Page 16 of Scent of Evil
The good news was that Stone was still hot on the trail. His K9 was an excellent tracker, as were most of the other K9s on the Sullivan ranch. His sister Alexis, who was married to Griff, had a K9 by the name of Denali who was trained to search for human remains. Denali was the only cadaver dog in the state of Wyoming, and he found himself praying they wouldn’t need Denali’s services anytime soon.
Not for Ginny, he silently prayed.Please, Lord Jesus, not Ginny.
Decker was another story. Searching for his dead body wouldn’t bother him at all.
Wincing at the uncharitable thought, he reminded himself to stay focused. There was no point in imagining something that might never happen. For now, he trusted Stone would lead them to Decker. Although the lack of hearing an ATV engine was concerning.
Stone loped up a steep ravine, sniffing along the top. Justin urged Blaze forward, sensing the horses were getting tired too. Riding in the mountains was hard work, and they’d pushed the pace to keep up with the four-wheeler.
Where was Decker now? He didn’t like not knowing.
“Justin!” Raine’s voice was a cry, and when he reached the top of the hill, he glanced back to see Raine had fallen off Timber.
Alarmed, he called Stone back from the search as he swung down from the saddle. “Come, Stone. Heel!”
His yellow lab didn’t hesitate to wheel around to trot back to his side.
Justin slipped and slid down the ravine to reach Raine. Timber had stopped and was grazing on tall grass nearby. Reassured the horse was fine, he knelt beside Raine.
“Where does it hurt?” He ran his hands along her arms and legs, instinctively searching for broken bones. He hadn’t fallen off a horse since he was a kid and wasn’t sure what had caused Raine to hit the dirt.
“Everywhere.” Her voice was little more than a harsh whisper, and he realized she’d had the wind knocked out of her. He was loath to move her until he knew for sure she wasn’t badly hurt.
“I know your muscles are sore, but what about your neck, head, and spine? Any new pain I need to know about?”
“No.” She struggled to breathe, so he slid his arm around her shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. The change helped, and she drew in a ragged breath. “Thanks.”
“What happened?” He searched her gaze. “Did something spook Timber?”
She shook her head. “My fault. I wasn’t paying close attention. I was caught off guard when Timber ran up the hill.”
Remembering how she was hunched in the saddle, he wasn’t too surprised. Timber was cool and calm in a crisis, such as being targeted by gunfire, but a rider still needed to be alert for potential problems.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice was contrite. “I know we need to keep moving.”
Was he pushing her too hard? The image of Decker’s mug shot flashed in his mind, and he knew there was nothing he could do except to keep going.
“Can you stand?” Holding her was no hardship, but he knew they couldn’t just sit there. “I’ll help you.”
“I can stand.” Despite her attempt to sound confident, Justin had to pretty much lift her upright. She rested against him for a moment. “I’m not usually such a wimp.”
“You’re not. This wouldn’t be easy for anyone who isn’t used to riding for hours.” Three and a half hours to be exact. “Take a moment to get your breath.”
“I feel like an idiot for falling off your horse.” She finally pushed away from him, standing on her own two feet. “I’m fine now, thanks.”
He admired her grit and determination. “Good. I’ll give you a leg up, okay?”
“Yeah.” She suddenly frowned and gripped his arm tightly. “Wait, why can’t we hear the four-wheeler?”
“I’m not sure.” When her eyes filled with distress, he hastily added, “Maybe they ran out of gas.”
“Then we have to hurry to catch up.” She moved toward Timber, gathering the reins in one hand and reaching for the saddle horn. She glanced back at him impatiently.
Without complaint, he gave her a leg up into the saddle, eyeing her for a moment. Could she do this? While on a search and rescue mission in Yellowstone, he’d been forced to tie the rider to the saddle because the young woman had no experience with horseback riding at all and kept falling off.
If necessary, he’d tie Raine in place too.
“I’m fine.” She straightened in the saddle as if reading his concern. “I won’t fall off again. Let’s do this.”
