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Damn, she’d run out without a coat or hat or gloves. She could freeze.
He shined the light down the hill and into the woods in the distance. In spite of the frigid temperature, sweat beaded on his neck and trickled down his back. Even if she didn’t freeze, she might get lost in the forest or fall and get hurt.
If he found her, his wife would punish her for running away.
Desperation ate at him. He panned the grassy land below the secluded house his wife had bought and saw the trees lined up for picking. All the good ones were gone now, the farm shop having shut down, leaving the area even more isolated. His wife had been careful not to let the girls outside while people combed the farm choosing and cutting down their own tree.
Seeing the families there, laughing, the kids running between the rows of pines, spruces and firs, had tormented him and made his wife cling to the girls even more. He’d been shocked at the lengths she’d resorted to in order to bring them here. When he’d seen the news last year about Kaylee’s mother’s suicide, he couldn’t help wondering…
The sound of the wind howling made him step up his pace and he hurried down the hill, shining the light at the edge of the woods. For several minutes, he searched the trees, pausing to listen for a child crying.
“Ava, it’s cold out here. Please let me take you back where it’s warm!” he shouted.
Fear bolted through him as he trudged several feet and searched behind trees and stumps and in the bushes. “Ava!”
But his voice sounded muffled in the wind, and she was so tiny that if she did call out, he probably wouldn’t hear her.
He spent the next half hour hacking at weeds and drudging through the murky vines. Turning in a wide arc, he looked back at the tree farm again, then decided to search there. Maybe Ava saw the hut and ran to it to escape the rain.
His boots skidded as he hurried along the edge of the woods, then down the hill, the cold biting through his coat. “Ava!”
The rain intensified, making visibility difficult, but he pushed on until he reached the small hut. The farm shop had shut down early this year because the owner had sold out, and it was deserted. The saplings which weren’t mature enough for cutting swayed in the harsh wind gusts.
“Ava?” He shined the light across the ground and the sleigh where families enjoyed taking holiday pictures, then walked toward the hut. Hay had been stacked inside, and puddles of water circled the ground. He approached slowly, peering around the hut, then finally spotted Ava curled into a ball on the floor against the hay, her body trembling violently.
One Hundred Six
Kaylee hugged her arms around herself as she stared out the window of the upstairs bedroom. After Ava had run off, Mommy had locked her in the room and told her it was her job to help Ava learn to be happy here.
She remembered how mad she’d been when the lady first brought her here too.
“You’re mean, I want to go home,” Kaylee yelled.
“This is your home now. Your mommy is dead,” the lady said. “She’s never coming back.”
“No, you’re lying,” Kaylee shouted. “She can’t be dead.”
“She is.” Then the lady showed her a newspaper picture of Mommy’s grave.
She stared at it, crying. “That’s all wrong. Mommy hated pink carnations. Aunt Prissy would never put them there.”
“Well, somebody did,” the lady said, her tone mad.
“Where’s my aunt Prissy?” Kaylee whispered. “I want to go live with her.”
“She doesn’t want you. Now be quiet.” Then the lady took her arm and dragged her to a room where it was dark and locked her inside. “You can come out when you calm down and can be nice.”
She was terrified as she huddled in the dark. She thought Aunt Prissy loved her. They had fun together making up silly songs and wearing funny hats. Aunt Prissy made funny face pancakes with chocolate chips and reindeer sandwiches at Christmas time. And when she babysat her, Aunt Prissy let her stay up late to watch movies.
Did she really not want her?
She pulled the blanket up to her chin with a shiver. She was terrified now, too. If they found Ava, the lady would be mad. No telling what she’d do to her. She’d already moved Becky into the other room. Kaylee hadn’t seen her in days.
Secretly, part of her wanted Ava to get away.
But then she’d be alone again, and she didn’t like being alone here. The trees and woods out there looked scary.
But so did her new Mommy.
