Man, she’d never really thought about having kids of her own and she certainly hadn’t been able to identify with the parents back at the station, but obviously her maternal instinct wasn’t completely buried—she wanted to strangle these kids herself...after she hugged them...if they found them.

When. When they found them. She had to stay positive.

Wind howled through the trees, blowing her hair into her face, but she could barely feel the strands brush against her frozen cheeks. Her respect for the search and rescue crew grew exponentially with each passing second. She was a visitor to this way of life. They did it all the time, whenever they were needed.

Reed expertly led the team on the search. He seemed to know every inch of these woods and he was making decisions on the most probable actions of the teens. He was alert and focused and seemed to anticipate the needs of his crew members before they even knew what they needed. He wasn’t letting the stress affect him and yet he was sympathetic and understanding to the crew members whose anxiety was on display. He was nothing short of amazing, and she was just trying to keep it together.

“How are you doing?” he asked. Moments ago, he’d stopped their combing the backwoods trail at a snail’s pace. He poured her a mug of coffee and handed it to her.

“I’m fine,” she lied, taking a sip before handing it to him. The weak, lukewarm, hours-old coffee would do nothing to keep her awake and alert. Where was her intern with her double shot of espresso when she needed him?

She wondered what Darren would think of her in that moment. If he knew she was out there... What would her father think? Unfortunately, she knew the answer to that one.

Reed tossed back the liquid in one gulp and then, opening his backpack, he cracked two new hand-warmer packs against his thigh and handed them to her. “Stuff these inside your boots.”

“Reed, seriously I’m fine.” By now, she wasn’t sure she still had toes anyway. And she didn’t want to hold up the search. As it was, her lack of expertise and skill on these missions might be hindering the team, and that was the last thing she wanted.

“My toes are freezing and my boots are thicker than yours. If you insist on staying out, you need to take care of yourself or you won’t be much use to us.”

He had a point. “Thank you,” she said, taking them.

“You’re welcome,” he said, touching her shoulder briefly before going to check on the others.

Stuffing the packs deep into her boots, instant heat filled the space and circulation returned to her toes, the warmth expanding into her legs, as well. She prayed the missing teens had enough foresight to have these on hand.