Rocky Mountain Wedding (7 page)

She glanced at the crowd milling around the park. “I should find him.” They had to start over, align themselves on the same side.

Leaving her friends on the sidewalk, she rushed back to the bandstand, pushing her way through the crowd, searching the blurred faces for him.

“Ruby.” Thomas snagged her sleeve. “How're you holding up?” He gave her a hug, and she let herself steal an extra few seconds in his comforting, fatherly arms.

“Okay,” she whispered. But she wasn't. She was aching for Sawyer, aching for Brookie, aching for their little family. “Have you seen Sawyer?” she asked Thomas, forcing herself upright. “He was just here…”

“He went off with Bryce, Isaac, and Ben. They're headed up the mountain.”

A crushing disappointment bore down on her.

“Anything I can do for you?” Thomas asked.

“No. Thank you.” No one but Sawyer could soothe that pain inside of her. He was the only one who could reassure her that they would be all right. That no matter what else happened, their love for each other would sustain them and bring them through. No one but Sawyer could steady her.

And he was already gone.

S
awyer gunned the ATV up an embankment and jerked on the brakes. Standing, he tried to get a look at the trail above. Nothing but the massive trees and boulders, the endless wilderness stretching out in all directions. No sign of Brooklyn. Not a trace. She could be anywhere in the hundreds of thousands of acres surrounding them.

A cold fury boiled inside of him, fueling him to crank the throttle.

The machine tore up the trail, jostling his body, charging him with a surge of adrenaline, but he couldn't move fast enough. Couldn't change anything. Couldn't rewind the day back into the night.

How had he slept through the sound of the front door unlocking and opening? Why hadn't he woken up? Why hadn't he made absolutely sure Brookie was okay after the shock of hearing about the baby?

He could've been more aware. Picked up on the fact that she wasn't happy. He should've. This was on him. Ruby had been right to be concerned about her, yet he'd brushed it aside.

A tree appeared in front of him. He jerked the handlebars and squeezed the brakes again, jolting the thing to a stop. Heavy breaths pressed into his ribs, echoing in his helmet.

A cold wind boiled the murky clouds above him, blowing against him or maybe through him. Though sweat glazed his skin beneath his helmet and fleece, he shivered. God, where was Brookie?

Shadows passed in front of his vision—the what-ifs building into a nightmare that threatened to take over.

“Hawkins!”

Bryce's shout shattered the images.

His cousin eased his ATV up next to him. “Damn. Slow down. You're gonna kill yourself.”

“I can't slow down.” It felt like he was already dying. Like some unbearable weight was slowly crushing his heart. “I can't stop. Not until I find her.” Because if he did—if he stopped and sat still, he wouldn't be able to climb out of the darkness.

“Hey.” Bryce reached over and planted a hearty grip on his shoulder. “
We'll
find her. It's not up to you. You don't have to do it alone.”

The reminder grated against the years of training and experience on the job. He always fixed things on his own. That was part of the job description. He solved problems, brought justice to hopeless situations. He should be enough. He should be able to do it for his own family.

With a jerk of his hand, he gunned the ATV's engine, ready to put it in drive. But before he could release the brakes, Bryce steered in front of him.

“Quit being such an ass.”

“Excuse me?” He ripped off his helmet to release the heat that built against his skin. “My daughter is
gone
.”

“No shit,” Bryce said, ripping off his own helmet and cutting the engine. “And we love her, too. So stop acting like you're the only one who cares. I know you've already lost a baby, but—”

“Oh, so now we're gonna have a counseling session on the side of a damn mountain?” Screw that. “I don't have time for this.”

“You're gonna fucking make time,” Bryce shot back. “I saw what you did to Ruby down there.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” What about what Ruby had done to him? Completely disregarding what he'd asked her to do. Putting herself and the baby in danger?

“I'm talking about shutting her out.” Bryce glared at him the way only a cousin who was more like a brother could. “I'm talking about how you tried to make her stay home while you ran out to be the hero again. I'm talking about how you just pushed her away in the park. That kind of thing doesn't work in a marriage.”

His hands fisted. He'd never hit Bryce. Well, not in anger, anyway, but he was this damn close. “She has to think about the baby,” he growled. “This is too much for her.”

“You're not gonna lose the baby,” he cousin said, backing down. “I know you're worried because of what you went through with Matthew. But you won't lose this baby, Sawyer.”

