Miracle at Colts Run Cross. Joanna Wayne

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СКАЧАТЬ the music. I say we call him. The worse thing he can do is say no.”

      “The office won’t let us use the phone unless it’s an emergency.”

      “Our daddy might be hurt bad,” Derrick said. “That’s an emergency.”

      “You’re right. Let’s go call Uncle Langston now. Maybe he’ll check us out early, and we won’t have to do math.”

      “I like that plan. I hate multiplication. It’s stupid to do all that work when you can just punch it in the calculator and get the answer right away.”

      The boys went straight to the office. The good news was that Mrs. Gravits, who worked behind the desk, let them use the phone to call their uncle. The bad news was that Langston wasn’t in.

      They left a message with his secretary saying they really needed to fly to Dallas today.

      BECKY DROVE up to the church ten minutes before the scheduled time for practice to end. Several mothers were already waiting, parked in the back lot nearest the educational building. Her friend Mary Jo McFee waved from her car. Becky waved back.

      Normally she would have walked over and spent the ten minutes of waiting time chatting, but she knew that conversation today with anyone would mean answering questions about Nick, and she wasn’t up to that.

      As it was, the phone at the big house had rung almost constantly since breakfast, and Matt had wranglers guarding the gate to keep the media vultures off ranch property. A couple of photographers had almost gotten to the house before they were turned back.

      Becky leaned back and tried to relax before she faced her energetic sons who’d no doubt have new questions of their own about their father. Five minutes later, a couple of girls came out of the church. Mary Jo’s daughter was one of them.

      A couple of boys came next, and less than a minute later, the rest of the kids came pouring out the door. Some ran to waiting cars; the ones who lived nearby started walking away in small groups.

      Two boys climbed on the low retaining wall between the church and the parking lot. A couple of girls pulled books from their book bags and started reading. But there was no sign of David and Derrick.

      Becky waited as a steady group of cars arrived to pick up the waiting children. Her cell phone rang just as the last kid left in a black pickup truck.

      She checked the ID and decided not to answer when she didn’t recognize the caller. Probably yet another reporter, though she had no idea how they kept getting her cell phone number.

      She dropped the phone into the compartment between the front seats, her impatience growing thin. Any other day, her sons would have been the first ones out.

      The slight irritation turned to mild apprehension when Rachel Evans, the church’s part-time youth coordinator, stepped out the door and started walking toward the only other car in the parking lot. Rachel was in charge of the practice and never left until all the children had been picked up.

      Rachel noticed Becky and changed direction, walking toward her white Mercedes. Becky lowered her window.

      “I’m sorry to hear about Nick,” Rachel said. “I guess the boys were too upset to come for practice, not that I blame them.”

      Becky’s apprehension swelled. “Weren’t they here?”

      “No. Some of the boys said they were flying to Dallas to see their father.”

      “There must be some mistake. The boys were supposed to be here. Why did their friends think they were going to Dallas?”

      “They said that their uncle Langston had picked them up and was taking them in his private jet. In fact, Eddie Mason said he saw them getting into their uncle’s car.”

      Langston would never pick up the boys at school without letting her know, much less fly them to Dallas. But maybe he’d tried to get in touch with her and kept getting a busy signal. Maybe he’d left a message and she hadn’t gotten it. Maybe…

      Rachel was staring at her, probably thinking she was a very incompetent mother not to know where her sons were. “I’ll give Langston a call.”

      Rachel nodded. “I’m sure you’ll find this is all just some kind of miscommunication. It frequently happens when everyone is stressed.”

      Becky nodded as Rachel walked away, no doubt in a hurry to pick up her own toddler daughter from day care. Becky’s pulse rate was climbing steadily as she picked up her phone and punched in Langston’s private number. She’d about given up hope of his answering when she heard his hello.

      “Where are you, Langston?”

      “In the office. Why? What’s up?”

      “It’s the boys. Are they with you?”

      “No, why would you think they were?”

      “I’m at the church to pick them up from pageant practice, but they’re not here.”

      “Maybe they caught a ride home with someone else.”

      “No, I just talked to Rachel Evans. She said they never showed up.”

      “Maybe they forgot about practice and got on the school bus.”

      “If they had, they would have been home before I left to pick them up. Rachel Evans said that some of the boys at practice mentioned that you were flying David and Derrick to Dallas.”

      “No. I had a message from David asking me to fly them up there, but I only got it about twenty minutes ago. I was in a meeting all day.”

      The apprehension took full hold now, and Becky started shaking so hard she could barely hold on to the phone. “If you didn’t pick them up, who did?”

      “Not mother. She’s still here at the office. Did you talk to Bart and Matt—or even Zach?”

      “No, but they never pick up the boys unless I ask them to. I’m scared, Langston.”

      “Try to stay calm, Becky. I’m sure they’re fine and this is all a harmless mix-up. Call the ranch. See if they’re there.”

      “And if they’re not?”

      “Then call Zach. Have him meet you at the church, and don’t do anything until he gets there. In the meantime, let me know if you hear anything.”

      Hot tears welled in the back of Becky’s eyes, but she willed them to stay there.

      Becky called the big house first, just in case the boys had caught a ride back to the ranch. Juanita was the only one there, and just as Becky had feared, the boys weren’t home. She hung up quickly and then punched in Zach’s number. He was a deputy now, he’d know what to do. He didn’t pick up, but she left a frantic message for him to return her call at once.

      Her phone rang again, the jangle of it crackling along her frazzled nerves. This time it was Nick. He was the last person she wanted to talk to now. Still, she took the call.

      “Becky, it’s Nick,” he said, СКАЧАТЬ