Chapter Seventeen
“L
orrie Ann!” Celeste ran full blast and threw all her weight onto Lorrie Ann’s torso, nearly causing them both to go over on the ground. “I missed you at our Wednesday-night dinner.”
“Me, too, rug rat. I just had too much to do here.”
Plus, I can’t bear to be in the same room as your father.
“Are you ready to head home? You did a great job leading your group down to light the lanterns tonight.”
“Rachel’s in back with Uncle Billy and Aunt Maggie. They’re decorating the bucket that’ll lift Rachel.”
“Let’s go get her. You have school tomorrow, and this has been a long day.” Lorrie Ann took Celeste by the hand and headed to the back of the stage.
From there, it didn’t take long to get home and go through the bedtime ritual. Several times, Lorrie Ann caught herself wanting to hug the girls and never let them go. If she thought about it being the last time, she’d start crying.
Rachel wore a small brace now and could move much easier, so the girls slept in the loft again.
Slipping to the edge of Celeste’s bed, Lorrie Ann pulled the cover up to her little chin and stroked her hair. “Well, you get the end of the story tonight.” She swallowed the lump that suddenly clogged her throat.
Rachel surprised her by swinging her leg out from under the covers and sitting up. “No, Lorrie Ann, please don’t stop tonight.”
“But tonight the princess is reunited with her father. She gets to go back to his kingdom,” Lorrie Ann whispered, praying she could get through this without crying.
Celeste clapped her hands. “Yeah, the bad duke is banished.” She threw her arms wide, causing the covers to slip off her.
“Celeste, you are such a baby. Don’t you know what this means? She
is
the princess. She’s going back to L.A.” Rachel crossed her arms and glared. “She’s leaving us.”
A sharp intake of breath made Celeste’s mouth open, and her eyes went even larger. “No. You...you have to stay.”
Lorrie Ann closed her eyes against the pain she saw in the innocent eyes. Maybe it was her own guilt she tried to hide. “Sweetheart, we always knew I wasn’t staying forever. I have a new job in Nashville.”
“But we’re here. You can’t leave us.”
“Grow up, Celeste. People leave all the time. Momma left.” Rachel’s harsh voice became muffled as she threw herself back and jerked the sheet over her face.
Celeste cried out, “But Momma died.” Her tear-stained face turned back to Lorrie Ann. “God’s not taking you away, is He?”
“Oh, Celeste, I’m just going to Nashville. We can still talk on the phone, and I can even write stories and email them to you. I’m not leaving
you.
I just have to get back to my real life.”
Rachel snorted under her sheet before she flipped her back to them.
Lorrie Ann sighed and drew the precious six-year-old into her arms.
“I promise I’ll email or call every day if that’s what you want. And I’ll be back to visit.”
“What about the play? You have to be here to see me light the way.”
A hiccup from the small chest created the most heart-twisting sound Lorrie Ann had ever heard. She kissed the top of the small head as she stroked the silky baby-fine hair. “I’ll be here for the play, then I leave for Tennessee. I’m so sorry, rug rat.”
“You need to get over it. People move on. It’s just life. Stop crying and go to bed.”
Celeste looked at her older sister. “But you said that her and Daddy liked each other.” She placed her little hands on each side of Lorrie Ann’s face. “Don’t you like Daddy? If he did something wrong, I’ll talk to him. You don’t have to leave.” Her bowed lips pushed out in the saddest pout Lorrie Ann had ever seen.
“I do like your daddy. It’s not his fault.” How did you tell a six-year-old the problem was you liked her daddy too much?
Maybe for the girls she could do it. She closed her eyes.
Dear God, please show me what to do.
She laid her cheek against Celeste and pulled her closer, smelling the fresh shampoo John used with the girls.
No, she needed to stop this. Once she returned to the music world, her life would fall back into place.
Soft sniffles created a pattern in Celeste’s breathing. Glancing down, she realized the child had fallen asleep.
She slid the small body under the covers and stood as she pulled the blankets around her.
She bent down to kiss her and froze, remembering the first night she had seen John tuck the girls in. That seemed like a lifetime ago. With a light touch of her lips to Celeste’s forehead, she asked God to keep the girls tucked in His arms and whispered, “Sweet dreams.”
