AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They all chatted about the farm for a while, with Liam giving an update on future plans, and then Thatch checked his watch. Lyric was almost half an hour late.
While his family continued to talk, he pulled out his phone and sent her a text.Hey, are you on your way?He left his phone sitting screen-up on the table, but she didn’t reply. That was weird. Not like her at all.
His mom seemed to sense his concern. “Have you heard anything from Lyric?”
“Not yet.” He checked his signal to make sure his service was good. “She probably just got held up with her last session or something.” But then why wouldn’t she have texted him to let him know?
“You all are going to love this wine.” Minnie brought out two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and started to fill their glasses.
“Hey, have you heard from Lyric?” he asked when she got to him. “She was supposed to be here half an hour ago.”
“No, I haven’t heard from her at all.” She set down his glass. “Not since this afternoon when she was here anyway. But she got sick.”
“What?” He stood. “What do you mean she got sick?”
“One minute she was sitting at the bar chatting, and the next she was pale and not feeling well.” Minnie moved on to pour the wine into his mom’s glass. “I almost called you to come and pick her up, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“Oh, no.” His mother clucked. “I’m sorry to hear she’s not feeling well. Thatch, you should probably check on her.”
“Doris and I helped her outside, and then she all but ran away from us,” Minnie explained. “I think she was embarrassed, poor girl.”
Thatch glanced at his phone again. Somethinghadseemed a little off when she’d visited him at the arena earlier. “Did she say what was wrong?”
“It was her stomach, I think.” The woman continued to move around the table. “When we got her outside, she said she felt better.”
“Thanks. I’ll try calling her.” He stepped away from the table and found a quiet corner. After six rings, hervoicemail picked up. “Hey. Minnie said you weren’t feeling well. I’m at dinner, but I can come over if you need me to. Just call me and let me know you’re okay.”
He hung up right as Aiden and Kyra made their way to the table. Everyone erupted into chaos, greeting them as though they really were members of their family. Which his comrades were, based on the care packages his mom had always sent to Silas and Aiden and Jace too.
Before they could sit back down, Thatch snagged Kyra. “Have you talked to Lyric? She’s not here yet, and Minnie said she was feeling sick earlier.”
“No.” She rifled through her purse and pulled out her phone. “She hasn’t texted me or anything, but that’s weird.” Kyra swiped around her phone’s screen. “There are notifications from our computer system that say she canceled the two yoga sessions she was supposed to teach this afternoon.”
Damn it. Something was wrong. He knew it. Lyric wasn’t like this. She wouldn’t ignore him when they had plans. “I think I’ll drive to her house and check on her.”
“I’ll come with.” His friend jammed her phone back into her purse. “If she’s really not feeling well, maybe I can help.”
“That’d be great.” He offered a quick explanation to his family, and then he and Kyra took off, racing for his truck.
“Maybe she’s taking a nap,” the woman suggested when they were buckled in. “She could’ve easily overslept, especially if she’s not feeling well.”
“That’s true.” But his gut didn’t settle. Lyric knew how important this dinner was to him. She knew he would bewaiting for her. She would’ve texted him to cancel if she was sick.
“I’ll call her too. See if I can wake her up.” Kyra brought the phone to her ear. “Hey, just wanted to check on you. It sounds like you might be sick or something? Thatch and I are headed over to check on you. Be there in a minute.” She lowered the phone with a worried frown. “Have you seen her today? Did she look okay to you?”
“I only saw her for a few minutes when she stopped by Kirby’s.” He thought back. “She did seem a little subdued, I guess. I mean, not her normal happy self.” So maybe she really had gotten sick. He parked the truck in front of her house and noticed her empty driveway. “Her car’s not here.”
Kyra got out and checked the front door. “It’s locked,” she said when she came back.
“She has to be at the clinic then. Right?” Where else would she have gone?
“We can check.” Kyra climbed back into the truck. “I’m sure everything’s all right.” Her tone sounded as hollow as he felt.
“This isn’t like her.” He’d known Lyric for a few years, and she’d always been one of the most dependable people he’d ever met. “She wouldn’t ignore us. Not unless something bad happened.” Not unless… “You don’t think Luke came looking for her, do you?” The man must be in town by now. And he easily could’ve found out where she lived.
“God, I hope not.” Kyra checked her phone again and then brought it to her ear. “Hey, Lyric. We’re really worried about you. We just stopped by your house and are headed to the clinic. Can you please call us as soon as youget this message?” She continued to hold the phone in her hand as though waiting for it to ring.
What could he do? Helplessness gouged him. He didn’t know where she was. Had her ex taken her somewhere? He tried to shut out the nightmare scenarios playing in his brain.
