She hung up and immediately started worrying about Scott. He hated missing even one day of work so why would he be out all week without telling anyone where he’d be or what he was doing? Surely, he wasn’t just sitting around his house because of her. Maybe he decided to get away for a few days and didn’t want to be bothered with problems from work. Even after she made up her mind that must be it, Mina still continued to worry. She hoped he was all right but more than anything, she wished she could call him and find out for sure. Regardless, she was sure he’d be back at work by Monday, then she could call Barbara and see how he was doing.
**
Scott was practically out of his mind with worry. He’d run to the office Sunday night and pulled Mina’s application to get her parent’s phone number. He was so sure she’d gone back to Washington, he almost came unglued when her mother told him she hadn’t heard from Mina. Mrs. Harmon was extremely upset to find out her daughter was missing and that no one seemed to know where she was. Sounding as if she was close to tears, she put her husband on the phone. Scott introduced himself.
“I know who you are,” Mr. Harmon said gruffly. “My Mina’s told us all about you. She even promised you’d be coming home to meet everyone soon. So tell me what happened. Why did she leave California?”
Scott summed up their disagreement in the office and even confessed he’d deliberately avoided her calls. He told Mr. Harmon about the letter and when he discovered it.
“I know you have no reason to believe me,” Scott said, “but I love your daughter very much. I have to find her. Can you think of anywhere else she might be?”
“Mina never was good at making friends. She always had her nose stuck in some book, but I’ll check with her mother and my boys to see if they know of anyone she could be staying with. I feel better knowing she left you a letter. At least we know she left of her own free will. I could try the airlines to see if she took a flight into Spokane any time this week, but I doubt if they’ll give me any information without something legal in my hands.”
Scott couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before. “I’ll take care of that, Mr. Harmon. If I can’t get the information myself, I’m certain my Dad can. In the meantime, if she calls or shows up, please let me know right away.”
Scott hung up feeling as if his entire world was crumbling around his shoulders. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Mina and he knew in his heart he’d never find happiness again without her. He didn’t even bother trying to call the airlines himself. His Dad had much bigger clout than he did and he didn’t want to waste any time.
He waited for over an hour, pacing nervously back and forth until his phone finally rang. He was somewhat relieved to find out Mina had taken a flight to Spokane earlier that evening and that her plane had landed safely, but it still didn’t give him any idea where she was now. He immediately called her family to let them know and promised to keep in touch.
As soon as the office opened Monday morning, Scott called to find out if Mina had shown up or called in. He knew it was silly to believe she’d fly to Washington then turn right around and fly back, but he was desperate to find her and wasn’t leaving any stone unturned. He’d checked with her parents a few times during the day and was told they thought she might be with her friend, Debbie. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the woman’s address or phone number and when they’d called the operator for the number, they were told it was unlisted. Scott even went so far as to call Rene to see if she’d heard from Mina, but she hadn’t.
By Tuesday night, Mina’s family had called everyone they could think of. Scott’s nerves were raw from worrying so much. He couldn’t eat or sleep, could barely even think without feeling as if his head would explode. His stomach was in knots and every time the phone rang, his whole body shook. Thursday morning, he hired a private detective to find her. He gave the man what little information he had, including Debbie Grego’s name and last known address. When he woke up Saturday morning no closer to finding her than he’d been since the Sunday before, Scott booked a flight to Spokane.
He called Mina’s parents to let them know he was going to drive up to see them. He told them about the private detective he’d hired and how his own family was tapping into every resource they had to track Mina down. Scott said he wanted to sit down with all of them and write down the name of any person she could be with, no matter how weak the link. When he hung up, he felt a little better. At least he was doing something besides sitting around waiting for someone else to find her.
By noon, he’d landed at the Spokane International Airport and was met at the gate by Mina’s oldest brother. Chris Harmon wasn’t much smaller than Scott himself, but it didn’t stop him from threatening Scott with bodily harm.
“I don’t know whether to beat the hell out of you for upsetting my sister so bad she ran off or thank you for all you’ve done to try and find her.”
“At this point I don’t much care what happens to me,” Scott said morosely. “I just want to find Mina and know she’s safe.”
“We’ll find her,” Chris said firmly. During the two hour drive north to his parent’s farm, Chris told Scott all the people they’d been in contact with. “I still think Debbie’s our best shot, if we could just find her. The problem is, I think she got married and then divorced so who knows what name she’s using.”
“She told me she called home at least once a week,” Scott said hopefully. “Maybe she’ll call tonight or tomorrow.”
“We’ve been checking our e-mail constantly because even if she doesn’t call, she at least sends us all a little note to let us know what’s going on.” Chris glanced over at Scott. “Dad said you told him you love Mina.”