Standing, she put her hand on her lower back and arched.
“Good night, Rachel.” She waited for a reply, but only silence followed. “Rachel, I’m sor—”
“Don’t worry about it. I understand you have more important things to do than hang out in this middle-of-nowhere town.”
Lorrie Ann didn’t think she could have felt worse than holding a crying rug rat. Rachel proved her wrong. She moved to the door, stopping at the frame when she thought she heard a sniffle. “Rachel?”
“Night.” A clear and decisive dismissal.
* * *
Lorrie Ann went straight to the deck, leaving the door open. Tilting her head back, she absorbed the sounds and scents of the night air. The water running over the rocks below calmed her. When she left, she wouldn’t wait another twelve years to come back home.
Having a place to call home made her smile. She couldn’t remember all the places her mom had dragged her to. Even in California, she’d bounced from hotels to apartments. She’d helped Brent decorate his beach house. It had never felt like a real home, no matter how much she tried.
John’s little temporary cabin felt more like a home than all the steel and glass ever did.
She lifted her arms over her head and stretched. Bringing them down, she curled up in the giant rocker and pulled her knees to her chest.
Hearing the door, she twisted around to greet John but didn’t see him. He’d probably gone upstairs first. She settled back in and waited.
What was taking John so long? Anxiety crawled up her spine. Were the girls still upset? She slipped her shoes back on and walked to the base of the staircase.
The moonlight cut through the darkness. Pausing, she tilted her head to listen. She didn’t hear John or the girls. Scanning the room, she whispered John’s name and waited. Lorrie Ann moved to his bedroom door and softly knocked. “John?”
Looking toward the entryway, she noticed the front door slightly open. She had heard the door. Stepping through it and onto the porch, she scanned the driveway. John’s parking space remained empty. Her stomach got tight, and she rushed back inside.
Breathe, Lorrie Ann. You’re getting worked up over nothing.
Nervousness pulled her skin tighter as she climbed the spiral staircase.
When she saw Celeste sitting up in her bed and Rachel still bundled under her covers, a rush of relief left her legs weak.
Celeste clutched her floppy rabbit to her chest.
“Celeste, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” she whispered so as not to bother Rachel. Celeste’s wide eyes darted to her sister’s bed.
Her stomach started coiling again. Under closer scrutiny, Lorrie Ann noticed the form under the blankets didn’t look quite right. Heart pumping against her throat, Lorrie Ann pulled back the covers, finding nothing but pillows and stuffed animals.
Her eyes flew to Celeste. Horror stories of children stolen from their beds flooded her mind. She reached for her phone to call John but realized she had left it downstairs.
“Celeste.” She grabbed the girl by her shoulders. “Do you know where Rachel is?”
“She made me promise not to say anything.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “She made me promise on the Bible.”
“Come on—we need to call your dad.” She took Celeste by the hand and headed down the stairs. As she reached for her phone, the door opened.
Hope surged through every fiber in Lorrie Ann’s DNA. Instead of the missing eleven-year-old girl, John walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on? Why is Celeste—”
“I’m sorry.... I was on the deck.”
“It’s my fault, Daddy.” Their words overlapped.
“Rachel left.”
“Left? What do you mean ‘left’? An eleven-year-old doesn’t just leave her house at ten o’clock at night.”
“I put them to bed and then went on the deck to wait for you. I told the girls about me going to Nashville. They were upset. Rachel seemed angry, but I didn’t think she’d run away. Where would she go?”
His face had lost all color as he ran his hands through his hair. He turned and looked around the room as if lost.
Then he pulled out his cell and called Maggie, asking her to start calling people on the phone tree. They would be meeting here with floodlights.
“How did she get out without you knowing?” All his words came between clenched teeth. “When did you discover she was missing?”
“I had my phone to call you. She must have left about ten minutes ago. She can’t be far.”
He opened his phone again and called Dub, the whole time pacing. This conversation was shorter than the one with Maggie.
He braced his hands on the granite bar, closing his eyes. “Please, God, be with her. Keep her safe and lead us to her quickly.” He rubbed his palm over the back of his neck. “The thought of her out there alone...” He turned and headed to the front entrance.
