Forever Wild(40)

“Actually, I looked it up and research shows wolves can pick up the scent of their prey from two and a half kilometers away, even when it’s buried under several feet of snow.” Simon frowns. “I mean, not that I think they’re—” Clearing his throat, he announces, “I’ll boil some water for tea,” and scurries off to the kitchen.

“Those two went out four hours ago?” Jonah pulls his sleeve up and checks his watch.

“Yes. And it’s been at least thirty years since Bj?rn has sat on one of those things. I can’t imagine he’s too comfortable right now, with his back problems.”

“As long as his ego isn’t suffering,” Jonah mutters dryly.

I bite my tongue against the urge to point out that this all sounds like something Jonah would pull. That’s a conversation for later, once everyone’s safely home.

“I’m sorry, Mom, but I’ve gotta go back out.”

“But what will you possibly be able to see when it’s like this?” Astrid pleads.

“I don’t know, but there’s no way I can sit here with my thumb up my ass while Mabel’s out there freezing to death.”

“Why don’t we take a look at the map to mark off everywhere we’ve already covered, before we forget.” Muriel gestures to the table where it’s still laid out. “We’ll get a hot tea in us, and then we can all hop out there again, together. Sound good?”

Jonah nods, his brow permanently furrowed.

“I’d like to go out, too,” Agnes says, worrying her hands. “I can’t sit here anymore—”

“Tell you what, I’ll ride with Teddy and you take my machine. Toby, you get started on that map. I need a bladder break.” She squeezes Agnes’s shoulder on her way past—a silent gesture of sympathy to a woman whose child is missing from a woman whose child is forever lost.

Trepidation churns in the pit of my stomach as we set to marking off trail after trail. I knew we’d covered a lot of ground, but I hadn’t realized how much.

Twenty minutes later, still frozen to the core, I’m pulling on my bunny boots—a precious Christmas gift from Agnes last year that is saving my feet tonight—when I swear I hear the buzz of an engine. Agnes and Jonah seem to hear it, too, because we all rush for the front porch at once and watch expectantly.

I hold my breath.

Two snowmachines travel up the driveway.

And then another two appear.

It’s impossible to tell from this distance who the riders are—if they’re searchers coming to check in.

That is until I see two four-legged animals racing beside them.

“It’s Roy!” My heart hammers in my chest, desperate for relief. But is it Roy and Bj?rn and volunteers they picked up along the way?

Ten seconds later, Mabel comes to a stop outside our house.

And the dread that’s gripped me for hours lifts from my limbs, leaving me feeling weightless.

“Oh, thank God.” Agnes pushes out the porch door and runs down the path toward her daughter who has scrambled off the snowmachine. Jonah and I are close behind.

They collide in an embrace, their sobs carrying over the hum of the nearby generator.

“We got lost! No matter where we went, it was the wrong way. It was like we were going in circles. I was so scared! I’m so sorry.” Mabel’s words tumble from her mouth in a continuous blur.

She towers over Agnes now and yet somehow looks small within Agnes’s fierce embrace. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Everyone has filtered out of the house, and a chorus of relieved sighs and exclamations can be heard.

“Oscar found me!” Mabel laughs through her tears. “Can you believe it? Roy said he caught my scent from like a mile away and started running straight toward us.”

“Isn’t that something.” Agnes looks first to the wolf dog, who hangs back, and then to Roy. “Thank you, for finding them and bringing them back.”

“Don’t thank me.” He nods toward Bj?rn. “He’s the one who insisted we go west. I didn’t think they’d go that way, but he wouldn’t let it go. Stubborn pain in my ass.”

“I had a gut feeling.” Bj?rn struggles to climb off his seat. He says something in Norwegian and Astrid rushes over to take his hand for balance, helping him up. “I forgot what it felt like to sit on one of these for four hours. It’s not good.”

“Well, look at that. It all worked out.” Muriel marches down the path and climbs onto the machine Bj?rn just vacated. “How about I get this back to Noreen for you.” She nods at Teddy and Toby, a signal that they should follow suit and swiftly. “Come on, Kelly. Let’s get you home, too. I’m sure your parents will be happy to stop worrying.”

Kelly turns to Roy to offer him a shy smile. “Thank you.”

He grunts in response.

“That’s ‘you’re welcome’ in Curmudgeon. He’s mastered the language,” I explain, earning their giggles and Roy’s pointed glare.

“Okay. Let’s get you inside.” Agnes furiously rubs her daughter’s shoulders. “We need to get you checked out by a doctor.”

“I think they’re gonna be fine. They found an old, abandoned shack and got a decent fire goin’. Stayed huddled. They’re smart girls.”