Page 52 of Due North
He wrapped me in his arms and held onto me. “We’re going to find Poppy Rose. We’re going to find her. Take a deep breath, and call Caleb. We need him here now.”
“He-he can’t ride,” I hiccupped sadly.
“I know he can’t, but he can help in other ways. Please, just call him.”
I punched in his number and brought the phone to my ear. I would let my anger at him go tonight if it saved my little girl.
“Cece, I’m almost there,” he said in a rush, his breathing ragged. “She wasn’t at my cabin. I checked everywhere, including the bunkhouse.”
“Caleb,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “We have to find her.”
“We will, baby. I promise. Just stay in the house. I’ll be right there.”
The line went dead, and my arm dropped to my side. I collapsed to the couch and let out a sob of fear and pain. “He’s already checked his cabin and the bunkhouse. She’s not there.”
“Okay,” Ash said. “I’m going to call Sheriff Nash and fill him in. We may need the search and rescue dogs. They’ll need to mobilize them sooner rather than later.”
I nodded automatically, and he walked away while Dawn sat down next to me. “I’m going to search the barn. I know all the places she could hide that the guys might overlook.”
I grabbed her arm. “I’ll come with you. Let me get my shoes!”
“No,” she said firmly. “Stay here and wait for Caleb. He might be able to give us more information. I’ll leave a walkie with you. Radio me with anything you might find out.”
“Dawn, you can’t get too cold out there. If she’s not in the barn, you come back in the house.”
She nodded and disappeared as the door flew open, and Caleb ran in. His eyes were wild, and I jumped up, grabbing his arms to steady him. Before I could speak, he had me in his arms so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“She’s okay. I can feel that she’s okay,” he said, rocking me for a moment. Then he pulled back and took my shoulders. “Trust me when I say that?” I nodded because the look in his eyes never lied to me. He believed it, and so did I. “We have to find her, though. Does she have pink blankie with her?”
“I-I don’t know. I didn’t check!” I turned and ran down the hallway, practically vaulting over my bed to get to her crib. I swished the blankets around in the bed. “It’s not here. It’s not here!”
His strong arms held my shoulders and led me back down the hallway. “That’s good. That means she has it for warmth.” He sat me down on the couch and knelt in front of me. “Let’s think about where she would go if she went outside. Did you have a hard time getting her to sleep last night?”
“Yes,” I said on a whimper. “Poppy was mad that I wouldn’t let her go to your house. She refused to do anything but throw a fit. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep,” I said on a sob. “Oh, God, what have I done.”
He held me to him and rubbed my back. “You didn’t do anything. You put her to bed safely and went to sleep. That’s what mothers and fathers all over the world did last night, Cece.”
“But I forgot to put the rail up!” I cried. “She only got out because I forgot to put the rail up!”
“Shh,” he said, rocking me slowly. “Poppy knew how to crawl out of that crib. I caught her several times as she was almost out. I thought you knew that.”
He set me back against the couch, and I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen her do it. Do you see why I can’t be a mother?” I exclaimed, pointing at the bedroom. “I can’t keep her safe!”
“That’s not true,” he insisted. “Kids will be kids, and this is an old house. We can’t rewind time, so let’s concentrate our efforts on finding her, okay?”
“He’s right,” Heaven said, holding the door open for Amity, who came in carrying Eden. “We just have to concentrate on finding her.”
Amity disappeared down the hallway to the bedroom to put Eden back to bed since she was still asleep in her arms.
Heaven rushed to me. “Let’s get you dressed and out the door. Amity and I will stay here in case Poppy finds her way home. We’ll also be a place for information to flow through.”
“Ash called Sheriff Nash,” I whimpered. “He’s on his way.”
“I know,” she said, rubbing my shoulder. “That’s good. Nash has an infrared camera he can use to find heat signatures. She’s out there, and we’ll find her.” She turned to Caleb. “Are you good enough to be out there with her? I think you should continually go back and forth between here and your cottage. I suspect that’s where she’s trying to go, but it’s dark and will get turned around. All the lights are on now. Hopefully, she will see the lights and move out of her hiding spot.”
“Good idea,” Caleb said, helping me up and running to the back door for my coat and boots.
“He says she’s okay,” I whimpered when Heaven put her arm around me. “He says he can feel it.”
