Chapter Three
Panicked, Jed met the sheriff and the after-care teacher in front of the school.
“What do you mean, she disappeared? She’s five. How can she disappear?”
The sheriff stopped him from exploding in anger. “Jed, I’ve got two deputies out looking, and we’ll have more here if we need them.”
“Have you looked all over the school? Been around the square, called...”
He stopped as he saw two figures walking their way in the distance.
One small, with mismatched pigtails. The other tall and too skinny, holding his daughter’s hand.
“Oh thank God,” he said striding forward, taking in Mack’s scowl and Clarissa’s smile and the backpack in her hand, trying to make sense of both.
When he reached them, Clarissa deposited the backpack in his hand then knelt down so she’d be on eye level with Mack and whispered something to her.
Mack’s bottom lip turned out, tears welled up in her eyes and she nodded solemnly. Then she turned to him, head down and made her way to his side.
Relief and a million questions warred in his brain as Mackenzie’s small hand fit into his. “I guess I should say thank you?” he asked even though he didn’t know what exactly he was thanking Clarissa for.
“You’ll have to talk to Mackenzie about that,” she said, her eyes searching his, surprised, and he wondered why until she spoke again. “You weren’t worried when you saw her with me?”
“No, I…” behind him he heard the sheriff radioing his team, and he held up a hand. “Hold that thought. Let me go get some stuff straightened out and we can talk.”
The sheriff looked at Mackenzie then at Clarissa, and his eyes narrowed. “Miss Mackenzie, you want to explain what happened here?”
One long suffering sigh later, the truth was out.
“I ran away. But Clarissa wouldn’t let me. You can take me to jail if you have to.” She held out her arms, ready for the cuffs. Jed saw the sheriff’s smile and wondered just how his daughter knew the way to charm almost everyone.
“How about we skip jail and settle for a warning, this time,” he said. “Running away is dangerous. Bad things could happen. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Mackenzie nodded solemnly. “Yes sir. My new best friend Clarissa told me that, too. I won’t do it again.”
A few seconds later the sheriff was satisfied that all was well even though he sent more than a few curious glances Clarissa’s way. She was new in town and that always caused questions. But Jed realized he didn’t have a single doubt about Clarissa’s integrity. He wasn’t real sure about her sticking power, but he trusted her.
He noticed Clarissa didn’t look all that surprised at the sheriff’s unspoken questions and he wondered how often she’d been the new person in town.
“You look like you’re feeling better,” he said, strolling toward her, keeping Mack’s hand firmly in his.
“One hundred percent,” she said.
“You need to eat more,” Mack said. “You look like you might blow away. I don’t want you to blow away, Clarissa.”
Her words tugged at his heart, especially when Clarissa frowned instead of teasing his daughter.
“I better get back to Pete’s,” she said, her thumb pointing down the street to the square, her feet turning slowly, something he couldn’t quite read in her expression.
Mack pulled him forward, and Jed decided his little girl’s stubborn nature might just be the ticket to helping Clarissa.
“We’ll walk with you, if you don’t mind,” he said.
Mack didn’t bother with talking, just slipped her hand in Clarissa’s. “We got to go to Pete’s now anyways, since Daddy’s gonna let me get my rootbeer float.”
Clarissa laughed then, the worries in her face disappearing for a second, and he was glad. Still he couldn’t let Mack get her way completely with this one.
“Not gonna happen, Champ. You can’t run away and get ice cream on the same day.”
Mack’s bottom lip rolled out, but she didn’t argue with him. Clarissa’s eyes met his for a second, and he figured a small concession might be in order. “Maybe we can get Pete to round up a couple grilled cheese sandwiches, though.”
Clarissa laughed again, and Jed couldn’t help but think it was the happiest sound on earth.
*****
That night when Clarissa flipped the sign to closed on the front door to the diner and turned the lock, she recognized the ache in her heart. Nothing had really changed, but when she’d seen the trust in Jed’s eyes today, something inside her had shifted.
She was alone, but worse than that, she was lonely. She hadn’t let herself feel in years, and now, thanks to a kid, she couldn’t seem to stop.
She closed her eyes, took a bite of cracker and said a quick prayer, even though she wasn’t sure anyone could hear the words.
“God, if You’re there, thank you.”
