“The boys are there in the room with you, right? They’re watching you and trying to figure out what’s happened. When we hang up, you have to calm their worries and tell them coming with me is the best way to find your mom. I am catching the first flight out of Kansas City airport, but you have to tell me where you are, exactly.”
“Tell you where we are,” my voice sounded monotone, even to my ears. I stared at Alik and Evan and forced my brain to think. What do I do? How am I supposed to know if I should trust this stranger? He was on our emergency list written in mom’s handwriting. He wanted me to leave my home because we aren’t safe here. What if mom was fine and she had tried calling but there was something wrong with our phone? Wait, if there was something wrong with our phone, then I wouldn’t have been able to call Dr. Andrews. Nor could he have called us back. What if he…
“Meg, we’re running out of time. Tell me where you are so I can come get you and your brothers.”
“Do you have a pen?” Though my heart was racing with fear, my voice miraculously, didn’t give me away. Twelve years of isolation from the world was about to come to an end.
Chapter 9 There’s A Stranger In Our Midst
Alik and Evan took a lot of convincing. Even as I talked, though, I was digging through the bottom of the hall closet hoping to find a duffel bag. It’s not like we owned a lot of luggage. We never went anywhere…well, before now.
“He said mom was in danger? What did he say about mom, Meg?” Alik and Evan were taking turns arguing with me about the logic behind my decision to trust Dr. Andrews.
“I already told you what he said, boys…twice! Don’t fight me on this. Please trust my instincts. We don’t have much time. Find a tote or something and start packing some clothes. Don’t forget your toothbrushes. Get moving…go!”
The boys exchanged a look of resigned frustration and headed for their rooms. I heard shuffling and grumbling, but at least I didn’t hear any more arguing. Thank God. I found myself praying, even as I worked, “Please God. Please help mom. Help her be safe. Please help me make the right decisions for the boys. And PLEASE let Dr. Andrews be a good and honest man who will do as he says he will.”
A cold wet nose nuzzled my leg. I turned to look in to the worried eyes of my Maze. He’d never seen me pack before. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever have packed. He looked upset. And if a coyote could cry, I would say he had tears in his eyes. But coyotes can’t cry, right? “Maze, it’s okay boy. We’re going to be fine. We’ll find mom and bring her home.” He looked at me with sorrowful eyes and whined. I felt the same way.
I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. My bag was packed and I’d set the animals out to graze so they wouldn’t starve. The goats would be just fine. I was more worried about the cattle. But there was plenty of green grass because of rains we’ve had over the past few weeks, and for the same reason, the pond was full of water for them to drink. They should be okay for a few days. I still wasn’t sure what to do about Maze, but if I stopped to think too much I may just curl up into the bottom of a closet and bawl my head off. What good would that do anyone?
The doctor was catching a direct flight to DFW from Kansas City, then a commuter plane to Tyler—the nearest town to us. He told me he would rent an SUV and be at our house no later than 5pm. He warned me not to answer the phone unless he called using our signal (one ring, hang up, then three rings). Or any knocks on the door. (Again, one knock, silence, then three knocks.) This sounded pretty hokey to me, but I agreed we needed some sort of code so I’d know it was him, considering we’d never met.
“I’m all packed, Meg. I also grabbed the documents I mentioned before. They may help us.” Evan looked older suddenly. His eyes had shadows under them and his face had a gaunt look to it. The poor kid shouldn’t have all this to worry about. This wasn’t fair to him. ‘Course, none of this was fair to any of us.
“Backpack filled with clothes and toothbrush, ma’am. I’m ready for my next assignment.” Alik was being stupid and sarcastic and I wasn’t in the mood.
“You can secure the house including all doors and windows. Everything needs to be in lock down. You could also stop acting like mom’s disappearance is my fault. That’s going to get old fast.” I didn’t want to fight with Alik. I needed him for moral support.
“Your wish is my command, your highness,” he quipped.
I shot him my I-could-kill-you-with-one-punch look too late. His back was to me as he strode down the hall, obeying my orders.
That whole day was weird. I kept hovering by the phone willing it to ring, and silently dreaming I’d hear mom’s voice on the other line full of explanations and apologies for not calling sooner. That never happened.