Aniyah, Riley, and Porter’s cars pulled up behind Luke’s, and Maribelle handed out hugs to each of the passengers. “Riley, Piper, and Ava will be staying with you, Maribelle. Make sure you bring them to the sheriff’s office at six in the morning.”
“You got it, Luke. Come on, girls. Let’s get you home and into a hot shower, then I have the best country-fried steak.” Gemma lost track of Maribelle as she herded the ladies into Riley’s car and had them follow her down the street.
A large man who exemplified the word mountaineer stepped forward. He was easily six-foot-four with a thick, dark-brown beard neatly trimmed. “Hey. I’m Dale. I’m real sorry about your friends and family. I’ll be helping in the search tomorrow along with the rest of the town.”
Gemma was taken back by the deep voice and kind words. “Thank you, young man. Any help will be appreciated.” Gemma hadn’t realized she had started to cry until the mountain of a man wrapped his arms around her. She felt like a child in his embrace instead of being old enough to be his mother.
“It’s okay, ma’am. We’ll find them.”
Gemma sniffled. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”
Dale let go of her and her tears dried as Miss Violet tried to grab the man to bring him down for a hug, but he was simply too big for her to reach his head. She tried this way and that until she finally let out a huff and ordered the man to bend over so that she could hug him.
“Vi, this is not the time nor the place—” Daisy started, but Miss Violet had finally brought the mountain man to his knees, literally, and smothered his bearded face into her bosom.
“You’re such a kind young man,” Miss Violet cooed as Luke looked on with a mixture of horror and amusement.
“Thank you, ma’am,” came the polite mumble from her bosom a moment before Miss Violet let go of him.
“Porter, Parker, DeAndre, and Aniyah will be with Dale,” Luke said, giving Dale the same instructions for the morning. Aniyah tossed Ryan her keys as she and DeAndre hopped into Porter’s car.
“Back in the car. We have two more stops to make.”
Gemma looked out the window as they pulled into a neighborhood filled with cute cottage houses and lawns overflowing with flowers. They stopped in front of a house with a picture-perfect yard. The front door opened and two ladies who had to be in their early eighties came nimbly running out.
Ryan and the Rose sisters stepped out of the car behind them and the two women greeted Luke. “Agnes, Vilma, these are the Rose sisters. Lily, Daisy, and Violet. They’ll be your guests for the night. Six in the morning we need them at the sheriff’s office. Got it?”
“Sonny, I’ve been getting to places on time since before you were an itch in your daddy’s pants. Now, you poor dears, what can we get you?”
“You don’t happen to have any bourbon, do you?” Miss Violet asked as the five elderly women headed up the sidewalk.
“No, but you should try our moonshine,” Agnes told them.
“I’m sure I can scrounge up some bourbon too,” Vilma grinned as Agnes rolled her eyes at her.
Gemma shot a look to Kenna. “Is this a good idea?” she asked.
Kenna grinned. “It can’t hurt, right?”
“Agnes and Vilma have been in Moonshine for as long as anyone remembers. They’re good people. They have a reputation as grandmotherly healers. Our doctor isn’t real good. He’s older than the Rose sisters, but if anyone is sick or needs help, it’s Agnes and Vilma who are always nursing them back to health,” Luke explained as he drove to the next street over. At that moment, Gemma was relieved Ava, with her brand new medical degree, had insisted on coming along.
“This is my house. You two and Ryan can stay with me.” Gemma looked out at the well-kept little house.
“Thank you,” Kenna answered for her before the car stopped and they all piled out and followed Luke inside. As Kenna and Gemma lay next to each other in Luke’s bed, they heard Luke and Ryan talking in the living room. The men would be sleeping on the couch and recliner. It sounded as if they were discussing the case, the search, and finally who Carter and Reagan were as people. Gemma smiled into the darkness as Ryan told Luke a story of Reagan stuffing a frog down his pants for making fun of her freckles.
“Do you think we’ll find them before it’s too late?” Kenna asked quietly. Gemma reached out in the darkness and grabbed her friend’s hand.
“Don’t lose faith now. Nothing will stop parents from finding their children. Nothing. We will find them and we will keep them safe. I swear.”
As Gemma finally succumbed to sleep, her thoughts never drifted from her daughter. “I’m coming, Reagan,” she murmured before finally falling asleep.
21
Reagan gripped Carter’s shirt in the dark night. They had slept fitfully for a couple hours, but then it seemed the forest had come alive with small animals scampering about, trees moaning in the breeze, and frogs croaking. Reagan hadn’t been able to sleep since.
Carter stroked her hair, knowing she was agitated at being stuck in one location until the sun could light their way down the rest of the mountain. “Rea, easy. We’re safe. Just relax,” he whispered as he used his other hand to massage her arm. “How is your ankle feeling?”
Reagan rotated her ankle and winced, but it was better than it had been the previous day. “The rest seems to help. And the cold water. It’s sore and I have a little twinge here and there, but I think I’ll be a lot better come morning.”
“Good. Then let’s talk about our wedding,” he said soothingly. As he talked about wanting to marry her the second they reached the small town, Reagan began to relax. She stopped focusing on every sound in the forest and focused on Carter’s soothing voice.
“Our parents will kill us if we got married without them there,” Reagan teased as she cuddled up to him.
“We can have a reception at Ashton Farm when we get home,” Carter said as he pled his case.
“I’ll think about it,” Reagan promised, but the thought went out of her mind as Carter ran his fingers over the small of her back on the small patch of skin between her shirt and pants.
“Hmm,” Carter murmured as he nuzzled her neck. “I bet I can sway you over to my side of thinking.”
Reagan slid her hand up his shirt and enjoyed the feel of the little arrow of light brown hair that led from under his waistband and up to his navel under her fingers. “I never was the big wedding kind of girl.”
Carter kissed her then. A kiss that held the promise of a future filled with all the good and all the naughty. “I don’t plan on stopping our little public adventures just because we’re married.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Reagan said as she curled up against his chest. Carter wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him.
Reagan felt her body relax as she listened to Carter’s heartbeat. His fingers trailed up and down her back in a soothing motion. Suddenly, his hands froze on her back. She’d heard it too. The sound of someone moving through the dense forest. Reagan rolled off Carter as they scrambled as far as they could under the tree. The noise grew closer as the sounds of branches snapping and heavy footfalls grew closer. Reagan held her breath as Carter moved in front of her as if he could shield her from the danger in the night. Reagan wanted to push him aside, but then he pressed a three-inch round limb in her hand. They would fight together.
Reagan’s grip tightened until the bark dug into her hands as the noise grew louder and closer. There was no more than twenty feet separating them when she heard the soft whinny. Carter turned to her and pressed his lips against his hear. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes,” she whispered back. “It’s a horse.”
Before she was able to say her words of caution, Carter was walking slowly from their hiding place. “Miss Mambo, it’s okay, girl. It’s me. You’re safe now, Miss Mambo.”