Page 73 of Surprised By Love

I shake my head rapidly. “No.” I swipe at a tear falling down my cheek. “Amelia is missing. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of and I can’t find her.”

“Oh, dear,” she says, placing her hand on her heart. “We will make some calls and keep our eyes open for her.”

I nod. “Thank you.” I turn and run down their walkway and rush to the neighbours on the other side.

I bang on the door. No answer. I pound on it as hard as I can. My heart is racing as I wait for someone to answer. When no one does, I take off and check the yard one more time before returning inside.

Josh

I hang up and take a deep breath, trying not to worry as my mind plays over possibilities in my head. She’s probably at the neighbours or she’s hiding somewhere in a closet or something playing a game of hide and seek without Sam knowing.

“Everything alright?” Ma asks, standing in the kitchen doorway.

“No, it was Sam. She can’t find Amelia,” I say, my voice uneven. Things like this never happen here. I can’t imagine what Sam’s feeling right now. If Emily or Jake ever went missing, I’d be out of my mind. I need to get to her right away.

“Oh my God!” Maureen gasps, raising her hand to her mouth.

“I’m going to take Max over and see what I can find out. Can you stay here with the kids and call Dad and see if he can meet me at the Miller house? We are going to need all the people we can. I’ll give Mac and Ethan a call on my way. I’ll call or text when I know what’s going on. We might have to get a search party in place.”

“Of course, dear. Let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“I will, ma, thanks,” I nod.

I turn to the foyer, grabbing my keys off the key rack on the wall.

“Max! Let’s go!” I say, opening the door.

“We want to come to look for Amelia,” Emily says.

I jump, turning my head to the side to see Emily and Jake sitting on the stairs.

I walk over to the railing. “Sorry sweetie, you guys need to stay here with Grammy, in case Amelia shows up here. Okay?” I look over at my mom and she nods.

Emily and Jake stand up and run down the stairs to me. They each grab a leg and hug me. I rustle their hair and bend over, giving them each a kiss on the top of their little heads.

“I’ll let Grammy know as soon as I know anything. And if Amelia shows up here, you make sure you tell Grammy to call me,” I say, looking at Emily.

“Okay. Find Amelia, Daddy,” she says with a shaky breath. Her lower lip puckers out and I see the tears forming in my strong little girl’s eyes. It breaks my heart. She is so close to Amelia. If anything happened to her, I don’t know how Emily will deal.

“I will, sweetie.” I give her a hug, squeezing tight. “Love you,” I say, kissing her on the cheek and turning towards the door where Max is sitting there waiting.

I bolt out the door and down the stairs, Max right behind me. Once I’m settled in the car, I give Mac a call first. “Hey Mac,” I say the second he answers. “Amelia’s missing. I’m on my way to the Miller house.” I go on and explain to him what happened. “Can you round up a few of the guys, some supplies, and meet me there? We need to set up a search.”

“Sure thing. Is there anything else you need? What about Sam? Anything she needs?”

“We need to get Amelia home safe. See you in a few.” I end the call and call my brother the Fire chief as I drive down Ann street. “Hey Bro, what’s up?” Ethan answers after the first ring.

“Ethan. Amelia’s missing. Mac and I are on our way over to Sam’s. Get the guys and meet us there,” I say. My chest tightens as I see the house coming into view.

I pull into Vicki’s driveway and jump out of the car and run up the steps, Max following behind. The front door to the Miller house is ajar. Sam must have left it open in case Amelia comes back. Max pushes through the door and runs into the house.

I can hear Sam crying, and it breaks my heart. Following Max into the living room, I find Sam sitting on the window seat, crying into her hands. I kneel on one knee in front of her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “She’s not back yet?”

“No,” Sam says, lifting her head to look at me, her eyes red, swollen and full of tears. “I don’t know where she could have gone.” Sam hiccups through a sob. Her breathing is rapid.

“Sam, you need to breathe. Take a few deep breaths for me,” I say, taking Sam’s hands in mine and breathing along with her. “Good. Now tell me exactly what happened.”

Sam explains everything to me in between sobs. I pull her towards me and hug her. I can tell her breathing is regulating. “That’s better, sweetie,” I say, standing up and grabbing a few tissues from the box on the table, passing them to her. “Tell me where you’ve looked. Have you asked your neighbours if they heard or saw anything?”

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