His Christmas Redemption

by Danica Favorite

  “It’s going to be okay,” she said. “Some people are coming to help look for your brother, and I need you to stay in your room and out of the way so everyone can do their job, okay?”

  Dylan nodded. “I’m sorry I yelled at him for using so much glitter.”

  “It’s not your fault. He knows he’s not supposed to go outside without permission.”

  She gave the little boy a quick squeeze then went back outside to give the bear to Frank. He had Blue sniff the bear and then gave him the command to look for the little boy. As she watched Frank chase after his dog, she turned back to Margaret. “I should go check the barn, in case he’s hiding there.”

  Margaret gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Blue will find him faster than you. Come on. Let’s get you inside where it’s warm. The cavalry has arrived.”

  Half a dozen vehicles, including the sheriff’s SUV, pulled into the driveway. And, judging from the headlights in the distance, more were coming. They hadn’t come so quickly with Lily. Certainly, living in the neatly ordered suburbs, the whole community hadn’t showed up. It had taken Lance just over an hour to get home from work.

  As the sheriff got out of his SUV, another familiar vehicle pulled up.

  Leah.

  Worse than losing her sister’s child was having to force Leah to endure the bad news. Erin knew she had to tell her, but she hadn’t had a moment to think about when or how.

  “What’s going on?” Leah asked.

  Lance came up behind Erin and put his hand on her shoulder.

  “What’s he doing here?” Leah asked. “And what’s up with your foot?”

  “It’s a long story,” Erin said. “What are you doing home? I wasn’t expecting you back until tomorrow.”

  “The weather report said we were in for another storm tomorrow. Rather than being stuck and potentially away from the boys another day, we caught an earlier flight,” Shane said, coming to stand beside them. “Now tell us what’s going on.”

  “Ryan’s missing,” Lance said. “And it’s my fault.”

  He probably thought he was being chivalrous by taking responsibility, but chivalry wouldn’t bring Ryan back.

  Leah turned pale. “What do you mean, missing?”

  She looked around, frantic, like she was finally taking in all the emergency vehicles in the driveway and making connections no mother should ever have to make.

  Erin knew that feeling, and right about now, she knew that Leah was probably asking herself if this was a terrible nightmare and praying she’d wake up.

  But it wasn’t a nightmare. At least not one you woke up from. Erin put her arm around her sister.

  “We’re going to find him,” Erin said.

  A sob escaped Leah’s mouth as big tears rolled down her cheeks.

  The sheriff joined their group. “Why don’t we all go inside and you can catch us all up? Search-and-rescue teams are already out looking for Ryan. No sense in us all standing here, freezing to death.”

  That was the other thing about living in a small town. Unlike in Denver, where she’d had to provide pictures and descriptions, here they all knew Ryan. Their kids had all played with the boys. To many of the searchers, Ryan wasn’t a random stranger but a friend.

  They went inside and the sheriff began asking questions about Ryan’s disappearance.

  Within minutes of them entering the house, Dylan must have heard his mom’s voice because he’d come running into the room and had firmly planted himself on Leah’s lap, even though he was a bit too big for it.

  Leah and Shane listened as Lance explained what had happened. It killed Erin to watch the tears that occasionally flowed down her sister’s cheeks. At least Leah had Shane, his arm around her, supporting her, as he occasionally murmured comforting words in his wife’s ear. It was harder than Erin had imagined, watching her sister bravely try to hold herself together when she was probably falling apart on the inside. Erin knew how it felt, though when Lily had gone missing, she hadn’t done such a good job keeping it together. She wished there was more she could do for her sister, but right now, they had to stay focused on finding Ryan.

  When the sheriff had the information he needed, a deputy took Lance into the other room to question him further.

  Erin knew the drill. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but by the expression on Lance’s face, she knew the deputy was probably grilling him, accusing him, without saying the words, of harming Ryan. Even though she knew in her heart that Lance would never harm a child, it also felt good for him to have a taste of what she’d been through. Not just from the investigators, but also with the accusations Lance had hurled at her.

