Page 66 of Beautifully Broken
Even work has been better, which I didn't think was possible. My guess that Ginny is expecting was correct, so she's been handling more of the admin stuff, which means I get to be out on the land I love so much.
With the weather getting warmer, we've had an uptick in hikers and tourists spilling into the area to take advantage of our little slice of heaven, but even they aren't bothering me as much.
Heading in for the day, I hate that I have to leave Ashley, but I'm looking forward to getting out and stretching my legs. I've had the last few days off, and while I enjoy staying in with Ash, my old wounds do better when I get regular exercise.
"Hey, Talon," Luke hollers from across the room, where he's talking to Ginny.
I make my way over to them, and hand him his caramel latte with extra whip and Ginny her tea with honey and ginger. Luke pats my arm while Ginny leans up and kisses me on the cheek.
"Not gonna lie; I liked you before Ash came around, but loved-up Talon is even better than I could've imagined," Luke teases as he darts away from Ginny's hand that's reaching out to smack him.
"Leave him alone, Luke. You're lucky he even brings you your frilly drink when you give him so much shit."
"Good morning to both of you. Thanks for protecting me, Mama, but he's not wrong. Even I like myself more now that I'm with Ash."
"That's good, Talon. That's exactly how it should be." Ginny smiles at me sweetly as she absentmindedly rubs her growing belly.
"Hey, everyone," my boss calls out as he comes out from his office. "That storm front heading our way has picked up a lot of speed and is going to be a real doozy. They're even predicting a record amount of tornado breakouts over the next few days. I need you all to be on alert. It's safe to say that the next few days are going to be crazy around here. Talon, I would be prepared to get called in to help find lost and stranded hikers."
I nod as I pull out my phone. I haven't checked the weather since the other day, but I need to be prepared if it's as bad as he's saying. I also need to give Ash a heads-up. I might be a fish and wildlife officer, but I'm also a trained medic from my SEAL days, and can track and navigate these situations better than most in this area.
"I'll be on standby. You mind if I head home to grab some stuff? Have you coordinated with the national park rangers yet to see how many people they have out on the trails right now?"
"Waiting on the list as we speak. Check in when you get back."
I nod then head out the door. Even though it's only been about twenty minutes since I got to work, I can already feel a change in the weather. I make my way to the truck and grab my phone to call Ashley on my way home.
"Hey, Bear. Is everything okay?"
"For now, but it might not be later on. We're supposed to get some pretty bad storms later today and over the next few days. I usually help out the rangers with lost hikers and the likes when these situations come up. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I might be out of contact for a bit."
"Okay…" His voice is quiet, which is nothing like the Ash I know and love.
"I'll be okay, baby. I'm trained and know these mountains like the back of my hand. Plus, I have you to come home to. Make sure you move the animals out of the lower pastures. We're supposed to get a lot of rain, and I'm afraid that the runoff from the mountains will be too much and flood those fields."
"Okay, I'll move them all. Please be careful and come home to me."
"I will. I have my sat phone, but I only try to use that in case of emergency. If I have to head out, I'll let you know before I go and I'll check in when I can, okay?"
"Okay. I love you, Talon."
"I love you too, Ashley."
I make quick work of gathering what I might need to do rescues in these mountains and then head back to work.
The storms are intense as hell, with several tornadoes popping up all over the area. My first instinct is to go to Ashley, but he assures me that while it was terrifying and the dorms suffered some damage, everyone is okay and they were lucky to have missed being hit directly by a tornado. The lower level of the property did flood, but no animals or humans were injured, which is a huge relief—one less thing to worry about when I'm tasked with finding a missing couple the rangers haven't been able to communicate with since before the storm.
Chapter 14
Ashley
"I should've heard something by now, right? Why hasn't he called?" I fret as I pace back and forth in my apartment while my mom watches with a worried look on her face.
My parents and grandpa arrived this morning to check on me andShelter Together. My mom also wanted to be here when the insurance company came to assess the damage the tree had caused when it landed on the roof. Thankfully, it wasn't too extensive, and some guys who work for a local contract put up some plywood and tarps to prevent any rain from getting in.
"I know it's really hard not to go to the worst case possible, but I'm sure Talon's fine," Raven assures me with a gentle squeeze of my arm. She arrived a few hours after Talon had left to go find the missing couple. "Talon doesn't talk much about his time in the military, but he was fucking brilliant. His skills really can't be beaten, and there are very few as qualified as he is to take this on."
"Logically, I know all of this. But don't you worry about his injuries hindering him? Sure, he's amazing, but he's not Superman."
