When she came out of Matt’s room, Shannon was again struck by how silent Cord could be. She’d long known he wasn’t a man for words, but it seemed that he could walk around in hiking boots without making a sound. For all she knew, he’d left the house.
A bolt of fear tore through her and she hurried outside, not taking time to close the door behind her. If Cord had left without her-
He hadn’t; hadn’t she all but tripped over the pack he’d left on her office floor? Even Cord had enough social grace and compassion and understanding not to disappear without telling her where he was going.
But he wasn’t going anywhere by himself!
A new fear, laced through with heavy determination, settled inside her. They hadn’t discussed today’s agenda. Certainly he planned to resume last night’s search; what she hadn’t told him was that she was committed to going with him. She didn’t care how much resistance he might throw at her. She was
“Shannon.”
Although Cord’s voice came to her from some distance away, she still jumped. He was out in the corral, and she started toward him. The rain showed no sign of slackening, and if anything, the wind was stronger than it had been a few minutes ago. Soon she was soaked to the skin. For some unexplainable reason, she embraced the pure, lilting sound and the wind. “What?” she asked when she was close enough that she didn’t have to raise her voice.
“What horses do you want to take?”
“You knew, didn’t you?” she said as she led one of the horses into the barn to be saddled and bridled while Cord brought the other. “That I was going with you.”
“Yeah, I knew.”
Did he want her to come? It didn’t matter. “What are we going to do? I don’t know how you can possibly track him with these conditions.”
“It’ll make it harder-I won’t deny that. But I’ve done it before.” Picking up a large old towel she kept for such purposes, he started wiping off one of the gelding’s backs prior to saddling him. His movements were so practiced that she had to remind herself that he hadn’t been part of her business. He didn’t belong in this shadowed, hay- smelling barn; he wouldn’t be content spending hours in it the way she did. Still, maybe he now understood a little more of her world.
“I’ve been thinking,” he continued. His voice echoed in the high-ceilinged space. “I want to run this past you and get your reaction. Matt told Kevin that he wants to prove himself to me, right?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s his intention, then he wants to give himself as much of a challenge as possible.”
“I…guess.”
“Guess?”
“All right!” When her horse shied, she forced herself to lower her voice. “Yes, I think you’re right. But where-”
“You said he’s fascinated by Arapaho. Last night I didn’t have the chance to really explore it. I want to go back there, look at it through his eyes.”
If it had been anyone else speaking, she would have laughed at the possibility of seeing a demanding ski area through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, but this was a man who made his living getting into other people’s heads before the terrain, elements, or their own limitations and stupidity killed them. He was also that ten-year-old boy’s father.
“How long do you think it’s going to take?” she made herself ask.
“I can’t tell you that. No one can.”
“But you’ve done this before. You must have some kind of idea.”
He did. The way his eyes darkened told her that. But instead of telling her what she probably didn’t want to hear anyway, he shrugged his competent shoulders and asked if she’d told her parents yet.
“No,” she admitted. “Last night, well, I kept hoping you’d come back with him and there wouldn’t be any need. It’s so early. They might still be asleep.”
“They have a right. And they’d want to be part of this, to help.”
“I know. It’s just-they love him so, Cord. I don’t want to scare them.”
“They’re strong people.”
Yes, they were. Although Cord had been somewhat distant around her parents, probably a combination of his natural reserve and the belief that they held him responsible for their daughter becoming a mother at eighteen, he understood them better than she thought possible.
In the end, he was the one who made the phone call.
“Elizabeth,” Cord said while she stood a few feet away, “it’s Cord. I’m at Shannon’s house. Matt didn’t come home last night. We’re going after him.”
He stopped talking and she could hear the murmur of her mother’s voice. A few moments later he basically repeated what he’d already said and then asked if they could come over and handle her business while they were gone. Closing her eyes, Shannon marveled at his ability to think of that when she should have been the one to plan for her absence. She opened her eyes again when he spoke her name. Taking the phone from him, she managed to mouth the lie that she wasn’t worried, just determined to get Matt home and dry. After some brief reassurances, she finally hung up.
“You’re sure you don’t want anyone else out there with you-with us?” Shannon asked Cord. “Every time I hear about searches, especially when children are missing, half the people in the county are involved.”
He’d been standing off to one side with his arms folded across his chest while she spoke to her parents. Now he fastened his fingers around her elbows and pulled her close. She looked up at him, seeing what the past seven years had done to his once boyish features. “This is different.”
“How? Because it’s your son? If you’re worried that your reputation will be damaged if people learn that your son is the one they’re-”
“It’s not that.”
Of course it wasn’t. She had no business saying that. “Then, what is it? Cord, I don’t know how you run your business any more than you know how I handle mine. But I’m all too aware of how vast, how isolated this area is. I’d think you’d want as many eyes and ears out there as possible. Is it-you don’t want to waste time getting people together?”
“Half the people in the county can’t do any more than I can alone.”
“You’re that sure of yourself?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice.
“I know what I’m doing, Shannon. The question is, do you trust me?”
His question was impossible; surely he understood that. Hadn’t she once trusted-expected-him to support her and Matt? But instead of keeping his factory job with its steady paycheck, he’d gone to the county sheriff, the state police, the forest service, anyone who might have a use for his skills. She’d been so afraid of the uncertainty facing them that she’d taken a part-time job in addition to her college courses. But he wasn’t asking her to step into the past. He needed to know whether she believed he would find their son.
“If anyone can find Matt, it’s you.”
He nodded at that and released her. Although she was now free to back away from him, she remained where she was and breathed in the smell of wet cotton and denim. She wanted him to tell her that her trust was well placed and he wouldn’t fail her. But he didn’t. Instead he told her what she needed to bring in the way of clothes, and because they couldn’t leave until she’d done that, she turned and started toward her room. Her back between her shoulder blades felt warm, as if they’d been touched by him. But then, maybe it was only because she needed the contact-a contact he couldn’t give her.
Cord waited until he heard Shannon’s dresser drawer open and then dialed the country sheriff at his home. Although it was barely 6:00 a.m., Dale Vollrath answered before the second ring. “Cord? What the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
