by Annie Rains
“Thanks. She doesn’t know I’m her dad yet. I’m planning to tell her this week.” Assuming they found her. Where was she?
They came to a stop sign, and Tuck pointed straight ahead toward the downtown area. “Let’s try looking in that direction.”
“Good idea.” Alex pressed the gas.
“Do you think someone might have taken her?” Tuck asked.
“You mean like a kidnapping?” Alex looked over. “It’s possible but I doubt it. She’s a little girl, and it sounds like she’s been through a world of change. This is likely just a cry for attention.”
“She’s walking with a cane. Wherever she is, she won’t make it far,” Tuck said. He saw a group of girls that he remembered seeing Maddie with at the Sweetwater Springs Festival. “Pull over. I want to talk to them.” He gestured at the threesome standing on the sidewalk.
“I’ll come with you.”
They parked and got out. When the girls saw them approaching, they stiffened, no doubt the effect of Alex’s badge and status as chief of the Sweetwater police.
Alex held up a hand. “You’re not in trouble. We just need help. Do you know Maddie Sanders?”
A petite girl with long blond hair nodded. “She’s in my class.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” Alex asked.
The girl fidgeted slightly as she looked around at her friends and then up at him. “At dismissal yesterday, I guess. She was carrying her book bag and lost her balance a little bit. I asked if she needed help but she said no. Maddie never asks for help, because kids make fun of her if she does.”
The muscles along Tuck’s jaw tightened. Didn’t Maddie have enough difficulty in her young life right now without her classmates adding to it? “None of you have seen her down here?” he asked. “Are you sure?”
“She’s hard to miss with that cane,” the brunette in the group said with a slight eye roll.
The third girl giggled at her side.
It was all Tuck could do to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to be hauled off to jail tonight for yelling at a couple of little girls with bad attitudes. What he wanted was to find Maddie.
“Thanks.” Alex turned away from the girls and gave Tuck a steady look that said they needed to keep walking. They continued down the sidewalk, looking in storefront windows. Thunder rumbled beyond the mountains. The local news had been warning about the storm for the last few days. There were supposed to be heavy downpours over the next forty-eight hours. After the rainstorm last week, townsfolk had already been prepping for possible flooding from the river.
“Let’s get back to the vehicle. We can try the mall,” Alex suggested, turning back.
“Yeah.”
They returned to his SUV and started driving. When they came to another police car going in the opposite direction, both vehicles slowed and Mitch rolled down his window. “Kaitlyn told me about Maddie. Any luck locating her yet?” he asked.
Alex shook his head grimly.
A soft rain started to splatter on their front windshield, ratcheting up Tuck’s anxiety level. Hopefully Maddie was safe and warm wherever she was. He hoped she was also coming to her senses.
“We’re going to the mall,” Alex told Mitch between the vehicles. Luckily there were no other cars on Main Street right now.
Mitch shook his head. “Josie has already searched the mall. She isn’t there.”
A warmness spread through Tuck from his toes right up to his heart. Even though Maddie was resisting Josie’s efforts, Josie was trying hard to be there for his daughter. That meant everything to him.
The rain began to fall harder, forcing them to roll up their windows and press on.
After another hour circling the town, Alex drove Tuck back to his truck at the police station. “Go back to Hope Cottage in case she shows up there,” he suggested. “I’ll put a few more officers on the case, and we’ll continue searching until we find her. She’s a smart girl. I’m sure she’s found shelter somewhere. Maybe at your place.”
“I hope that’s true.” Tuck knew Maddie was smart but he couldn’t help imagining that she’d fallen and was hurt somehow. That she couldn’t get to a dry place. He hadn’t been there for her all these years but he wanted to be there for her from now on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
If I were an eleven-year-old girl, where would I go?
