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Roland
Roland gazed out the window, listening to the rumble of Mr. Brandt’s truck and watching houses and trees pass by. He considered how sometimes life goes in a full circle. Nine months ago, he and Peter had been following Jarret, trying to find him and wondering where he’d been going. Here they were, with even more urgency, searching for him again.
“I wonder if they make a tracking device the size of a pill.” Peter, who sat in the middle, bumped Roland’s leg with his own whenever he spoke.
Roland didn’t bother looking at him or responding.
“Of course, it would probably come out when he, uh . . .” He glanced at his father and must’ve decided not to complete his sentence. “Hey, Dad, have you ever seen Jarret’s car at the campground, you know, since last September?”
“No, I haven’t.” Mr. Brandt stared at the road. “But I don’t spend a lot of time in parking lots. When I’m not at the office or giving talks or whatnot, I’m usually deep in the woods, working.”
“We should’ve put something in his car,” Peter said to Roland. “You know, when he first got it and was showing it off to anyone who came near. I could’ve easily dropped a tracking device in there. Except, he keeps it so clean, he might’ve found it. Oh wait, I know, they have those kinds you can stick underneath.”
Roland shook his head. Peter was nuts.
“Really, man, I’m serious. That brother of yours needs a permanent tracking device. He might not keep his car forever, so maybe that’s not a good idea. How about his cell phone? Does he upgrade his phone a lot? No, no, I got it. Jewelry.” He waved his brows. “Something expensive, maybe a watch. He’d never take it off. He’d probably wonder why you and me would give him something. We’d have to make Zoe give it to him.”
“Peter.” Roland, not one to raise his voice, felt his temper spike and snapped, “Get with the real world, will you?”
Peter chuckled. “What do you know of that, oh man in black?”
He stopped talking awhile, but as they neared the park entrance, he started up again. “So, why not a friend’s house? Or just driving? What makes you think he’ll be here?”
Roland shrugged. He hoped he was right. It’d be a shame, them getting all the way out here and not finding him. Mr. Brandt had been nice enough to offer to drive when Keefe was about to call a cab, but he probably had his own things to do today. Roland would hate to be wasting Mr. Brandt’s time, all the while getting no closer to finding Jarret. Keefe elected to stay at the hospital and make phone calls, saying he’d call if he got any leads.
“Come on,” Peter whined. “You’ve gotta have a reason. You think he’s with someone at the campground? A girl?”
“No.” He hated talking about people, especially his brothers, but it wasn’t anything bad that led him to his conclusion. “Jarret’s sentimental.”
Peter quirked a grin. “Sentimental, huh?”
“Yeah. This is where it all began.”
They turned down the long winding road that led to the campsites. Mr. Brandt shut off the air-conditioner and lowered the windows. Warm campfire-scented air blew into the truck.
“This is where Jarret met Zoe and, um . . .”
“Got her pregnant,” Peter said.
“Right. And Jarret was here when he learned about Keefe’s haircut, which you probably can’t understand, but that hit him hard because . . . well, Jarret’s sentimental. And it was here that people started seeing him differently, thought of him as a hero for, um . . .”
“Yeah.” Peter’s grin faded and he gazed at the dash. “. . . for saving Toby.”
“Right. So, people didn’t just think of him as a bad boy.” They exchanged a glance that let Roland know Peter finally understood. “Plus, it’s about ten miles away. Isn’t that what Caitlyn said? Who do we know that’s ten miles away? He’s here. I’m sure of it.”
Mr. Brandt parked the truck near their old site. “Let’s go find him, boys. I’ll look for him up on Bonfire Hill.”
“I’ll go with you.” Peter jogged with his father toward a trail.
Roland headed for their old campsite.
The campground hadn’t changed much. As he passed from site to site, he remembered it all clearly: the layout of the sites, the way they had arranged several tables in one site, and even the things they had done. He let his mind linger a moment on the memory of sneaking around the woods with Caitlyn and her sisters. He missed her friendship.
“What’re you doing here?”
Roland exhaled at the sound of Jarret’s voice. Thank you, Lord.
Jarret leaned against a tree, a cigarette in his hand. He blew out smoke, making it swirl above him, looking like he hadn’t a care in the world.
“You have to come with us. Zoe’s having the baby.”
Jarret’s eyes flashed. He dropped the cigarette. “Okay.” He set off at once, taking long strides. “Now? She’s having it now? Where is she? Why didn’t she call?”
“She’s at the hospital. Check your phone. We’ve all been trying to call you.”
Jarret jogged down a different path than the one Roland had taken, coming out on the dirt road where his Chrysler sat. To leave the campground, they had to pass through the parking lot where Mr. Brandt had parked. As they did, Peter dashed out of the woods.
Jarret slowed and unlocked the doors.
“Thanks, man,” Peter said as he slid into the backseat. He waved at his father before slamming his door. “Dad’s gotta get back to the bed-and-breakfast. I guess Mom’s out with Toby, and he left the place unattended. Let’s get to the hospital.”
Jarret sped down the road at a speed that again had Roland praying a cop didn’t come by. Roland sighed, thinking how Jarret had better change his ways or he’d always find himself racing from one emergency to another.
God answered Roland’s prayers. They hadn’t met with a single hitch until the elevator doors opened to the maternity ward.
Five people sat in the waiting room, three strangers, Keefe . . . and Mr. McGowan. They hadn’t taken four steps when Mr. McGowan lumbered over, his beady eyes locked on Jarret. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
Jarret shrunk back.