52

 

Enrique looked at the brown horse with a healthy dose of skepticism. He wasn’t good with horses, though he’d been on them a few times.

Charlie laughed. “There’s not much reason to do this, Rodriquez. Chances are you can’t find them even if they are up in those mountains. And I doubt if they are.”

“Call it a gut feeling, but I think that’s where they are.”

“Well, you’ve got your phones. If you find anything that indicates that, let me know and we’ll get choppers in the air. That’s a lot of area to cover on horseback, or by foot.”

“Come on. I’ll show you how to get up.” Zink told him. “I think you should let me go alone. You are not going to be much help.”

“I’ve been on a horse before.”

“Pony rides at the fair don’t count.”

Charlie snorted, but turned his head away when Enrique gave him a look.

After a quick lesson riding double, the two of them headed up the hill and into the trees.

“It looks as if this area has seen some activity.” Zink nodded at the ground. “See all the broken down grass? I’d say some people on foot, but I see some horse prints, as well.”

“That’s good, let’s keep moving.”

An hour later the trail had mostly disappeared, but he was getting a better feel for the horse.

“I’m not sure if we should keep going.” Zink announced. “The footprints seemed to have disappeared. I still see horse prints, but that doesn’t mean they belong to Jamie.”

“But they could.”

“They could, but the tracks seem as if the horse was moving slowly and deliberately. Meaning whoever was on the horse didn’t feel threatened. Chances are they were out for a leisurely horse ride.”

“I’m not giving up yet. But you can go back if you want.”

“I’m just keeping it real. I don’t want to give you any false hope.”

“Any hope sounds good to me.” He snapped the reins to urge the horse to move faster finding it ironic that Zink was the one keeping it real. No wonder Jamie wanted to help her, they were kindred souls, strong, brave, and facing the bad things in life with courage.

Eventually, the horse crested the mountain. The sun glared down on them. The trees had kept them in the shade, and he hadn’t felt the heat of the day until now. It was scorching hot.

Enrique stared at the vastness of the area, now understanding why Charlie didn’t have a lot of hope. Two inexperienced people, one a child, up here in this heat. No water, no food, and no supplies.

As if reading his mind, Zink whispered, “God will keep them safe.” She slipped off the horse and began to walk around in circles.

“What are you doing?”

“Interesting. It looks as if someone took the time to hide their tracks.”

He slid off the horse. His thighs were shaking like a bowl full of jelly. He leaned down and stared at where she was pointing. “I see what you mean. Now what?”

“Let’s follow the brush marks and see what happens.”

They stayed off the horse and near to the ground.

Zink straightened up. “Look over there. The trail picks back up.”

Back on the horse, they trotted faster. The trees were less thick up here and they could keep watch for the tracks. They were moving down the mountain side when they heard the shot.

“That sounded like a gunshot to me.” Zink stiffened behind him.

“To me, too.”

She pointed towards a copse of trees. “Sounded like it came from over there.”

“But the tracks lead this way.” He indicated the opposite way. “Your son, your call.”

“I’m going this way.” With that, she grabbed the reins from him and spurred the horse towards the trees.

His thighs protested, but he ignored the pain.

Zink slowed the horse as she approached.

“Maybe we should get off the horse,” Enrique whispered. “He could be a liability with both of us on him. He may not be used to carrying double, and we might wear him out. We need him to be as fresh as possible if we have to get out fast.”

“Good idea.”

They both slid to the ground.

There were no more shots.

They listened to the slight wind, straining to hear any signs of life. Even as they approached the trees, Enrique heard nothing. His gaze fell on the hidden stream. This would be a good place to wait for help. The shelter of the trees to hide in and water to keep someone alive.

“Good place to hide from the bad guys.”

She nodded. Her voice was filled with emotion. “Andrew, are you here?”

No response, but he could swear someone was listening. It was too quiet, even the birds were waiting for something to happen. They waited for a few moments, and then Enrique called out, trying a new tack. “Jamie, we’re here. Where are you?”

Zink’s gaze locked with his as they waited.

Still no response.

And suddenly, he knew. He knew exactly what Jamie had done. He put a hand up and raised his voice. “Suzanne, I guess we were wrong. Andrew must be waiting for you and his daddy somewhere else.”

A moment passed and then a little voice asked, “You called her Suzanne…that’s my Mommy’s name.” A head poked out of the tree just to the right of them. “Are you my Mommy?”

Zink gasped. “I’m your Mommy.”

“Mommy?” The little boy skittered down the tree. He stood a distance from them, a pellet gun dangling from his fingertips. “I think…I think I know you…you look like the mommy in the picture Daddy shows me all the time.”

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” Zink sang as she fell to her knees. She choked, and the song sputtered to a stop. “Oh, thank you, God.” Her prayer was hoarse, straight from the heart.

“Daddy sings that song and tells me mommy sang it to me when I was a baby.” Andrew approached them, stared at Zink as if memorizing her features…or perhaps, his child’s brain was overlaying what he remembered of his mother with this woman before him. Wide-eyed, he stared, and then he flung himself into her arms.

“Oh, my sweet boy. My sweet boy.” She clasped him as little arms went around her neck. The two of them rocked back and forth.

Enrique waited as long as he could. “Where’s Jamie, Andrew?”

“She went to find help for us.”

That had to have been a hard decision, but one thing he knew about the love of his life, she could make hard decisions.

“Why did you shoot the gun?”

“I saw a snake.” He pointed at a dead snake several feet away. “I promised Jamie I would only shoot the gun if I needed to. I was getting a drink when I saw it.”

Good heavens. A four-year-old who could actually hit a target. But in this age of technology, video games improved eye-hand coordination. Or perhaps Michael Zinkleman had taught his son to shoot a pellet gun quite well.

Enrique looked down at the snake. Poisonous rattler. He shook his head at the miracle, because only God could have saved this child from that snake striking. “Good move, Andrew.”

The mother-son reunion was moving right along without him. Andrew clung to Zink and she clung right back, neither speaking.

“I’ll call Charlie now.” The cell phone worked fine in spite of being in the desert. There must be a tower nearby. He gave directions and disconnected. Then he walked out of the trees and set up flares from the emergency kit they stuck in the saddlebag.

Andrew curled up on Zink’s lap talking a mile a minute.

Zink’s smile said all Enrique needed to know. Now he understood why Jamie was willing to die to reunite the two of them. “The helicopter should be here soon. I’m getting back on the horse and will keep searching for Jamie.”

“If you wait until it gets here, I’ll come with you.”

“No way, Jamie would kill me if I let you leave Andrew now. And I mean, literally. You belong right here with him.”

She ran her fingers through her son’s hair. “I suppose you’re right about that.”

“Oh, yes I am. Besides once they get you to the hospital, they’ll be back to help with the search. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.” Please, God, help me find her quick…

Zink’s gaze locked with his, and he understood the unspoken message. Then she spoke out loud. “Andrew and I will keep praying for Jamie.”

Enrique nodded and swung up on the horse, his thighs protesting the move. It didn’t matter, though. Only Jamie mattered.