“Brent, get a bunch of guys together. We need as much help as we can get,” Zach instructs.
It’s one of those moments where it feels like nothing is moving. I’m paralyzed with fear. It’s as if my feet are stuck to the ground. I stand still while people move around me. Zach touches my shoulder and I flinch. “I’m leaving.” I snap out of my trance and blurt out.
“Let’s go. I’m coming with you,” he says as he follows behind me. I rush to get my car.
“Zach!” Felicia calls out. “What the hell are you doing?”
I don’t stop. I don’t have time. I burst through the door and realize I don’t have my car. “Fuck!”
I turn to go get Grace and see Zach pushing Felicia’s arms off him. She’s yelling at him as he tries to move toward me. “God damn it, Felicia!” he shouts. “I’m going. No one knows those woods like me. Get a ride with someone or walk. We’ll finish our conversation later.” He runs toward me and points to his truck. “Get in.”
I don’t hesitate. We both hop in, and Zach throws the truck in reverse. I don’t say anything as we fly down the dirt roads. All I can think is Cayden must be so scared. He’s alone in the dark, out in the woods. There are so many things that can go wrong. He’s never been camping and doesn’t know what to do if you get separated. There’s so much I should’ve told them before I agreed to this.
“I can’t—” My breathing comes rapidly and my heart pounds. “He must be so alone.”
“He’s going to be okay.” Zach tries to reassure me. “We’ll find him.”
“You don’t know that.”
“We’ll find him, Presley.”
I shake my head because he can’t guarantee anything. I know he wants to help, but with my luck . . .”Don’t make me promises, Zachary. You’ve broken them before.”
“I won’t break this one.”
We get to my house faster than I could’ve imagined, or maybe it just feels that way. I jump out of the truck and Zach follows. My father is waiting at the barn.
“Daddy!” I rush toward him.
“It’s going to be okay, sugar.” His strong arms cocoon me.
“What about Logan?” I look around as my breathing turns even more erratic.
Daddy holds my shoulder and touches my cheek with his other hand. “He’s upstairs with your mama. He’s okay, but worried.”
I look and see Mama in the window. I start to head inside, but she shakes her head and puts her finger to her lips.
“Let him sleep,” Daddy says quietly. “We’ll find him, Presley. Cooper, Trent, Wyatt, and all my ranch hands are out looking now.” My father has always been so confident, but even he looks a little shaken.
I can’t stand here any longer. If Logan is safe, then I have to focus on Cayden. I need to go look for him. “We’re heading out too.”
“I figured as much. I had the horses saddled with the gear you need. There’s another group of us going in twenty minutes to take a different route.”
I take off running toward the barn. Zach is on my heels as we both know there’s no time to waste. “Are you okay to ride?” he asks.
I mount the horse and glare at him. “Let’s go.”
“All right.”
We head out toward the area they’re in. It’ll take us about a half hour to get close. My nerves are frayed as I think about the time we’re wasting. But it’s much easier to get through this area on horseback than in a car. I don’t say anything to Zach. A part of me doesn’t even realize he’s with me. I just want to find my son.
Finally, we get into the general area around the falls where we usually camp. “Presley!” Zach calls from behind and comes alongside me.
“What?” I ask as the adrenaline pulses through me. “We don’t have time. We have to find him.” My words come out like bullets as I spur my horse forward, but he grabs the reins.
“Stop.”
“Let go,” I say between gritted teeth. “This is my son!” I don’t care about anything else. Standing here and talking is wasting time. I want to find Cayden. I’m so stupid to have let him go on this trip. I should’ve known that Cooper and fucking Trent couldn’t handle them.
“You need to stop. We need a plan. Think for a second.”
Part of me wants to knee him in the balls, but he’s right. If we start wandering through the woods, we’ll never find him. “I don’t know what to do,” I say feeling more helpless than ever.
“Where would he go? What does he like?”
I try to focus on what he asked. I don’t know what the boys saw during the day. I’m not sure if they went along any special trails, but Cooper and Trent probably checked those first. What else is out here? Logan would follow an animal, but Cayden has always loved the water. “The falls!”
Zach takes off ahead of me, ducking and turning, avoiding the trees and branches. My horse follows him, and I focus on not losing him. My father put lights on the back of our saddles, so I can see a dot. “Cayden!” I call out as I ride. Hoping he hears me.