Page 91 of My Heart Will Find You

She did as he said, then opened her eyes and he was grinning broadly. “You have led us to a place called Garrett Creek.”

She returned his smile. “Let’s go!”

He started the car and pulled out. Minutes later, he stopped. The road had ended, but before them she could see the place she knew so well. She flung open the door and started running, Zack close behind her.

“Nature hasn’t changed,” she said. “The rocks are the same. The water is less, but it’s here. The trees are nearly the same. This is where—” She didn’t say more than that.

Zack was looking at a nearby hill. “The sod house was over there?”

“Yes.” They walked together to it, but there was no sign of what had been there. The roof and walls had long ago collapsed, and Kansas rain and abundant plant life had filled it in.

“Give me a backhoe and I bet we would find lots of stuff inside. Cans of peaches.”

She turned away to look back at the stream. It hadn’t been long ago that Alice and Pat had been there. Nellie was to the side with her new paint set. When Max got there, he’d expertly finished the painting. He’d been so angry about Alice and Pat, and—

“You’re hypnotized again,” Zack said. “We have drinks in the car. How about I get them and we sit by the water.”

“That would be nice.” He left, and she went to the place where Alice and Pat had sat and laughed. She couldn’t help scanning the area to see if anything had been left behind.Alice’s shoes?she thought, and smiled.

Zack handed her a drink and sat down on a rock. “It’s quiet here. I can see why you like it. It seems to be a local make-out spot.” He nodded to a tree where initials had been carved. “I better take pictures of that or Henry will beat me up.”

Etta smiled. She felt like she never wanted to leave.

Zack walked around, taking many photos. He moved branches and weeds. When a pile of rocks fell, he jumped back, then snapped a photo of the pile. “Etta?” he said softly. “Look.”

She turned toward the rocks. In the place that had been hidden, she saw that some letters had been chiseled into the stone.

“That says Etta,” Zack said.

“No, it doesn’t.” She stood up and looked at it from another angle. It was worn and faded, but it did seem to be her name. She clawed away rocks and plants. Below the name was an arrow pointing downward.

Zack was beside her. “There are two more letters, anNand anA.”

“Nellie Adams.” Etta sat back on the ground and stared at it.

“I’ll be right back.” Zack put down the camera bag, ran to the car, and returned with a small hand shovel. He held it up. “Once a farmer, always a farmer. Step back. I’m gonna dig.”

He dug down about half a foot before he found anything. He held the shovel out, full of dirt and gravel. Something was sticking up.

When Etta saw it, she knew what it was. It was the little iron bear that Pat had made. He and Nellie gave it to her when she and Max left for their journey. “It’s... It’s...” she said.

“Do not cry,” Zack said. “Please don’t cry. I’m not good with women in tears.”

Etta swallowed, blinked a lot, and took the bear out of the dirt on his shovel. She washed it in the stream. It had holes of deterioration and it was rusty, but Etta thought it was beautiful. She clutched it to her heart.

“Looks like it was buried there for you,” he said. “Buried a long, long time ago.” His expression was of astonishment mixed with some anger. He was realizing what he’d suspected. There were things he hadn’t been told and lies that he had been told.

They sat in silence for a while. When Zack stood up, Etta realized that it was getting dark.

“We can try to find a motel that’s open or we can drive back to Henry and KC. It’ll take hours.”

Her eyes answered him. She wanted to go home. To Henry. To wherever the connection to Max was. Maybe tonight she’d dream of him. Maybe she’d return to her long-ago family.

In the car, with the dark outside and quiet inside, too many memories were coming back to her. She looked at Zack. “Tell me things you and Henry have done together. Where did you go on the road trips?”

As in the past, Zack was a good storyteller. Best of all, he distracted her from her memories.

The next morning, Etta was last to get up. The door to the bedroom Zack had used was open, and the room was empty. Downstairs, on the table in the hall, was a box of vegetables. It looked like Freddy was also up.Did she and Zack find each other?Etta thought, smiling.

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