by Glynna Kaye
Heading for the stand of trees closest to where they’d had the fire and enjoyed their supper, he called out again, then paused to listen. But the forest remained silent. A whisper of apprehension prickled at the back of his neck as he moved in among the pines. The youngster wouldn’t have gone far. Just far enough to where he thought he’d have some privacy, right?
But fifteen minutes later, having walked along the woodland path encircling the pond, he still saw no sign of Cubby. No response to Sawyer’s repeated calls.
As he stepped into the clearing not too far from the truck, Tori joined him, fear in her eyes. “Why doesn’t he come when you call? Or blow his whistle?”
Sawyer didn’t have an answer to that. “Maybe he wandered out of earshot.”
“So what do we do? Split up to search?”
“I don’t want you and Landon lost in the woods, too.”
She gripped his arm. “You think he’s lost.”
He needed to be more careful of his words. “He can’t have gotten far. But it would be better if you both stay here. That way when he shows up, he won’t be scared that he’s been left alone and set out again to look for us.”
“It’ll be dark soon, Sawyer.”
The sun, while still filtering through the thick, endless stretches of pine, was low in the sky. The forest was becoming shadowed. He slipped his arm around her, surprised that she was trembling. He pulled her close. “Nothing to be scared about. He knows what to do if he loses his bearings. He has his fanny pack with water and snacks. A flashlight.”
But what if he’d gotten himself turned around and panicked? Started running in the wrong direction. Or had fallen. Hit his head and didn’t respond to his big brother’s cries because he was incapable of hearing them. Or what if he’d gone back to the pond without his life jacket when no one was looking?
“God knows right where he is.” Tori’s soft voice held a determined edge. “I’m praying He’ll find him for us. Soon.”
She was welcome to do all the praying she wanted. But right now, he wasn’t about to sit back and rely on a God who’d let him down one too many times.
“You have your cell phone, right? I’ll call when I locate him.” He nodded to his vehicle. “Get back in the truck to stay warm. Honk if Cubby shows up here first.”
Reluctant to release her, he nevertheless gave her a hug before once again moving in among the trees.
Come on, Jacob Anderson Banks. Use that whistle.
Checking his watch, he hiked in considerably deeper, noting nature’s markers as he went. A pine trunk long ago split by lightning. An outcropping of rock. A fallen, rotting log.
As the sun rays filtered through the needled branches, he covered uneven ground thickly layered in brown pine needles, pinecones crunching under his boots. He’d thought he’d been keeping a close eye on the boys, but obviously he’d messed up.
Just like he’d done with Vanessa and Dad’s water heater.
He called again for Cubby, pausing to listen.
Nothing.
Fisting his fingers, he plunged on through the trees, superstitiously biting back the prayer forming on his lips. He dared not voice a plea. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. His track record for that was none too good.
He glanced again at his watch, startled to see another thirty minutes had passed. No sound of the truck’s horn. It would be dark soon. Tori would be worrying herself sick.
Cub might be around the next rocky outcropping, but he couldn’t wait any longer to call the county sheriff’s office. His search-and-rescue buddies needed to be brought in. He pulled out his cell phone.
Then his heart sank. No bars.
He’d been out here many times before. Always had a signal.
What was he supposed to do now? Get Tori to drive back to town for help while he kept searching?
He swallowed hard. Then, with only a moment’s hesitation, he dropped to his knees on the forest floor. Lifted his gaze to the fading light above. He no longer had a choice. He had to risk it.
“Father God...” His words came softly. “I know it’s been a while since You’ve heard from me and I’m not going to make any excuses for that. You understand the whys of it better than anyone.”
High up in one of the trees, a squirrel’s claws skittered as it scampered from limb to limb. But Sawyer paid it no mind.
“Tori says You know where my little brother is. That You can find him for us. I’d sure like to believe that.”
He cleared his throat. “You know how hard it is for me to ask. I’ve been on my knees before. For Mom. Then Dad and Vanessa. I feel almost as if by asking...that I’m signing my Cubster’s death warrant.”
How ungrateful that sounded. But he couldn’t be anything but honest. He raised his voice.
“I’m going to trust You here. Lay it on the line. I’ve messed up. Again. But I need to find Cubby. And soon. Please? For Tori, if not for me.”
She’d blame herself for not having asked permission from Ray and Therese to take them out for an afternoon adventure.
Some adventure.
But it wasn’t her fault. The blame lay solidly on his doorstep.
He remained on his knees, watching the tops of the pines sway slightly in the higher-up breeze.
“I know You’re not into bargaining. Bartering. Making deals. I tried that one too many times. But I’ll tell You this and You can take it or leave it as You see fit...if You’ll point me in the right direction, let me bring Cubby back safe and sound...well, I’ll owe You. Big-time.”
But no inner promptings or audible voice from Heaven pointed him the direction he needed to go. With a heavy heart, he got to his feet, his mind now trudging through the sludge of disappointment as he attempted to focus on his best options to get a search-and-rescue team out here as fast as possible.
