Page 62 of Endlessly Yours
“Brooks?” Rory said into the phone, and I cursed.
“I’ll find her, Rory. I promise.”
“I’ll search too. I don’t know, just tell everyone. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s got to be fine.”
I looked over my shoulder, and I was far enough away that I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I saw Rory and Cameron running out of the building, the other Wilders moving in a quick unit.
Trace came running up to me as I searched through the field, down the embankment where we had acreage of land that was open space that was off limits to guests. There were coyotes, rocks, places to fall, cacti, and countless other areas that were roped off for a reason.
“Okay, what is she wearing?” Trace asked.
I shook my head and then froze. “Jeans, pink sneakers, a white T-shirt with little pink daisies on it, and pigtails.”
I couldn’t quite believe that I remembered everything about what the little girl had been wearing, but we had all had breakfast that morning, even Cameron.
It was as if we had been a family. And I’d be damned if I lost that kid.
“On it. You keep this way, keep your phone handy. And we’ll canvas the area. I’m sure she’s just behind a little building or something, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I bit out, my voice short, and then I was running over the hill and down past the rocky ledge where any number of accidents could happen.
Bile filled my throat, but I kept going, calling out for Alice. “Alice! It’s Brooks. Where are you?”
Nothing. Then my phone buzzed.
Heart racing, I answered. “Do you have her?”
“No. Do you?” Rory asked, and I heard the panic in her tone. And yet, she wasn’t crying or shouting, and I knew she was being strong for Cameron.
“No, but we will. I’m searching, and I hear the others searching too.”
“Okay. We’ll find her. Please find her, Brooks,” Rory whispered.
“I will,” I promised.
And I hung up, sliding my phone into my back pocket as I continued to search.
There was a large crest of limestone, some of it had fallen in thanks to erosion over time, and a huge cactus was right next to it. I either had to walk over the limestone or take the long way around, but I had a feeling the limestone was too weak to handle my weight, so I jogged past the cactus when the sound of a little sob hit me.
I kept running, cursing as one of the barbs stuck into my arm. But I ignored the pain as I finally saw a little girl cowering underneath a copse of small oak saplings that hadn’t fully grown yet and jagged limestone pieces. She had a cut on her knee, and one pigtail had fallen out, yet it was all I could do not to run to her and pick her up into my arms.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice shaky.
Alice put her arms around my neck, holding tightly enough that I nearly couldn’t breathe.
“Brooks. I got lost. And then there was a cactus.”
I looked down at her knee, at the two little barbs sticking out of it, and I shifted her weight so that I was cradling her in my arms.
“We’ll take care of that as soon as we get a Band-Aid, okay?”
She nodded, tears streaking down her dirt-stained cheeks.
I had gotten barbs like that in my knee once when I was a kid, and pulling it out wasn’t easy because of the hooks, hence why I hadn’t bothered with the ones in my arm. We would just deal with it, but all that mattered was Alice was safe.
I moved past the pile of rocks and saw Ridge running towards me.
The look of relief on my brother’s face nearly knocked me to my knees, and he pulled out his phone.
