“I can go with you two when you’re ready if you like, or you can go with Alexa. It’ll be your choice.”
Jana nodded then headed for the computer set up on a table before the window.
“I’ll leave you all to work.” He glanced around the classroom. “I actually like the posters.”
Alexa’s gaze seized his. “I do, too.”
The smile that graced her lips tightened his gut. She covered the distance to Jana and sat beside her. He stepped toward the door, paused and peered back at Alexa—then forced himself to look away. Too young for him. What she wanted to do with her life was nothing like his. He’d never thought much about traveling, greeting each day with something different. He liked his familiar everyday existence—where he knew what to expect.
“Dad! Dad, where are you?”
Jana’s frantic tone sent a bolt of alarm through Ian. He surged to his feet and hurried into the kitchen. Her pale face and tear-filled eyes alerted him that something was definitely wrong. “What’s the matter?”
“Sugar ran off. I was sitting on the bench by the lake, watching the geese and ducks. She was sitting in my lap. A squirrel chasing another one came by, and she leaped off and began racing after them, barking. I tried catching her leash. I couldn’t. She ran into the underbrush by the woods.” More tears welled in her eyes and a few slid down her cheeks. “I can’t lose her.”
“We’ll go search for her.”
“Just us? She may be long gone. She hasn’t even been here three weeks yet. She probably doesn’t know her way home. Let’s call Alexa. She’ll come help.”
Ian glanced at the kitchen wall clock. “Hon, it’s Sunday. Her day off.”
“We need people to help. I can go next door and get Kelly. She’ll help, too. Plee—ese, Dad, call Alexa.” Jana swiped at her wet cheeks.
“Fine.”
He strode to the phone and dialed Alexa’s cell. Like Jana, he knew she would come if she could. Alexa and his daughter had bonded over the past three weeks. So much, he didn’t know how Jana would react when it was time for Alexa to leave at the end of April.
Alexa answered on the second ring. “Yes,” she whispered.
He heard people talking in the background. “This is Ian. Is this a bad time?”
“I’m in church at a class. Is something wrong?”
“Sugar ran off. Jana and I are going to look for her. Jana wanted to know if you’d help us.”
A long pause and a sound as if she cupped the phone, followed by muffled voices, then she came back on and said, “Yeah, we’ll be there. Mom wants to come, too.”
“We’ll be out back. I’m going to check along the lake-shore. Thanks, Alexa. It means a lot to Jana.” To me. She wasn’t just an employee but a friend, one who made him laugh, made him forget about Tracy’s betrayal. That scared him. What did they really have in common except he could tell she cared about his daughter?
That actually meant a lot to him. Was it enough?
Alexa arrived at Ian and Jana’s house fifteen minutes later with her mother. After parking in the driveway, she threw open her door and hurriedly stood. “They’ll be around back. I hope they’ve found Sugar.” She started for the side yard.
“Yeah, me, too. I don’t know how much hiking I can do in heels.” Gloria jogged to keep up with Alexa. “Slow down a tad. Three-inch heels aren’t meant for running.”
Alexa peered over her shoulder. “Sorry. I’m worried about Jana and what she’ll do if we can’t find Sugar. She’s become so attached to that dog.”
“I don’t know why. It’s ugly.” Her mother slowed, dragging in deep breaths.
“That’s what I think makes Sugar so adorable.”
“I think I should have taken you to the eye doctor when you were younger. Maybe you should see one, dear. The dog doesn’t have any hair to speak of.”
In the back near the lake, Alexa stopped, cupped her hand above her eyes to see past the glare off the glittering water and scanned the area. “Do you see either Jana or Ian?”
Her mom pointed to the left. “I see them. They’re coming back.”
Alexa twisted around. Empty-handed, the pair hiked toward them. The fear on Jana’s face tore at Alexa. Even Ian’s held concern, especially when he glanced at his daughter. His unconditional love for his daughter moved Alexa. She didn’t have that with her own father. Seeing it between Jana and Ian caused her to wonder what it would be like to be loved with no strings attached. Ian made her dream of that kind of love.