Josie tried to put herself in a hurt, angry, grief-stricken girl’s shoes as she drove Kaitlyn’s car. Maddie couldn’t have gone far on foot. But maybe she’d gotten a ride from someone. Maybe she’d gone to a boy’s house…No, Maddie wouldn’t want to be at a boy’s house when she was feeling so low. She would probably want to avoid all human interaction.
A gasp caught in Josie’s throat. It was just a hunch but something about the idea resonated with her. Maddie was like Tuck in so many ways, one of which was her bond with animals. They were therapeutic. If Maddie wanted to be away from the people in her life, it didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to be alone.
Josie turned Kaitlyn’s car in the direction of Hope Cottage and sent up a little prayer that she was right.
She parked in Tuck’s driveway, seeing his Jeep, but didn’t bother going toward the house. She didn’t want to get his hopes up if she was wrong. Instead, she pulled the hood of her raincoat over her head and sprinted through the field toward the stables.
The rain was coming down harder now, beating against her skin in angry pellets. Her pants were stuck to her like a second skin by the time she reached the stable door. Throwing it open, she dashed inside the darkened barn. For a moment, it was illuminated by a flash of lightning, and then it fell dark again.
“Maddie?…Maddie, are you in here?” Josie breathed in the scent of hay and horses. There was a rustling inside the barn from Chestnut and Sugar but that was all.
Her heart sank with a thud into her belly. She stepped farther inside and peeked into Sugar’s stall. “Hey, girl,” she said to the horse that she had bonded with during her rides with Tuck. “I’m looking for someone. Have you seen her?”
Josie was soaking wet, exhausted, and she had no idea where to search next.
“I’m right here,” a small voice answered.
Josie turned toward an empty stall next to Sugar’s and stepped over to peer inside. There in the corner sat Maddie with Shadow’s head resting in her lap. “How’d you find me?” she asked, lifting her chin in the dark.
Josie opened the stall and moved to sit beside her. “I imagined where I’d go if I were you.”
Maddie looked down at her hands resting on Shadow’s back. “Is my dad looking for me too?”
“Of course he is…” Josie gasped as she realized what Maddie had just asked. “You know?”
Maddie looked up. “I overheard him and Grandma talking about it outside the other week. She told him the truth.”
Everything started clicking into place in Josie’s mind. That was when Maddie started acting like she didn’t want Josie around. But why?
“It makes sense,” Maddie said. “We look alike, don’t you think?”
Josie nodded. “I do. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Maddie ran her fingers through Shadow’s coat. “Because he didn’t say anything. I’ve been waiting for him to tell me the truth but he never did. I was beginning to think that maybe he didn’t want me to know, because he didn’t actually want me.”
“Oh, Maddie, of course he wants you. Why would you think otherwise?”
Maddie looked at Josie and narrowed her dark eyes. “Because I’m invisible when you’re around,” she said, chin quivering. “I don’t mean to be mean to you but I don’t have a mom and my grandma is sick all the time. I need Tuck. I’ve always wanted a dad, and now that I have one, I just want him to notice me.” Tears slipped off her eyelashes and streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve been in this stupid barn all day, and no one even realized that I was gone. I listened for someone to call my name, and no one ever did.” She hiccupped as she started
to cry.
“Oh, honey. You have so many people who love you and want to be here for you. I know it feels like you’re all alone sometimes but it’s not true.”
“What do you know about feeling alone?”
“A whole lot, believe it or not,” Josie said. “I get it, and I’m sorry if I’m partly to blame for how you feel. I don’t want to steal your dad’s attention away from you. And trust me when I say you are the most important person in his life. He wants you with him more than anything.”
More tears welled in Maddie’s eyes. “I want him too,” she said in a shaky voice. She sniffed and continued to pet Shadow, who was watching them intently.
A draft blew through the barn, and Josie shivered, less because she was cold and more because she hadn’t realized just how much Maddie was dealing with on her own. “Your grandma and Tuck are just trying to do what’s best for you, sweetheart. And they were planning on telling you the truth this week.”
