Love on the Horizon (A Northern Woods Novel) Read Online Free Page B

over to Nicky and his eyes lit up, along with a
smile.
    “I’m hungry,” he told Patti. “I
think Lucky is too.”
    “Well, you can eat some crackers,
but you better give only a few to Lucky. I don’t have a dog, so I don’t know if
cheese crackers will make him sick. Give him lots of water though. I’m sure
he’s thirsty,” Patti said, and hopped onto the wagon. She sat on one side of
Nicky, and Angie on the other.
    “Thank you,” he mumbled, through
a mouthful of crackers.
    “You’re welcome, sweetie,” Patti
said and tousled his hair lightly.
    Sherri walked back to them with a
look of relief when she closed her phone. “I told them we’re not sure exactly
where we are. I was able to let them know how long we’d been hiking, and what
time we left the Pinewood Hills Country Market. I also informed them that we
must be close to the creek. He said they’d find us with their Search and Rescue
dog.”
    “A policeman is coming?” Nicky
asked, and his gaze clouded with tears. “Will he spank me?”
    “Oh no, honey,” Angie placed her
arm around his shoulders. “He’s going to come and find us and take you back to
your mommy and daddy. They’ve been very worried about you.”
    “I think they’ll be mad at me.”
    “Oh, no, I doubt that very much;
and you know what? Patti saw you on the news last night, didn’t you Patti?”
    “I sure did, your picture was on
television.”
    “I was on TV?” he asked
excitedly.
    “Yes, you were, and everyone
looked for you, all night long.”
    “I hope my daddy isn’t mad at
me.”
    “Oh I’m sure he’ll be very happy
to see you,” Angie said. “We’ll sit right here and wait, and your daddy will be
coming with the policemen. They’ll have a dog with them too. He’ll sniff the
ground until he finds you.”
    “Really?” He stared with a look
of complete surprise on his little face.
    “It won’t be long now,” Sherri
said, and she reached over to scratch Lucky behind the ears.
    * * *
    “Listen,” Patti said, and jumped
to the ground. “I heard the crack of twigs. That must be them.”
    Nicky became excited at the sound
of a dog barking. They knew it was the Search and Rescue canine. Even Lucky
stood up on the wagon, and his tail moved back and forth, while he stood by
Nicky’s side.
    All of a sudden, a bloodhound
appeared on the trail and came running up to him. Right behind him were the
police officers. With a look of relief, Nick emerged through the trees and saw
his son. Nicky hopped down and ran to his daddy. Nick caught him in his arms,
and twirled him around in a circle.
    “Hey, cowboy,” he said, and he
kept kissing him until Nicky started to laugh. With a big grin, he pushed his
daddy’s face away.
    “Stop, Daddy,” he giggled.
    “I missed you, sport. I’m so glad
to see you. Did Lucky take care of you?”
    “Yes, he even snuggled up to me
and keeped me warm when I was crying.”
    “Good dog,” Nick said to Lucky,
and bent down to pet him. “You deserve a steak when we get home.
    “Hey, cowboy, where were you and
Lucky off to?”
    “Mommy was sleeping, so we went
to look for you. I wanted to be just like you, Daddy. I wanted to be a cowboy,
just like you.”
    “Well buddy, next time you’d
better limit your search to the yard, close to home. It’s a big world. We were
all very worried about you.”
    “I know, Daddy. Lucky kept me
safe and when the girls found us, they gave us crackers and called the police man.”
    Nick turned and faced them. “I
want to thank you. Come back to the ranch with us for dinner. My wife would be
so happy to meet you. I’ll drive the three of you home afterward, but right now
I’m sure everyone would like you to come and celebrate with us.”
    Angie, Sherri, and Patti looked
at each other, then with a nod, they agreed to go with them to meet Nicky’s
mom.
    “We’ll reassure her that when we
found them, Lucky had kept Nicky safe and well protected,” Angie told him.
    The officers led them