Page 76 of Falling Slowly
She cocked her head. “Well, Cozy Creek’s a small place. And I don’t know any locals who’d venture into the forest this time of year with nothing on their back.” She glanced at the small backpack I was hugging.
“The backpack! Charlie, we have to go back and get it.”
“No, we don’t.” He shot me a stern look. “We need to get you to the doctor.” He turned back to Anna. “We had to leave my backpack behind when Bess got injured. I couldn’t carry both.”
He sounded disappointed with himself, like he’d supposed to.Oh, Charlie.The sigh floated out of my chest like a silent prayer. He so desperately wanted to do the right thing, to fix everything.
“I can send someone out to pick it up if you give me some coordinates.” Anna nodded at the door.
I was about to protest, but Charlie jumped at the chance. “It’s by the creek, close to the small waterfall.”
“I think I know that one. We can get it for you. Where are you two staying? Cozy Creek? I’d take you back myself, but I’ve got a pie in the oven and two more I’m baking for the Fall Festival?—.”
“That’s okay.” Charlie waved his hand, staring at his charging phone. “If I can wake up my phone, I’m sure we can organize a ride.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll call one of my boys to give you a ride. Nash should be done with the horses now. Remind me to give you Jimmy’s number, too, if you need a ride later. Tell him I sent you. He doesn’t drive tourists.” She pulled a cell phone out of her apron pocket and left the room to make the call.
Chapter Thirty-One
Charlie
Istared at my phone, waiting for the screen to light up. When it did, I picked it up immediately.
“Did it turn on?” Bess craned her neck in my direction. “Can I call my mom? If she’s driving here, I need to tell her where we are.”
“I think it’s best I call Rhonda first.”
“Why?”
Good thing she was confined to the armchair. Because I had a sneaking suspicion, I needed to confirm. “Rhonda is the only person we’ve had any direct contact with.”
“What do you mean? She said she told my mom.”
I nodded. “I’ll double check.”
Gran was a wild card. The phone rang twice before she picked up. “Charlie! Are you out of the woods yet?”
“Yes, we made it to a farmhouse outside of town. Getting a ride back from here.”
“So, everything’s alright? I can call off the search party?”
“You sent a search party?”
“A small one. I asked your father’s PI to trace the text message to the nearest cell tower, and we mapped out your likely location based on that and the coordinates of the retreat. Your father’s old buddy is canvassing the area in a helicopter. ”
“Who? John? Yeah, let him know.” I glanced at Bess who was listening to our call, leaning forward. “Now, you called Bess’s mom, right?”
“Of course!” There was a telling pause. “I told her you were camping with the group and out of cell phone range. It was late last night, after dark. I thought, why worry her unnecessarily? What can she do? She doesn’t have a helicopter.”
I felt like shouting ‘I knew it!’ but kept my voice calm. “That’s okay. We’ll handle it from here.”
Gran harrumphed at my clipped tone. “Think about it, Charlie. You’ve been through quite an ordeal. I thought you two could use some time alone before the family arrives.”
She was not wrong, and, irrationally, that made me even angrier. I ended the call and approached Bess. “I’m sorry. She told your mom we were camping. So, not the whole truth.”
“But, she said.” She looked up at me in disbelief.
“Welcome to my family and a whole new level of puppet mastery. If Gran thinks something is best for you, she’ll do it.”