“They were?”
Josie nodded. “Yep.”
“I keep thinking that if my mom had told me the truth in the first place, I could’ve had a dad all along. Why did she keep something so important from me?”
“Parents make the best decisions they can in the moment. They’re not perfect, you know.” Josie couldn’t help it. She lifted her arm and wrapped it around the girl tightly. “I know that everything seems out of place right now but it’s going to get better.”
The girl sniffled softly. “Promise?”
“I promise. But right now, we need to go inside. People are out there in the storm looking for you. They’re all worried sick. Tuck is in the house, probably pacing a hole in the floor.”
“Do you think he’ll be mad at me?” Maddie asked.
Josie laughed. “Truthfully? Oh yeah. But first he’s going to want to hug you and never let go.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Maddie said as she wiped at her tears.
“Here.” Josie took off her raincoat and helped Maddie slip it on. She pulled the hood over the girl’s head. “I don’t want you running, okay?”
“I just started walking again. I can’t run even if I wanted to.” Maddie offered a sheepish smile. That was progress.
“Just lean on me, and we’ll make it together.”
“But without your coat, you’ll get all wet,” Maddie objected.
“It’s okay,” Josie assured her. “Better me than you.”
They headed to the stable doors and opened them to the driving rain. The cottage was barely visible in the downpour.
“On the count of three. Remember, go slow. I don’t want you to fall.”
“Okay.” Maddie nodded. Josie’s rain jacket was large on her, which would give Maddie extra protection.
“One, two, three!” They walked slowly, one step at a time. The journey seemed to take forever. Shadow stayed right beside them though. She could’ve run ahead but like the loyal dog she was, she didn’t. When they got to the front porch steps, the door was flung open, and Tuck appeared. He ran down the steps and lifted Maddie up, taking her inside. Josie and Shadow followed.
Josie didn’t go past the welcome mat. She didn’t want to leave a pond in her wake.
Tuck peeled the jacket off Maddie. “Stay there. I’ll get you two some dry towels. Then you’ll tell me where you’ve been,” he told Maddie.
A minute later, he returned with a stack of towels. He wrapped one around Maddie’s shoulders and then took several to Josie. “You must be freezing,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.
“I’m okay. Maddie’s the one who needs you right now.”
And Maddie needed him from now on. Tuck needed to shower his attention on his emotionally fragile daughter. Staying in Sweetwater Springs and at Hope Cottage would be selfish, and Josie cared too much for Tuck and Maddie to do that to them, no matter how much she wished things were different.
Josie watched Tuck kneel in front of Maddie, talking softly to her. “Where were you? We were all worried sick.”
Maddie trembled under his touch. “I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to worry anyone,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
Tuck touched her cheek. “The important thing is that you’re safe. We need to let your grandma know.” He pulled out his cell phone, dialed Beverly’s number, and then offered the phone to Maddie. “She’ll be relieved to hear from you.”
As Maddie held the phone to her ear, Tuck stood and turned his attention to Josie. “I need to call Alex and call off the search,” he said. “But after that, I want to thank you properly. Can you stay awhile longer?”
Her heart rate picked up in her chest. She loved this man so much. How in the world was she going to do what she knew she had to? “Yeah. Of course.”
“Good. I’ll get you some dry clothes from my dresser. I don’t want you catching a cold after all your work as Superwoman today.”
Josie laughed quietly. “I’m not Superwoman. Far from it.”
“You’re an amazing woman, Josie Kellum. I hope you know that.”
She swallowed as he turned and led her down the hall to his bedroom. They’d had a lot of fun in this bedroom over the last couple of weeks but that was over now. Done.
He pulled out some clothes and laid them on the bed. “They’ll be way too big for you but they’re dry and they’re warm. You can shower in the guest bath, and I’ll make you a hot cup of tea when you’re out.”
“Thank you.”
