Part 4

The landscape blurred through a shot of tears. Tiff sunk to the ground and clutched her knotted stomach. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she barely felt Gus’s nose nuzzle her neck. “What do I do?”

“There is a sheltered spot if you head over the rise to the east and then hike downhill for about half a mile. The helicopter can pick you up there. There are no good flat spots on Spirit, so it’ll have to be a sling rescue.”

“And you’re doing the rescue?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s my anniversary and Sarah would kill me if I missed dinner. But you’ll be in good hands.”

“Fine, but you have to promise me you won’t tell Ben about this. I’ll be mortified if he finds out I needed a lift off here.”

“Tiff, do you honestly think news like this can stay hidden in a town of our size? Anyway, that’s beside the point – it’s Ben who will be performing the rescue.”

With fingers clamped around Gus’s collar, Tiff looked up. The helicopter hovered overhead like a prehistoric dragonfly. Dust kicked up and swirled around her, the beating of the rotors thumping in her chest and drowning out the wind’s howl.

“Hold on, Gus,” Tiff yelled over the noise as Gus tried to wrench himself from her grasp. “It’s going to be okay. Stay with me, buddy.”

The door to the helicopter slid open and a smiling, goggled face peered down from the craft. The sight of another human on the godforsaken mountain wrapped around Tiff like a warm hug. A moment later, he was rappelling from the helicopter – a spider on its line of silk, the bright orange of his vest punctuating the gray surroundings.

“Hey, Tiff!” Ben yelled through his smile as his feet touched ground. “You certainly picked a fine day to need a rescue.”

With a burst of energy, Gus jerked Tiff forward as he lunged at Ben. He spread his paws on Ben’s chest and covered his face with slobbery kisses.

“Hey, Gusser,” Ben said as he rubbed the dog down. “You sure are happy to see me. What do you say we get you off this mountain?”

Pouncing backward, Gus spun in a circle, his tail wagging. “Ow! Gus!” Tiff cried, her arm twisting as she kept a solid hold on the collar.

“And I think I need to get you out of here too, don’t I?” Ben’s eyes crinkled in a grin behind his goggles.

“Why did Mike send you of all people?”

“Come on, Tiff. Think of this as a big, romantic gesture.” Ben’s arms were suddenly around Tiff. His nose brushed hers, sending warm tingles into her chest. “It’s not every day I get to rescue my girl.” As dust and wind swirled around them, Ben pressed his mouth to hers. The heat of the kiss engulfed Tiff and melted the chill in her bones.

“You sure know how to make an entrance, but I don’t think you’re being very professional.”

“Here, put this on.” Ben tossed Tiff a helmet before turning his attention to the dog harness. As he fiddled with a carabiner, he glanced at Tiff and smiled. “And I don’t really care about professionalism.”