“I do love her,” Scott said thickly. “I don’t…I don’t know what I’ll do if she won’t come back with me.”
“It may take some doing, but she loves you too. She’ll go back.”
“God, I hope so. When I find her, I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“After you wring her neck for making us all worry?”
Scott grinned thinly. “Yeah, that goes without saying.”
When they arrived at the Harmon ranch shortly after two o’clock, Chris introduced him to everyone then showed him to Mina’s old room. Scott dropped his duffle bag on the bed and looked around. The room was small but comfortable. He wandered to the bookshelf and smiled at the vast range of reading material then spotted a picture of Mina as a young teen. She hadn’t been very attractive as a child, which was probably why she found it so difficult to believe she was a beautiful woman now.
He went to her bed and picked up the little heart shaped pillow from the middle and held it to his nose. Scott closed his eyes, breathing in the soft sweet scent of her. He whispered her name then clutched the pillow to his chest as if it had some mystical power to ease the pain there. With a heavy sigh, he set the pillow back where he’d found it and turned to go back downstairs, but stopped short when he saw Mina’s mother standing in the doorway.
“I was just on my way down,” he said, a little embarrassed he’d been caught with Mina’s pillow.
She gave him a soft smile. “You really do love my little girl, don’t you?”
“Very much.”
She nodded then stepped aside for him. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs, we’d better go.”
Being around Mina’s family was almost as comforting and reassuring as being with his own family. He expected to see six sets of accusing eyes staring at him from around the table when he sat down. Instead, they all seemed intent on convincing him Mina was just hiding out with a friend until she could face them.
“It’s partly our fault she didn’t just come straight home,” George said solemnly. “If there wasn’t so much pressure on her to help pay for our college tuition, she wouldn’t have been so ashamed to come back.”
Mrs. Harmon patted his hand. “There’s no use taking blame or placing it. Let’s just figure out where she is and go get her.”
They spent the next few hours going over the list of names her family had compiled, coming up with the same conclusion they had earlier, Debbie Grego. It was while Mrs. Harmon was making dinner and they were all trying to figure out a way to reach Mina’s friend that Scott got the call.
“Mr. Travis, this is Barbara Montgomery.”
Scott dispensed with the politeness of asking how she was. “Did you hear from her?”
“Actually, she’s called me twice, but I didn’t know how to reach you. I finally thought of calling your receptionist, Becca, and told her it was an emergency.”
He felt such a rush of relief that Mina was all right, for a moment he couldn’t even speak. When he found his voice, it was constricted with emotion.
“Where is she, Barbara?”
“Well, she called me Thursday and said she was staying with her friend, Debbie, for a few days. I didn’t even think to ask for a phone number, but she just called me to let me know she was going to her parent’s house tomorrow. I have Debbie’s number if you want it.”
Scott glanced around at all the worried faces. “It’s her friend from work,” he told them. “She says Mina is with Debbie and she has the number.” He suddenly found an abundance of paper and pens in front of him then asked Barbara to repeat the number. “You’ve just earned a very large bonus,” he told the woman before hanging up.
He handed the paper to Mina’s father. “Barbara said Mina was planning on coming here tomorrow. If it’s okay with all of you, I’d rather she not know I’m here until you bring her back.”
Mr. Harmon nodded his agreement then passed the number to his wife, and Scott realized for the first time just how shaken her father was. His hand trembled as bad as Scott’s had. Mrs. Harmon, however, seemed steady as a rock and he had to admire her for that. She was quite obviously the glue that kept the family together, much as his own mother was. They listened while she called Mina and gently chastised her for being out of touch. She didn’t tell Mina that Scott was there, but she did let her know that he’d called several times a day to see if they’d heard from her.
“You had us all worried sick,” her mother said. “I want you to get your things together,” she said firmly. “Give me the directions to Debbie’s house so I can send one of the boys to get you right now.” She listened quietly for a few minutes, then in a quiet, calm voice she said, “It wasn’t a request, young lady. Have your things packed and ready to go.” Then she wrote out the directions to Debbie’s house, told Mina she loved her, and hung up.
“I’ll go get her,” her father said, but Mrs. Harmon shook her head.
“I don’t like you making that drive alone.”
“Then I’ll take one of the boys, but I’m going.”
There was a brief argument over which of the boys got to go which was quickly settled by Mina’s mother. “Take the Buick, Denny, so all the boys can go. It’ll be a bit crowded, but at least they’ll all be out of my hair.” She rose from the table. “You’ll need gas money.”
Scott had to smile when Mrs. Harmon reached for a coffee can off the shelf then started digging out dollar bills. He pulled out his own wallet and handed two fifty dollar bills to her father.