  Was he remembering?

  Did he understand that this was what he’d done to her?

  Shane had moved to stand near where Lance was being questioned, presumably to listen in. The anger and fear on her brother-in-law’s face were evident, but Erin could tell he was doing his best to remain calm so he could find his son.

  Alone with her sister, or at least as alone as they could be with people milling around, Leah turned to Erin.

  “So where does Lance figure in all this? What is he doing here?”

  Erin told her how Lance had come to be there. Ironic how all this started because she hadn’t wanted to ruin her sister’s honeymoon, and now it seemed like she’d done just that.

  At some point in the conversation, someone had pressed a cup of coffee into Erin’s hands, and she looked up to realize that the women from church were in the kitchen, bustling about, preparing coffee and refreshments for both the family and the search party.

  When Erin got done telling her sister just how badly she’d let her down, she started crying. “I’m so sorry. You trusted me with the boys and I failed you.”

  Leah took the cup of coffee out of her hands then wrapped her arms around her. “It’s not your fault. Ryan knew better than to go outside without permission. Besides, blame isn’t going to get my son home safely.”

  Erin had said the same thing to Dylan, trying to keep the little boy from blaming himself. And what was she doing? Exactly the same thing she knew wouldn’t get them anywhere. It had taken her months of counseling to stop accepting the blame for Lily’s death. Somehow she needed to get to that place again.

  Erin hugged her sister back then looked up at her. “You don’t seem worried.”

  Leah rested her head on Erin’s shoulder. “I’m scared to death. I can’t help thinking of when you lost Lily and how I couldn’t imagine the pain you were going through. Now that Ryan’s gone, I just can’t imagine what my life would be like without him.”

  Leah started to cry again and Erin regretted her words to her sister about not being worried. She hadn’t meant to further upset her.

  Shane came and sat next to his wife, putting his arm around her. “It’s going to be okay. We have one of the best search-and-rescue teams in the state. Frank has even flown out to help with high-profile missing persons cases. I’m sure they’ll be back with good news anytime now.”

  Leah pulled away from Erin and turned to her husband. “I hope so. I thought I heard Janie in the kitchen, organizing everyone to pray. We should join them.”

  “You go,” Erin said. “I need a few moments alone.”

  Leah took Dylan by the hand, and the others followed her into the kitchen, but Erin remained where she was.

  She’d barely started praying when she heard boots clomping on the floor. She opened her eyes and Ryan came running into her arms. “Aunt Erin, I’m okay. I found Fluffy the Second.”

  “Leah!” Erin shouted her sister’s name, then she pulled Ryan into her arms and squeezed him tight. Tears ran down her face as she cuddled the freezing boy. He squirmed under her embrace and that’s when she noticed he had something inside his coat.

  “Is that a kitten?”

  Ryan wiggled out of
her grasp. “Yes. That’s what I was trying to tell you. I heard meowing outside the door, so I opened it to see Fluffy the Second. She ran away, so I chased her, all the way to the old shed we’re not supposed to play in. And I found her there, with kittens. Aren’t you so happy that Fluffy the Second is alive? And we have kittens.”

  Fluffy the Second wasn’t the only thing she was glad was still alive. And it explained a lot. Not just the cat’s disappearance but also why they hadn’t found Ryan quickly. She knew the shed he was talking about. It was on the far edge of the property, set away from all the outbuildings. Not only were the boys not allowed there, Ryan used to tell her that he was too scared to go there because of all the spiders. She would have never guessed that’s where he’d been.

  Leah entered the room, and Ryan left Erin’s side to greet his mother. “Mom! I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow. The surprise I was making for you isn’t done yet. But look!”

  He held up a kitten and grinned. “A kitten is an even better surprise. And you didn’t even have to worry that Fluffy the Second was missing.”

