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Dani had suffered through what seemed a thousand questions from the fire chief and the police, because the fire department suspected that the fire had been set intentionally.
“I was up at Caleb Johnson’s when I heard the explosion,” Dani said for the fifth time to yet another deputy from the sheriffs department. Bone weary and worried sick, she was tired of the questions and unspoken accusations. “You can ask him or Chase McEnroe. He was with me at the time.”
“Where’s he?”
“Looking for my boy.”
“The boy you reported missing?”
“Yes.” She’d gone over it a hundred times. “I could tell that Cody had been home; his shoes and backpack that he’d taken to school, along with a note I’d left him, were in his room.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?”
“Please do,” she agreed, closing her eyes and twisting her neck to relieve the strain of her shoulder muscles. “Just, please, find my son.”
“You haven’t seen him since the fire?”
“I haven’t seen him since this morning!” Dani followed the young deputy into the house. It had been saved, but reeked of drenched soot. The walls were water stained from the efforts of the firemen to save the house and several windows had been broken from the water pressure of the gigantic hoses.
Fortunately, the Anders brothers and several of the neighbors had tended to the animals for the night and once the young deputy left, promising to return in the morning, Dani was left alone with Marcella to wait for news of Cody and Chase.
“Where do you think Chase is?” she asked, running her fingers through her hair.
“Like I said before, he’s lookin’ for the boy.”
Restless, Dani paced the Iiving room, ignoring the fact that the floor was still wet. “Why don’t you go home now?” Dani asked, offering Marcella a smile as she looked around the rooms. “There’s nothing anyone can do tonight and I’m fine. Really.”
“Not until Chase gets back,” Marcella said, plopping herself onto the sofa and picking up a magazine.
“It’s nearly ten—”
“And everyone in my family is old enough to take care of himself! The boys know where I am if they need me.” She read one headline in Cody’s fishing magazine and then tossed the slick-covered periodical on the table. “How about if I make you a sandwich or a hot bowl of soup?”
“I don’t think so; but if you’re hungry—”
“Nonsense! You look like you haven’t eaten for days. No wonder you fainted upstairs what with all the excitement around here!” Against Dani’s wishes, Marcella made herself right at home in Dani’s kitchen, donned an apron and rummaged around in Dani’s cupboards until she finally found a pan and a can of soup. In less than ten minutes, she had Dani at the table, drinking warm broth, and was listening attentively while Dani explained everything that had happened over the last few weeks.
“My Lord!” Marcella exclaimed. “No wonder you’re upset with Caleb. And now he turns out to be Chase’s father!” She tapped her fingers on the rim of her coffee cup. “You know, if you would have told a few people around town, maybe we all wouldn’t have been so gung-ho on this Summer Ridge project.”
“I couldn’t say anything,” Dani said. “I really didn’t have any proof until Chase found the drum of dioxin and located Larry Cross. Besides it all would have sounded like sour grapes.” She looked at the clock again. Eleven-thirty. Still no sign of Chase or Cody.
“Why don’t you go upstairs and get cleaned up?” Marcella suggested. “I’ll tidy up the kitchen—”
“Please, don’t bother.”
“Go on. I can wait for Chase just as well as you can. And if the phone rings, I’ll catch it. Now, go on, scoot!”
Dani was too tired to argue. She settled into the hot tub and listened to the sound of Marcella cleaning the dishes. Smiling sadly to herself she remembered years ago, when she’d been a teenager, how she’d liked to listen to the comforting sound of her mother rattling around in the kitchen . . . But that was long before Cody had been born. Now he was missing.
She washed her hair and scrubbed the grime from her body before wrapping her hair in a bath towel and slipping into her robe. Still rubbing her hair with the towel, she walked down the stairs and stopped midway when she heard Runt’s familiar bark at the back door. Dani’s heart leaped to her throat. “Cody!” she shouted.
Racing down the remaining stairs and to the back door, she let the dog inside and saw Cody and Chase trudging up the backyard. Without another thought, Dani flew down the steps, her long wet hair streaming behind her, tears of relief flowing from her eyes.
Cody threw himself into her arms and clung for dear life. “Mom,” he choked out. “Please don’t be mad at me!”
“Mad? For what?”
“For takin’ off from school and hiding,” he said.