“Nothing that way.” Ian paused next to Alexa. “That’s the direction Sugar went.”
“Kelly and her younger brother went that way.” Jana pointed to the right. “We need more people to check the woods.”
“We came back to get you to help us look.” Ian settled his arm along Jana’s shoulders and pulled her against him.
“What if we don’t find Sugar before dark? She’ll get scared. Be hungry.” The child’s eyes, red rimmed, glistened with her unshed tears.
“We will, honey, if I have to stay out here all day.” Ian kissed the top of Jana’s head.
Alexa watched the interchange between Ian and his daughter, her own tears cramming her throat. Never once in her childhood had her father ever acted that way toward her. He’d rarely hugged her or showed her that kind of affection. Ian’s capability to love was huge and he had no problem showing it.
Alexa swallowed several times. “And I’ll be right there next to you all, searching for Sugar. We’re gonna find her.” She rotated toward her mother. “Why don’t you stay here, and when Kelly and her brother come back, tell them where we are.”
“I can help with the search in the woods.”
Alexa pointed to her mother’s shoes. “In those?” How she could wear three-inch high heels at all was beyond her. She was glad she’d changed her mind at the last minute and worn boots, instead of flats, to church today. “Besides, Sugar may find her way home, or someone might call to say they’ve found her. Someone needs to be here. If anything happens, call me on my cell.”
“There’s Kelly and her brother.” Jana ran toward the two coming along the shoreline from the opposite direction.
“And no Sugar,” Ian said with a sigh, staring at his daughter greeting the two neighbors. “I’ve got to find that dog.”
Alexa moved in front of him. “We’ve got to find the dog.”
He blinked, focused on her and attempted a smile that failed instantly. “Thanks. I’ve learned I can count on you.”
“Jana’s a delight, and I don’t want to see her hurting. If we don’t find Sugar in the woods, then we’ll extend our search. Some of the other neighbors might help, too.” Alexa took his hands. “Sugar isn’t a dog that blends in. She’s unusual. That will help us in our search.”
One corner of his mouth tugged upward. “So I should be glad she is so ugly.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Dad, Kelly and Aaron are gonna help us search the woods. Let’s go.” Jana trudged toward the grove of trees, flanked by the two teens.
“Thanks, Gloria, for staying here. The back door is open if you get cold.” Ian released one of Alexa’s hands but kept hold of the other one and started after the kids.
“Did you ever have a pet as a child?” Alexa asked, to take her mind off the fact that the warmth of his grasp had sent her heart pounding.
“No, my mother didn’t want to have any pets in the house. Too messy for her.”
“Are your parents alive?”
“My dad died a few years back from cancer. My mother lives in Florida with her sister. How about your father? You never talk about him.”
“My father is alive but doesn’t want to have much to do with me.” The words were out before she could stop them. In all the time she had lived in Tallgrass, she hadn’t told anyone about her father’s rejection, the conditions he put on his love. The hurt burrowed deep in her heart came to the foreground.
“Why? What happened?” He slowed his
pace.
Ian’s question, spoken with such concern, gave her yet another reason she was drawn to him. He cared and wasn’t afraid to show it. “I didn’t want to become a doctor like him. My dad wasn’t happy with my choice of occupation. I haven’t seen him in five years.”
“I’m sorry. That can’t be easy for you.” He paused, his intense gaze on her.
The look in his eyes pulled her closer, as though she didn’t have a will of her own. For a long moment she forgot they were following Jana. All Alexa’s senses became centered on Ian. His touch on her. His musky scent that competed with the outdoor aromas of the trees and lake. Her heartbeat slammed against her rib cage in a mad staccato. He edged closer, lifting his hand toward her face as he leaned forward. He palmed her cheek, his mouth inches away.
Jana calling out to them separated Alexa and Ian.
“I…” Words evaded her.
A flushed stained his cheeks. He spun on his heel and resumed his trek toward the woods.
