Page 64 of Colton On Guard
“Agreed.” Cupping her hands to her mouth, she called out June Bug’s name. A second later, Parker called for Revis.
If she’d hoped for one or both of the dogs to come running out of the woods, she was sorely disappointed.
Side by side, she and Parker pushed through the tangled undergrowth into the forest. Up above, birdsong continued, but they saw no footprints, no trampled plants, no sign the dogs had been there.
“Maybe you saw a deer,” Parker said. He called for Revis once more. Genna joined him, her voice breaking as she said June Bug’s name.
“Let’s go back.” Parker took her arm.
“I’m not giving up.”
“We’re not,” he told her. “Let’s keep driving around the neighborhood and hope we spot them.”
“Maybe we should make signs and stick them up at every intersection,” she said, climbing back up into the truck.
“If we don’t have any luck this time, we’ll do that,” he replied.
Heart in her throat, she nodded.
His phone rang. “It’s Spence,” he said. “Let me fill him in on what’s going on. I’ll put the call on speaker.”
“Hey, Spence, what’s up?”
Spence laughed. “Did you lose something?”
Genna sat up straight, exchanging a look with Parker.
“What do you mean?” Parker asked.
“I had to go back to headquarters to help my mom find something, and those two dogs you and Genna got just showed up.”
“What?” Genna squealed. “I can’t believe it. We’ve been searching all over for them.”
“We brought them inside and gave them water,” Spence said. “They seemed a little thirsty.”
“We’re on our way,” Parker said, starting the truck. “See you in a few.”
After ending the call, he leaned over and gave her a jubilant kiss. Unable to contain her relief, she kissed him back. Then he put the truck in gear and they went to collect their dogs.
As they pulled into RTA’s lot, Spence came out to meet them. He waited on the covered porch as they hurried over.
“Mind telling me what happened?” he asked, looking from one to the other. “How the heck did your dogs wind up here?”
“Long story,” Parker drawled. “Which we’ll be happy to tell you after we see Revis and JB.”
“Go for it.” Spence stepped aside.
Genna rushed past him, pushing open the door. Once inside, she spotted her little dog all curled up in her dog bed. “June Bug,” she said, dropping to her knees and holding out her arms. “Baby girl, come here.”
JB lifted her head. Then, tail wagging, she trotted over to Genna.
Focused on reuniting with JB, Genna heard Parker calling Revis. A second later, Revis blew past her, barreling toward his owner. He barked twice, ran a quick circle around the room, and then settled on his belly in front of Parker.
“I can’t express how glad I am that they’re okay,” Genna said, looking up at Spence. “Thank you for holding them until we could get here. I had all kinds of awful scenarios going through my head.”
Spence nodded. “I still want to know how they got loose.”
Fingers still tangled in Revis’s fur, Parker told him. As he listened, Spence’s expression darkened.