Jane: You know I do. Garrett’s coming, too. Is that okay? He wants to be able to drive us if we need to go somewhere.
Me: Garrett’s always welcome here.
My stomach churns with anxiety, and I look up to see all three of my friends looking at me, worriedly.
“Garrett and Jane are on their way over too. Garrett wants to be here in case,... in case he needs to drive us somewhere.” My voice trails off. We’re all quiet at that thought. The fear of our friends and loved ones being hurt…or worse… I refuse to even think or speak those words.
Holly grabs my hand, knowing where my head is. Brynleigh lets out a little wounded sound, holding back a full-on sob. Ava climbs from the couch and goes to sit on the arm of the chair and wrap her arms around her.
“They’re going to be okay. They are all strong, capable men. We have a veteran with all sorts of training and experience in the worst of situations, a veterinarian with medical experience, and a construction guy. They got this.”
Brynleigh lets some tears fall but shakes her head against Ava’s shoulder before sitting up and giving us a watery smile, trying to put on her brave face. We all feel that. Fake it till you make it.
The front door swings open again, heavy footsteps followed by lighter ones.
“I’ve got the chocolate! We still got wine in the kitchen? It’s only eleven-thirty on a Saturday night, and we’ve got a DD here!” Jane waves up and down, Vanna White style to show off her hubby who just smiles and waves shyly. He’s such a sweet guy.
We all get a good chuckle out of that one. Leave it to Jane to make us all smile.
“Yeah, there’s always some wine around here. A small glass wouldn’t be the worst thing right now.”
“On it,” Jane quips, tossing two bags of assorted Halloween candy in our laps and rushing off to the kitchen with Garrett in tow.
“I call a Twix!” Ava jumps up and catches as Holly tosses one to her.
“Bryn?” I ask with a quirked brow.
“Reeses girl all the way.”
Holly tosses Ava the Reeses.
“My kind of gal!” I exclaim and snag one for myself.
“I’ll eat anything that’s chocolate.” Holly closes her eyes and fishes around for a second and smiles when she pulls out a Milky Way mini. “Sweet,” she mumbles.
“Here we go…” Jane and Garrett pass out wine glasses before strolling over to the loveseat parallel to the fireplace to snuggle up. Jane whips out a package of Twizzlers from her bag down by her feet.
“Holding out on us?!” Holly exclaims with a mischievous smile.
“You all said chocolate, but yes… I guess I’ll share.” She pulls off a few strands of Twizzlers and playfully tosses them to us on the couch. Ava holds up her hands, motioning with her fingers to “bring it on”, and Jane tosses her some too.
Brynleigh picks up her phone and tries Mark again. Nothing. I try Colin’s number. It rings once and my heart jumps in my throat but sinks when it cuts to voicemail again. Nothing happens with Trystan’s phone either.
“Nothing?” Brynleigh wonders aloud.
“Colin’s rang once, voicemail for Trystan.” I blow out a frustrated breath and sip my wine. Everyone else audibly sighs too.
“Do you know where they were going exactly?” Garrett asks as he walks over and pokes at the fire.
“They went to Vaughan Woods State Park near South Berwick. That’s all I know. And since I’m not from around here, I have zero idea where that’s at or where to even begin looking.”
“If we don’t hear from them by sunup, we’ll go. There’s only so many trail access points that lead to the river near the good fishing spots and lake, and we know what Mark’s truck looks like. You girls go get some sleep. I’ll watch the phones and keep trying them all.”
“I can’t go back to sleep,” I answer, emotion clogging my throat that he’s willing to go search with me.
“I would go sooner, but we’ll be of no use to them in the dark. We don’t know the conditions of what we’re going into. We can leave an hour before sunrise so that we can hit the ground running at daybreak if you want, but I won’t put any of you in danger. Colin, Mark, and even Trystan would kick my ass.”
“Thank you, Garrett.” My voice comes out in a whisper. Brynleigh echoes it.
