by Karin Beery
She moved toward the shore, helpless to resist its beckoning. The beach grass thinned as she approached the water. Soon her sandals sank into the ground. The only other footprints belonged to the birds. Perfect.
Spying a relatively dry patch of beach, Callie spread her blanket on the ground, squinting against the late afternoon sun. As she settled herself on the blanket, she decided to review her summer.
But the sun warmed her skin, and the water whispered its lullaby. She had plenty of time later to figure out what she’d done wrong. It’s not like she had to go to work. Or on a date. Or over to Mae’s. Callie lay back and closed her eyes. All of the tears had drained her energy. She just needed a little nap before facing her mess of a life. It would still be a disaster when she woke up.
Her life was pitch black, except for the stars.
Callie blinked. The stars twinkled, but nothing else moved. She sat up, scanning the beach. The lake called to her, but the darkness had swallowed the water. Looking up again, she searched for the moon. Nothing. Just thousands of tiny stars.
Fear crept in. She didn’t have a flashlight. She was just going to take a quick nap, but it had to be after ten for the sky to be so dark. She had to get home before Jack freaked out. He’d want to take her car away after this.
Callie grabbed the blanket and stumbled toward the trees, tripping in the sand. Two more steps and she tripped again. Brushing off her knees, she stood back up. Her sandal snagged on something.
Panic replaced the fear.
No use. She couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. There was no way she’d find her car through the woods. She’d pretty much followed the sound of the waves to find the beach. Her car wouldn’t make any noise. Plus, she’d passed some poison ivy on the way in. The last thing she wanted was another doctor’s appointment.
Callie tried to focus her eyes on anything, but all she could see were shadows and even darker shadows. A chill ran down her spine but not just from the cooling night air. Every few years, the cops found a body in the woods. Another person lost, starving, or bleeding to death. There was usually alcohol or other extenuating circumstances, but Callie didn’t want to push her luck.
Suddenly she wanted to be back in the suffocating lighthouse kitchen. Out here she had tons of space but no place to go. Did she really need this now?
She looked up, watching the stars, looking for God. “Okay, you’ve got my attention. I’ve got no way to get home, no way to call anyone, and one bottle of water. What am I supposed to do? I make a plan—it falls apart. I come out here without a plan—it’s a disaster, so what do you want from me?”
Nothing.
Figures.
Not a cloud in the sky, so she didn’t have to worry about rain, but cold might be a problem. Callie picked up her blanket and headed back to the beach, unwilling to risk the woods. The sun would come up eventually.
Callie shuffled back to the shore and dropped onto the blanket. She didn’t want to think about how the summer could possibly get any worse—she wasn’t ready to attend anyone’s funeral. Nothing she did seemed to matter, though. Nothing worked. Where did that leave her?
Any plans for the next few weeks were bound to fail, but she didn’t think her heart could take this kind of spontaneous stress on a regular basis. All she wanted was to do God’s will, so why did he keep making it so hard for her to figure it out?
“God?”
Still nothing. No birds. No waves. Not even the hint of a breeze.
“That’s it?”
Silence.
Callie waited. Her mind reeled, but the world stayed calm. Emotional chaos. Physical tranquility. If it would stop being so nice out she might be able to concentrate on her problems.
CAW!
Callie jumped but didn’t see anything. Maybe she should have been more specific. “Can’t you just tell me what to do?”
A bug buzzed by.
“That’s it?” She laid down and looked straight up into the sky. Eventually, she’d see something.
Despite her problems, the view really was amazing. Millions of stars crowding the black canvas from hundreds of light years away. One star escaped, burning across the sky. God’s creation never ceased to amaze her. He put the entire world into motion, hanging each star above her. She truly didn’t take enough time to admire the beauty. She was usually too busy pumping God for information.
Callie closed her eyes and let the quiet consume her. Her pulse relaxed as her heart calmed. She thought about her job. Her pulse kicked up. Forget the work—think about God. Peace.
Kyle’s face drifted into her thoughts. Her muscles tensed. Okay, back to God.
What about Ryan? Butterflies.
Only when she focused on God did the bone-deep peace settle inside her. Only God kept her calm, safe. He’d given her total peace about the move to Traverse City, but this was the first time since arriving that she’d felt it again. Why?
Callie stroked her fingers across the cool sand as she replayed the last few weeks. She hadn’t really talked to God since she moved in. She’d been piecing things together on her own, letting logic and reason guide her steps. She also suspected the very same logic and reason were giving her ulcers.
The more she focused her thoughts on God, the less her plan seemed to matter. Despite the solitude, the darkness, and the cooling air, peace wrapped her in warmth and contentment. If she could stay focused on God, she could survive the summer.
Callie yawned. She just needed to survive the night.
Jack hit his alarm clock, but the beeping continued. Stupid machine. He fumbled for the cord, yanking it from the wall.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
How was Callie sleeping through this? Chatty tourists he could ignore, but that beeping! Jack looked at his clock. It was dark, but the noise continued. He tapped his cell phone. Five thirty in the morning. Not his best time of day. If he wanted to sleep until a reasonable hour, he had to silence that noise.
