A Change of Heart: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 1)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Makayla saw red at the older man’s words and took a step towards the two of them.

  “You do not get to say things like that to him,” she hissed at Ethan’s dad. “He’s done more with his life than you have done with yours. He’s managed to raise the daughter that you’ve neglected, and he did it all on his own from the age of sixteen. He’s more of a man than you’ll ever be. And Sierra knows that as well because she’d rather be with him than with you.”

  Ethan’s father stared at her, his anger increasing—if that was actually possible. “And just who do you think you are? A girlfriend that he’s managed to delude into thinking that he could actually support a family when he is nothing but a hammer-wielding idiot?”

  Before either Makayla or Ethan could reply, one of the officers returned from the bedrooms.

  “I think it would be best if you stopped talking.” The officer directed his gaze toward Ethan’s father, so Makayla felt that perhaps he’d heard her response and realized it was justified. At least she hoped he felt it was. Ethan didn’t deserve to be attacked that way by a man who obviously knew absolutely nothing about his son.

  She just couldn’t understand people like this man. It seemed wrong that a father would reject his child outright the way this man seemed to have rejected Ethan and, to a lesser degree, Sierra. But then there was so much evil in the world. Who could begin to understand why people hurt children, abused their spouses, or killed just for the sake of killing? And really, who wanted to understand? She didn’t want to think that there was any plausible reason for Ethan’s father to have turned on him the way he did. She just couldn’t imagine that such a thing existed.

  Ethan’s father, however, was not done talking and now that he had the police officer’s attention, he began to spout the same nonsense about searching the entire building for Sierra. Makayla had absolutely no qualms about letting the officers into her apartment, and she was fairly sure that Bennett would also grant permission to his. But all that could change if he was on the phone with James and was counseled to do something differently.

  The officer turned to look at Makayla and said, “Who are you in relation to Mr. Collins?”

  “I’m Makayla McFadden. Ethan works for our company, and my dad owns this apartment block. I live here as do two of my brothers. We count both Ethan and Sierra as our friends, and we’re very worried about where she is right now. My younger sister is good friends with Sierra, and she told me earlier that she hadn’t heard from her nor had she been able to get hold of her via text or phone today.”

  The officer nodded and looked over his shoulder as his partner returned. “It seems that Mr. Collins is concerned that perhaps Sierra is being hidden elsewhere in this building. Would you be able to give us permission to search in other areas?”

  Makayla looked at Bennett, relieved to see that he was headed in their direction. He quickly introduced himself to the police officers and then asked them to repeat their request again. When he heard what they wanted, he nodded.

  “Makayla can give you access to her place, and I can give you access to mine as well as the basement and the empty apartment. My brother, Mitch, lives in the other one on the main floor, but I’ll have to see if he could come by to open it for you. He is still at work.”

  The police officer nodded. “If you could ask him to do that, that would be great.”

  After a few minutes, it was decided that Makayla would take one of the officers up to her apartment while the other stayed to make sure things between the two Collins men didn’t get out of hand again.

  Makayla stayed close to the door of her apartment as the officer checked through the bedrooms and the bathroom before joining her again.

  “Thank you for allowing me to search your home,” the officer said as they headed back down to Ethan’s apartment a short time later.

  “The upstairs apartment is clear,” he told his partner when they joined them again.

  “Would you have a picture of Sierra, Mr. Collins?” the other officer asked Ethan’s father.

  The man looked flustered for a moment then said, “I don’t have one, but I’m sure my wife does.”

  “A recent one?” the officer asked.

  “I don’t know. I’d have to ask her.”

  “I have one of her that was taken this weekend,” Ethan said as he reached for his phone. Within a minute, the police officer had a clear, up-to-date photo of a smiling Sierra.

  “We’ll use this picture to circulate to the media and also to place on social media to see if anyone recognizes her.”

  Makayla was encouraged to hear that. She had received alerts before on her Twitter account as well as the online newspapers for other missing teens, so she was grateful that they would go that route with Sierra so quickly. She wanted to assume that Sierra was on her way to Ethan’s apartment, but the fact that it had been so long since anyone had heard anything from her made Makayla think that perhaps that was not the case. Whether it was Sierra staying away in an effort to make a point or if something really had happened to her, people out there would be aware that she was missing in case they recognized her.

  By the time Mitch arrived with keys to his place, Bennett had already shown them his apartment, the empty one on the main floor, and the basement. After Mitch had let them into his place, the officers seemed satisfied that Sierra was nowhere in the building. Ethan’s father, however, was definitely not.

  “I still think he’s hiding her somewhere. What about where her sister’s living?” Ethan’s father jabbed a finger in Makayla’s direction. “They could be hiding her there.”

  “My sister lives with our parents. I’m sure that if it helped you find Sierra sooner, they would be more than happy to let you search their home as well as our office.” Bennett straightened his shoulders, drawing himself to his full height. “We are very willing to cooperate with you, but I would also like some attention given to the reasons why Sierra may want to run away from her father’s apartment.”