  No, but she hadn’t been spared the worry over Ryan’s disappearance. And by the way Leah held her son tight, Erin knew they’d all be keeping the little boy close for a long time to come. A couple of the men entered the room, each holding a kitten. She recognized one of them as John Hansen, the local vet. “They’re really cold, and the mama cat is half starved, but they should be okay,” John said. “I have some food in my truck that will help them.”

  He smiled at Ryan. “He found the mama cat and kittens and knew they were too cold, so he put them all in his jacket and was sitting in the shed, trying to get them warm. Who knows, maybe he’ll be a vet someday.”

  That sounded like Ryan.

  She looked over at the boy, who’d escaped his mother’s embrace and had turned his attention back to the kitten.

  “Why didn’t you come get us?” Erin asked. “We would have helped you.”

  “I didn’t want you to be mad at me for being in the shed.” He looked at all the people milling around the house. “I’m in big trouble, aren’t I?”

  She’d have liked to have said yes, given all the trouble he’d caused, but she was so grateful to have him safely home that she shook her head. “You know the rules. But I’d like to think that you learned your lesson. Did you?”

  Ryan nodded. “The police are here and everything. They’re not going to arrest Uncle Lance, are they? The mean one who sometimes comes to our school looked like he was giving him a talking to.” Then Ryan’s eyes widened. “They’re not coming to arrest me, are they? I know I broke the rules, but I was just so happy to see Fluffy the Second—”

  Dylan ran into the room and tackled his little brother into a big hug. “You’re alive. I’m sorry I yelled at you for glitter. You can put as much glitter on stuff as you want. Just don’t ever get missing again.”

  Ryan hugged Dylan back then pulled away. “I didn’t run away because of you. I found Fluffy the Second. She didn’t get eaten by a coyote. She had babies.”

  “Cool,” Dylan said. “Did you see Mom and Dad came home early? Now that we found you, we can see what presents they brought us.”

  A scared expression filled Ryan’s face. “You guys didn’t come home early because of me, did you? Uncle Lance came to stay with us so Auntie Erin wouldn’t ruin your honeymoon. I didn’t ruin your honeymoon, did I?” Tears ran down his cheeks. “I just wanted to help Fluffy the Second. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

  Leah held her arms out to her son. “We came home early because of the weather. You didn’t ruin our honeymoon. But we do need to have a talk about following the rules from now on. All these people came because we were worried about you.”

  Erin gave her nephew a little nudge. She might have been worried sick, but so had the little boy’s mother. And she needed to hold her baby. Ryan sighed. “The police are here to arrest me, aren’t they? I guess I’m going to jail.”

  “You’re not going to jail,” Leah told him as he finally entered her embrace. “And no one is getting arrested. When your aunt and uncle couldn’t find you, they thought that something bad had happened to you. So they called the police to help. That’s why you can’t go outside without permission.”

  Lance entered the room, looking exhausted. “He’s okay,” he said with a catch in his voice.

  Now that Ryan was safe, all the anger Erin had been feeling toward Lance over how he’d treated her when she’d lost Lily came bubbling up. How could he have treated her like that and then lost Ryan because he’d been too focused on work?

  Ryan might get a talking to about not running off, but Lance was going to get a talking to of his own.

  Before she could ask Lance if she could speak with him privately, Leah cleared her throat and gave Ryan a little nudge. “Go give your uncle Lance a hug. He was really scared for you.”

  Ryan ran to his uncle and threw his arms around him. Lance scooped him up and held him close.

  Erin had thought she’d forgiven Lance when he’d first come here, but as she watched him embrace Ryan, she couldn’t help feeling a new level of bitterness and resentment.

  Yes, everything had turned out all right in the end, but it made his previous treatment of her all the more inexcusable. Now that she didn’t have to focus her attention on finding Ryan, she could allow herself to feel the anger she’d been pushing away.

  When the police had been questioning them, Shane had been comforting Leah, not accusing her along with them. And even Leah, who had more to lose than Erin, hadn’t hurled insults at Erin for being irresponsible and losing her son. Yes, she’d been upset, and she’d cried, but she hadn’t once told Erin that she was a bad person because she’d entrusted Lance with Ryan, and Lance had lost him. In fact, Leah hadn’t even hurled nasty accusations at Lance, who had been at fault. Leah had even encouraged Ryan to go hug him.