Alexa quickened her step and caught up with him. “Jana is lucky to have you.”
“But she still has to deal with a parent’s rejection, and nothing I can do will change that fact.” A frown descended, his jaw clenched.
She snagged his hand and squeezed it, trying to convey her silent support as they approached the kids standing at the edge of the woods.
“We’ve been talking. We need to split up and cover as much of the area as possible,” Kelly said as she surveyed the grove of pine and scrub oak.
“Yeah. Kelly, Aaron and me are going that way.” Jana waved her arm toward the left. “You two go to the right. We’ll meet on the other side.”
“If we find Sugar, I’ve got my cell. I’ll call you, Mr. Ferguson.” Kelly started forward with Aaron and Jana quickly catching up.
Alexa stared after their disappearing figures for a moment, then looked at Ian.
“I think my daughter has actually learned something from me. I didn’t realize she could take charge like that. Usually she’s disorganized and apathetic, especially this past year.”
“She wants to find Sugar badly. She’s smart and can do anything she sets her mind to. I found the unit on animals we’re doing has sparked a lot of interest in Jana. I want to suggest we go to the ranch Helping Hands Homeschooling Group uses. Will that be okay?”
“If you can get my daughter to agree, that would be great.”
The weary lines on his face tugged at Alexa. “You might have to go with us at least the first time.”
“Fine by me. I’ve been trying, and she hasn’t wanted to.”
“When was the last time you asked her?” Alexa strode toward the right, several yards separating her and Ian as they moved through the stand of trees.
Cocking his head, he thought a moment. “Last November. I guess with Christmas and my business picking up, it slipped my mind.”
“I’m gonna tie it in with our animal unit and try to persuade her.”
Ian cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted, “Sugar. Sugar.”
Alexa followed suit, yelling the pet’s name every few yards and walking farther away from Ian to cover more ground. Fifteen minutes later she emerged on the other side of the woods at the same time that Ian did. He came to her, a grim expression on his face.
“This isn’t good,” he said while looking toward the area where the kids would appear after they completed their search.
“Maybe Jana found Sugar and they forgot to call.”
“Maybe.” But his tight voice showed his doubts. “I’m going to have to prepare myself for the possibility Sugar is lost for good.”
“If that’s the case, there were a lot of dogs at the pound. I’m sure there’s another—”
“No! I’m not setting my daughter up for another letdown. Once is enough.”
The vehemence between his declarations made Alexa wonder if he was expressing his feelings, especially since his wife had walked out on them. He’d suffered great disappointment and hurt because of another he’d loved. She could understand that he didn’t want to risk that pain again. Although Daniel hadn’t left her, he’d died and the end result had been that she had been left alone.
Alexa started to say something, when Jana, Kelly and Aaron came into view. Each of them wore a frown. When Jana ran to her dad and flung her arms around him, she began to cry.
“We’ll keep looking, pumpkin.”
“We need more people to help.” Alexa patted the young girl on the back. “And I’ve got just the people. I belong to a singles group at church. We have a calling tree. I’ll make a call and see who I can get here to assist in scouring the area. Sugar is small. Maybe she’s scared, and since she hasn’t been Sugar for long, she could have forgotten her new name.”
Jana pulled back and looked up at Alexa. “Yeah. She was learning it, but she didn’t always come to it.”
While Alexa took out her cell to make the call to Dr. Nancy Baker, also a member of the singles group at church, Kelly stepped forward. “Me and Aaron will go door to door and tell the neighbors what’s going on. If they can help search, great. If not, at least we can describe Sugar and let them know to be on the lookout for her. Want to come with us, Jana?”
Jana bit her teeth into her lower lip. “I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. Aaron and me can do it.” Kelly began walking toward the street a few hundred feet away.
Jana peered up at her dad, her brow furrowed.
“You can stay with me if you want, hon, but I’ll be helping Alexa organize her group when they arrive.”