  If Makayla had thought Ethan’s father was upset before, he went absolutely ballistic at Bennett’s statement. More profanity flowed from the man’s mouth as he now turned his anger towards Bennett as well as Ethan.

  She kept a close eye on Ethan as all of this transpired. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be worried sick about his sister while having to deal with this garbage from his father. Though Ethan maintained a stoic expression on his face, Makayla was almost positive that he was anything but stoic on the inside.

  “I think we’ve seen enough here for now,” one of the police officers said once Ethan’s father had finished his latest rant. “If I could get some contact information from each of you, we’ll get hold of you if we hear anything or if we do need to take you up on your offer to search the other premises.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. I forbid you from giving this man any more information regarding my daughter,” Ethan’s father said as he reached out to poke Ethan in the chest. “He has no right to her and no right to any information about her.”

  Bennett turned to one of the police officers and said, “I’m acting on behalf of my father when I ask that you remove this man from our property.”

  It took both officers to get Ethan’s dad through the door of the apartment and down the stairs to the main floor. As Ethan shut the door behind them, Makayla let out a breath she hadn’t even been aware she’d been holding. Ethan leaned forward to rest his forehead on the door. He didn’t stay that way for long, though. Soon he turned around and headed for the kitchen.

  Makayla wasn’t sure if she should go to him, but clearly Bennett didn’t need an invitation. After a moment’s hesitation, she followed and stood next to Bennett, watching as Ethan made coffee.

  “When I realized what was going on, I made a call to James,” Bennett said, leaning his hip against the island counter. “His recommendation was to cooperate with the police as much as possible. That it would be a point in your favor if you have shown a willingness to work with
them, especially given the side that your dad showed the officers today.”

  Ethan nodded. “I figured as much. I just wish that I had some idea of where she might’ve gone. With this being a new city, I’m very concerned given the fact that the only people she knows haven’t heard from her.”

  As she watched him standing there his hands braced on the countertop, head dipped forward, Makayla wanted to hug him. Not just to reassure him that everything would be okay, but to let him know that she was there for him. But it wasn’t her right to offer anything except words to comfort him. She couldn’t help but wonder, however, how long it had been since he’d had someone besides Sierra to embrace him.

  Coming from a family where hugging was the most natural thing, Makayla often took that connection for granted. Whether it was an embrace from her mom or dad just to say they were happy to see her or one from Tami when she’d had a rough day, there was no shortage of hugs. Ethan didn’t have that with anyone but Sierra, and Makayla found herself desperately wanting to offer him a hug.

  29

  B ennett reached out and laid a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Why don’t we say a word of prayer for Sierra.”

  Ethan turned as he nodded his head, and Bennett slipped an arm around the man’s shoulders. Bennett then reached out for Makayla and put an arm around her shoulders as well, drawing them together. Makayla slid an arm around each man’s waist as her head bent forward. There was a bit of hesitation before Makayla felt Ethan reach out to them to close their small circle.

  They stood there in silence for a moment before Bennett began to pray. “Heavenly Father, we are thankful today for the assurance that You never leave us nor forsake us. We know that even as we are trying to find Sierra, You know right where she is. We pray that You will guide someone to cross her path to help her and to encourage her to reach out to Ethan or even to Danica. Please let the social media and newspaper sites that post her information reach the people who are around her even now. We pray for Ethan that You will give him peace in the midst of all of this. Assure him that he is not alone, that You are with him even as You are with Sierra. We are so grateful to have both of them in our lives not just for work but also as friends. Give everyone working this case wisdom and give us patience as we wait for news. In Jesus name, Amen.”

  Makayla had felt the tension increase in Ethan’s body throughout the prayer. The fingers of his hand on her waist curved tightly into her skin, so much so that she was sure she’d have bruises. But that didn’t matter because she was fairly certain that it was all in an effort to keep from falling apart. They continued to stand together there. No one seemed eager to step away from the circle.

  But then Makayla felt the trembling start in Ethan’s body. She moved her arm from Bennett to slide around Ethan’s waist. Both his arms were now also around her while Bennett kept them both within his embrace. She felt Ethan’s shuddering attempts to draw in a deep breath, but he was clearly losing a battle with his emotions.

  When the tears finally came, Makayla was almost relieved. She in no way thought anything less of him for the tears he shed. In fact, she admired him for recognizing that she and Bennett provided a safe place for him to allow his vulnerability to show. No doubt his father had told him that real men didn’t cry, but in her mind, real men allow themselves to experience the full range of their emotions, whether it be laughter or tears.

  Makayla ran her hands up and down his back in what she hoped was a soothing gesture. She wanted to offer him words of reassurance, but she didn’t know what to say. Given her own experience with trying to contain her emotions during times of high anxiety, this reaction from Ethan didn’t surprise her at all. She was just glad that, as she had hoped, she was there for him when he broke down.

  Makayla didn’t know how long they stood there before Ethan was finally able to take several deep breaths. Knowing he was getting ready to step away from her and Bennett, Makayla kept her hands resting lightly on his back. She felt his grip on her loosen and then he took a step back, turning toward the counter as he rubbed the heels of his hands across his face.

