Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“Let’s go find your dad,” I say.
Jack holds the door open for me, and we head for the car.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
JACK
Ikeep thinking his truck is just going to be parked around one of these corners,” I say, slowing Lauren’s car as we round a gravel curve. “He has to be somewhere.”
“We’ll find him.” She touches my forearm gently, causing Snaps to bark from the back seat. “Heck, he might not even be lost. There’s still an off chance that he went to town to get ice cream or something.”
I smile for her benefit. Theoretically, there’s a chance. Realistically, there’s not.
“He’s going to be the death of me,” I say, gripping the steering wheel as a blast of rain pelts the glass.
“At least it’s not me for a change.”
I glance at her over my shoulder.
“He’s going to be fine, Jack. He’s tough. Even if he is out there by himself, he’s walked every bit of this forest a hundred times. He knows it better than anyone. He probably stumbled upon a patch of berries and couldn’t help himself. He’ll be riding your ass about getting everyone riled up as soon as he gets home.”
I sigh. I hope.
“Oh, you know where we should look,” Lauren says, taking her hand away from me. “There’s that waterfall on the side of the hill where everyone fills up their jugs. Do you remember what I’m talking about? I don’t know how to get there or where it is for sure, but he swears that water grows the best blackberries around.”
That’s right. “Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. Let’s head out there.” I pull the car onto the shoulder of the road and then do a quick three-point turnaround. “How much time do we have?”
“About twenty minutes. We’ll need to head back to the cabin in about fifteen.”
“We could drive right by the truck now and not even see it. This fucking rain.”
I’m not sure if I’ll be less mad if he’s stranded out here or if he went to town and didn’t tell anyone. It’s a toss-up.
“I had some tests done last week. Got a knot on my liver. Doctor didn’t like the look of it, so he did a little biopsy.”
My heart sinks in my chest.
“I don’t want you coddling me or babying me about it. I’m probably fine anyway.”
Too bad.
“Promise me that you won’t make the same mistakes that I did. Tell me that you’ll remember to live your life while you’re living it.”
An invisible band stretches so tightly around my chest that it’s hard to breathe.
“Need me to give you a hug?”
I laugh. Yeah, I do. I really fucking do, you son of a bitch.
“What are you laughing about?” Lauren asks just loud enough for me to hear her over the sound of the rain.
I look at her over my shoulder. “Dad doesn’t want you to know he’s sick.”
She balks. “Why?”
“He said you have enough on your plate. He doesn’t want you or the kids to know.”
“So he’s keeping that from us, like we tried to keep our problems from him.”
I grin. “Guess so. It’s ironic, isn’t it? We’re all trying to protect each other while we fall apart. When, in reality, if we would’ve just opened up about it all, we could’ve helped each other.”
“This family has major communication issues.”
Together, we chuckle. Snaps steps onto the middle console and paws at me.
“Not now, buddy. I’m driving,” I say.
He turns to Lauren and cocks his little head to the side. She mimics his reaction. That must be enough of a welcome banner for Snaps because he climbs onto her lap and sits.
“Don’t pee on me or anything,” she says to the dog. “I mean it.”
“He’s not going to pee on you.”
“How do you know? He doesn’t exactly have the best manners, and he can be quite rude.”
I shake my head. “I think he’s starting to accept you as higher in the pack than him. The whole ‘putting him at the end of the bed at night’ thing broke a part of his spirit.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Lauren scratching under Snaps’s chin. Progress.
“Damn it, Dad. Where are you?” I ask, slowing the windshield wipers now that the rain has eased.
“Maybe he’s back at the cabin by now.”
I glance at the clock. “We’re going to have to head back there soon. We’ll do one quick pass by the waterfall, and then we’ll go home.”
“What’s the next step if we don’t locate him? Do we call the police? What do we do?”
“I think we have to. I don’t know where else to look, and it’s going to be getting dark really soon.” My stomach sours. “But I don’t know if they’ll even look for him in the dark. And if the temperature keeps dropping and he is out there somewhere—all wet from the rain . . .”