“You didn’t see anything?”
Nica shook her head. “I’m sorry. I never should have left the house. I thought—I don’t know what I thought. I’m an idiot.”
“Evan couldn’t have gotten onto the property. He doesn’t even know we’re here.”
“Could somebody in town have told him? If they thought he was a stranger looking for directions?” Camilla sat on the bed beside Beth, and slung her arm around her shoulder. “He’s clever enough to try something like that.”
“I guess it’s possible. Somebody might not have seen his picture broadcast all over the TV.” Beth jumped up, heading for the door. “I can’t just sit here doing nothing.”
“You can’t leave, not until Brody or Rafe gets here.”
“I’m going to check the barn. She might be there.”
“I already looked there.” Nica trailed along behind Beth. “She wasn’t there.”
Beth never stopped walking. “Well, I can check it again.”
“Right, good plan. Let’s check the barn.” Nica lunged around Beth, and opened the kitchen door, holding it while Beth and Camilla walked through. “I’ve also called Dane, and he’s riding in from the pasture. He’s keeping his eyes peeled, in case she wandered farther than she’d intended.”
Beth broke into a sprint, reaching the barn before the other two women, and flung open the open. No easy feat, but she felt supercharged, hellbent on finding her child. The barn cat snuggled on an old blanket, the tiny kittens nuzzled against her, feeding. She explored every nook and cranny, looking into stalls, even behind stacks of hay. No Jamie.
“Gimme a second, let me look up there.” Nica started climbing the wooden ladder leading to the barn’s upper level.
“Jamie knows she’s not allowed up there.”
“She’s a kid. Kids love to go places where they’re not supposed to. It’s part of growing up.” Nica scampered up the rest of the way to the loft, her head raised high enough she could spy the entire loft area. Beth’s heart sank when Nica shook her head, and started climbing down.
“Where is she? I swear if Evan has her, I’m going to kill him.”
Camilla snorted. “Get in line, girlfriend.”
Beth spun around and raced outside at the sound of her name being called. Brody was here! He’d find Jamie.
“Brody!” She flung herself into his arms, her whole body trembling. Strong arms encircled her, pulling her against his warmth. Taking a deep breath, she fought back tears. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart, that could come later. Right now, she needed to be the fierce warrior he’d claimed, and move heaven and earth to find her child.
“What happened?”
“Jamie’s missing. I’d gone to see Camilla at Dane’s house. Nica was keeping an eye on Jamie. She called me, told me Jamie’s missing. Have you heard anything about Evan? Is he here? Could he have my baby?”
“Calm down. Nobody’s seen or heard anything about your ex. Nothing new, anyway. We’ll find her, I promise.” Brody’s hand cupped the back of her head, and she leaned back, staring into his eyes, and reading his determination and promise.
“I know.”
Brody’s arm snaked around her waist at the sound of a car speeding toward the house from the front gate, followed by a second. Rafe’s truck screeched to a stop, and he jumped out, jogging toward Brody and Beth. Ms. Patti’s white Cadillac Escalade rocked to a stop beside Rafe’s truck. Looked like Nica’s call about rounding up the posse worked, because people suddenly seemed to be coming out of the woodwork.
“Any word?” Brody asked as soon as Rafe was within speaking distance.
“Remember I told you about the woman’s car being stolen at Beth’s old apartment complex? Turns out her cell phone is missing, too. She thinks it might still be in the car.”
“Can you trace it somehow?” A tiny speck of hope blossomed inside Beth, despite knowing the chances of the woman’s phone being anywhere near Evan were slim to none. A slim chance was more than she’d had a few minutes ago.
“Chance hauled his backside over to Judge Jenkins’ house with a warrant. We’ve got also got the owner’s permission. I’ve already called the phone carrier and alerted them a warrant is coming, and they’re ready to go the second we’ve got the judge’s signature. Fingers crossed the phone is inside the stolen car and Stewart hasn’t spotted it and tossed it.”
“But we don’t know he’s got Jamie.”
“True.” Rafe studied Beth’s face, and there was something indefinable in his eyes. He was hiding something, she could feel it.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Rafe?”
He shook his head. “We need to search every place. Let’s round up everybody, and we’ll start doing a grid pattern search. Maybe she got lost, and can’t find her way back to the house. She’s not familiar with all of the property. Maybe she wandered a little too far, and we’ll find her.”
“We’ve searched everywhere in the house, Rafe,” Nica spoke up. “I even looked in the attic, in case she got bored and went exploring.” She slapped her hands across her mouth, her eyes glazed with tears. “It’s my fault. I was supposed to be watching her. Instead I went chasing after that stupid donkey. If anything happens to her…”
“Jamie’s gonna be fine. Nobody wants to hurt her. Even if Stewart somehow got hold of her, the man is her father. He won’t hurt her.”
Ms. Patti stepped into the center of the gathered family. “Rafe’s right. Let’s regroup, see who’s here, and get everybody looking for Jamie.” Beth listened as Ms. Patti started listing off everybody. “Heath’s covering the road into town, doing a slow sweep. Dusty and Sally Anne have set up a command center at the sheriff’s office. Antonio’s on his way with Serena and Tessa. They should be here within the next fifteen minutes. Nica, Camilla, and Beth already started the search of the house. Dane’s riding in, should be—there he is,” Ms. Patti gestured toward a lone man on horseback, riding at a fast clip toward them.
“Dad’s out on