How the hell did he know that? Ruby had had problems in the past. She wasn't even supposed to be pregnant. Yesterday it had seemed like all of their dreams were coming true, and now everything was falling apart, piece by piece. And he couldn't stop it.

A crushing sorrow gripped his windpipe. “What if she does? What if she loses the baby? And what if we don't find Brookie?” That was it, what he feared the most. The one fear he couldn't face. Losing these children who already owned his heart.

“We'll find her,” his cousin said again. “But only together. All of us. And you and Ruby fighting on the same side.”

Guilt wormed through him, tunneling through the walls he'd built around his heart to protect it from this kind of pain. Bryce was right. He never should've shut her out. The memory of her broken, sad eyes came back to haunt him.

“You're about to get married,” his cousin reminded him. “You don't get to take things on your own anymore. You're a team. No matter what. Especially when life sucks.”

“I wanted to protect her.” Ruby had survived so much already. He wanted to give her a happy life, a life where she didn't have to suffer anymore.

“She doesn't need you to protect her,” Bryce said, pulling his helmet back on. “She needs you to love her.”

He did. He loved her more than he loved his own life. That's what he should've told her. Regret pounded through him as he gazed down at the town below. Where was she? “I should go back.” He had to apologize. He had to let her in.

“I'll let Ben and Isaac know we're heading down,” Bryce said before he peeled out.

Just as Sawyer went to slip his helmet back on, the radio clipped to his belt crackled.

“Hawkins? This is Officer Gonzales.”

His heart stopped. He let the helmet fall to the ground and ripped the radio off his belt. “This is Hawkins. Go ahead.”

“Need you to meet me at the gas station over on Maroon Bells Road. I think we might have a lead.”

Wind. Oh, that cold fall wind. It bit at Ruby's cheeks, chilling them until they tingled. A warm fire burned inside of her, fueling her to keep walking, to keep looking, to keep herself upright and moving. Brookie would freeze if they didn't find her soon. The temperature couldn't have been more than thirty degrees with the wind chill. And a billowing gray haze had replaced the friendly blue sky. Aspen had yet to see its first snowfall of the season, but it didn't look to be too far off.

Yanking up the zipper on her fleece, Ruby kept her head down and fought the wind's invisible force.

“You need to take a break,” Paige insisted from behind her. Her friend jogged up next to her and yanked on her arm. Yeah, like that was enough to make her stop and sit down.

“I'm not taking a break,” she said for the fifth time in an hour. And the way Paige and Avery were hounding her, it wouldn't be the last either. Yes, she knew her body had weakened considerably since they'd started out two hours ago. But she'd managed to block it all out—how Sawyer had been so cold to her earlier, the hunger, the thirst, the clouds descending on her head. She would keep blocking out everything until she saw Brookie. That's how she would make it through this. She could picture that moment when she would hold Brookie against her heart. She could smell the sweet scent of that strawberry shampoo they used on her hair…

Warmth flooded her. That's the picture she would keep in her mind, the one she would hold on to.

Leaving Avery and Paige a few steps behind, she chugged up the sidewalk to yet another house. The three of them had stood on so many front stoops—had knocked on so many front doors—that they didn't even look different anymore. As she raised her hand to knock, she vaguely noticed the red front door, the pot of silk flowers sitting on a wooden bench.

A small dog yipped from the other side of the stained wood. The dead bolt clanged, and it opened.

Ruby staggered back a step. This girl. This young girl with bouncing blond curls, glistening blue eyes, and dimples in her cheeks. It took only a second to place her. Charlotte. This was the girl in Brookie's class. Brookie had pointed her out when Ruby had volunteered a couple weeks ago. Charlotte was one who'd made things so hard on her. The one who'd planted the idea that Ruby and Sawyer wouldn't want her after they had their own child…

“My mom doesn't want to buy anything today,” the girl announced with the practiced apathy of a preteen. She went to close the door, but Ruby braced a hand against it.

“Wait,” she gasped. An ache gripped her belly and unleashed turmoil inside of her. The shaking anger shuddered through her until she couldn't hold her hands steady. Instead of befriending a girl who desperately needed someone to reach out to her, this girl had picked on her daughter…

“Who's at the door, sweetie?” A woman appeared behind Charlotte. She had the same hair, the same eyes, but a friendly way about her smile. “Can I help you?” she asked politely.

