Chapter Nine

Kate stared at her mother, who’d stopped pouring the home-canned salsa into a bowl. “What’s going on? Where’s Pete?”

Her dad entered the room and echoed the question.

“Did you check our bedroom?” Mom’s lips pinched together. “He may have gone to get the book we were reading together and fallen asleep on our bed.”

Dad pivoted and headed toward the hall. “You’re probably right.”

Kate leaned her elbow on the countertop. “I hope they hurry. I’m starved.”

Dad appeared in the doorway again, his brows drawn in worry. “He’s not there, Nan. And I checked the downstairs bathroom too. Do you think he went to the backyard or the barn?”

Mom looked out the window. “It’s possible, but he would have taken Rufus, and the dog’s asleep on the porch. I don’t like this, John.” She grabbed her jacket and opened the front door. “Pete? Where are you?”

Dad followed her, with Kate on his heels.

Kate’s stomach twisted into a knot, all thought of food forgotten. She shoved her hands into the arms of the coat she’d removed only minutes earlier. Pete was probably hiding in the barn or yard, but something didn’t feel right. He hadn’t done anything like this in a couple of years. “Rufus, come on, boy. Let’s go find Pete. Dad, I’m going to check the barn. He might be playing in there.”

“Good idea. His coat wasn’t on the hook, so if he’s outside, at least he won’t be cold.”

Kate jogged across the open area between the house and the barn, and Rufus loped along beside her. The people door to the side of the big main doors that led into the arena stood open. Her shoulders slumped in relief. Her little brother had to be inside.

She stepped into the dim interior and allowed her eyes to adjust. “Pete? Are you in here, buddy? Tell Kate where you are, okay?” More than likely he wouldn’t reply, but she kept calling just the same. “Pete! Quit hiding now and come out. Mom made tacos for lunch.”

She poked her head into the first stall, with no results. As she continued on down the aisle running in front of the stalls and checked each one, worry set in again, big-time. No brown-haired brother looked up from whatever might have drawn him here. “Rufus, find Pete. Where’s Pete, Rufus?”

The dog nosed around and whined, then gazed up at her, tail wagging. Kate closed the final stall door and headed to the steps leading into the loft where hay used to be kept. Maybe Pete had fallen asleep in some of the old straw still scattered on the floor upstairs. She thought for sure Mom and Dad would have hollered by now, letting her know they’d found him.

The big outside door into the arena rolled open a little, and Dad poked his head in. “You find him yet?” Worry clouded his words. “He’s not in the yard anywhere, and we went through the house again. Nothing.”

Kate bolted up the wood stairs toward the loft. “No. I’ve checked all the stalls and the tack room. It will only take me a couple minutes to search the loft.” She heard Dad thudding up the steps behind her, but she kept going, hitting the top one and launching herself across the floor, fear hot on her heels. Where was her brother hiding? They’d searched everywhere, with no sign of him.

“He’s not here, Dad.”

“Are you sure?” Dad strode across the straw-littered floor and headed toward a dark corner. “Pete? Answer me, Son.” He stooped and peered into the dim corner. “You’re right.”

“Where is he, Dad? What’s happened to Pete?” Her voice choked on the last word, and her heart pounded, ready to explode.

 

Kate, her mother, and her father stood outside the barn door. Her normally calm mom was shaking, and her face was white. Dad didn’t look much better, and Kate felt like she might hurl. Pete had never left their yard alone and rarely even went outside without one of his family members or Rufus along. “What do we do next, Dad?”

“I think I’d better call the sheriff.”

Mom nodded. “Good idea. It won’t be dark for hours, but he’s only six. I’m so—” She glanced at Kate and stopped.

Kate stared at her. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m scared too. This is awful. I’m going to call Tori and ask her to keep an eye out. Pete walked over there with me once, and he might have decided to go visit on his own.”

Mom blinked a couple of times as though trying to gather her thoughts. “That can’t hurt. I’ll call the pastor and ask if he can get some of the people from church to start searching or to keep an eye out. I’ll use my cell, Dad can use his, and you use the landline, Kate.”

