Page 53 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

She didn’t, though she appreciated his apparent concern. She simply wasn’t hungry. Especially knowing he would be leaving soon. And would he be back to stay with her that night? She certainly couldn’t count on it.

“Hey,” he finally said. “The sooner I leave here, the sooner I can get back with the rest of the things you asked for.”

“Right,” she said, attempting to sound pleased. The sooner he left, the sooner she would once more be alone here with her thoughts, and for how long?

They would undoubtedly be worse now. She’d assumed the cops were looking for her when she’d fled the destroyed van, but then they also had things to do regarding the earthquake. But now, if they actually believed she had killed Ian, they might focus more on finding her.

“Hey,” Grayson said. “I have an idea. I already brought more batteries, although I probably should get even more to make sure your phone charger remains usable.”

“Right,” Savannah said, not sure where this was going.

“I’ll leave you some additional paper, too, that I have in the car. I’ll find you a small but powerful tablet computer, too, if it looks like you’ll be here much longer. Although—” He hesitated, and Savannah figured he was weighing the pros and cons of her remaining in the cabin while the authorities might ramp up their search for her. He clearly was aware of that possibility, too. “Anyway, taking notes on paper should work okay for now. Here’s what I’d like you to do.”

It turned out that he wanted to start a website chronicling first responders’ achievements, both his employees’ and others’. Their actions would be described in detail so other members of the public could learn more. He wanted to explain what they did, why they were important and what went into the certification process.

“I don’t want accolades for myself or my company, but I want to inform the public so they’ll know who to call and when, and what to expect. And maybe contribute money to the public emergency departments to help them increase their first responder involvement. But I haven’t had time to even start researching what would need to go into this kind of project,” he finished. “You have some time, at least for now. I would really appreciate it if you’d start it for me.”

Savannah liked the idea. A lot.

Spending her time compiling achievements by first responders, how they jumped in and saved endangered lives, put out fires, and more?

Oh yes.

Including him, but he’d said he didn’t want to applaud First Hand.

She hadn’t thought much about first responders until the earthquake—and meeting Grayson. Now, she was highly impressed by them, by him, and would love to learn more. And help him.

And have something to do besides sit here and stew over what her life had become—and what would happen to it in the future.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I’d love to start your research.” She didn’t bother reminding him that it might be a pipe dream she would never be able to accomplish, thanks to what was going on with her.

She had to remain optimistic. She would remain optimistic. And a lot of that was because of Grayson, and all he was doing for her. At least she could pay him back just a little this way. Plus, maybe she could come up with additional ideas for helping first responders achieve even more.

“Excellent.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “Time for me to go. But I’ll see you later.”

He rose and approached Savannah rather than heading straight to the door. She stood, too, and quickly found herself in his arms.

Their kiss was quick but hot and seemed to promise more. Or at least she hoped so.

But she knew better than to count on anything right now.

Even Grayson.

She would wait here for him, though. At least for today.

* * *

First things first. Grayson took a long detour, all the way to Tucson, fifty miles away from Mustang Valley. But it was early and traffic wasn’t bad—and no one there knew him.

He checked his surroundings a lot, though, in case he was being followed, unlikely as that was. Still, his paranoia wasn’t a bad thing since he was aiding an escaped prisoner. And he had a lot of experience and knowledge about how to spot anyone who oughtn’t be there.

He used his car phone system to check in at the office. He told Norah, who answered his call, that he was engaged in some promotional work in nearby towns. She sounded happy because she had an assignment that day working with some high school kids who wanted to learn more about being first responders. The school system had hired First Hand to present a program to a club for teens who were interested in future medical careers at Mustang Valley General Hospital. Chad and Winch would come along for a short while, too, and Pedro would most likely stay in the office attending to calls and whatever else needed to be done—unless a call came in. Or more aftershocks occurred.

“Thanks,” Grayson said to Norah before hanging up, meaning it. He loved owning the company, being in charge—and having such skilled and dedicated employees at his back. And what Norah was doing would be a great addition to the website he planned to work on with Savannah.

Finally reaching Tucson, he visited several shops, high-end makeup, low-end clothing and more, just to be sure he was getting the right stuff and not forgetting anything. This time, he would bring everything else Savannah had asked for, plus several versions of some things like items of clothing and slightly different colors and quality of makeup.

He also found a tablet computer for Savannah, assuming she remained interested and hung out at the cabin enough to work on his project. He needed help, she needed something to do. It all seemed perfect for the moment, assuming Savannah remained free.

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