  He reached up to open a cupboard and pulled down three mugs, the ceramic clinking as his hands still shook with emotion. “Sorry about that.”

  Makayla knew she could’ve offered him words of assurance that there was no need to apologize, but somehow she knew he needed to hear that first from Bennett.

  “There’s absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” Bennett said. “I would’ve reacted exactly the same if something like this had happened to one of my siblings. Especially Danica or Dalton.”

  Ethan didn’t say anything more in response to Bennett’s comment, but when he handed Makayla a mug of coffee, he looked up and met her gaze, his eyes still red with emotion. “Thank you.”

  Makayla paused then reached out to take his hand, not wanting to take advantage of the situation and yet still needing him to know that she was there for him. “I’m glad I was here. I want to be here for you whenever you need it.”

  He stared at her, his dark lashes spiky with moisture around his gray eyes. He seemed to be searching for words, but Makayla didn’t need anything from him right then, so she just gave his hand a squeeze before she released it to cup around the mug as she lifted it to take a sip of coffee.

  *

  The hours passed more slowly than at any other time that Ethan could remember in his life. He wasn’t even sure why he was staying up and waiting. His father had made it pretty clear to the police officers that he didn’t want Ethan aware of anything going on with regards to Sierra. Ethan could only hope that the officers would realize how important this was to him and at least let him know if Sierra had been found.

  Aside from slipping upstairs to change out of her work clothes, Makayla had been by his side since she’d arrived at the apartment building. Ethan knew he shouldn’t be, but he was extremely grateful for her presence there. And Bennett’s as well. He’d been a bit embarrassed by his emotional breakdown, but he supposed in some ways it had been a long time coming. Even the moment he’d had outside the apartment building after dropping Sierra off had been just a precursor of what was to come.

  The recent stress of the move, his job, and now the situation with Sierra had been more than enough to have pushed him over the edge. Even now he didn’t want to consider anything but a positive outcome where Sierra was concerned. And if that meant she was back with her parents, then so be it. He just didn’t want her out alone on the streets of a strange city.

  At some point, Tami had arrived and spent some time with them. Steve and Emily had popped in with boxes of pizza, and they’d stayed until around ten. He had tried to eat something though his stomach had been in knots. James had shown up and had offered his thoughts on how things might unfold when Sierra was back home. He also said that he would try and get hold of some friends he had on the police force, in hopes that one of them would be willing to give him a heads up should there be any leads on Sierra’s whereabouts.

  Makayla and Bennett had been there throughout the evening, and it appeared that they had no intention of leaving even after everyone else had. At some point, Makayla had curled up in an armchair and fallen asleep. Bennett had encouraged Ethan to go lay down as well, but it felt wrong to go to his bed when it was clear that Bennett and Makayla weren’t going to be going to theirs. So he stretched out on the couch while Bennett turned off a few lights and then settled into the recliner.

  As the quiet of the apartment settled around him, Ethan tried to keep his thoughts from going to the worst case scenario for Sierra, but it seemed impossible. He knew he needed to focus on something else or he was going to drive himself insane with worry.

  So while he normally avoided thinking too much about Makayla, in this instance, he grabbed onto thoughts of her in hopes of keeping the crazy thoughts and worry at bay. When she’d held him earlier, he had felt that finally he’d found a woman who made him feel safe. It was an odd feeling given that he had always felt it was the man
’s role to protect the woman—and he hadn’t completely abandoned that way of thinking—but the safety she provided him was not to protect him but to allow him to be vulnerable without fear that it would be used against him.

  His dad would have taunted him for days, weeks even, if he’d ever found Ethan in tears, even over something as serious as Sierra’s disappearance. But standing there with Makayla and Bennett, Ethan had known that they would not use his emotions against him as friends or even as his supervisors. The emotional release had been cathartic, but he hoped it would be a long time before he’d ever feel the need for something like that again.

  He watched Makayla sleep in the dimly lit room, and he wondered about the words she’d spoken to him earlier. Was it too soon, he wondered? Too soon to feel love for her? He hadn’t given much credence to love at first sight. But now feeling what he did for Makayla after just a short time, he had to wonder if it was truly possible. He had never felt this way before about anyone, even the women he’d been with for longer than he’d known Makayla.

  So maybe love didn’t show up on a timeline. Maybe it didn’t need even one date let alone more. Maybe it just needed people talking and sharing parts of themselves. Maybe it just needed a man and a woman to connect on a level at which they’d never connected with anyone else before. And maybe it was that sense of rightness that God gave him within his heart, as he lay there in the dark, that this woman was part of His plan for Ethan’s life.

  He had never believed that he needed a woman to complete him, and he didn’t want a woman to feel that way about him either. However, what he did feel from Makayla was that together they were better versions of themselves. That being with each other would bring out the best in the other person. Already he had confided more in Makayla than he had in anyone else and from what she’d said during their text conversation on Friday night, it seemed she had done the same with him.