Then she blew out a breath and pulled the picture Mack had given her from the pocket in her apron. Lemmalu the Mermaid. Clarissa could almost see a mermaid in the purple and pink shape on the page. Mack had signed the bottom corner in blue crayon. Her five-year-old writing a mess but so heartfelt.
Bev walked over, nodded toward the picture. “That girl wants to love you, Hon. So whatever you do, make sure you decide quick.”
Guilt hit hard, fast, and Clarissa turned away.
“I’m not meaning to make you feel bad, Clarissa. Don’t get me wrong.”
She sighed, refolded the picture, put it in her pocket and turned back to Bev. “No, I get it, Bev. You’re right. I need to decide quick.”
*****
Jed thanked the last of the nursery workers picking up the saplings and pulled the gloves off his hands, stuck them in his back pocket and inhaled the fresh air. A bit of cool ran under the hot wind today warning of thunderstorms later, but for now the weather couldn’t be much better.
He thanked God for that blessing. It made getting the trees out significantly easier. He checked the time on his phone and blew out a deep breath. In twenty minutes after-care would close, so he needed to get.
Shouting a quick thanks to his foreman José, Jed jumped in his truck and headed into town. Not letting Mack go to Clarissa’s today had been a tough decision, but after that stunt yesterday, he’d felt after-care was the right choice, if only to let her know she couldn’t get her way by disobeying.
God, I know you’re in control.
The comforting thought brought a calm to his heart. As long as he remembered that truth, he could handle anything.
Pulling in front of the school, he saw the stressed look on the teacher’s face matched by the stormy one on Mack’s. Wonderful.
He climbed out of the truck and made his way to the parent pick up area. Unlike the other children playing happily on the playground equipment, Mack was beside the teacher, arms crossed in front of her chest.
“Mr. Dillon.”
“Hey there, Mrs Snyder,” he said lightly, even though it was obvious this was not going to be a happy conversation.
Twenty minutes later he and Mack were leaving the school with paperwork from the principal and the knowledge that his daughter was the first kindergartener in the history of Stearns Elementary suspended from after-care for one full week. For some reason, Mack had led her classmates in a paint the door campaign, cut a classmate’s pony tail off and broken an aquarium to let a pet snake out. All in less than thirty minutes.
Now Mack was strapped into her booster scowling like a soldier ready for war.
He’d wanted to ask how on earth a five-year-old could possibly do so much damage with multiple teachers on duty, but he knew the answer. Mack could pretty much do anything once her mind was set.
“I didn’t paint the door first, Carly asked me to cut her hair, and the snake was sad,” Mack said when he started the truck.
Lord, give me strength.
“Mack, you handed out the paint brushes and hid the paint in the plants by the door. You know better than to cut someone’s hair. And snakes aren’t sad. No more excuses.”
“She said Clarissa was a floozy just like Mama.”
Oh man. Anger hit him full on and Jed forced himself not to turn the truck around.
“I hate after-care, Daddy. Don’t make me go back.”
No, they wouldn’t be going back. But he couldn’t condone Mack’s behavior, even though, right then, he understood.
A gust of wind shook the truck, and Jed looked at the sky surprised by the mix of dark blues, grays and greens. Thunderheads roiled, wisps of circulation causing some of them to rotate in crazy patterns across the sky. Definitely not driving weather.
He pulled in front of the diner, helped Mack out of her booster seat and, holding her hand, ran inside Pete’s as the first pelt of rain hit.
Clarissa turned in surprise when the bells rang above the diner door, and when he saw her worried glance out the front window, he was thankful they were there with her.
“Looks like it’s going to rock and roll out there,” she said.
The sound of hail took care of any answer he was going to give. Mack ran forward and threw her arms around Clarissa. “I don’t like after-care. I’m gonna stay with you from now on, ‘kay?”
Clarissa met his eyes, a new worry on her face. Thunder boomed, shaking the window panes of the diner and the weather alert radio sounded in the kitchen.
Pete came out of the back, wiping his hands on a towel he kept tucked in his apron.
“National weather service just issued a tornado warning,” he said, and Jed looked out the door, not all that surprised considering what the clouds had looked like. Grabbing Mack and Clarissa’s hands, he turned to Pete.
Pete shook his head. “No cellar, but the walk-in fridge should be safe. Go on, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Clarissa pulled her hand from his and pushed him away. “Take Mack and go. What do you need me to do, Pete?”
Pete cast a worried glance outside. “I’ll keep the doors open just in case someone needs shelter. You go on.”
