They nodded, and he watched Juliana cross the porch with Josh. “Is Quin all right?” Josh asked, his childish voice filled with worry.
Cal didn’t hear her answer as he strode into the dark to- ward the creek. “Quin!” he called. There was nothing but silence. He stuck the flashlight into his back pocket, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. At the creek he switched on the light, playing it over the dark surface of the water. His palms were sweating and he was tense with worry. After satisfying himself that Quin wasn’t in the water, he turned away, pushing through weeds and calling the child’s name again.
An hour later, Cal passed the toolshed. The door was partially open, and he pushed it wider, shining his light around empty shelves and tools. He closed the door. He started to turn away, when he heard a rustle and a sniff. He walked around the building.
“Quin?”
Another sound came, like a soft cry. Cal shone his light and found Quin huddled behind a bush, his back against the wall of the shed. In his lap he clutched Snookums, whose big green eyes blinked in the glare of the light.
“You found him.” Cal was swamped with relief at find- ing Quin. Tears streaked Quin’s cheeks, and Cal sat down beside him. “Isn’t he all right?”
Quin nodded as tears still rolled down his cheeks.
“Where did you find him?”
There was only silence as Quin looked down at Snook- ums in his lap. He held the cat tightly, and Cal felt another wrench of sympathy for the child.
“Was Snookums here by the shed?”
Quin nodded.
“He’s all right, isn’t he?”
Quin nodded again, and Cal put his arm around the boy’s thin shoulders.
“Well, that’s good. You’ve got your cat back and Snookums is just fine, so now you don’t have to be scared for him or worry about him, do you?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet and calm.
Quin shook his head as he looked down at Snookums.
“Snooks likes to get out and prowl around and he doesn’t know he isn’t supposed to do that. That’s a cat’s nature, and he’s all right out here,” Cal said softly.
Quin continued to hold the cat tightly and look down at him. Cal brushed Quin’s hair back off his forehead. They sat quietly, Cal keeping his arm around Quin and listening to thunder that had moved closer.
“We were all worried about you. Did you know we’ve been looking for you for a long time now?”
Quin merely blinked and stared straight ahead. Sud- denly, Quin looked up at him. “I had to find him.”
“I know you did and I know you love him, but we all love you even more and we were worried about you.”
Quin’s blue eyes shimmered in a flash of lightning as he looked up at Cal. “You love me, too?”
“Yes, I do,” Cal said, realizing he was beginning to bond with all three boys, knowing how frightened he had been when he had searched the creek. “And Juliana is worried about you.”
Quin threw himself against Cal’s chest and hugged him, sobbing hard while Snookums was unceremoniously dumped beside them. Startled, Cal scooped up Quin and set the child on his lap. He tightened his arms around the small boy and held him close. “We all love you, Quin,” he repeated quietly.
“Are you going to be our daddy now?” Quin said, looking up again, and Cal’s heart thudded.
“Yes, I am, if you want me to be,” he said, thinking about his answer, realizing all four of them, Juliana and the boys, were important to him. A year from now was a hell of a long way, and at this moment, he cared for the boys and Juliana. For an instant, he forgot Quin as he thought of Juliana. Was he in love with his wife?
The thought was startling, and then he felt the boy in his arms snuggle against him. Cal squeezed him tightly.
“I don’t want my cat hurt!” Quin cried. In the next flash of lightning, Cal couldn’t see Quin’s expression, but he could see tears streaming down his cheeks. “I lost Mom and Dad and I don’t want to lose my cat.”
“You’re not going to lose him,” Cal answered him. He felt a tight knot in his throat. “A lot of other people don’t want to lose you and your brothers. They love you and they love your brothers. Juliana does, Mimi does. I do. Stod- dard and Gladys love you.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do,” Cal repeated firmly. After a few minutes, Quin wriggled and Cal released him. Quin stroked Snook- ums’s head and the cat purred in a loud rumble.
Elnora, you picked well when you got this family to take Snooks, Cal thought, looking down at Quin and the cat. “You know, Chris and Stoddard are searching for you right now and Juliana is worrying. Let’s go back and let them know you’re safe.”
“Yes, sir.” Quin jumped up and draped Snookums over his shoulder like a fur. The cat seemed contented and Cal stood up, brushing off his jeans.
Quin slipped his small hand into Cal’s and smiled up at him. Amazed how important Quin had become to him, Cal gave the child’s hand a squeeze and winked at him. They headed for the house. Cal looked at the cloud-covered sky. Lightning flashed and thunder was still a muffled boom.
“If you’ll carry Snookums, I’ll run tell everyone we’ve found him,” Quin said happily when they neared the house.
“Sure.” Cal took the cat, who glared at him and wig- gled. Cal tightened his grip on the animal as Quin streaked ahead.
“C’mon, fur-ball. You’re not getting away from me.”
The cat let out a big meow and wiggled some more. Cal held him firmly with one hand and scratched beneath the cat’s chin with the other. Snookums grew still, tilting up his head.
“You rascal. You better not go out any more windows.” Cal jogged after Quin, hearing him shouting, his high voice carrying in the night.
“I found