Rolling out of bed, he sluffed down the stairs, following the sound into Callie’s room. Weird. He turned off the obnoxious clock and looked at the bed. Still made. Even at five thirty, he knew that wasn’t right. He scanned the room—no purse. His pulse spiked.
Wide awake, Jack ran out to the kitchen. Callie’s phone sat on the counter, right where he’d seen it last night. As far as he could tell, nothing had moved. He nearly ripped the doors off the hinges as he charged outside, scanning the parking lots.
No car.
Jack was back inside and upstairs in seconds. He grabbed his phone and dialed Ryan’s number while grabbing clothes off the floor.
Ryan yawned. “Jack, do you know what time it is?”
“Callie didn’t come home last night.”
“What?”
Jack tripped into his clothes as he ran back down the stairs. “She left me a note last night, said she needed to take a drive. She’s not back, and she left her cell phone here.”
“You think something happened?”
“She took the time to leave a note. If she wasn’t planning on coming home, she would have said something.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Drive by Mae’s house. See if Callie’s car is there. Then meet me at the Burger King by the peninsula.” He scribbled several notes to his sister and taped them up around the house before running outside and climbing into his truck. “Call me if you find her.”
Jack jumped out of his truck the second he saw Ryan’s Jeep. It was already after six, and Jack’s patience was running low. He wanted to be out there looking, but he knew he needed help. Ryan, the idiot, may have bailed on his plan to ask Callie out, but he couldn’t possibly be over her that quickly. Judging by the way Ryan sped into the parking lot, skidding to a stop, Jack was right.
“She’s not at Mae’s,” Ryan said, as he ran toward Jack.
&n
bsp; “I called Kyle. He didn’t pick up.”
Ryan’s jaw clenched. “You think she might have stayed out all night with him?”
“No, but she mentioned something about seeing him yesterday. I thought he might know where she went.”
Ryan nodded, but his face never relaxed. “Now what?”
“We go look for her. Where did she go the last time?”
“She said she went up to Northport. Think she’d go back?”
“I have no idea, but if she went up the Leelanau peninsula once, she might go there again. I’ll head up the east side, you take the west.” Jack opened his truck door. “And don’t forget to check the parks and trails. You know how she likes to drive those.”
“What if she heads home while we’re out looking for her?”
“I left her cell at the lighthouse. If she beats us there, there’s a note to call me.” One taped to the door, one on the refrigerator, the TV, and the bedroom and bathroom doors. She was bound to see one of them. Ryan headed back toward his Jeep, his shoulders tense and jaw still clenched. The idiot. Who got up before dawn to search for a woman he wouldn’t even ask out? “Ryan.”
His friend turned back.
“She’s either worth the hassle or she’s not.”
Far too many uncomfortable minutes passed as the two men stood there staring at each other over the hood of Jack’s truck. Maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut. The last thing he needed was more friend trouble on top of sister drama.
But then Ryan nodded. “Point taken.”
Callie pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders as she trudged over the dew-covered ground. Once again, she thanked God that it hadn’t gotten very cold, but the dampness chilled her. She bumped another sapling, dumping more dew on her head. Sand clung to her body, getting into every crease and wrinkle.
She had to get home. Jack would be furious. She hadn’t planned on disappearing again. He’d definitely ask her to leave now. She couldn’t mess up any bigger than—
A ray of sunlight cut through the trees, blinding Callie and halting her footsteps as well as her pity party.
Right. No more whining. Focus on God.
She stepped out of the warm sunshine and back into the cool shade. Her car should be just over the next hill.
Her sandals slipped on the wet leaves, but she pushed herself up. Any second now. Over the crest and onto the road, Callie saw the clearing ahead and ran.
“No, no, no!” Her shoes flung up dirt as she raced toward her parking spot. She saw tire tracks, but where was the car? Maybe it was the wrong clearing. She spun around, looking for an alternative. That’s when she saw the NO TRESPASSING sign tacked to the tree. Below it, a hand-written note.
This is private property—NO trespassing, NO overnight parking! Your car has been towed by W.E. Towers.
Seriously? Callie looked down the road. Not another car in sight. Of course not. That’s why she liked this road. No one to bother her.
Pity rose up in her chest, but she quickly squelched the urge. “Fine, I’ll walk.” Stuffing the note in her pocket, she headed toward the main road. “It’s a great day for a walk.”
Another clap of thunder sounded in the distance.
Ryan wanted to hit the gas, but the line of cars ahead of him crawled across the pavement. He’d been able to keep the anxiety away until the first raindrops fell, but that was over an hour ago, before he’d caked his Jeep in layers of mud from miles of seasonal roads. He cranked up the wipers. A car zipped by, splashing more water onto the windshield.
His phone rang. Ryan’s gut clenched as he grabbed it.
“Did you find her?”
“No. The storm is slowing me down.”
“Same here.”
“I’m about halfway back down the peninsula. I didn’t pass any wrecks on the way up.” Taillights glared ahead of Ryan. He hit the brakes. “Looks like I better get off the phone, so I don’t cause one.”
