Page 78 of Awakening the Sheriff

A male voice spoke on the line, but I couldn’t make out who it was or what he said.

“Hold on. Let me put you on speaker. I have the boy’s father right here. Could you repeat what you just told me?”

“Hi, folks,” came the raspy voice on the other end. “My name’s Carlos and I’m a trucker. I was listenin’ to the police scanner just now, and I heard about that missin’ kid. I think I might’ve seen him earlier today. Caught sight of a boy around four-thirty p.m. who matched the description you gave out. He was hitchin’ a ride along Route 2, headin’ toward Seattle. Carried a weekend bag with him too.”

“What color was his jacket?” Auden asked.

“Black, and he was wearin’ a red beanie or cap. I noticed him ‘cause he was kinda young to be on his own. Know what I mean?”

It had to be Byron.

“Thank you,” my father said. “That’s very helpful, and we appreciate you calling us. We’ll follow up on that lead, and we’ll reach out if we need more info.”

As he hung up the phone, I looked at Keaton. Relief flooded his face. We had our first lead, and it was promising.

“Let’s drive to Seattle. It looks like we were right that he was heading in that direction, and he’s most likely still there since he hasn’t had time to catch a flight or bus yet. When they find him, we’ll already be close.”

Keaton’s face lit up. He was probably grateful to do something rather than wait for news. “Okay, yes, but what about Milton?”

“Would you be comfortable leaving him with Tricia for now?”

If she was looking after the girls, one more kid wouldn’t make a difference. And I wouldn’t even have to ask her. I knew how big her heart was and that she’d do whatever she could to help.

“Yeah, yeah, that should be fine. Let’s go.”

We hurriedly gathered our things. Milton was a little apprehensive, which I could understand since he’d only met Tricia once at my birthday party. “She’s really nice, I promise,” I said. “And Violet and Dani will be there, and you know them.”

When we arrived at Tricia’s, she stood outside waiting for us, the soft glow of the porch light illuminating her face, which was etched with worry. She embraced Keaton tightly. “I’m praying for Byron’s safe return.”

“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

Milton, quiet and withdrawn, hesitantly approached Violet and Dani. But my sweet Dani took charge. “I know you’re worried about your brother, but everything will be fine.” She patted his shoulder. “My dad and granddad are really good at their job, and they’ll find him.”

A surge of pride filled me at my daughter’s faith in me. Keaton’s eyes misted over, the longing for that same connection with his children evident. It was a bittersweet sight, Keaton’s son being comforted by my daughter.

Keaton pulled Milton into a hug. “I love you so much, buddy. We’ll call as soon as we have news about Byron, okay?”

“Love you too, Dad.”

With heavy hearts, we got back into my truck and began our journey to Seattle. We were both lost in our thoughts. Keaton sat next to me, his posture tense, his hands clasped together in his lap. He was worrying over Byron, but I had something else on my mind.

I’d never told Keaton about my conversation with Byron, about how much Byron struggled with his father being bi and everything that came with it. My plan had been to bring it up with Byron during his third community service, but that had never happened. I’d gotten distracted by my feelings for Keaton, and my intentions with Byron had fallen to the wayside.

As much as I wanted to tell myself it didn’t matter, that I would have time to explain it all to Keaton, I wasn’t sure. Something told me that my bad call would come to bite me in the ass. It was all connected. Byron’s fight, Keaton and me dating, Mandy’s interfering and the lies she’d told Byron and then her attempt to make it right, which had had the exact opposite effect. If I had done what I had promised, I might’ve been able to prevent this, and that guilt weighed heavily on my soul.

As the miles flew by, I thought about how much I cared for this man and his family…and how much I wanted his family and mine to become one. But for that to happen, I needed to come clean about what I had done.

My phone rang, and I answered it. “Dad?”

“Auden, we found him. Airport police at SeaTac spotted Byron, and they have him. He’s safe and sound, waiting for you two to pick him up.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Thank you, Dad. God, I’m so happy they found him.”

“Where are you?”

“About thirty minutes out from SeaTac.”

“Glad to hear it, son. Let me know when you have him with you.”

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