Outside a strange calm settled, and Jed knew then they were in for real trouble. Grabbing Clarissa’s hand again he said, “Come on, show us where the walk-in is.”
Indecision played across her face for a second, but finally, taking her hand from his again, she led them to the fridge, opened the door and followed them in.
A few seconds later, Pete was there, sweaters and the battery operated weather radio with him.
He settled a sweater around Mack’s shoulders and handed the others to them.
Mack, shivering, pulled her sweater tight. “Thank you, Mr. Pete. Is this a real tornado like in the movies?”
Pete, no longer gruff, patted her on top of the head. “It sure is. But we should be safe.”
Mack snuggled deeper into Jed’s side. The walk-in freezer kept the sound of the storm out, but the constant warning alarm on the weather radio told them the danger was very real. Clarissa wrapped her arms around her stomach, shivering, and Jed didn’t ask, just pulled her in close to him and Mack.
When he did, Mack grabbed Clarissa’s hand, anchoring her to them, then turned to him. “Can we pray, Daddy? I’m scared.”
Clarissa’s hand trembled in his, proof of her fear and the chill from the fridge.
Pete scooted in closer to them and put the radio on the floor.
“That’s a good idea, Miss Mackenzie,” Pete said.
The knelt in a tight circle and held hands as Jed started the prayer. “Dear heavenly father, Lord, we know you’re in control, God. We ask you to keep us safe. We ask that you give us peace as…” he stopped as the weather radio alerted that a tornado spotter reported a tornado on the ground near Stearns.
“Father, we ask you to protect us,” he continued, wishing he felt the peace he prayed for. The adults gathered close, making sure Mackenzie was protected as much as she could be as the storm raged around them, and Jed was so thankful for Pete and Clarissa right then.
“Jesus, I love you,” Mack prayed. And then as the weather alarm rang, she started singing Yes, Jesus Loves me, and before long, all of them were singing right along with her. Clarissa’s soft almost whispered voice joining in last.
When the motor stopped on the walk-in, Clarissa knew they were in trouble. More than anything she wanted to protect Mackenzie.
“God, please, please, please.” She said the prayer silently, begging for everything and nothing, not even sure for what.
Pete’s strong bass started singing her grandmother’s favorite song then. A song about Jesus and His name. Clarissa wondered if it was a sign. She tried to sing along with him, but suddenly she was crying, and she couldn’t stop. She bit her lip trying to control the tears. God, she didn’t want to scare Mackenzie. Didn’t want to make this worse than it was.
They could hear the storm now that the power was out. It sounded horrible. Terrible and mighty and destructive.
Something crashed, and she jumped, and Jed brushed her shoulders told her it would be okay, and all along, Pete kept singing, and she wondered if anyone had ever told him he’d missed his calling. No way should he be running a diner. He should be on the radio.
Almost as suddenly as the storm started, it stopped.
The alarms they heard now were the ones outside the diner.
Pete stood first. “Hold up a sec, let me check,” he said and then he opened the door.
When the door opened, Clarissa knew something in her had fundamentally changed in those minutes in the walk-in fridge. She didn’t try to get up, just continued holding Mackenzie’s hand, thankful, so thankful they’d made it through whatever had happened outside.
Sirens sounded even louder outside, and smoke filled the air.
Pete waved them out, and Jed helped her to her feet, then grabbed Mackenzie, pulled her into his arms. When they left the shelter, they were met by approaching red flashing lights and destruction.
Water splashed over the kitchen floor. Clarissa didn’t know if it was from the sprinkler system or the rain coming in through the hole in the ceiling where the vent used to be.
Volunteer firefighters helped them through the kitchen and into the seating area because they said it was too dangerous to use the back door. Shattered glass littered the floor. The windows were gone. Strangely enough the salt and pepper shakers sat as if nothing had happened in the center of every table. But the napkin dispensers were all over the place.
Shock hit her as she looked around the diner. This was going to take more than a few hours to clean up. She and Bev…
“Bev. She’s at home with her kids. They…” She stopped. Didn’t say live in a trailer because Mackenzie was there and oh God, please, no.
Jed took her hand and kept her moving forward.
And then she was out the front door noticing the sunlight on the sidewalk in areas that didn’t make sense for this time of day, only they did. Because the apartment that used to be above the garage behind Pete’s was gone.