Gil appeared around the side of the house. “What’s wrong?”
She bit back scolding words. “Pa’s missing.” When Gil didn’t offer to look for the man, she added, “I have to find him. I need Kat to watch Poppy.” She yelled again.
Kat sauntered around the side of the barn. “Ya hollered?”
“That girl needs something. I ain’t saying what, but my ma would’ve used a strap on her,” Gil muttered.
“Kat, have you seen your pa?”
“Last I saw, he was right there.” She pointed to the spot where Amelia had last seen him.
“Did you see him wander away?”
“Nope. I was busy.”
Amelia did her best to push back her impatience at the girl, but she was as much at fault as Kat. She should have been more attentive, especially when she knew Gil couldn’t be counted on.
“I’m going to look for him. I need you to watch Poppy. Don’t let her wander away.” Amelia shuddered at the idea of Poppy being lost. “Can you do that for me?” She wanted to add, “and no playing cowboy,” but that was best left unsaid.
“Sure.”
“I’ll watch them.” Gil’s words offered no assurance. She had to trust Kat. And God.
Remembering the dryness of her throat yesterday, she filled a canteen and hung it over her shoulder. “Do you have any idea where I should look?”
Kat spared her a glance. “Wish I did, but I don’t.”
She stepped to the dusty yard, hoping to see Pa sitting nearby, lost in his thoughts. Nothing. She searched for clues in the grass as to which way he had gone, but grass was so dry and worn that it provided no information. If she were Pa, wherewould she go? It was impossible to guess because Pa didn’t think along normal lines.
Following her heart, she went past the bunkhouse. That brought a snort. Following her heart had landed her right here in the West, unexpected, unwelcome, and futureless. She looked up at the mountains—so beautiful and strong draped in shawls of variegated greens and blues.
The scenery almost made her situation worthwhile.
She reached the trees where she’d found Pa the day before, but a thorough search convinced her he wasn’t there, which meant retracing her steps as far as the hill and veering to the right to another grove of trees. Again, she didn’t find him.
Standing in the open enabled her to see all around. There was nothing but weary grass, blue sky, and majestic mountains. She lifted her face to the sky. “God, You are all-seeing. Guide me to Pa.”
She followed the valley for a time. Would he have come this far? How was she to guess where or how far he’d go? She climbed the hill. The sun was high overhead. She was hot and hungry, but she would not stop until she found him.
Maybe he’d gone the other direction entirely. She retraced her steps, past the outbuildings and to the house, stopping long enough to grab some food for both herself and Pa.
“Kat, are you all right to keep looking after Poppy? I’m sorry to leave her with you.”
“I’d sooner look after her than look for Pa.”
“Thank you. She should have a nap after she’s eaten.” Amelia was on her way out the door, eating a sandwich as she walked.
Two hours later, she still hadn’t located the man. She fell to her knees, tears wetting her face.Please, God, help me find him.
She rested for a few minutes, then resumed the search. After a bit, she spied some rough terrain. A person could break a leg trying to get through the maze of rocks and bulges of ground.
She stepped around a boulder. “Pa,” she whispered. He sat on a clump of grass, his back to a rock, his gaze fixed on the distance. She approached slowly, conscious of the fact that she might frighten him. Skirting another boulder, she circled around and sat facing him.
He looked in her direction but didn’t register her presence.
How long had he been this way? Should she call him back to the present?
As she considered what to do, she uncorked the canteen and quenched her thirst. Poor Pa must be terribly thirsty.
