Page 29 of Searching Blind

Anna’s gaze flicked up to him in silent question. He gave a tiny shake of his head. No, he hadn’t seen any other family around her.

“Hi, Lily. I’m Anna and this is my daughter, Bella.”

“Hi, Lily,” Bella said gently. “Where’s your mom?”

Lily sniffled. “She went to get Bo. He ran away when the shaking started.”

“All right,” Anna said and gently extracted the girl from her death grip on his neck. “We’re going to do everything we can to find your Bo, okay? And we’re going to help you find your mom, too. Can you go with Bella now?”

Bella held out a hand. “Hey, Lily. Come meet my sister, Poppy, and the other kids. I see you like Disney. We have a movie going in this room over here. Do you like Frozen?”

After a beat of hesitation, Lily nodded and set her tiny hand in Bella’s.

Rylan watched them walk away. He only knew some of the teenager’s history from what little Zak mentioned of it during the team’s therapy sessions. It wasn’t pretty. Zak and Anna had adopted her and Poppy out of a horrible situation, but she seemed remarkably well adjusted. “She’s good with kids.”

“Yes, she is,” Anna said with a small smile, watching as Bella introduced Lily to Poppy and the other parent-less kids they’d gathered in a small room off the main lobby. Music from the Frozen soundtrack faintly echoed down the hallway, a surreal counterpoint to the grim reality they were facing.

“She’s all set to go to college in the fall?” Rylan asked. Somehow, the small talk seemed important in that moment. Anna just looked like she needed the break.

“Yes, she is. She wants to study special effects makeup.”

“That’s very cool.” Of course he already knew all of this. Zak had told him as much during one of their sessions. He was worried that Bella wasn’t ready to leave the only stable home she’d ever had, was worried that she’d chosen such a difficult field to make a living in, but Anna didn’t seem to share those reservations.

Anna laughed softly. Pride radiated off her. “She’s way cooler than I could have ever hoped to be. Her and Poppy both.”

Rylan glanced back at the crowded hallway and then returned his gaze to Anna, “You and Zak… you’ve done a hell of a job with those girls.”

“I wish I could take all the credit, but that’s mostly Bella’s doing. But thank you.” Anna set a hand on his arm. “For the compliment and the moment of distraction.”

He set his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

Just then, a wail cut through the air. It was a sound Rylan knew too well— the raw, unfiltered scream of someone learning their world had just been torn apart.

Anna withdrew her hand from his arm and inhaled sharply. “I’d better check in with Bella, see if she got a description of Lily’s mom, then get it out to Zak and the search teams.”

“Is there anything—” Rylan’s phone buzzed again in his pocket, and he silently cursed himself as he dug it out. His father’s name blinked on the screen, persistent and demanding attention. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

He excused himself, stepping down the hallway toward his office, out of the flow of people and noise. Only then did he answer.

“Hey, Pa. I’m okay.”

He heard an explosive exhale of relief. “Jesus on a crutch, Ry. Why didn’t you call your mama? You scared the shit out of her. The news said the quake was centered right near you.”

“The news was right for once.” His gaze strayed back to the main room where Anna was directing a fresh wave of newcomers. “We got hit pretty hard.”

“You shoulda called sooner, boy.” His father’s reproach was softened by concern. “Your ma’s been worried sick.”

Translation: I was worried sick.

Rylan smiled faintly at that. Clayton Cross was a good old southern boy from the top of his receding hairline to the soles of his worn-out work boots, and he wouldn’t admit to fear even if a black bear was gnawing on his leg.

“I know, Pa. I’m sorry. It’s been chaos here.”

“He’s okay,” Clayton called away from the phone. “Delia, I got through. They’re okay.”

A second later, his mother’s voice, as sweet as a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day, rushed through the line. “Oh, Rylan, thank the Lord you’re okay. We saw what happened on the news and I just about died from worry. How are you? Is your sister all right? Let me talk to her.”

Rylan pulled the phone away from his ear and frowned.

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