Kate hurried into the living room and snatched the phone with trembling hands. “Oh, God, please take care of Pete.” She whispered the words, almost afraid to admit out loud that anything could happen to her sweet little brother. Sure, like any brother, he was annoying at times, but she loved him a lot. No way did she want him hurt or lost or scared. If someone found him, he wouldn’t even be able to give them his address or explain where he lived. She punched in Tori’s number and waited. One ring. Two. Three. Four. Hurry up and answer!

“Hello?”

“Tori, I’m so glad I got you. Pete’s missing. He took off by himself while Mom was fixing lunch. She thought he was upstairs playing in his room, but he’s gone. Can you please keep watch around your house and let us know if he comes by?”

Tori gasped. “Hold on.” Her muffled voice sounded in the background for a minute. Then she came back on the line. “Mom’s here. She’s going to start walking toward your house, and I’m coming with her. We’ll have Mom’s cell phone. You have the number, right?”

“Right.”

Kate’s mother stepped into the room. “Has Tori seen any sign of him, Kate?”

“Hold on, Tori.” She repeated what Tori had said to her mother.

“Tell her we’ll walk toward their house. We can cover the distance between us much faster that way. I’ll have my cell, and anyone who spots Pete should call the other. Got that?”

Kate dipped her head and passed the information to her friend, then hung up. “They’re getting coats and heading out right now. How about Dad?”

He appeared in the doorway beside Kate’s mom. “I’ll wait here for the sheriff. He and I are going to cruise the neighborhood. You guys take off, and call me if you find anything.”

Kate and her mother raced across the front porch and down the path. Then her mom inhaled and slowed. Kate grabbed her hand. “Hey, let’s hurry up.”

“We need to take it slow. He could be hiding anywhere or have fallen and hurt himself. If we run, we could miss him.”

As much as Kate wanted to argue, she understood. She hated the thought of moving like a slug when all she wanted to do was run, call Pete’s name, and find him, but she did as her mother suggested. “Okay, fine. But let’s holler for him. Maybe he’ll hear us and come out of hiding if he’s along the road and scared.”

Mom nodded. “You stay here. I’m going to cover the other side of the road. Be sure you check the ditches and behind any big clumps of brush.”

“Shouldn’t we check with the neighbors up the road?”

“Dad’s taking care of that. He said the sheriff is sending a deputy to each house close by to ask if they’ve seen Pete.”

“Good.” Kate left the edge of the road and circled a clump of five fir trees. “Pete? Come out if you’re hiding. It’s time to go home.”

They’d covered half the distance before they spotted Tori and her mother coming toward them, each on opposite sides of the road. Kate bounded forward and halted beside her friend. “Did you see anything?”

“Not a thing. Sorry, Kate. Has Pete run away before? Where do you think he’d go?”

Kate’s mother and Mrs. Velasquez joined them in time to hear Tori’s question. Kate looked at her mother. “He’s never run away, and I have no idea where he might go. Do you, Mom?”

“I’ve been thinking about that ever since we left the house. If he didn’t go to Tori’s house, there’s only one other place he’s walked to, since we always drive to church.”

Kate stared at her mother for a long moment, then blurted what she knew her mother was thinking. “My horse.” She motioned to Tori. “I took Pete for a walk one day, and we took carrots to the mare we found in the paddock. I told him I wished she could be my horse someday.”

Mom’s face set in firm lines. “I didn’t know you told him that, Kate, but it makes sense. He’s been talking a lot about Kate’s horse lately. I thought at first he meant the horse cake you had for your birthday, and then that he was thinking about the job you turned down at the barn.” She glanced at Tori’s mother. “That the girls turned down.” She turned her attention back to Kate. “Now I think he might have been talking about the mare. Let’s get over there as fast as we can, and I’ll call your dad and let him know where we’re headed.”

Kate’s heart thudded. She could barely breathe. Was it her fault her little brother ran away and put himself in danger? She hadn’t told her mother the complete truth. She never should have taken him to see that mare.