If God wasn’t willing to help, then he’d find his little brother on his own if it was the last thing he ever did.
Drawing a deep breath, he turned back in the direction he’d come just as, in the distance, his truck’s horn blared.
Chapter Fourteen
Tori had never been happier to see anyone as when Sawyer emerged from the surrounding forest—except for a short while ago when a couple of young hikers had walked into the clearing with Cubby beside them.
Fighting tears, her heart filled with joy, she’d hugged the boy close, then immediately sounded the truck horn long and hard.
She met Sawyer when he was halfway to the truck, his gaze locked on Cubby and Landon and the couple who’d come to the little boy’s rescue.
She wanted to throw her arms around Sawyer. To cry with relief. But she held herself back.
“Julie Rollins and Matt Bell—they live in Hunter Ridge—were hiking and found Cubby. He told them we’d been at the pond fishing and they knew right where that was.”
Relief momentarily flooded Sawyer’s eyes, then his expression hardened. “When I get my hands on that kid—”
“Sawyer.” She touched his arm. Now that she had Cubby safely back, she hadn’t the heart to scold him for wandering off. There would be time enough for that later. “Not right now. Not in front of his brother or his rescuers. And not in anger. Please?”
Something seemed to war within him, and for a moment she thought he’d push right by her and call his little brother on the carpet. But he gave a brisk nod and together they approached the waiting group. Without a word, he gathered Cubby into a hug, then shook the hands of Julie and Matt, who modestly claimed they’d merely been in the right place at the right time.
On the return to town, Tori chatted quietly with the boys, but Sawyer remained mostly silent, only speaking when spoken to. They arrived at the house not long after dark and she herded the twins inside to get cleaned up while Sawyer appeared preoccupied with re
organizing his gear in the back of the truck.
She paused in the doorway to call to him. “Come in when you’re finished there.”
He didn’t respond immediately and for a moment she thought he hadn’t heard her. “Sawyer? Come in when—”
“We’ll see.”
Maybe it was just as well that he stayed away. She intended to get the boys cleaned up and tucked into bed. Then tomorrow morning she and Cubby would have a long talk before his grandparents came back that night. Right now she wanted only to treasure the boy’s safe return and have the day end in peace.
Which was unlikely to happen if Sawyer joined them.
She planned to let the boys share the guest bedroom, unwilling tonight to shuffle them off to isolation in their separate spaces. Bath and story time were followed by prayers, but she remained on high alert, listening for the sound of the front door closing or the creak of a stair. Once she thought she heard the squeak of a floorboard, but to her relief the bedtime rituals were uninterrupted.
So when she turned out the light, pulled the door closed behind her and started down the hallway, she was startled to see Sawyer sitting, sock-footed, on the floor not far from the top of the staircase. His back was against the wall, arms folded on bent knees. Head down.
He looked up as she approached, then rose slowly to his feet. “All tucked in?”
“Two tired boys.”
He nodded, his voice low. “A little too much adventure for all of us.”
She motioned for him to follow her down the stairs to the parlor, where she kicked off her shoes, sat down on the love seat and tucked her feet under her. He lowered himself to a chair that was way too small for a man his size, then stretched out his legs.
“Thank you, Sawyer, for letting me handle things the way I think they should be handled. I’ll be talking to Cubby in the morning.”
“He took about fifty years off my life.”
“Mine, too.”
He held her gaze. “None of this was your fault, Tori. I take entire responsibility.”
“No. I’m responsible, as well. I should have been keeping a closer eye on them.” Not been paying so much attention to Sawyer.
“Did he give any explanation? Any excuse for what he did? Why didn’t he sit still and blow his whistle like I told him to do if he got lost?”
“Because he wasn’t lost.”
Sawyer raised a brow. “Come again?”
“You’d told the boys to use the whistle if they got lost. He said he wasn’t lost. He was tracking a deer.”
“A deer.”
“Remember? You showed the boys how to tell the difference between deer and elk tracks. He found a deer track. Then he apparently got preoccupied, and must have gotten too far out. Couldn’t hear us calling for him.”
Sawyer released a pent-up breath. “We told them both to stay where we could see them.”
“I know. But he’s not even five years old yet. Kids forget. He wasn’t trying to be bad.”
“You realize, don’t you, that this could have had a whole different ending if that couple hadn’t come across him? I was ready to call the sheriff’s department, get a search-and-rescue team out there before it totally got dark. If Matt and Julie hadn’t been good and decent people...”
Tears pricked her eyes as she uncurled herself from the sofa and stood to look down at him. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know.”
Sawyer was immediately on his feet, reaching for her just as she neared the door to the front entryway. “I’m sorry, Tori. I didn’t mean—”
“I know. It’s just that—” Her voice cracked.
He put his arms around her and pulled her close in a comforting hug. “We’ve had a scare today.”
She slipped her arms around his waist, nodding against the solidness of his chest. “One I hope never to have again.”