“Wait, Kelly. I’m coming with you.” Jana loped to her friends and joined them.
When Nancy came on the phone, Alexa explained what was going on, then hung up. “She’ll start the calling tree, and then she’ll come over to help so we have at least one extra volunteer.”
He took her hand. “Let’s get back to the house. I have a few pictures of Sugar on my digital camera. I’ll need to run some off for the searchers.”
“Great. Although Sugar is distinctive, a photo would be better than a description.”
As they made their way back to Ian’s, their hands remained clasped, even when one of her mother’s eyebrows rose as she watched them traverse the backyard. Alexa knew her mom would have a lot of questions about Ian and her later, when things settled down. The problem was it was becoming more difficult to say it was only an employer/employee relationship. He’d almost kissed her. And the fact he hadn’t had disappointed her.
Exhausted, Alexa twisted away from the window at Ian’s house, having stared out into the darkness so long she began to imagine Sugar racing across the backyard toward the patio. The last group of searchers had reported in half an hour ago. No Sugar. Crying, Jana had run to her bedroom and slammed the door. Ian had gone after her to talk to her. Even several rooms away, occasionally she heard Jana’s sobs, and her own sadness enveloped her. She wouldn’t leave until she knew Jana was calmer.
A sound behind Alexa drew her toward it. Ian stood in the entrance to the den. His weariness carved bleak lines into his face. The pain in his eyes ripped all her defenses to shreds. Not just Jana needed her. Ian did, too. He’d been equally the reason she’d decided to stay after everyone else had left.
“What am I going to do?”
“Be there for Jana. That’s all you can do.” And he was very good at that.
“I can’t talk to her. All she does is cry. She didn’t cry this much when her mother left last year. I tried to tell her we could look some more tomorrow—call animal shelters and the pound, put up posters.” He moved into the middle of the room. “I feel helpless. She wanted me to leave.”
“She’s hurting. Give her a few minutes, and then maybe she’ll listen to what you’re saying.”
“Maybe. She wanted a new dog if Sugar doesn’t come home. I don’t know if I can go through this again. I don’t know if I should set her up for more pain.”
She covered the distance between them and took hi
s hands. “I know it’s tough to care about something, someone. It can be taken away suddenly.”
His solemn eyes connected with hers. “You’re young and have just begun to—”
“I had a guy, Daniel, I loved deeply in high school.” Sadness momentarily swelled in her, and she stepped away. “It was only a month away from our graduation. We’d planned to marry the next year, and he died in a freak accident.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that, gone. So I know. Age has nothing to do with suffering. My—experience has made me look at things differently.”
A tic jerked in his hard jawline. “I don’t know what else to say to her. I wish we’d never gotten the dog.”
“Dad! How can you say that?” Jana screamed from the doorway, then whirled around and fled.
Ian stood frozen, watching his daughter disappear. “I didn’t mean…”
“Let me go talk to her. Maybe I can help.”
A door slammed closed, and Ian winced. “Please. I’ve certainly messed this all up.”
In her trek toward Jana’s bedroom, Alexa paused beside Ian and touched his arm. “Parents can’t always shield their children from being hurt.” She continued across the den, then into the kitchen and finally the hallway.
At Jana’s door, she knocked.
“Go away. I don’t want to talk to you, Dad.”
“Jana, it’s me. Can I come in?”
A long minute ticked by one excruciatingly slow second at a time. Finally the door swung open. A teary-eyed Jana backed away. “Come in.”
“How much of the conversation did you hear?”
“Enough to know that Dad didn’t want Sugar. I know she messed things up. Chewed some of his papers, but I love her.”
Alexa crossed to the bed and eased down. After being on her feet most of the day, she didn’t know if she could stand much longer. “You can ask him, but what I think he meant when he said that was he didn’t want to see you hurt again if something happened to another dog.”
Jana plopped down next to Alexa, tears making her eyes shiny. “You think Sugar is gone for good?”
“Actually no, I don’t. I think we’ll find her.”
Love Lessons Page 7