  The contrast was more heartbreaking than Erin would have imagined.

  At least Leah was home early, which meant Lance could leave and finally get out of her hair forever. She didn’t even care about the house anymore. He could sell it when he was ready, but as far as she was concerned, this would be the last time she’d ever see him.

  Erin was done with any thoughts of getting back together with Lance.

  Chapter Twelve

  Having Ryan in his arms was the greatest gift Lance could have asked for. He wasn’t sure how he would have been able to live with himself if something bad had happened to the little boy. As he looked over at the tears in Erin’s eyes, all he could think about was what a horrible thing he’d done to her by blaming her for Lily’s death.

  The guilt he felt over Ryan’s disappearance had been unbearable. Even though this time it had been a happy ending, he was still chastising himself for not doing a better job of watching the boys. He’d always known that Erin had felt terrible over what had happened to Lily. Now he could understand what an unbearable weight it must have been.

  “Don’t cry, Uncle Lance,” Ryan said. “I’m sorry for making you worry. If it will make you feel better, I’ll let you have one of our kittens.”

  Lance still held on to the little boy and Ryan seemed to understand that Lance needed this because he didn’t wiggle free. He just rested his head on Lance’s shoulder. “I love you, Uncle Lance,” Ryan said.

  Lance gave Ryan a squeeze then set him down. “Once the vet says the kittens can be away from the mama, I would be honored to have one of them,” he said.

  It was a dumb thing to say, considering he’d always said he didn’t want pets, and even though Erin had often begged him for one, he’d flatly refused. But it seemed like the little boy’s offer of a kitten was his way of saying that he forgave Lance, even though Lance was still not sure he forgave himself.

  Lance turned and went into the kitchen, where all the people who’d helped se
arch for Ryan were drinking coffee and eating cookies.

  Everyone greeted him warmly, like he hadn’t just lost his nephew and created such a big mess. One of the ladies handed him a cup of coffee. “This should warm you up.”

  The deputy who’d been grilling him for the past hour came in through the back door, and he, too, was given a cup of coffee.

  He took the coffee, walked up to Lance and held out his hand. “No hard feelings. I know this is probably upsetting for you, but I was just doing my job.”

  Lance shook his hand and stared at the man. “I get it. You read stories in the news about all the sickos out there.”

  The deputy nodded. “We don’t get too many missing persons cases out here, except the hikers and backpackers who go off trail. I’m glad we found Ryan safely. He’s a good kid and you shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened. My mom tells a story about when I was little boy. I disappeared while playing hide-and-seek with my brother. I hid in a clothes hamper and covered myself with all the clothes so he wouldn’t find me. Then I fell asleep. Same situation as here. All the neighbors, all the police, and my mother were just sick. I woke up from my nap, crawled out of the hamper and was mad that my brother hadn’t found me yet.”

  Erin’s friend Janie held a plate of cookies out to them. “It’s true. You think that you’re going to be the perfect parent and do everything right. But kids have a mind of their own and things like this happen. We all just need to be grateful that Ryan is okay.”

  Easy for her to say. Her daughter hadn’t disappeared and died. The bitter thought didn’t hurt the way it used to and wasn’t charged with anger toward Erin.

  So who was he supposed to be angry at?

  Lance took a cookie and thanked Janie then left the kitchen. Ricky was standing in the entryway with Pastor Roberts.

  “So glad our little Ryan is safe,” Ricky said. “That kid is something else, I tell you.”

  “He might be fine now, but I also lost him,” Lance said. “What if things had turned out differently?”

  Pastor Roberts nodded. “It doesn’t do any good to place blame. Everyone has been telling you that no one can keep their eyes on their kids 24/7. So let go, forgive yourself, because it doesn’t do any good to dwell on the what-ifs.”