, Lord Jesus, keep my grandpa safe in Your care!

* * *

Shane could senseLibby’s despair as they continued trailing Bryce’s path through the woods. It bothered him to see her this upset.

Not that he could blame her. Knowing how he’d feel if one of his siblings was missing, Shane had gone against his better judgment, agreeing to continue the search. But he remained on high alert in case the shooter was tracking them too.

Poacher? Or someone else? He didn’t know and hated feeling vulnerable.

Shane had a carry concealed permit, his side arm tucked in the backpack. At first, he wanted to carry it in hand, but after several minutes of hearing nothing alarming, he’d decided against it. He wasn’t wearing his belt holster. At this point, it was more important to keep his hands free.

He kept a wary eye on the time and his compass. He trusted Bryce’s nose was taking them to Marvin Tolliver, but Shane needed to make sure they could find their way back to the cabin. Especially if they had to carry Marvin the entire distance.

Maybe he should have called one of his siblings in for assistance. He was fourth of nine siblings, each working with dogs of various specialties. His sister Maya was the oldest, working with a husky named Zion. She was married to DEA Agent Doug Bridges, and they were expecting their first child in mid-December. His brother Chase was married to Wynona, and they had a five-year-old son, Eli. Chase’s K9, Rocky, was a Norwegian Elkhound who was a good tracker but had a mind of his own. His sister Jessica was third in line and recently married pilot Logan Fletcher. Jessica’s K9, Teddy, was a narcotics dog but could track people too. Alexis was a year younger than he was, and her K9, Denali, had been specifically trained to find dead bodies. Alexis and Denali had been to various disaster sites for recovery missions. Joel and Justin were twins, and their lab K9s were good search dogs too. Trevor was the second youngest, and his K9 was a good tracker as well. And the youngest of the Sullivan clan was Kendra, who worked with Smoky, her large Alaskan malamute.

Any of his siblings would drop what they were doing to assist in the search for Marvin Tolliver. Shane decided that if they didn’t find Marvin alive by lunchtime, he’d call Alexis or Joel for backup. He’d reach out to Alexis first because the longer Marvin remained out in the wilderness, the worse his prognosis.

One thing for sure, he wouldn’t tell Libby that Alexis’s dog, Denali, was an expert at finding dead bodies.

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