“Dad was strong. He would have handled it. He would have searched for us. High and low.”
Gabe nearly dropped the picture when the light knock on the door arch rang out.
“Sorry,” Delaney said softly. “You were talking and I … I just wanted to let you know I was making those steaks your dad had if that’s okay. Figured we can use some protein.”
“Yeah,” Gabe nodded. “Absolutely.”
“And … I heard you guys. Your father loved you both very much,” Delaney said. “On the plane, he changed his shirt because he didn’t want you guys to worry. He just loved you that much. And you were right. If he had been in that plane without you, he would have searched for you and nothing would have stopped him.”
Gabe breathed deeply through his nostrils. “Yeah, he would have. That’s the kind of man he was.”
“No, Gabe,” Delaney said. “That’s just being a parent. I’ll leave you two be and call you for dinner.”
When she walked away from the door, something about what she said stayed with Gabe. It left an essence lingering in the air.
And he knew. Gabe didn’t recognize what it was at that moment, nor did he think about it over dinner. That strange feeling returned as they settled for the night and reminisced about their dad.
Something was off.
When Owen woke him that next morning.
The news didn’t surprise him.
Because a part of Gabe knew it was going to happen.
“She did it again,” Owen said with a hint of anger. “She did it again, only this time she took my car.”
“Delaney is gone?”
“Yep.”
Gabe didn’t have his wits about him, but he also didn’t jump out of bed. He slowly took in the news, made his way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
Gary handed him a sheet of paper. “I don’t know when she left, I was the first to pass out. But she left a note. She can’t be that far. At most a couple hours.”
Gabe glanced down to the note. It was simple and not long. She started by apologizing.
‘I am sorry. Please don’t be angry. I need to do this. I need to find my children, my family. No matter what their fate. I need to find them. My brother left for Cleveland and I wasn’t able to stop him. He’s all I have left. I pray you find peace. I have to find mine -Delaney.’
Gary pulled out a map and placed it on the kitchen table. “She’s probably on this highway here. We have a good distance between us, but is it enough distance before the storm.”
“What if one of us take the truck,” Owen suggested. “Gabe, can you get Mr. Stewart’s plane?”
“Good idea,” Gary said. “Look by air?”
“Sorry,” Gene raised his hands. “We can’t do this. You all chased after her once and it cost us Tom. I can’t… I can’t let you boys go after her again.”
Gabe set down the note and the bottle of water. “We’re not.”
“What?” Owen asked shocked. “We have to.”
“And do what?” Gabe repeated. “Tell her to come back? Bring her back? Force her?”
“Try to talk sense into her,” Gary stated.
“Can we?” Gabe asked.
“Our father …”
“Would have done the same thing,” Gabe cut him off. “He would have looked for me and you, dead or alive. Not one of us has kids. Not one of us knows what she is going through.”
“We talked last night,” Owen said. “We said we’d do what Dad would do. He would chase her.”
“And Dad would let her go.”
“No he wouldn’t.”
“Yes,” Gabe argued. “He would. He didn’t make the decision to chase after her in Vegas. We all did. He went to look for her because we … you and me, Owen, went to look for her. He went where his kids were. That’s what she is doing.”
“He’s right,” Gary said. “Not that I knew your father.”
“I did,” Gene stated. “And I can say he’s right. But the storms, the floods, it could be a death wish.”
“And who is to say that’s not what she wants,” Gabe said.
“So we just let her go?” Owen asked.
Gabe nodded sadly. “As hard as it is, we just have to hope for the best and let her go. This is what she wanted. She wished us peace while she found her own. In fact, I envy her. She found her journey in this screwed up world. Now, it’s up to us …” Gabe said. “To find ours.”
TWENTY-THREE – TRAVEL ON
Cleveland, OH EIGHT WEEKS LATER
Gabe’s boot sank in the thick mud that was at least eight inches deep. When it did, he hit a board, causing it to flip upward, with it a small wrestling action figure.
“Whoa, what is this?” Gabe reached down for it and lifted it.
He cleared the dirt from the figure and stared at it wondering if it perhaps belonged to one of Delaney’s children.
He wouldn’t know.
Gabe had made a promise to get Delaney back to Cleveland, and for as much as he put on the cool front that he was unphased by her leaving, Gabe wasn’t.
It bothered him.
She had helped those on Flight 3430 and his father.
He hated making the decision to let her go, but it was the only one, at the time, he could make.
She left her bag behind in Colorado Springs and in it was her driver’s license with an address. When he discovered that, he took it as a sign. One he held on to.
He vowed to keep his promise to find her family, but there was nothing he could do for the longest time. The storms were horrible. Once the satellite images showed the skies had cleared, Gabe
