Page 34 of Under an Oklahoma Sky

One lamp in the living room was on, giving him enough light to see where he was going. But when he reached the foyer, he hesitated, having second thoughts. Adam had watched TV with them earlier, but after they went to bed, he’d returned to his cottage, only about fifty feet from the main house.

Maybe I should get him.

He almost turned around, then changed his mind. He was old enough to check on his mom by himself, even though he couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly shaking.

Flipping the two locks on the door, he pulled it open and almost tripped over Benji. The dog was lying on the welcome mat.

Or was he sleeping?

“Benji?” He squatted and stroked the animal’s furry side. The dog was breathing but didn’t wake up. Matthew shook him a little as his fear grew. “Benji, wake up.”

When there was still no response, he stood and stepped over him, his eyes on the truck in the driveway.

There was no sign of his mom.

Something was wrong… something was very wrong.

He didn’t want to go looking for her by himself anymore. He needed Adam.

Spinning around, he rushed through the house and out the back door. Ignoring the pebbles and dirt digging into his bare feet, he sprinted toward the cottage and the man he hoped would tell him everything was all right—that it was just a nightmare he’d wake up from.

Please, let everything be all right!

Adam’s eyes grew heavy as the words on the page blurred together. A yawn escaped him as he marked his place in the book he was reading. He wished he could stay awake since he’d told Sage she could join him in bed when she got home, but it was getting late, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. He was glad she was out having fun with her friends.

Setting the book on the nightstand, he reached up to shut off the light but froze when someone pounded hard on his door.

“Adam! Adam! Help!”

Throwing the covers off at Matthew’s frantic voice, he rushed to the door in nothing but his shorts and yanked it open. Barefoot, the young boy was almost in tears, and Adam’s gut clenched. “What’s wrong?”

“I–I don’t know. Benji won’t—won’t wake up, and M-Mom⁠—”

Fear shot through Adam as he grabbed Matthew’s shoulders, yet he tried to keep his voice calm. “What about your mom?”

“I–I don’t know,” he repeated. “Her tr-truck is in the drive-driveway, b-but I don’t think s-she’s in it, and Benji won’t wake up on the porch.”

Oh God!

Running back to his bedroom, he threw on the clothes he’d taken off earlier and shoved his feet into his work boots without socks, not bothering to tie the loose laces. Returning to Matthew, he followed the boy to the main house, through the kitchen, and into the foyer. The front door was still open, and Benji was on his side, his breathing slow but noticeable.

Unable to make sense of what had happened to the dog, Adam stepped over him and hurried toward the truck, its headlights still burning bright. “Sage?”

Rounding the hood, he found the driver’s door wide open and Sage nowhere in sight. Her purse lay on the ground, its contents scattered around it.

His fear spiraled into terror.

He spun around, searching the darkness, even though every instinct told him she was gone. “Sage!”

Only the chirping of crickets answered his desperate shout.

His gaze dropped to the ground, and he spotted Sage’s cell phone and truck keys among the scattered items. Snatching them up, he dialed 9-1-1 on her phone as he ran back inside past Matthew, who looked confused and was struggling not to cry. Adam would comfort the boy in a minute, but first, he needed help.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

At least the male dispatcher didn't sound as bored as the one from the day Adam was shot at.

“This is Adam Westfield at Heaven’s Pastures Ranch.” Keeping a calm he didn’t feel, he picked up the cordless phone from the living room and handed it to Matthew. “Call Evan and tell him to hurry over here.”