Page 14 of Searching for Bristol
“Anyway, next there’s Zeke. He used to be a Green Beret in the Army, and now he owns the bar in town, On the Rocks. He’s with Elsie. She was a single mother who works as a server in the bar. They’d known each other a while, but things heated up between them and they just married recently. He took Elsie and her son, Tony, out to Eagle Point Tower, and most of the guys on the SAR team went with them, which is why they aren’t here now.
“Drew used to be a Virginia State Police officer, and is now an accountant. He does all our taxes, and I swear the man’s a genius with how much money he’s saved us all.”
“I wish I had a good accountant. I’ve gone through several through the years, and it seems as if all they’re interested in istakingmoney rather than actually helping me save on my taxes,” she said with a sigh.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sitting down and talking with you about your business and stuff. He’d give you some great tips, if nothing else.”
“That’d be awesome. I might just see if we can do that, thank you,” Bristol said.
“Then there’s Brock, who used to work at US Customs and Border Patrol, and now he works at the local car place. There’s nothing the man doesn’t know about engines and everything to do with cars. Talon’s from the UK, and he was in the Special Boat Service—that’s a special forces branch in England. He’s the pretty boy out of all of us. Probably because he’s a barber. He’s always immaculate, so if you ever want to give him shit, tell him how messy his hair looks or that it’s too long.”
Bristol smiled. “Um, since I don’t know him, I don’t think I’ll do that.”
“Hopefully you’ll get to know him. He’s kind of a clown too…but that can switch on a dime. I’ve seen him laughing one second, then ready to kick ass and take names the next.”
“Then I’ll definitely not be pissing him off anytime soon,” Bristol told him.
“The last guy on the team is Raiden. He’s tall, I told you that. He didn’t have an easy time growing up. He was gangly, has kinda funny-looking ears—his words—and a pointed nose. He got made fun of a lot. He’s told us more than once that his only friends when he was little were his dogs. Not surprisingly, when he went into the Coast Guard, he became a dog handler. A damn good one. He’s like a dog whisperer or something. He’s got a search dog, a bloodhound named Duke. Who’samazing. Many hounds are hard to handle because of their food drive and their stubbornness, but Duke does everything Raiden says almost before he says it.”
“Ooooh, I love bloodhounds!” Bristol exclaimed. “Except for the drool. That’s kind of gross.”
Rocky laughed. “Yup. It is. But Duke is an incredible tracking dog. He probably would’ve found you in half the time it took me.”
“You really sound like you respect and like all of your friends.”
“I do. And more than that, I trust them with my life. If we’re out here on a job, there’s no one I’d rather have at my back.”
“Are you going to get in trouble for coming out here by yourself?” Bristol asked, her brow wrinkling in concern.
“No. That’s not how we work. There’s no hierarchy with the team. Ethan’s our leader, but that’s just because he’s willing to do things like meet with the city council and mayor when we have to discuss the budget, and he’ll talk to the press if necessary. But otherwise, we’re all a bunch of guys who get to serve our city and help our friends and neighbors—and tourists, when necessary—when they need it. But that’s not to say they aren’t going to give me shit for coming out on my own without telling anyone where I was going. I know better than to do something so boneheaded.”
“Just like I knew better than to hike by myself,” Bristol said quietly.
“Exactly. Raiden is the only one in town right now, and I should’ve called him before I headed out. Even if I wasn’t sure that Sandra’s concern was necessary. I definitely learned my lesson. I just hope it wasn’t at your expense.”
“My expense? Rocky, youfoundme.”
“And we probably could’ve already been back at the trailhead by now if Raid was with me. I could’ve sent him back to call for help while I stayed with you. You wouldn’t have to be going through the pain you are right now if I wasn’t by myself.”
“Whatever,” Bristol said a little heatedly. “You need to stop beating yourself up. If we armchair quarterbacked every decision we ever made, we’d never be able to get up in the mornings. Could you have done things differently? Yes. But then again, I could’ve too. And you could’ve decided to ignore Sandra, convinced her that I was fine, and thenno onewould’ve found me. So get over yourself.”
Rocky couldn’t help but laugh. “Right, sorry.”
She wasn’t wrong. While he’d fucked up by coming out by himself, hehadcome.
He walked another thirty minutes before insisting on another break. This time when he put her down, she couldn’t hold back the wince. Rocky got another pain pill out for her. As much as he wanted to insist she eat something, if surgery was in her near future, it wouldn’t be a good idea.
So they chatted some more, and when it was time, he very carefully picked her up once again. The more time he spent holding her, the more right it felt to Rocky. She was so slight, but she still seemed to fit him perfectly, which was kind of odd, considering the difference in their heights.
By the time they reached the trailhead, they were both tired, sweaty, and hurting. It was late afternoon and he’d walked over twelve miles, half of those carrying more than twice the weight he set off with that morning. Rocky ignored his aches and pains because he knew they were nothing compared to what Bristol was feeling. She still denied she was in any more pain than a five on a scale of one to ten, but as the day wore on, Rocky had a feeling she was lying through her teeth.
He got her settled in the passenger side of his dark blue Chevy Tahoe and pulled out his cell phone. The first person he called was Robert Snow, Fallport’s resident doctor. The man agreed to meet him at the clinic on the square as soon as he could get there.
Not wanting to waste any time, Rocky started his car and headed toward town. He dialed Raiden’s number as he drove.
“Hey, Rocky, what’s up?” Raid said when he answered.
“First, I fucked up, IknowI fucked up, and I’d appreciate you saving the lecture for another time,” Rocky told him. He was using the hands-free Bluetooth feature of the phone and gave Bristol a small shrug as he waited to hear his friend’s response.
