you go,” Kylie suggested. “It’ll give him a chance to unwind, get some fresh air. It might make it easier for him to get back in the car. I’ll take him down to see the new calves while you change Maggie.”
Kylie held a hand out to Andy and he watched his son slip his small hand in to hers. He’d just been taken by surprise again.
* * *
Kylie led Andy out the back door and down the steps. The little boy seemed to be keeping his focus on Skip, and the more he did, the less he tapped at his leg.
“Do you like to swing?” she asked as they crossed the lawn in the direction of the swing Jack had maintained with fresh ropes and the occasional new board. The swing, always a reminder that a long time ago there had been children on this ranch.
Now there were veterans, both men and women. They worked on the ranch with the cattle, with horses Jack raised, and even with the dogs. They were also learning new skills doing construction projects in town.
Kylie glanced down at the little boy holding her hand. He glanced in the direction of the swing and then his gaze briefly shifted to meet hers. He nodded in answer to her question.
“I think your daddy played on this swing when he was a little boy. Would you like for me to push you on it?”
Again he nodded.
When they got to the swing, she lifted him to the seat and showed him how to hold tightly to the rope. She gave him a push and his hands tightened even more. The next time she pushed a little easier and noticed that he relaxed.
As she pushed the swing she told him about the ranch and about knowing his daddy when he was a boy. She didn’t share the part about how her heart had broken when he left. He hadn’t said goodbye. It had broken her heart because she’d allowed herself to believe the fairy tales they’d spun as they’d ridden bikes and played in the creek. At thirteen she’d really believed that someday they would get married.
And like all young girls, she’d believed in their dreams of a perfect life and a happy home, where no one would ever yell or hurt them. Ever again.
She’d found happiness on this ranch. She felt secure here. And she wondered if Carson was chasing after happiness, too, hoping to help his children feel secure in a life, a world, that had dealt them an incredibly difficult hand.
She looked down at the dark head of the boy in the swing and smiled. She could so easily get attached to him and to his sister. She could get attached to their father, too. She loved Jack like the father she’d never had, and she knew how badly he wanted to reconcile with his children. But she knew it would only be heartache for her if Carson and his children stayed for more than a day.
She glanced at the spot where Skip had been playing with a stick. The puppy and stick were both gone. She slowed the swing and scanned the area but didn’t see a trace of the puppy.
Great. She’d gotten distracted and the Labrador had done what he most loved: wandered off. “Andy, keep swinging. I’m going to look behind the shed for Skip. Stay right here in case he comes back. He would be very sad if he came back and we were gone.”
Andy nodded and he remained on the swing, his little legs kicking back and forth. The shed, a mere twenty feet away, was one of Skip’s favorite places to hunt feral cats. She could hear his low, puppy growl. As she rounded the corner of the shed, he took off.
“Skip,” she called out, knowing it would do no good. He would never make a good service dog if she couldn’t break him of his need to chase cats.
She was coming back around the shed when she saw Carson and Maggie heading their way. He glanced at her and then looked around, his fatherly concern evident even from a distance.
“Where’s Andy?” he asked as he got closer.
“On the swing,” she answered. But he wasn’t. “He was right there. I told him to wait.”
Carson shook his head. “He walks away. I should have warned you. Hold Maggie and I’ll find him.”
“It’s only been two minutes. He couldn’t have gone far.” She took Maggie and the little girl patted her shoulder and whispered, “Oh, Andy.”
Kylie turned in circles, scanning the yard, the fields and the road. Where could Andy have gotten to so quickly? As she started her own search in the yard, Isaac walked out the back door of the house. She waved him down and he headed her way at a lope.
“What’s up?” He pushed the brim of his cowboy hat back revealing just the edge of the scar that ran from his jaw to the place just above his left ear.
“Andy ran away from me. Two minutes and he was gone. If you get Max, he could help.”
Isaac was already walking away. “I’ll get him and a couple of the guys. We’ll spread out in the field and head toward the pond. Kids always seem drawn to water.”
“Thank you.” The words came out choked as tears filled her eyes and clogged her throat.
“Don’t mention it. And don’t worry, we’ll find him.” With that Isaac took off, heading first to the kennel where Max barked as if he already knew he was needed.
Kylie shifted Maggie to her left side, giving her weaker right side a break. The toddler leaned her head on Kylie’s shoulder and started to sing, “Jesus Loves Me.”
“Yes, he does, sweetie,” Kylie told her. “And he loves Andy. So we’re going to pray real hard and we will find your brother.”
They had to find him. Her heart ached, knowing that because of one moment of her distraction it could result in a child being lost. The thought cut deep because it brought back the accident. A distracted moment and their convoy had been attacked.
She’d lost so much that day.
She’d never expected that five years later she would be here. She’d thought her world would never be right again after that day. But she’d managed to save herself and she’d dragged Eric Baker from a burning vehicle. He had proposed on the spot, telling her it was meant to be.
They’d known each other, had dated a few times, but he’d convinced her that her rescuing him that day had sealed their lives together. They’d lain there waiting for help, laughing at every stupid thing just to keep from crying.
Two months later they’d gotten married.
A year later he was gone and she was alone. Again.
Her heart thudded hard as she became frantic, worrying that she wouldn’t find Andy. What if he’d gone toward the road or the pond? What if he wandered to the woods and darkness fell? She glanced toward the west at the sun that was barely a sliver of orange as it sank over the horizon. It would soon be dark.
“Maybe he went inside?” she said to Maggie, but she had fallen asleep in her arms. “Right, well, let’s go check inside.”
She headed for the patio and the back door of the house. As she hurried through the home she called his name. She checked the kitchen, the utility room, the garage. As she walked back through the dining room, Jack called out to her.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
