Page 104 of Worth the Fall
Pulling out my phone, I dialed 911 and filled them in as quickly as I could. Then, I called my dad in his office to deliver the news. He was as undone as I was, but I forced him to sit still and wait for the police to arrive. Someone needed to show them where the barn was located. I decided that it would be a good rendezvous point... not that we’d be here.
“The police are on their way, but I’m not waiting,” I said as soon as Patrick handed Brooklyn a jacket and me a sweatshirt. It was good enough. More than Clara had on.
“Let’s go.” Patrick smacked his hip, and Jasper was right on it. “Jasper, find Clarabel.”
Jasper barked and whined, but took off running. I hoped we didn’t lose them both.
“Clara!” the three of us shouted over one another as we covered as much ground as we could without getting turned around or lost or losing each other.
That little bit of wind blew the soft snow into the air, making our visibility shitty. If we couldn’t see that far in front of us, how could Clara?
I suddenly hated myself for not teaching her basic survival skills. We lived in a mountain town, for fuck’s sake. Why hadn’t I ever thought about that?
The three of us walked straight ahead, slowly inching closer to one another.
“Where could she be?” I asked once we stopped walking and looked around.
There was barely any sunlight left, and the flashlights Patrick had grabbed only provided so much help.
Jasper came bouncing back from who knew where and stopped at my brother’s side.
“Did you find her, boy?” he asked, rubbing the dog’s head like he expected him to talk back, but the dog simply sat down in the snow.
I had no idea what to do or where to go. It seemed like every direction only held more forest and trees. There were no buildings this far out. The chalets weren’t started yet. The barn was behind us. Nothing was out here, except for vacant land. If Clara had come this way, she could literally be anywhere.
“Let’s go back to the barn and wait for the police,” Patrick suggested, and I bristled.
Leaving Clarabel out here alone went against everything in my nature. I was her father. It was my job to protect her, to keep her safe.
“No,” I bit out. If my daughter was out here, then I should be too.
Brooklyn moved closer, and I reached for her, clasping her hand in mine. I needed her more than she realized.
“I know you don’t want to, brother. I don’t want to either, but it’s the smart thing to do. We can help more if we know how to do it right.”
The second my mind started to freak out and fill itself with the most horrible thoughts, I stopped it dead in its tracks. There was no fucking way that God, or whoever was up there, would let me lose both Jenna and Clarabel in a single lifetime. No one could be that cruel.
“We’ll make it quick,” Patrick added.
“If they take too long, we’ll leave without them. But Patrick’s right. We don’t know what we’re doing,” Brooklyn said softly.
“Fine,” I ground out, not wanting to go anywhere without my daughter in my arms, but I knew they were being logical while my emotions were in overdrive. “But let’s hurry.”
By the time we reached the barn, the police were already setting up on one of Patrick’s work tables. My dad had printed out the property lines and blueprints of the land, and he was placing them down as we walked in. They started breaking it down into grids, talking a mile a minute.
“Anything?” my dad inquired, and I shook my head.
“You didn’t find her inside the resort, did you?” I asked even though I knew in my guts that she wasn’t in there.
“No. Everyone is on the lookout, but I don’t think she’s inside,” he said with a grim look on his face.
“I know. I don’t either,” I agreed, even though I could barely stomach the thought.
My little girl was outdoors, in the cold and dark, by her damn self. I was going to ground her until she turned twenty once we found her. Right after I hugged her tight for an entire year and didn’t let her go.
“Thomas, we’ll find her,” the police chief said, but nothing registered.
I wasn’t sure I even responded to him, and I’d known him my whole life.