Not by Sight A Novel

CHAPTER 12

Abby heard a ringing noise that kept getting louder and louder and finally realized it was her alarm clock. Groping the nightstand, she turned off the alarm, then sat up on the side of the bed, her legs dangling. She rubbed her eyes and groaned. Five o’clock was too early for any human being to have to get up.

She slid out of bed and walked down the hall and out into the living room. Her mother was curled up on one end of the couch, holding the phone.

“Mama,” Abby whispered. “Are you awake?”

Her mother opened her eyes and sat up. “I was just dozing.”

“Any news?”

“No, Virgil hasn’t called. I’m assuming he hasn’t discovered anything else.”

Good! “I’m going to shower and then head over to Flutter’s,” Abby said. “If the sheriff does call, will you let me know?”

“Of course. What else are you planning today?”

“Unless we get bad news, I’m meeting Jay on the slope at noon so I can watch him sketch. He’s an amazing artist. You should see his stuff.”

“I’d like to. Have him bring some of his work to the house sometime.” Mama seemed lost in a long pause. Finally she said, “You two are spending a lot of time together.”

“It’s nice being with a guy who’s just a friend. I don’t have to try and impress him. Or doll up every time I see him.”

“You always look dolled up, honey. You’re just naturally pretty. I’m sure Jay isn’t blind.”

Abby shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. That’s not the kind of friendship we want. Jay’s mom is getting married for the fourth time, and he’s lived with her ups and downs all his life. He thinks relationships just bring heartache. I agree with him.”

“How can you say that, Abby? Your father and I had eighteen wonderful years together.”

“And it nearly destroyed you when he disappeared.”

“It would be a huge mistake to avoid loving someone because you might lose them. The joy I experienced with your father far outweighed the sorrow. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

“Maybe not. But the pain of missing Daddy and Riley Jo is almost more than I can bear. Why would I want to be that vulnerable?”

“Not now,” Mama said. “But someday. The grief will pass.”

She wondered if her mother was saying that as much for her own benefit as her daughter’s. “I need to get ready. I’m the only waitress scheduled until seven.”

“Abby, about last night … I’d like to put it behind us. Can we agree not to get into spiritual discussions right now? I see things very differently than you and your grandfather. But I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you either.”

Her mother squeezed her hand. “Let’s forget it. You don’t need to go to work with that burden on your back.”

Too late.



Buck sat at a table at Flutter’s, his thoughts consumed with the implications of last night’s visit from the sheriff. Savannah filled Titus’s cup with coffee and then filled Buck’s.

“It’s a little crazy this morning,” Savannah said. “I’ll be right back to take your order.”

Titus smiled. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Buck stroked his white mustache and waited until Savannah moved to the next table. “I guess you heard on the news that remains were found in the woods.”

“I heard.” Titus blew on his coffee, his round dark eyes peering over the top of his cup. “Wasn’t sure you wanted to talk about it.”

“Nothin’ to tell yet, but if those remains turn out to be”—Buck swallowed the emotion that tightened his throat—“what the sheriff suspects, it’ll sure change things in our family. At least it’d be closure.”

The front door opened, and Sheriff Virgil Granger walked in with Chief Deputy Mann. They looked whipped.

Buck’s pulse raced as the sheriff walked in his direction and stopped at the table.

Virgil bent down next to Buck’s chair. “I just talked with Kate. We haven’t found anything definitive. But if there’s someplace we could talk privately, I’ll fill you in.”

“You can speak freely, Sheriff. Titus knows the situation.”

Virgil’s eyes were bloodshot, his face unshaven. “As I was saying, we didn’t find anything definitive. Just some pocket change strewn across the area—and a 1967 class ring from Arthur Mixon High School. We’re researching to find out where that school is. Also found a few buttons and a rusty pocketknife—tested negative for blood. We’re combing the area again now that the sun’s up. Dental records will tell us in a couple days whether the skull is Micah’s. We’ll have to wait a lot longer on the DNA analysis to know if any of the bones are Riley Jo’s.”

