“Okay, listen up,” he said to Henry as he pulled up outside The Buffalo Gal. “We’re going to go inside and pick up something to eat and take it back to our motel room. I want you to be a good boy and hold my hand. If anyone talks to you, pretend I’m your dad. It’s really important, Henry. Do you understand me?”
He gave a solemn nod, his tiny face instantly filling with fear. He knew what Ray was telling him to say was wrong. But he was too young to realize that Ray had his best interests at heart—that the real injustice had been perpetrated on him by his father. Ray’s heart ached when he remembered how Henry had sobbed for his mother. He patted him on the head, smiling down at him to mask the emotions tearing him apart on the inside.
In that moment, he made Henry a silent promise to do whatever it took to find his mother.
27
Between worrying about Henry waking up, and wrestling with what he’d done, Ray barely slept. As soon as it was light out, he slipped quietly out of bed and made himself a cup of cheap coffee on the cracked plastic coffeemaker above the microwave, then headed into the bathroom to get ready. Standing under the low-pressure shower, he reluctantly concluded that he had no choice but to go back to his brother’s cabin and try and reason with him. At a minimum, he needed to let him know his son was safe. The second pressing matter was that of Henry’s mother. He had to find a way to persuade Tom to tell him who she was. It was possible she really had abandoned them, and didn’t want anything more to do with Henry, but Ray needed to hear it from her own mouth.
Henry still hadn’t stirred by the time Ray was showered and dressed. He leaned over the creaky bed and rested a hand gently on Henry’s shoulder. ”Hey, buddy, it’s time to get up.” Despite shaking him several times, he had to resort to lifting him into a sitting position before Henry finally opened his eyes. He blinked uncomprehendingly around his strange surroundings and fixed a sleepy gaze on Ray.
“Are you hungry?” Ray asked, attempting to pull Henry’s shirt over his head. He had no idea if the average four-year-old could dress himself, but he doubted Henry knew how to. Judging by the state his clothes were in, he’d been sleeping in them for an awfully long time.
Henry yawned and pointed to Ray’s backpack.
Ray chuckled. ”You want a granola bar for breakfast? I reckon we can do better than that. Let’s get you dressed and get out of here.”
Fortified by the egg-and-bacon sandwiches they gobbled down in the truck, they set off for the cabin once more. An hour later, they were winding their way up the dirt road to the Deep Creek Campground where Ray had parked the previous day. He’d purchased a new GPS at the gas station and already plugged in the coordinates. He was determined to do whatever it took to make his brother see sense—even if it meant groveling.
The only hitch in his plan was what to do with Henry. He couldn’t risk taking him back up to the cabin in case Tom turned violent. His only option was to leave him in the truck. It wasn’t an ideal solution by a long stretch, but he had picked up some crayons and coloring books at the mini mart to keep him occupied. He was counting on the fact that Henry was used to being left alone for hours on end and complying unquestioningly with whatever he was told to do. When they pulled into the parking lot, Ray could see the anxiety settling in Henry’s expression as it dawned on him where they were.
”Everything’s going to be all right, Henry. I need to go back up to your cabin for a couple of hours, but you can stay here in my truck. You’ll be perfectly safe. I brought you some snacks and coloring books.” He pulled the supplies out of a plastic bag and handed them to Henry. As an afterthought, he leaned over and demonstrated what Henry was supposed to do with the crayons.
“Don’t eat them. Just color the pictures.”
He watched as Henry selected a crayon from the box and began swiping it back and forth over a picture of farmyard animals. As he’d suspected, Henry’s fascination suggested he’d never held a crayon in his hand before.
Ray ruffled his hair to get his attention. ”If you hear another truck or car, I want you to hide on the floor in the back under this blanket, just like you did at your cabin, okay?”
Henry tore his gaze away from the coloring books and glanced at the blanket Ray was pointing at. He gave a distracted nod before turning back to the coloring book in his lap.
“It’s important that you stay here. You can take a nap under the blanket, if you want. Just don’t get out of the truck, for any reason.” Ray hesitated and then handed Henry an empty water bottle. ”Use this if you need to pee. I don’t want you opening the door.”
After double checking the route on the GPS screen, he waved goodbye to Henry and set off at a brisk pace.
A little less than an hour later, he found himself back at his brother’s cabin—this time with no unnecessary detours. The GPS had done its job, and the urgency of getting back to Henry had spurred him on.
“Tom, it’s me, Ray.” He banged his fist on the door, shuffling his feet impatiently as he waited for Tom to answer. He yelled out again, then pushed the door open and peered inside. The first thing he noticed was that
