She’d have good reason too.
But he couldn’t go back now—she’d already spotted him and sent him a slight wave. At least she wasn’t ignoring him.
He swung down off his horse and grabbed the packet of letters, shooting a quick prayer to heaven.
She held out a sketch and talked to one of the men as they pointed to the side of the gulley in front of them.
Joshua cleared his throat. “Anna?”
She acknowledged him over her shoulder and then finished speaking to the other man. When she turned toward him, her shoulders lifted. “Joshua. Are you here to see the bones?” Then she pointed to the packet in his hand. Her brows drew together. “What’s that?”
He took her elbow and steered her away from the others. “I want to see the bones, because I know they are important to you and your father, but there’s something else that’s more important to me right now.”
“Oh?” Was that a glimmer of hope in her eyes?
Best to just spit it out. “I wrote these for you. Almost every week since I left. But I couldn’t get up the nerve to send them after the way we left things. So I kept writing them, week in and week out. Trying to get the words on the page to match what was in my heart. I want you to read them. Maybe ... maybe there is a chance for—”
Anna’s gaze darted behind him and she put a hand on his arm. “Isn’t that your dad?”
He turned ... and frowned. Dad never rode his horse that fast.
His father rode up but didn’t get down. “I’m sorry to intrude, but Josh, we need you right away.”
“What’s happened?” He strode over and mounted his horse.
“It’s Caleb. He’s missing.” Dad looked broken.
Joshua’s stomach felt like it dropped to his shoes. Not again.
He glanced at Anna. “I’m sorry.”
As he and his father raced away from the dig site, he prayed with everything in him that this would have a different ending than what they’d experienced with Mary.
nine
“This dark selfish world needs all the unselfishness it can get, all the love it can command.”
~Earl Douglass
THURSDAY, JUNE13
Four o’clock in the morning and there was still no sign of little Caleb. Anna rode back to her house to check on Louise and Dad. Her eyes were bleary and dry. Her mind swam with uncertainties. Her stomach twisted.
She should probably change out of her dirt- and mud-covered clothes and drink a good bit of coffee. Might help her to clear her thoughts and think of where to search next.
They couldn’t give up.
News had spread fast in their little community. And every man available had come. Many women and older kids too. No one wanted a repeat of what happened to Mary.
When Mary disappeared, they’d searched and searched to no avail. No answers ever came. The searching finally endedafter several weeks, but it had only been the beginning of the grieving.
It took years for them to deal with her disappearance. A spark of hope would come at the most unexpected moment and then plunge them all into sorrow anew.
Mary was just ... gone.
Anna shook away the dark thoughts. This time would be different. It had to be.
At home, Dad was sound asleep. Louise came and updated Anna on his progress yesterday, while Anna had been out searching. His heart was still racing, and he continued to gasp if he tried to speak or move.
