Page 69 of High Velocity

“Jonas says it’ll be a while yet before they can get them down the mountain, but he thinks the crew should be home in a couple of hours.”

“Good. That’s good. That is…are they okay? The hikers, I mean?”

I can already tell from her wince at my question, the news may not all be good.

“He asked me to dispatch an ambulance so it’ll be waiting at the trailhead. He didn’t ask for two ambulances.”

I have no trouble understanding the implication of a single ambulance. One injured, which leaves me to deduce the other is no longer in need of medical care. Immediately, my thoughts go to Jackson, and I worry about his mental state, but I’m not sure if that’s a subject I should discuss with his mother, so I refrain from asking how he’s doing.

She may have worries of her own though, because she sits down on the small porch beside me and lets her gaze drift out to the view.

“It can be tough on the guys,” she begins. “It’s great when they can rescue and bring people back alive, but unfortunately, all too often, they find death instead—sometimes very ugly—and in some cases they carry that burden with them. Questioning themselves if they’ve done all they could. Were they fast enough? If they’d gone north instead of east, could they have been in time?”

She sighs, wringing the hands in her lap.

“For some of them, it can trigger memories they’d rather not revisit. I know Jonas still wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares from time to time. These men rarely talk, some are so closed off they never do, and others just get angry. All we can do is be there for them to grab hold of when they need us.”

She looks at me with a plea in her eyes, and I know it’s not Jonas who’s on her mind, but Jackson. I cover her clasped hands in her lap with one of mine.

“He talks to me. I’m sure not about everything, but some of it,” I assure her. “Maybe it’s because I’ve shared some of my own struggles and experiences with him. But regardless, I think he knows I’m here for him.”

Alex shakes her head, clearly struggling not to cry as she grabs on to my hand.

“Only one thing worse than seeing your man in pain, it’s seeing your child in agony and knowing there is nothing you can do for him. I am so glad—so grateful—he has found a strong, compassionate woman to lean on when he needs to.”

Oh dear. I feel my own eyes burning and my nose starts to sting. What do you say to that? You can’t say thank you to a compliment as profound, a trust as deep as she’s offering me.

So I say nothing and hold on to her hand as I let a tear of my own roll down my cheek.

For someone who used to pride herself on her tough exterior, I sure am turning into a bit of a powder puff.

I don’t get a chance to indulge in the discovery of my softer side for long because my phone—which I’d propped up on the porch railing—starts ringing. Shane Wilcox’s name pops up on the screen. The call I was waiting for.

“I’m so sorry, I have to take this,” I apologize, snagging the phone as I get to my feet. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll leave you to it.” Alex stands up as well.

“No, please…this’ll only take a minute.”

I quickly slip inside as I answer the call.

“What have you got for me?”

“Hello to you too,” Shane responds sarcastically.

“Sorry,” I mumble.

“You’re forgiven. It took me a while, I guess you were waiting by the phone.”

“Something like that.”

“That phone number, I didn’t exactly get a pinpoint reading on it—which is always a problem in rural settings and in particular the mountains—but I’m sending you the information. What I can tell you is that the phone didn’t travel too far.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve gotta go, but check the map I just sent you.”

The line goes dead.

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