“She’s not alone, Daddy. She’s with Seth.”
He froze and turned to Celeste. Then his glare darted to Lorrie Ann. “Anything else I should know?”
“This is the first I’ve heard of her being with Seth.” Celeste buried her face in Lorrie Ann’s neck while she strangled the poor bunny in a death grip.
“Apparently, Rachel made Celeste promise not to tell anyone.”
He walked over and stopped in front of them. Taking Celeste from Lorrie Ann, he gently sat her on one of the barstools and leaned in until father and daughter were face-to-face. His voice stayed low and tender.
“Sweetheart, someone can’t make you promise to lie to your father using the Bible.”
She reached up and wrapped her soft fingers around his stubbled jaw. “Daddy, please don’t cry.” She bumped her forehead against his. “And don’t be mad at Miss Lorrie Ann. It’s my fault.”
He covered her tiny hands in his large ones. “I just want to get Rachel home. What do you know, monkey?”
“Seth threw some twigs at our window right after Miss Lorrie Ann tucked us into bed. Rachel went to the window. I couldn’t hear what they said, but she told me to stay quiet and made me promise on the Bible. She said she’d be back soon. She wanted to talk to Seth, but he couldn’t come in our room.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He kissed her on the forehead then stepped back. “I’ll call Vickie.” He already had the phone to his ear. Lorrie Ann blinked as each ring lasted an eternity.
Please, please, God, let Rachel be there.
“Hello, Vickie. I’m looking for Rachel. We think she might be with Seth.”
Lorrie Ann could hear the woman’s voice, but the words sounded muffled.
“Would you check to see if he knows where she is, then?” He dropped his chin and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
His head suddenly shot up, and she could hear yelling in the background.
“Vickie, calm down. Do you know where he might have gone?”
All Lorrie Ann could make out was something about his father.
“Maggie’s already started calling on the phone tree. People are going to be meeting here to walk the area. I’ll call Jake and have him and his group meet at your house. We’ll start walking. They should be somewhere in between.”
Lorrie Ann heard Vickie’s voice pitch higher.
“Florida? Why would he try to—” His sentence got interrupted. “Vickie, I don’t think Rachel would run away to Florida, but she would probably try to stop him. They’ve been gone from here less than—” he looked down at his watch “—twenty minutes. We’ll find them.... Okay. Call your parents. I’ll touch base in a little bit.”
He headed for the front door. “Will you stay here with Celeste?”
She nodded, not knowing what to say.
“I think Dub’s just pulled up.” With that, he disappeared out the door.
She hugged Celeste one more time. The little girl looked so miserable. It ripped into her heart.
“Can you think of anywhere they might have gone, a favorite place?”
The petite face twisted in deep thought. “They like to hang out at the swimming hole behind the big house.” Her teardrops hung to her thick lashes, making her eyes look bigger than normal. “But it’s dark, so why would they go there? We aren’t allowed to go to the river without an adult.”
Lorrie Ann didn’t bother pointing out they weren’t allowed outside without an adult and that hadn’t stopped Rachel. She hit John’s number on her phone.
“Lorrie Ann?” She heard a mix of hope and irritation in his voice.
“Is anyone heading to the big house?”
“No. Why?”
“Celeste says they might be at the swimming hole.”
He gave a frustrated growl. “We just got lines of people walking the area between the Lawsons’ ranch and the pecan farm. That’s the opposite direction.”
“I can take the dirt road through the orchard and check it out. Can I take your truck?” She needed to do something. Sitting here frayed her nerves.
“Okay, call me when you get there.” The distress in his voice made him sound harsh.
“I will.” He had already disconnected.
“Come on, rug rat. We’re going to the swimming hole.”
Seat belts locked in place. She made her way down the rut-filled dirt road that ran along the back side of the pecan orchards. When they arrived at the gate that joined the two properties, Lorrie Ann was surprised to find it open.
Going as fast as she dared, she finally saw the two-story limestone home standing sturdy in the moonlight. She put the truck in Park by the old stone barbecue pit and picnic tables.
Grabbing the flashlight, she slid out of the truck. Celeste followed suit on the other side. Lorrie Ann paused. What to do with her charge?
Leaving her alone in the truck sounded dangerous.