“Call me later.”
Ryan kept his eyes on the cars ahead of him. One at a time they veered to the left. Occasionally traffic stopped, then picked up again. At this pace it would take him hours to get back down the peninsula. A lot could happen to Callie in that time, God protect her.
He’d already wondered what it would be like to find her. Ryan considered scolding her, hugging her, trying to joke with her. The gentleman in him told him to take her back to Jack and Kyle, but that thought made his head ache. Kyle wasn’t the one searching for Callie. Ryan wouldn’t want him here anyway.
Jack was right. Time to let the chips fall. Find Callie and tell her—the car ahead of him pulled over—if he ever found her.
The car pulled over far enough that Ryan could finally see what was happening. Someone was walking in the rain, wrapped in a blanket. A red blanket. An Alma Schools blanket. Apparently, a car had stopped to help.
Adrenaline shot through Ryan’s veins. He swerved right, rumbling onto the shoulder behind the sedan. The drenched pedestrian nodded. She reached for the back-door handle. Ryan jumped out of the Jeep.
“Callie!”
Thunder rumbled. Rain drummed against the concrete. She opened the door.
“Callie!” Water soaked his clothes as he ran toward her. “Cal!” She turned around. He ran faster. The driver got out of his car, and Ryan waved. “It’s okay, I’ve got her!”
Callie walked toward him, smiling. Beautiful. “What are you doing here?” She stepped up to him, laughing. “How did you find me?”
Instead of answering, he dragged her to the back of the Jeep and opened the tailgate to provide some cover. They faced each other, water dripping around them, seeping into his clothes. He tried to wipe the moisture from her cheek, but it didn’t help. It didn’t matter. She just kept smiling at him.
She was safe, happy. Every word Ryan had rehearsed vaporized. Words didn’t matter. Only Callie mattered. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Callie hesitated, then wrapped her arms around him, sliding up his arms, over his shoulders as he kissed her again and again and again. He needed to stop. He needed to tell her how he felt, that she needed to forget her plan, forget about Kyle.
Ryan told her everything with another kiss. Soft willing lips kissed him back. Her arms held him close. He squeezed her closer, picking her up as she clung to him. She leaned back, but his lips followed hers, needing to tell her everything.
A horn honked, and Ryan put Callie back on solid ground and pulled back, just enough to look at her. Eyes closed, her lips parted. He didn’t resist the urge to taste her again. When she pulled away, her eyes fluttered open. Ryan didn’t know what to say, so he took her wet blanket, tossed it in the Jeep, and grabbed his own emergency blanket for her.
Callie reached for the blanket. He wanted her reaching for him, so he held it, smiling. She raised her eyebrows as he wrapped the plaid cloth around her shoulders, pulling her close, wrapping his arms around her back.
She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. “You kissed me.”
“You kissed me back.” He wanted to see if she would again.
“Why did you kiss me?”
His heart swelled. “I couldn’t help myself.”
Callie leaned back and looked at him. Her forehead creased, brows together.
“I know this isn’t your plan, and you probably need some time to think about it—”
She bounced up and pressed her lips to his.
Every synapse in Ryan’s brain misfired. His hands found her face, cradling her cool cheeks as their warm breath mingled. Her lips sought his, drawing him into her.
Nothing mattered except the woman kissing him. He buried his hands in her hair, needing her closer, wanting her to know what he couldn’t say, deepening the kiss.
Callie was in his arms, kissing him because she wanted to.
They finally came up for air, but Ryan didn’t let go. He pulled Callie right back against him, the blanket around her already soaked through. He had to say something, had to tell her what he felt. She’d want an explanation, something to plan around. Had he planned something to say? He tried to think back to the drive, but her breath tickled his neck. Say something!
She kissed his jaw.
Anything. “I love you.”
Callie jumped out of his arms like she’d been struck by lightning. Eyes like saucers stared back at him. Something like terror flashed across her face. “You what?”
“I didn’t mean to tell you like this, but it’s true.”
She nodded but didn’t move. “That would explain the kissing.”
Ryan stepped toward her, testing the water. “Why else would I kiss you?”
She shrugged. “You were happy to see me, got caught up in the moment.”
“Is that why you kissed me?” Another step closer. “You’re just happy to see me?”
Callie shook her head.
“Then why?”
Another shrug.
Not good enough. Ryan closed the gap, pulling her back into his arms. Callie gasped but he held tight. “Talk to me, Cal.” He leaned down to look her square in the eyes and saw them—tears. His throat closed around his breath. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” The little liar sobbed.
“Except you’re crying.”
“I know.” Her face scrunched up as her shoulders started shaking. Ryan tried to wipe away the tears, but that seemed to make her cry even harder. What had he done?
His phone rang, blessed relief. Holding Callie with one hand, Ryan answered with the other.
“Any luck?” Jack’s voice barked.
“I found her. She’s safe.”
“Thank God. Oh, thank God.” Ryan heard the tension melt out of Jack’s voice. “Do you need me? Should I meet you someplace?”