He turned and pinned her with his dark eyes. “Thank you,” he said before shutting the door behind him and leaving her alone.
A lump lodged in her throat. There would be no more kissing Tuck or losing herself in his arms…No, she hadn’t lost herself. She’d found herself here at Hope Cottage, and she’d realized that she could have more.
But she couldn’t have Tuck.
* * *
After calling Alex and letting him know they had found Maddie, Tuck returned to find his daughter still sitting on the couch where he left her. His daughter.
“Grandma says she misses me,” Maddie told him.
“I’m sure she does.” Shadow leaned against Maddie’s leg, offering her support as Tuck sat down to talk to her. “Do you want me to take you back to her house?”
Maddie shook her head. “I told Grandma that I’d stay here tonight, if it’s okay.”
“Of course it is,” he said.
“I’ll go back tomorrow”—she looked at him shyly—“Dad.”
Tuck swallowed. Did he just hear Maddie correctly? “How long have you known?”
“As long as you have,” she confessed. “I heard you talking outside my house. It was my leg that was broken in the accident, not my ears,” she said sarcastically. “You guys weren’t even whispering.”
This made him laugh, which felt kind of good after the hours of worrying about the girl sitting beside him. “I see. Is that okay? Do you mind being stuck with me for a dad?”
Maddie offered a small smile. “Could be worse, I guess. You’re pretty fun to be around, and I like animals, so…Besides, all my classmates thought you were pretty cool at the Sweetwater Springs Festival.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t let it go to your head though, Dad,” Maddie said, holding up a hand. “And don’t think I’m going to let you chaperone all my activities from now on.”
Dad. He liked hearing that name coming from Maddie, and he looked forward to hearing it a lot more.
“So am I going to come live with you now?” Maddie asked.
Tuck blew out a breath. “Beverly and I are working on a plan so you can spend time with both of us.”
“Maybe I can have a home here and at my grandma’s house.”
Home. He liked the sound of that word on Maddie’s lips as well. “That sounds good.” He patted her thigh and stood. “All right, usdi,” he said, using the nickname his mom had always used for him growing up, meaning “little” in the Cherokee language. He’d only been a dad for a short time but he was
already infusing elements of his childhood into Maddie’s. He was certain his mom would start coming by as soon as she could to do the same. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving. Running away is hard work,” Maddie said.
He pinned her with a look. “How about you do your dad a favor and don’t do it again? Deal?”
She giggled. “Deal.”
* * *
An hour later, Maddie was tucked into her bed and reading quietly. As Tuck walked into the kitchen, he noticed Josie sitting on the back deck. The rain had stopped, and she was holding a steaming mug of something hot and looking out on the view with Shadow curled at her feet.
She turned when he opened the door and stepped out.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, yourself.” He took a seat beside her and looked out on the backyard.
“Is she asleep?” Josie asked quietly.
“I’m pretty sure. It’s been quite the day for her. For you too.” He glanced over and caught her eye. “Thanks for finding her and bringing her home.”
“It was no big deal.”
“It was to me. Who knows what could’ve happened to her?”
“Maybe if she had gone somewhere else,” Josie said. “She was in your barn, right under your nose all day though.”
“Quiet as a mouse,” he added. “I guess Shadow here sniffed her out. I can’t believe I didn’t realize my dog was missing too.”
Shadow lifted her head at the mention.
“How’d you know where to go?” Tuck asked then.
He watched Josie suck in a breath, keeping her gaze outward. She seemed distant somehow.
“Instinct, I guess.”
“The mother’s instinct.”
Now Josie whipped her head to face him. “I’m not her mother, Tuck.”
“I know that. You’re good with her though. That’s all I meant. I know she gives you a lot of pushback. A lot of women wouldn’t take it with so much grace.”
“She’s just hurting. I get it.” Josie tucked a loose strand of wet hair behind her ear.
He reached for her hand as it fell back into her lap but she pulled it away.
