Page 20 of Eco-Activist’s Mountain Men (Mountain Men Reverse Harem #4)

Jack

I t's been a busy day for me. I've locked myself in the office with a thermos of strong black coffee and a stack of invoices, reconciling them against the quarter's bank statement.

Honestly, it's not a bad job. Just one that demands full attention.

You can't half-ass it while your mind drifts—you need to focus.

By five o'clock, I'm wrapping up the loose ends, starting to think less about numbers and more about dinner, when I hear Southpaw howling. Just once, but loud. That's not like him. Not like him at all.

A few minutes later, there's a knock at my door. Eric steps in, Southpaw trailing behind him, looking dejected.

"Hey, wassup? Did I hear Southpaw howl just now? What's going on with him?"

"Yeah. Er… sorry to interrupt, Jack, but I think something might've happened to Luna. She's?—"

At the mention of her name, Southpaw lets out another bloodcurdling howl, this time right in front of me. I clap my hands over my ears until it dies down.

"Alright, alright, Southpaw. Give it a rest, will you? Luna, you say? No, Southpaw, shush, good boy," I add quickly, seeing him drawing breath for another. "Hmm. Seems he's worried about her, too. When did anyone last see her?"

"Well, that's the thing," Eric says. "I haven't seen her since she stormed out of the kitchen at breakfast. She's not in her room. Not in the kitchen. I checked around, but no sign. I haven't asked Luke or Toby yet. I thought I'd come to you first."

"Right. Good call. Let's check in with Tobes and Luke. Maybe she's with one of them."

"Doubt she'd be with Luke. Not after this morning."

"Yeah, guess not. But let's check anyway. Even if she isn't, he might've seen her—or knows where she is."

I stand, stretching my left leg, which has gone half-dead under the desk.

We head out to the barn, where Toby’s servicing the knuckle-boom loader before mothballing it for winter. Won’t need it again until spring. He straightens up from under the hood when he sees us.

"Hey, Boss, Prof., what can I do for you? Did I hear Southpaw howling a minute ago?"

Eric and I both nod.

"Yup," I say. "Seems Luna’s missing—shush, Southpaw," I add sharply, just in time to stop another howl. "He wants to go off every time someone mentions her name."

"What… Luna?"

Another howl erupts, echoing off the metal walls. I glare at my younger brother.

"Did you have to say her name out loud?"

"You mean Lu?—"

"Shut it, Toby. Once is bad enough. Southpaw doesn’t need your encouragement. That’s an order."

"Okay, boss."

"So tell me—when’s the last time you saw her, and what was she doing?"

"Who, Lu—" He catches my expression and stops. "Sorry, boss. Let me think." He pauses, frowning. "Nope. Pretty sure I haven’t seen her since breakfast. You know, when she flounced out after Luke called her out about her voicemail, remember?"

"Yeah, we remember. Seems that’s the last time any of us saw her. Unless Luke knows different."

"Maybe he’s done away with her and buried the body somewhere," Toby quips.

"If it were you, I wouldn’t put it past you."

"Gee, thanks, brother."

"But Luke? No. He wouldn’t hurt a fly."

"True. Let’s go ask him. He’s probably in his shed with his precious chainsaws again."

The three of us cross to the chainsaw shed. Sure enough, Luke’s at the workbench, round file in hand, sharpening a chain. He looks up as we enter—me, Eric, Toby, and Southpaw padding close behind. The wolf noses insistently at Luke’s thigh.

"What’s going on?" Luke asks, setting down the file.

"We think Luna’s missing—" I start, but Southpaw beats me to it with another howl, long and mournful.

"Quiet now, Southpaw. Good boy," I say firmly. "Every damn time someone mentions her name, he starts up again."

Luke blinks. "Wait, you’re saying if someone says Luna he’ll?—"

Another howl splits the air.

"Oh. I see. Shit. Sorry."

"Not your fault," I sigh. "Okay, Southpaw, enough already. We get it—you’re worried. We’ll go look for her, alright?"

The wolf seems to understand. His ears perk, his bushy tail gives a small wag. Maybe relief, maybe agreement. Either way, blessed silence follows.

We check all the rooms again, just in case she’s crept back in without us noticing, but Luna’s nowhere to be found. By now, we’re all in agreement—no one’s seen her since she stormed out at breakfast.

None of us had gone after her.

No one says it out loud, but we’re all thinking it. Breakfast was hours ago. Anything could’ve happened to her in that time.

Where the hell has she been?

I hate even considering it, but there are bears in these woods. Wolves. Coyotes. The occasional mountain lion. We don’t tend to wander far on our own out here, and when we do, we take a rifle.