Buck tried to process what the sheriff had said, but it was as though the man had been talking about someone else. Micah’s skull. Riley Jo’s bones. It was difficult to think of people he loved in those terms.

“Thanks, Virgil,” Buck said, shaking the sheriff’s hand much harder and longer than he intended. “I know you’re as eager to figure it out as we are.”

“I’d sure like to find your family some closure.” Virgil tipped his Stetson and stood. “I’ll let y’all get back to your breakfast.”

Virgil went over and sat at a table with his chief deputy.

Buck moved his spoon back and forth in his coffee cup. Bottom line: they still didn’t know anything for sure.

“You okay?” Titus said.

Buck exhaled, looking into his friend’s understanding eyes. “I’ll be fine—as long as I remember that law enforcement can’t possibly move fast enough to keep up with my expectations.”



Kate sat at the kitchen table, vaguely aware that someone was talking to her. She looked up and saw Jesse standing next to her.

“I’m going to go fill the feeders,” he said.

Kate patted the chair next to her. “Sit with me for a moment.”

Jesse, looking so grown up in his blue Angel View staff shirt, sat across from her, his arms folded on the table.

“I just spoke with the sheriff,” Kate said. “He didn’t find anything that would pinpoint that Daddy or Riley Jo had been there. This means we won’t know anything until they do some tests on the remains.”

Jesse looked up at her, his round blue eyes filled with compassion. “Mama, do you hope it is Daddy or Riley Jo?”

Kate brushed the fine dark hair off her son’s forehead. “Part of me does. Five years is a very long time to wonder. That’s half your life. But it’s also hard to accept that your father and sister might be dead.”

“Abby doesn’t think they are.”

“I know. But she’s not basing her opinion on anything other than wishful thinking.”

“She says she’s stepping out in faith.”

“Everyone has the right to hope, Jesse. But we have to be realistic.”

Jesse squirmed slightly in his chair. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you? Have faith, I mean?”

“First, tell me what you think faith is.”

Jesse laced and unlaced his fingers. “Well … I think it means you believe something is true even if you can’t see or prove it.”

“That’s a pretty good definition. So to answer your question, I do better believing in facts I can see than in something I wish were true.”

“So … you wish it was true that Daddy and Riley Jo are alive. But you don’t have faith that they are?”

“It’s more complicated than that, Jesse. I don’t want to think that hard today.”

Jesse looked down and ever so slowly drew imaginary circles on the table. “I need to tell you something. But I don’t want you to be mad.”

“What is it? You can talk to me.”

Jesse hesitated and then continued. “I was up in the attic, looking for the box of jigsaw puzzles, and I found the Bible storybook Daddy used to read to me and Riley Jo. Do you remember it?”

“Yes. I’m surprised you do.”

“It’s one of the few things I remember doing with Daddy.” Jesse glanced up at her and then lowered his gaze. “I took it to my room and read all the stories. Are you mad?”

“Of course not.” It’s just one more thing for me to worry about.

Jesse’s eyes looked like big blue buttons. “I see why Abby thinks God can do anything. Did you know He made a donkey talk? And saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Ben Dego from getting burned in the fiery furnace?”

Kate smiled without meaning to. “Yes, I knew that.”

“He even came back from the dead! Isn’t that cool?”

Kate just listened, hoping he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate on or agree with anything he’d read.

“I feel a lot better now.” Jesse wiped the perspiration off his face with the back of his hand. “I felt guilty sneaking around.”

“You can never go wrong being truthful with me. But I need to be truthful with you, too. I’m not the go-to guy if you have questions about God or the Bible. I’m still working through my disappointment with God and wouldn’t be much help. But you can always go to Grandpa.”

“Okay.” Jesse stood. “I’m going to pray that God helps you to trust Him again. I think you’d be a lot happier.”

Jesse hugged her and left.

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. Virgil! She took a slow, deep breath, reluctant to push the talk button. This could be the call that would change the course of her life.