If Ruby had met her on the street, she would think this woman was kind and approachable. So different from her daughter.

“I'm Ruby Hawkins.” Or at least she was supposed to be. Tomorrow. “I'm Brooklyn's foster mom. She goes to school with your daughter Charlotte.”

“Oh,” the woman chirped. “So nice to meet you, Ruby. I'm Stephanie Taylor.” She stuck out her hand and shook Ruby's, her warm skin providing a brief reprieve from the cold. “I've heard so many wonderful things about Brooklyn. Charlotte just adores her.” She glanced down at her daughter, but Charlotte's face had paled and her eyes were as wide as Brookie's got when she was caught in a lie.

Yes. She was definitely caught, but Ruby hadn't come here to tell this woman all of the terrible things Charlotte had said. “Brookie is missing,” she choked out, keeping her gaze firmly on the girl's face. “She ran away this morning.”

“Oh my God,” Stephanie gasped. “How awful.” She stepped out onto the porch, her expression genuinely horrified. “What can we do? How can we help?”

Charlotte seemed frozen in place.

Ruby held out a flyer they'd been distributing at the park. Anger still thundered through her, churning her stomach, tightening her chest. “We're going door to door to ask if anyone has seen her. Or heard from her.”

Stephanie took the flyer and glanced at it. Tears glossed the woman's eyes. “Oh, this is awful. I'm so, so, sorry. I can't even imagine…” She sank to her knees in front of her daughter. “Do you know anything, Char? Anything at all that will help them find Brooklyn?”

Ruby saw the girl swallow. She shook her head, eyes fallen. “No. I don't know anything. I swear. I haven't seen her.”

The fear in her eyes disclosed the fact that she knew exactly why Brookie had run away.

Stephanie stood. “We'll help you search. Do you have extra flyers? We can knock on doors, too. That way you can cover more ground.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Ruby said, her throat hot with the gathering tears. How could such a wonderful woman have such a cruel child?

“I'll go get our coats.” She squeezed her daughter's shoulder as she retreated down the small hallway, obviously thinking that Charlotte's sullen silence had something to do with worry over her friend.

After her mother was out of earshot, the girl started to cry. “Brookie's really gone?” She sniffled.

“Yes.” And it didn't appear that she had to remind the girl why.

“I can't believe it,” Charlotte whispered, wiping away her tears as though she was afraid her mother would see them. “Did she…say why? Did she leave a note?”

A pain radiated low across her stomach. Ruby placed a hand there, massaging and poking, but it wouldn't go away. “She didn't leave a note,” she said. “But I know she was afraid we didn't want her.” The pain deepened into a stabbing sensation that cut across her entire abdomen. Wrapping an arm around her stomach, she hunched and tried to lessen the sudden pressure.

“I'm so sorry,” Charlotte cried softly. “I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. I shouldn't have said those things to her…”

“What things?” Stephanie asked. She rushed back to the front door. “What things did you say to Brooklyn?”

Charlotte glanced up at Ruby, but she couldn't stand straight anymore. She couldn't think past the terrible cramping that squeezed her stomach.
Oh God
. Was something wrong? She turned slightly, so she could lean her back against the brick wall.

“I told Brookie her mom and dad wouldn't want her if they had their own baby,” the girl confessed.

“Charlotte!” Stephanie gaped at her daughter. “Why on earth would you say something like that?”

“I don't know!” she wailed. “I don't know. Sometimes foster parents aren't very nice. Like in
Anne of Green Gables
. But I didn't know she would run away!”

Ruby closed her eyes, the pain taking her over. It wasn't the stress. Wasn't the emotions. It was the baby. Something was wrong…

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry,” Stephanie said, stepping closer. “I'm horrified. I can't believe Charlotte's behavior.”

Ruby tried to answer, but her heart rate had spiked and her lungs couldn't keep up.

The woman placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right? We're going to do everything we can to help you find her,” she assured her.

Ruby clamped her hand on to the woman's wrist. “My friends,” she murmured. “I need you to find my friends.” She couldn't stand anymore. It hurt so much. Slowly, she sank to the sidewalk.

“Oh no.” Stephanie sank with her. “Are you sick?”

“I'm pregnant.” A fresh batch of tears welled.
God, please let the baby be okay.
She couldn't lose this baby. Sawyer couldn't lose this baby. “My friends should be around somewhere. They were going to the neighbors' houses.”