“Me, too.” He continued to hold her, both lost in their own relief-filled thoughts. “I’m wondering...you know, if taking them on a camping trip is that great of an idea now. Maybe we should wait until they’re older. You know, like twenty-one.”
She couldn’t help but giggle. “Let’s not punish them for this. While we haven’t established a date yet, they know their grandparents agreed to the outing. They’d be disappointed if the trip got canceled.”
“But what’s the alternative? Put leashes on them? They’re too big for playpens.”
A faint smile surfacing, she plucked at his shirtfront, knowing he was doing his best to ward off her tears. She probably wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight once the what-ifs slammed into her full force, but right now, with Sawyer’s strong arms around her, the fear that had taken hold during that afternoon’s longest hour of her life eased a fraction more.
“Do you think,” she suggested, “that they make those baby sling carriers big enough for forty-pounders?”
She felt his chest silently rumble with laughter as he no doubt pictured each of them staggering along a trail with a twin looped in a sling. “Now, there’s an idea.”
They were silent, the minutes ticking by to the sound of the old grandfather clock in the corner. Then she whispered, “I was praying so hard, Sawyer.”
His arms tightened around her. “Me, too.”
She pulled slightly back to look up at him. “God answered your prayers this time.”
Sawyer’s jaw hardened and he gave a quick nod. “He did.”
“So you can’t say anymore that He doesn’t listen to you.”
Something flickered through his eyes as their gazes locked. He swallowed. “No. No, I can’t.”
Then her breath caught as she realized he was lowering his mouth to hers.
* * *
Sweet. All sweet. He moved his mouth gently against the inviting softness of Tori’s. Was this another answered prayer? Being allowed to hold her like this? Feeling her snuggle more deeply into his arms as if she’d always belonged there?
He heard her soft sigh and deepened the kiss.
Tori. Who would have thought on that snowy February day when he’d interviewed her as a possible caregiver for his brothers that they’d wind up here? Locked in each other’s arms. And it feeling so right.
No, he wasn’t in any better position in this moment to get involved with a woman than he had been yesterday. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Tori. His sweet, sweet Tori.
When he drew back, she opened her eyes and they continued to gaze at each other. Content to remain in the warmth of the other’s embrace.
“Wow.” Her voice was barely an audible breath.
“I couldn’t have worded it better.” In fact, he couldn’t have worded it at all. He’d never felt this way before. How could he put into words the most amazing moment of his life? But surely she could guess. Could feel the thundering pound of his heart beneath the hand she’d pressed to his chest.
She shifted slightly in his arms.
“I’m not good with words, Tori,” he said suddenly, sensing she might be ready to step away. He’d do about anything to keep her right where she was. Cuddled up close to his heart. Forever. “But you need to know...”
Know what? That his heart nearly pounded right out of his chest when she looked at him? That he loved how one corner of her mouth turned up kind of crookedly when she smiled? Loved how she related to his brothers. That he was determined to find a way to convince her that he was everything she’d ever want or need in a man.
“Know what?” she echoed, her eyes searching his.
His brain went blank, his mouth suddenly dry. All he could do was lean in for another sweet kiss. And when some moments later he drew back, he smiled down at her dazed expression. “I’m hoping that says it all.”
“Tori?” From the top of the stairs the voice of one of the twins—Cubby?—c
alled down. He must have seen the light on below. “We think there’s a mouse in our room.”
Looking somewhat disoriented and thoroughly kissed, Tori pulled away, alarmed eyes meeting his. “A mouse? I think that’s your department, isn’t it?”
Feeling befuddled himself, he nodded. “Do you know where Ray keeps the traps?”
“Garage probably.”
“I’m on it.”
As Tori hurried up the stairs to reassure the twins, he pulled on his boots and headed out to the detached garage, drinking in the cold night air almost like a man who’d been held under water for a too-long time.
What had just happened in there?
If the grin tugging at his lips was any indication, something mighty unexpected. And better than anything he could have dreamed up.
He located the traps in short order, paused in the kitchen to snag a few chunks of cheese and joined Tori upstairs. She was ushering the twins out of one room and into two others.
He pulled her aside. “What’s the deal with separate rooms?”
“I let them stay in the guest room’s big double bed tonight rather than in their single beds in their own rooms,” she said quietly, “thinking that maybe after what happened today they’d appreciate each other’s company.”
“They don’t share a room? They used to, didn’t they? At least they did when they lived with their mom and dad. I remember them whispering and giggling together long after lights-out.”
“They shared here, too, until recently. But when Cubby had his upset a few weeks ago, missing his parents, Ray felt it best to separate them.”
“What good is isolating them supposed to do? That could make him feel worse.”
“I let Ray know how I felt about it, too. But he was adamant.” She nodded to the mousetraps. “The coast is clear in the guest room now if you want to take care of that.”
There were other things he’d like to say about Ray’s decision to separate the boys, but it sounded as if he and Tori were on the same page with this. He was glad that she’d spoken up.
He made quick work laying the traps, then stepped again into the hallway as she was closing one of the bedroom doors. The other one was already closed.