"Okay," I say at last, breaking the heavy silence. "Here’s what we’re gonna do. Toby, Eric—I want you two to take the main road and the side track down to the highway, alright?" They nod. "If she’s trying to get back to civilization, that’s where she’d be headed."

"Understood, boss," Toby says. Eric echoes him with a quick nod.

"Luke, you and Southpaw are with me. We’ll head up into the trees. Maybe she went for a hike and twisted her ankle again. Could be anything."

"Sure thing," Luke rumbles.

"Good. Thanks. Now listen—we’ve got, what… two, maybe two and a half hours of daylight left. We can keep going after dark, but the chances of spotting her drop real low. So let’s move."

Toby and Eric climb into one of the F-150s.

They’ve got a lot of ground to cover, but at least the terrain is kinder that way.

The storm damage along the road had been mostly cleared by Luke and Toby over the past few days, so they’ll be able to push the truck pretty far before they need to switch to foot.

Luke and I, on the other hand, set off on foot.

The slopes here are too steep, too uneven for a truck, and even the ATVs would risk missing something important.

If Luna’s down out here, hidden in brush or lying at the base of a rockfall, we’d blow right past her in a vehicle.

On foot, we can move more slowly, scan properly.

It’ll cost us time, but thorough beats fast when someone’s life might be on the line.

We both know time isn’t on our side. We’ve each got a headlamp strapped to our foreheads, batteries fresh, so we can keep searching after dark. But that’ll only help if she’s conscious and able to call back. If she’s not…

I shove the thought away.

We shoulder rifles, as much for reassurance as protection.

Out here, you never know what you might stumble on—especially in the dark.

I’m carrying the Savage 100 Bear Hunter, same as Luke.

It’s no fancy toy, but the .375 Ruger rounds will put down a black bear if it comes to that.

I pray we won’t need them, but I’d rather have the weight across my back than not.

We move in single file: me first, Luke second, Southpaw padding silently behind.

No talking. Not because there’s nothing to say, but because both of us are saving breath for the climb.

Luke isn’t a chatterbox at the best of times, and besides, we already agreed on the plan.

We’ll take the northwestern trail, steep and unforgiving.

It’s the kind of ground that eats up the inexperienced, a place where one bad step can mean a busted ankle—or worse.

If she’d stuck to the gentler tracks, she’d probably be back already. But she isn’t. Which means she probably didn’t.

The sun is dropping fast when I call a halt by a massive granite boulder. Luke looks to me, and I point.

Leaning against the rock is something both of us recognize instantly.

"Her crutch," Luke confirms.

I nod, slow and grim. "So she did come this way."

"Yeah. Most likely ditched it so she could use both hands to climb."

"Yeah," I agree quietly. "Makes sense."

The real question burns between us: How long ago? And how far did she make it before… whatever happened?

Luke shrugs. "Only one way to find out, boss."

I let out a slow sigh. "Yeah. I know."

We each take a long pull from our canteens. Spirits lift a fraction—at least we’re on her trail now. But the light’s dropping, shadows stretching long. The ground ahead is steeper, rockier, more treacherous.

Traversing this terrain in daylight is hard work. At night, even for me—with my Ranger training—and for Luke, who’s been climbing these slopes since before he could shave, it’ll be brutal. Dangerous, even.

But there’s no point dwelling on it.

We’re going up.

I glance at my watch—seven-forty-five. It’s been about three-quarters of an hour since we came across Luna’s crutch leaning against the boulder. Still no sign of her. The sun’s already dropped below the line of trees to the west, and in another ten minutes it’ll be gone completely.

I sigh. No point pushing on in total darkness. Sure, we’ve got headlamps, but those only light the patch of ground in front of your boots. They’re useless for spotting someone lying in the shadows.

"Let’s go on for another fifteen minutes," I call back to Luke. "If we still haven’t found her, we’ll head down, get a few hours of shuteye, then come back first thing at daylight."

"Yeah, okay, Boss."

"You hear that, Southpaw?" I turn, but then freeze. "Luke… what’s up with him?"

The wolf stands stock still—rigid, every muscle taut, head lifted, nose twitching furiously.

"He’s scenting something," Luke mutters.

"Yeah. You think he?—"

"Look. He’s found it. A trail. A scent." Luke’s voice tightens with hope. "Good boy, Southpaw. Where is she? Where’s Luna?"

With a sudden bound, the great wolf is off—bolting uphill like he’s chasing fire, his paws a blur, his body moving with desperate, unstoppable purpose.

"Wait for us, Southpaw!" I shout after him, lungs already straining. "We can’t keep up at that pace!"

"She can’t be far," Luke says, already shifting into motion. "We should drop the rifles and packs. We’ll move faster."