“Take it,” he insisted. “I saved quite a bit of money not having to rent a car to drive out here.” When Mr. Harmon hesitated, Scott handed it to Mina’s mother. “Please, it’s the least I can do.”
She took the bills and passed them to her husband. “Let me pack up your food and you can eat on the way.”
Within twenty minutes, the entire Harmon family was gone leaving Scott alone with Mina’s mother. She told him in the same firm voice she used with her husband and sons to go sit at the table and eat his dinner. He sat down obediently, but protested he wasn’t very hungry. She eyed him for a moment then put a huge portion of food on his plate.
“I imagine you haven’t eaten well since you found out Mina was gone.” She dished out a much smaller amount for herself and sat down. “Now that we know she’s safe, you have no excuse for starving yourself so get busy. We don’t waste food around here, Scott, so if you intend on being a part of my little girl’s family, you’d better get used to it.”
He smiled, thinking how much Mrs. Harmon reminded him of Maggie. “I guess those rules are set in stone when you have a big family,” he told her.
He took a few bites and was surprised to discover his appetite had come back with a vengeance. He found it easy to talk to Mina’s mother and told her all about his own family, including how Maggie really ran the show. He even had her rolling with laughter when he told her how his surrogate grandmother still reached up to grab them by the ear to pull them away from the dinner table if they swore or started an argument.
“Maggie says dinner time is for bonding not for causing trouble,” he laughed with her.
By the time he cleaned his plate off, Mrs. Harmon already had most of the dishes washed. As he did in his own home, Scott scraped the few crumbs that were left into the trash and brought the plate to her. Then he picked up a towel and proceeded to dry the dishes she’d set on the drain board while she regaled him with stories of her sons and how much they all loved Mina.
“You’d have thought she was their little sister instead of the oldest of the lot, the way those boys form a wall around her. I have to be honest with you, each one of them wanted to tear you limb from limb when Denny told them what happened.”
“Not that I wouldn’t have deserved it, but what changed their minds?”
She shrugged and put the last dish on the drain board then dried her hands on her apron. “I told them Mina loved you and until she decided they could have a go at you, they’d better be nothing but polite and respectful.”
Scott laughed softly. “Thanks for saving my hide.” He glanced at the clock above the sink. “They should be almost there by now,” he said more to himself than her.
“Denny drives like a bat out of hell,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already heading back.”
He followed her outside and took a place on the porch swing next to her. “Are Mina’s brothers as smart as she is? I mean, do they have the ability to recall things like she does?”
“I think she’s better at it than they are, but yes, they all have the same ability. They get it from Denny, though he never used it for much. He was happy to just have his farm and his kids. It’s been a little rough, but we have a good marriage and strong, healthy children. I don’t think I could ask for much more than that.”
She looked out over their land with a happy smile. “You know, Mina’s teachers used to accuse her of cheating when she was in school. I think that’s when she started withdrawing inside herself and trying to hide what she could do. They made her feel like she was an oddity and some of the kids made fun of her. It wasn’t until the boys were born and started taking up for her that Mina stopped trying to fit in with the other kids and excelled in school.”
She glanced over at Scott. “I’m glad she told you about it. It tells me how much you mean to her, and the fact that you accept it as just being a part of her, tells me Mina means just as much to you.”
“She’s certainly turned my world upside down,” he said with a soft laugh. “I might as well let you know I’m going to do everything I can to get her to come back and marry me.”
“I know,” she said simply.
“Chris told you?”
She smiled warmly at him. “Chris didn’t need to. It’s in your eyes, in the sound of your voice when you talk about her, the way your hand shook when you handed Denny the piece of paper with Debbie’s phone number on it. I’m glad she found someone like you. She deserves to be loved like that.”
“I hope she feels the same way, Mrs. Harmon. She may just take one of those cast iron pans of yours to the back of my head.” Scott was quiet for a minute before broaching the subject of her sons again. “Why haven’t any of them applied for scholarships if they’re as smart as Mina?”
�
��Who wants to give a scholarship to farm boys? They tried a few colleges and were turned down before deciding to do it on their own.”
“But Mrs. Harmon, the colleges are flooded with kids applying for scholarships through their facilities but there are hundreds of other organizations out there just dying to give away scholarships, especially to kids in the rural areas that want to further their education. My own company has a program set up for young men and women who want to get into the business world. When I get back, I’m going to look into it and see what I can do. It’s not right for all your boys to struggle so hard because a few ignorant college counselors couldn’t see their potential.”
“I’m beginning to understand what Mina sees in you, Scott. I imagine you’re as protective of your own family as she is of hers.” They talked for quite some time before Mrs. Harmon stood up. “They’ll be here soon. Why don’t you go on up to Mina’s room and wait for her there.”
INNOCENCE AND ARROGANCE Page 18