Jude rushed to the opening and knelt down. “Mikey, my name is Jude Torres. I’m a paramedic. Are you okay?”
“I want my mom!”
Jude breathed a small sigh and rested his head against the stone. Snow felt like his legs were going to give out underneath him so he just let himself drop to the dirt near Jude. They’d found the little boy. He looked over at Rowe who was already holding his phone up in the air, trying to get a signal.
“Anything?”
“Not even one bar,” Rowe growled.
Andrei was shaking his head as he shoved his phone back in his pocket. “There was a break in the trees about a quarter mile back that would allow me to head up. I’m going to go back and see if I can get high enough to call the Ranger and Lucas. You try to get him out of there, but stay here until I get back.” And then Andrei was jogging down the path, moving with more speed and energy than Snow thought he had left in him.
“Mikey, I know you want your mom. A ranger told me that you got lost. Your mom is very worried about you. If you come out of there, I will take you to your mom.”
“But you’re a stranger. I’m not supposed to go anywhere with strangers.”
Jude chuckled softly. “That’s very smart. You shouldn’t go places with a stranger. Did your mom teach you that?”
Snow watched in awe as Jude sat on the hard-packed dirt, leaning against the boulders as he talked with Mikey through the slim opening. He passed him a bottle of water and a granola bar only after Jude showed him that it was safe by taking a small bite himself. It was a slow process, but after nearly an hour Mikey finally crawled out of the small little cave and straight into Jude’s waiting arms.
They were both dirty, sweaty, and exhausted, but Jude held the frightened little boy as if he were the most precious thing in the world. It was one of the most beautiful things Snow had ever witnessed, and in that same breath, the most terrifying.
Jude was born to be a father.
He was patient, nurturing, warm, and compassionate—all things that Snow couldn’t manage on his best day. Any child that was lucky enough to have Jude as a father was pretty much guaranteed to have an awesome childhood and an amazing life.
What could Snow offer any child? All he knew was his own disastrous upbringing. He didn’t know how to relate to a child, talk to a child, comfort a child. He couldn’t even manage his own life without help from Jude or Lucas or Rowe. He…couldn’t. He could never be a father.
Where did that leave Jude?
It wasn’t fair to him. It was horrible to think Jude would never have that when children made him happy. If they stayed together, Jude would miss out on having a family.
But could Snow give up the man who meant everything to him?Chapter 6Hours later, the long day of hiking and swimming caught up with Jude and he half-dozed in Rowe’s hammock while the others got dinner ready. Rowe had shoved him into the thing, saying he deserved a nap after carrying the little boy so far. The sweet kid had been too traumatized to move to anyone else after he’d given in and trusted Jude, so he’d carted him all the way back down the trail.
Mikey had never said how he’d gotten so far away from his camp, but he guessed the boy had become lost and kept walking. By the time they’d reached the boy’s family, he’d been passed out against Jude. Poor thing hadn’t even awakened when his crying mother snatched him and hugged him close.
He rubbed his sore arms and opened his eyes when the tantalizing scents of grilling sausage and sautéed onions filled the air. His stomach growled. He didn’t think there was anything that smelled better. Except maybe that vulnerable and highly sensitive spot behind Snow’s ear that turned the man to mush. He glanced around, noticing that once again, Snow seemed lost in thought. He’d been quiet on the trek back to camp, and Jude had attributed it to exhaustion from their long day. But he wasn’t laughing with the others as he stood among them. He held a beer and didn’t seem to remember he had it in his hand.
He didn’t even look after Jude stared a few moments.
Jude frowned, something dark curling low in his gut. They’d been hyper-aware of each other for months and Snow never failed to feel Jude’s eyes on him and turn those stunning, light blue eyes his way. But it wasn’t just that. Something was bothering the doc—something more than his usual moments of random brooding. He glanced at Lucas to see him watching Snow as well, eyes narrowed. When he turned Jude’s way, one black eyebrow lifted. Jude gave him a brief nod, then climbed out of the hammock. He walked to Snow and touched his arm and Snow actually jumped.