Page 36 of The Daddy She Needed

“Help!” she called out. “Please help me! I’m down here! Help!”

But the man didn’t react. He didn’t even act like he’d heard. She waved her arms wildly, trying to get his attention. Why couldn’t he see her? The sun was directly behind him and all she could see of him was a silhouette—but he must be able to see her clearly, surely? His vision wouldn’t be impeded by the sun.

She yelled again, louder this time, waving some more and tried to scramble to her feet. Pain shot through her leg again and she fell backwards, tumbling sideways. “Why won’t you help me?” she cried.

In her new position, with her head on a slightly different angle, she could see a bit more than just an outline of a body. She could make out the edges of a coat. Why would anyone be wearing a coat in the middle of the day, at the height of summer? And when she squinted, she was pretty sure she could see a big, bushy beard.

Just like the man in my dreams.But she instantly shut that thought process down.Don’t go there, Catherine,she scolded herself.You’re not crazy. It must be a hunter in the area.Carly had assured her there wouldn’t be anyone around, but hunters sometimes walked for miles. And there were no fences up here, no signposts, nothing to keep anyone out. It must be a hunter.

“Help!” she yelled again.

But the man, whoever he was, still didn’t react.

* * *

“Come on, come on, pick up!” Jason muttered under his breath, desperation overwhelming him. She’d been out there for hours; she should definitely be back by now. She could have run a marathon twice over in the time she’d been gone for. Was she lost? Hurt? Visions of Catherine at the bottom of a mountain ravine, her body twisted brutally from a fall, settled themselves in his head and he couldn’t push them away no matter how hard he tried. Frustrated, he jabbed at the button on the walkie-talkie again, receiving only static in return to his frantic call for help.

She’s not Louise,he reminded himself, trying to calm himself down.This isn’t New York. There are no cars. She’s fine.Except in his heart, he knew she wasn’t. This was the mountains. There were plenty of ways for people to die up here. He saw it on the news all the time. People falling over cliffs, injuring themselves, and dying of exposure to the elements when searchers didn’t find them in time. No way was he letting that happen to Catherine.

He tried to call the homestead again and again, forcing down his rising panic, forcing himself to think clearly.

Finally, someone picked up.

“Jason?” a feminine voice asked.

“Carly? Thank God.” It was impossible for him to keep the fear out of his voice as he explained that Catherine had left before lunch—long before lunch—and she still wasn’t back, all these hours later. She was a runner, fit, but she had nothing with her. No food. No drink. No warm clothes. No means of communication. She wasn’t prepared for a night outdoors in the mountains, even in the summer. She’d freeze to death. Die of dehydration. She might be injured…

“Okay.” Carly’s voice interrupted the panicked thoughts bombarding his mind and he let out a breath.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I’ll go and get the men,” she told him, her voice calm, reassuring. “We’ll come up in the chopper and be there as soon as we can. We’ll find her, alright? This is what Josh does, he finds people. He’s in search and rescue.”

All he could do was nod dumbly. How could Catherine be so stupid? How couldhebe so stupid?

“Jason? Are you there?” Carly’s voice came through again, sounding tinny through the small speaker, but comforting nonetheless.

He cleared his throat, pressed the button to talk, and held it up to his mouth. “Yes. Yes, I’m here. Thank you.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Carly promised. “Just hang tight, alright? Don’t leave the hut.”

Relief flooded him. Help was coming. But it wasn’t enough, not really. He knew he wouldn’t be able to relax fully until Catherine was found and she was safely back in his arms.

Although it was only about half an hour, it seemed to take an eternity before Jason heard the dulldoof-doof-doofof the helicopter coming over the hills toward him. Josh set it down on the flat area outside the hut and Carly, Mike, and Davo jumped out, followed a minute or so later by Josh.

“What did you do to make her run?” Carly demanded, striding over to them.

Jason was taken aback. He squared his shoulders, prepared to defend himself, his actions, his words, but Mike beat him to it.

“Oi,” he growled. “You don’t know what happened.” He looked stern and Carly looked sheepish just for a second, but only for a second. It seemed that she found her courage after that, and she boldly looked them all in the eye, one after the other. “Well, women don’t just run off and get themselves lost up here for no reason,” she declared.

Jason chuckled. She was speaking from experience, he presumed. “Do I even want to know what happened?” he asked, mildly curious.

“No,” Davo insisted. “We’ve got a woman to find.” He looked at Jason then, and spoke calmly, confidently. “And wewillfind her, don’t worry. We managed to find Carly in the dark. We’ll find Catherine in broad daylight, no worries.”

After a few minutes of talking, they all set off. Davo and Mike on foot in opposite directions, and Jason, Carly, and Josh in the helicopter.

* * *

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