Page 20 of Surge
“I hear you. Didn’t mean any offense. Just want to be sure they both come home.”
Daniels adjusted his ballcap again. “If they don’t, that’s on you. So make up your mind, frogman.”
Left standing there in the parking lot, Garrett knew what he had to do at the briefing tomorrow. The dog was vital to mission success. The girl . . . Guess they needed to have a stiff chat about how things would go.
3
CYPRESS SUGAR CREEK, HILL COUNTRY, TEXAS
“This makesme feel like i’m twenty!” Delaney’s dad called over to her from the driver’s side of the Jeep Wrangler 4x4 as they approached Cypress Sugar Creek. It was the perfect spot to go four-wheeling, with its creek beds and rivers and the rare large cypress trees.
“No wonder you’re obsessed with off-roading.” She laughed. She was glad she’d agreed to this birthday Jeep trip for Dad. She had more to say than happy birthday, though. About the mission. But she’d think about that later when the moment was right. “It’s been too long since we’ve been.”
“Definitely.” Dad stopped the 4x4 and switched to four-wheel low. From inside his helmet, his longish gray hair peeking out the back, he gave her a one-sided grin. “Ready?”
“Ready!”
They lurched hard as he drove slowly down into the creek. Feathery needles of the bald cypress trees brushed against the Jeep windows.
Delaney snagged the grab handle. Her grin turned into laughter, water spitting high on their windows. Dad flipped on the windshield wipers and steered around the huge rock in the middle of the creek.
The other bank he steered toward was even steeper.
“You got this, Dad!”
“If you could do this when you were seventeen, I certainly can too.” He wrinkled his nose at her and pressed hard on the accelerator.
She wrinkled her nose back at him. “Age doesn’t have anything to do with this. But be careful—you’re driving like an old man!”
“Old, huh? I’ll show you old.” He sent them crawling up the other bank, taking the most challenging paths possible. At the top, their tires started to spin, and the Jeep slid backward . . . right into a mudhole.
They rocked back and forth between first gear and reverse as Dad tried to get the vehicle out of the mud.
Still stuck.
Dad looked down at the tennis shoe on the bottom of his prosthetic leg. “I’ve got boots in the back.”
“I already have boots on, so I’ve got this.” She twisted in her seat, reached in the back to get Dad’s boots, and handed them to him. She hopped out into the mud and walked to the back of the Jeep, then pulled out the vehicle recovery boards.
Delaney slopped down in the mud and slid the recovery boards under the tires, stood and waved at her dad in the mirror, then stepped aside.
He accelerated forward, spraying mud all over her.
Clearing her face, she noticed the vehicle hadn’t moved. “Jeep’s not going anywhere,” Delaney shouted.
He quit hitting the gas.
Scraping the last of the mud from her face, she grabbed the tree strap from the back, then trudged up to the driver’s side window and knocked.
He lowered it. “You’re a mess, girl!” Then he flashed an unrepentant grin. “Not sure I got enough mud on you.”
“Ha. Traction boards clearly didn’t help, so I’m going to use the winch.” She slogged over to a nearby pine—the cypress trees had shallow roots, so that wouldn’t work—and wrapped the strap around it. Back at the Jeep, she engaged the controller and plugged it in. Then she caught the winch anchor and struggled back over to the pine tree and hooked it up. At the Jeep, she grabbed the controller and started winching until it was taut.
Surge hopped out and had a good mud bath, making sure every inch of his sleek black fur was covered.
She groaned. “Oh, you goofball! You’re going to need a bath.” She’d have to do that before Heath saw the mess. Still couldn’t believe he’d allowed her to let Surge have a romp pre-mission. That very word—mission—sent a jolt of nervous excitement through her. How was this her life?
Surge bounded out of the mud. On the bank, he shook his fur out, slinging mud everywhere.