Page 90 of View With Your Heart

“Gavin let Gee go out in the boat with Holden.” He breathes heavily as he speaks.

“Okay.” Not the best plan, but not the worst. “So where are the boys? Can Gavin wave them in?”

“That’s just it. They’re nowhere in sight.”

I take a deep breath, but my heart rate accelerates. “Okay, what about calling them?” Gee’s been told never to go without his phone. He didn’t have one until we moved here. It’s just a way of life for young kids with working moms, and I need to be able to get in touch with him or him with me.

“I’ve tried like six times. He isn’t answering.”

“Where’s Gavin?” I grit. I don’t want to lose it, but I’m starting to lose it.

“He called Tom so they could take out his boat to search for the boys.”

“Okay,” I say, slipping a hand into my hair and holding it back. “Okay, this is good.”

“You know that boat is old,” Theo reminds me. It’s one of the first things he said when he arrived at my house this summer, warning me that the boat needed to be sealed or patched or just replaced. It’s not something I could afford. Even a decent used one costs too much, and we don’t use the thing that often anyway.

“I know, Theo.”

“The motor is sketchy.” Theo warned me about the motor and how its tank was too small for the size of the boat, thus using up the gas too quickly.

“Not helping, Theo,” I mutter, gathering my bag. Henry’s in the back room, and I peer up at him, motioning to the phone. “I need to go,” I mouth. “I’m going to leave now. How long have the boys been gone?”

“Gavin doesn’t know.”

“What do you mean Gavin doesn’t know?”

“When I got home, he was on the phone. He said he’d been on the phone most of the morning, and he lost track of time.”

So much for spending the day with his son. “I’m on my way,” I say before hanging up.

“Everything okay?” Jenna asks, leaning against the opening to the back.

“No. Gavin wasn’t paying attention, and Gee and Holden went out in our old fishing boat. Theo says Gavin doesn’t know how long they’ve been gone, and they aren’t within sight of the house.” My heart beats faster as I try not to consider all that could go wrong.

“They’ll be okay,” Jenna reassures me, reaching out to pull me in for a quick hug. I nod but can’t get on board with her encouraging words. The lake is attached to three other lakes and two rivers. The middle of one lake is almost as deep as Lake Michigan, and some parts of the lake have seaweed traps and springs that could easily pull a person under.

As I try not to panic, I tremble while speeding to my home. Theo said Tom put in a call to the local sheriff’s department as it’s two kids on the lake. He didn’t say lost, and I’m hoping they aren’t lost. I’m praying Gee just pulled one over on Gavin, which wasn’t right, and wasn’t fair, but why wasn’t Gavin paying more attention?

When I pull into the drive, Theo is pacing the dock, and I race down to him. I pull him into my arms, squeezing him tight before releasing him.

“Anything?”

“Nothing.”

I try to call Gavin, but no one answers. I don’t want to make assumptions, so I’m simply hoping he didn’t hear the phone, not that he’s ignoring me because he knows I’ll be upset.

I call Karyn next. I have her number because Holden and Gee are friends. She’s just gotten home from work and doesn’t know any more than me.

“I’m coming down,” she says, her voice filled with concern like mine, and I return to pacing the dock.

Eventually, a pontoon boat looks as if it’s headed in our direction. As the craft draws closer, I count five heads. Two boys. Three men. Jack Scott is with them.

“Oh, thank God.” I almost fall to my knees.

“Is that them?” I hadn’t heard Karyn approach, but her running feet shake the metal dock.

“Yes.” I’m so happy I could almost cry, and the emotion clashes with my previous anxiety. Tom pulls up next to the dock, and Theo takes the rope Tom tosses him to tie them off. The boys are each wrapped in towels over their life jackets.