Page 97 of Serenity Harbor

“Better wait until we coordinate and can set up a search perimeter. We don’t want to duplicate effort,” Cade said.

She had loved Cade as a brother for most of her life. Only days ago he had become her brother in truth when he married Wynona. That didn’t mean she would let him try to stop her when the stakes were this high.

She faced him, her mouth tight and her chin out. “No. I’m not waiting. Milo is out there somewhere in the rain, and I won’t stand by and let something happen to him. Not if I can prevent it. You have my cell number. Call me with any updates if necessary, but I’m going to look for him.”

“Fine,” Cade said after a moment, his voice resigned. “But before you leave, you can start with giving us a list of his favorite places so I can send out people at the same time to cover more ground.”

With every passing second spent inside and not out looking for Milo, her stress and fear ratcheted up a level, but she knew Cade was right. She went through the list of all the places she knew Milo enjoyed, and by the time she finished, she was nearly weeping, imagining the harm that could come to a little boy in all those places.

“We’ll find him. Don’t worry, Kit-Kat.” Cade put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re mobilizing everybody. The fire department, the county search and rescue. Marshall is sending as many deputies as he can spare.”

“I’m going to head south on the trail between here and Redemption Bay. We walked that nearly every day, and he’s very familiar with it. I’ll stop first at the Lawsons’ house.”

“Good idea,” Bowie said. “It’s a short walk, and he loves their dog.”

“Right. From there, I’ll hit McKenzie and Ben’s place and then report back in.”

“I’ll go on the same trail, in the opposite direction,” Bowie said.

“Meanwhile I’ll stay here to coordinate and send searchers to all the places you mentioned,” Cade said.

“Got it.”

She and Bowie headed out the back together, flashlights in hand.

“Kat. Thank you for coming so quickly,” Bowie said, just before they would have parted ways.

“Of course.” Time was of the essence, but she decided five seconds wouldn’t hurt. She threw her arms around him for a tight, fast embrace, then stepped away. “We’ll find him, Bo. Don’t worry.”

“I hope so,” he said, his voice grim, before he hurried away.

Her heart pounded as she headed toward the Lawsons’ house, shining her flashlight and calling Milo’s name as she went. There were a thousand dangers for a little boy out here on his own.

How would they ever find him? He was wary around strangers and wouldn’t be able to answer when searchers called his name, unless he knew them.

He must be so afraid.

“Milo,” she called again, but the wind seemed to steal her voice and whirl it into the cloudy sky. “Milo!”

She was so afraid she had lost Gabi already. She couldn’t bear to lose Milo, too. A sob escaped her. She loved MiloandBowie. Why did she have to choose? Why couldn’t she have Gabi and the two Callahan brothers in her life?

I do love you. I’ve never said that to a woman before and maybe I didn’t say it in some romantic perfect moment, but it’s the truth.

Another sob escaped, and she was aware of hot tears mixing with the rain on her cheeks. Bowie said he loved her, and she had pushed him away because of her fear.

Love was about trust. About taking risks and facing the rain together, even when you were afraid.

“Milo?” she called again.

Over the rain, she thought she heard something, a distant cry. She paused, heart racing as her gaze scanned the dark, spindly shadows of tree trunks in the direction of the sound. Had she really heard something or had it merely been wishful thinking?

There. The moonlight pierced the clouds momentarily, long enough for her to spy a pale blur about twenty yards away. Could that be a face? She squinted, but between the tears and the rain, her vision was blurred.

“Milo? Is that you? It’s Kat.”

“Kat.” It was a barely there sort of sound, a whisper that could have been the wind, but she moved toward it anyway.

It wasn’t the wind. She was sure of it. She recognized that sound. “Milo, honey, it’s me,” she called. “Come out.”

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