Page 53 of You're My Person - For Always

"Kenna?" He checked the bathroom before running down the stairs to the kitchen. "Where are you?"

The house was empty. His heart thundered in his chest. He hoped someone from the prison hadn't called the house, upset her, and she'd taken off in a blind panic.

He walked outside. She could be anywhere. He had no idea where to start looking.

She wasn't inside, so she had to be outside. Gem Haven had hundreds of acres and rugged terrain. He walked to the corner of the house, peered down the side, and continued to the backyard.He scanned the deck and almost turned around when the brown cover of Kenna's sketchpad caught his attention.

He jogged over to the lounge chair and found her case of pencils scattered on the wood planks. Kenna always took care of her art supplies. She always kept her pencils lined up in the case by thickness. The sketchbooks stacked by size, so the pages wouldn't bend.

He opened the book. Thumbing through the pages, he came to the last one with any drawings. Recognizing the familiar landscape, he looked out toward the woods. She had to have come out here before work and drawn. But what made her scatter her supplies and leave?

His phone vibrated. He grabbed the cell out of his vest pocket.Zane.

He connected the call. "Did you find her?"

"No, not yet. Have you tried calling her phone?"

"Yeah, it goes to voicemail. Cell service is so fucking spotting on the mountain, she could be twenty feet from me, and I couldn't reach her." He stared at the sketchbook in his hand. "Her art supplies are all over the back deck like she dropped them in a hurry. That's not like her. She pampers her pencils and drawings."

"If she was sitting back there, maybe a bear or moose wandered into the yard and freaked her out," said Zane.

He looked back at the house. The sliding door was shut. She wasn't inside.

"I already looked through the house. I'm going to look around more. Call if you see her."

He pocketed the phone. If she hadn't gone to the house, then she went away from the house. He jogged across the yard and into the brush. It was sparse enough that he could walk toward the base of the next hill without any problem.

"Kenna," he yelled, picking up his boots higher to get through the tall weeds and underbrush. "Kenna!"

"Here."

He stopped, unsure if he had heard the reply or not. "Kenna?"

"I'm here."

Instant relief left him breathless. "Keep talking."

He set off, moving farther away from the house. As she talked, he veered right, climbing the hill.

"I can see you," she yelled.

He gazed ahead of him, spotting the waving arm. Seeing her on her feet and jumping gave him his second wind. She wasn't hurt.

Jogging across the span separating him from Kenna, he arrived a few minutes later. He swept his gaze over her, making sure she was okay.

"Fucking hell, brat. You scared me." He pulled her to him.

With her in his arms, he could see what drew her out into the forest. Behind her sat Zora, propped against a rock, holding her ankle.

"I'm so glad you found me. There's no signal for my phone anywhere—trust me, I've paced back and forth, and nothing." She pulled back. "Zora twisted her ankle. I heard her yelling for help."

"Don't be mad at Kenna. She wouldn't leave me and swore you'd come and find her if she failed to show up at work," said Zora.

"Oh, did she?" He cocked his brow.

Kenna looked at him and whispered, "You're my person. You always find me."

His touch softened on the back of her neck, and he strummed her skin with his thumb. Losing her was impossible. He needed her in his life. Without her, nothing mattered.

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