Page 59 of One Sultry Summer

At this point, I was left with no choice but to wait for my phone to recharge, counting the minutes until I could finally call Wyatt in the morning. The anticipation filled the air, and I couldn’t shake off the thoughts racing through my mind. Did my message even go through? Would he be upset because I didn’t reach him? I would remind myself in the morning to call him, but for now, I was exhausted, and I needed sleep.

Chapter 22

Wyatt Woods

I was awoken from a deep slumber by the sound of Emily’s voice. It was faint at first, but gradually grew louder until I could make out her words. She was calling my name, urging me to wake up, as we were late. I reluctantly opened my eyes and sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep away. “Daddy, aren’t you gonna be late for work?” She jumped onto the bed, causing the bed to squeak. I loved her enthusiasm, but I was tuckered out. I glanced at the clock and it read seven forty-five.

Having only five hours of sleep makes me grumpy. I groaned and stretched, trying to shake off the fatigue. Emily’s excitement was contagious, but I struggled to match her energy. “Alright, pumpkin,” I muttered, swinging my legs off the bed. “Let’s get ready.”

“I’m already dressed, Daddy, and I’m hungry.”

As I studied her appearance, I noticed that she was wearing a sundress and boots, and ready to go. Somehow, my little girl was dressing without my assistance or needing me to remind her. “Okay, sweetie. Let me get dressed, and I’ll meet you downstairs.” I didn’t bother to address the issue of her having boots on my bed. There were things not worth getting upset about. She scooted off and kissed me on the cheek before exiting my room. The sound of her boots echoed down the staircase.

I stood up, scratched my head, and made my way to the bathroom to relieve myself. I took one of the quickest showers of my life, got dressed, and headed downstairs. Emily was already sitting at the table, munching on dry cereal. I poured milk into her bowl, and knew I desperately needed coffee to try to wake up fully.She drank the remaining milk from her bowl and wiped her face. “Daddy, can we go now?” she asked eagerly. “Sure, sweetheart,” I replied. “Just let me grab my coffee to go.”

A sigh escaped me when I realized I was out of my anti-murder juice. I grabbed my phone and keys, and was ready to leave the house. I figured I’d call dad and ask him to take care of the animals, as I was running late and had no time to tend to them. Within minutes, we were pulling up to the daycare, and the parking lot was empty. “Daddy, where is everybody?”

“I don’t know, pumpkin.” I pulled out my phone from my back pocket to look at the time, and saw what day it was…it’s Saturday. I placed my hand on my face. “Pumpkin?”

“Yes, daddy?”

I turned my body so I could see her face. “Did you know today was Saturday?”

She shook her head. “No.”

Of course, how could she? She may be ableto get herself dressed and pour a bowl of dry cereal, but she’s still a child, and I’m an adult who should have checked before we ran out of the house. Now that I’m not in a rush, I glanced at my phone and saw I had a missed call from Valerie, and she left a message.

I played the message, and it projected through the stereo speakers. “Hi Wyatt, sorry I missed you. I wanted you to know that tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading to the airport with my friends.” The voice mail ended, and the phone recording started, “End of new voice messages.

To replay your message again, press five; to delete the message, press seven.” Quickly, I pressed five and listened to her voice. She sounded hoarse; had she been crying? I had been so busy yesterday that I didn’t check in on her. Now I regret not sending her a message before I went to bed.

“Daddy, did the pretty lady go back to California?”

“I don’t know, pumpkin, but I’m gonna find out.” I dialed her number and got no answer as it went straight to voicemail and decided to drive to the inn. I parked the truck and pulled Emily from her car seat. We both ran up the steps and into the lobby.

My mom stood talking to one of the patrons. I stood breathing heavily after the short run. Her eyes landed on me, and she excused herself.

“Wyatt, what’s going on?”

“Is Valerie here?”

“No sugar, she left in a limousine this morning, shortly after eight.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, I only assumed she was heading to the Austin airport with the rest of her friends.”

“So, you didn’t talk to her.”

Emily’s eyes started to water, and I knew exactly how she felt. Had I lost Valerie forever, before we could even begin? I only knew I had to try. I took hold of Emily’s hand, and we wentback to the truck. I decided to do something spontaneous.

I got out on the road and headed to Austin, Texas. The same road where Lauren lost her life. I was ready to drive past any roadblocks in my head to get to Valerie. “Daddy are we going to the airport?” she sniffed. I looked back to see her in my rearview mirror. My heart aches seeing her with sadness in her eyes.

“Yes, pumpkin.”

“Are you gonna to ask the pretty lady to marry you?”

“Yes, that was my plan. Is that okay with you?”

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