Chapter Thirty-Eight

 

Katie woke up as dawn was breaking. There was not a minute to waste. She jumped up and ran down the hallway.

Anna’s door flew open. “There you are! We wondered what happened to you. You missed Thanksgiving. I said you were probably celebrating with Andrew. Were you, Kathryn?”

“Anna, I don’t have time to talk. I had a fight with Andrew and I have to go find him. Please help me.”

“Say no more. I will go saddle up Flicka and you get dressed. I’ll meet you in the barn,” Anna went back in her room and grabbed her coat.

Katie was ready so quickly Anna barely had time to saddle on the horse.

“Anna, thank you. I’ll explain everything later when I call you.”

“Call me? I’m right here. You just need to come to my room.”

Katie nodded her head as if to agree and wished she could explain what she really meant. She wanted to talk to the older Anna, the one who knew everything. Before she mounted the horse, Katie ran over and hugged Anna. “Thank you, again. I love you so much. I hope you know that. I want to tell you something that I don’t want you to ever tell anyone else. Don’t even tell me until I ask.”

Anna nodded and Katie whispered something into her ear, then jumped on Flicka and headed for the canyon. There was no time to waste. She would stop Drew and tell him everything. She was going to let him make the decision for them. Should she stay or should he come with her? There was so much to decide. They were young and had their whole lives ahead of them. She was not going to let him die.

The first place she stopped was El Tovar. She hoped Thomas was there for the breakfast shift. She tied up Flicka in the barn and ran to the kitchen door.

“Thomas! Thomas? Are you in here?” Katie yelled and cried all at the same time. It was still very early and not too many people were there.

Miss Betsy came in from the dining room. “Why, Miss Kathryn, are you doing all this yelling?” She did look sympathetic as she said it.

“I’m looking for Thomas, Miss Betsy, is he here yet?” Katie tried to calm down.

“He should be here shortly.”

Before Miss Betsy could even finish talking, Katie was outside scouring the landscape for signs of Thomas. She thought she saw him walking off in the distance and started running toward him.

“Thomas!” Katie waved her arms frantically.

Thomas ran toward her. “Kate, what is the matter?”

“I have to find Andrew. Please help me,” Katie was out of breath.

Thomas stopped and looked at her carefully. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

Katie decided she had to tell him something that would make him help her. “His life could be in danger.”

“Follow me.” He turned around from the direction he had been walking. This time he ran. Katie tried hard to keep up with him.

All of a sudden, they were standing in front of a wonderful looking cabin. “Is this where Andrew lives?” Katie put her hands on the walls of the cabin.

“Yes.” Thomas felt around the top of the door.

“How are we going to get in?” Katie pounded on the door.

“I live here, too,” Thomas produced a key in his hand.

The cabin was silent. It was just one level with a large living space. There was a fireplace in the living area and the kitchen and dining room were off to one side. There was a small hallway that led to two bedrooms. Thomas came out from the back rooms and shook his head.

“He’s already left. He’s probably halfway down the trail by now.”

“Weren’t you supposed to go with him?”

“Yes, but they needed me at work. I will take any extra shift I can. I’m saving up for a ring for Rachel.”

Rachel. Thomas III told Katie the story of his grandfather marrying someone named Rachel. She couldn’t blame Thomas for wanting to do something out of love.

“Why did he still go?” Katie was beside herself.

“I asked him to postpone. I really did. I wanted to go with him.” Thomas sat down on one of the chairs.

Katie melted into another one and began to cry.

“He’ll be alright, trust me.”

“No, no he won’t.” Katie tried to figure out what to do next. She never walked the entire path to the bottom of the canyon. If she did, would she even make it in time? There were no phones at base camp or any way of contacting Drew. She had to give up.

Thomas and Katie slowly walked back to El Tovar in silence. When they got there, Thomas told her he would let Drew know she was there and wanted to see him. Thomas expected Andrew back on Sunday or Monday at the latest. Katie thanked him. She knew there was nothing else he could do.

She walked to the barn and got on Flicka and rode to the edge of the canyon. She sat on the horse and called out into the open canyon, “Drew, come back to me!”

Tears slowly rolled down her face. Feeling defeated, Katie turned the horse toward the boardinghouse and slowly trotted back.

She slid off Flicka and into the hay next to the stall and wept. She never cried like this in her life. She couldn’t stop. She decided to stay there until all the tears were gone. Her father, and now come to think of it, even Anna tried to stop her from this hurt. Perhaps it was meant to be. Katie got up from the hay and brushed herself off. She could never come back here. It was too painful. Everything reminded her of Drew. She would go back to the boardinghouse, sit in her room until dusk and go back home.