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Panic hit Ben in the gut like a sledgehammer. “No. She told me she was going to Springbank this morning.”
“She did. And when she got back, she told me to take her car to get groceries for our place because it was going to storm. Where is Annabelle?”
Ben jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “She’s asleep. Jasmine was here watching her when I got home.”
Lane frowned. “And she didn’t mention to you mom was back?”
Ben shook his head, “She was in a hurry, said something about needing to feed the animals.”
Desi spoke up then, “I saw Abbi walking on my way to the inn to get my things after meeting with Ava.”
A look of fear crossed Ben’s face. “Did she say where she was going??
Desi shook her head. “She was heading towards the village center and said she better get a move on because she had a six mile walk ahead of her.”
“Six miles?!” Ben yelled. “What in bloody hell is that woman thinking?” Walking to the fridge he pulled the freezer door open and took out a bottle of scotch. He splashed some into a dirty glass on the counter and chugged it back.
“Look, I’m sure she’s fine,” Lane said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. “Did you call Ava or Kim?”
Ben wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “No,” he shook his head. “I tried calling Abbi five times and each time it went to her voicemail,” he said, refilling the glass.
Lane walked over to him and took the glass out of his hand. Dumping it and the bottle down the sink, he looked at Ben. “This isn’t the time to be getting drunk.” Lane pointed to the row of stools at the breakfast counter. “Sit your ass down and call Kim. I’ll call Ava.”
“Right. You’re right. I’ll call Kim.” He sat on the stool and put his head in his hand. “Destiny,” he said.
She walked to his side. “Yes?”
He held out his phone to her. “Can you call Kim, please. I need to check on Annabelle.”
“Sure, I can do that,” she said, taking it from him. She watched Ben leave the room and enter the hallway, then looked down at the phone in her hands. He must have already dialed Kim’s number because she could hear her talking. Putting it to her ear, she said “Kim, it’s Destiny. Have you seen Abbi at all today? No? Has Dean by chance?”
Desi glanced at Lane and saw that he too was looking worried as he stared at her while talking to Ava. She mouthed the words, “Has she seen her?” When he shook his head no, Desi took a deep breath and interrupted Kim. “Um you and Dean better come to Ben and Abbi’s... Kim, please just come now.” With that she disconnected the call. She could picture Kim rushing out the door with Dean hot on her heels.
“They should be here shortly,” she said, placing Ben’s phone on the counter.
“Ava and Mark are coming too.”
Desi nodded. “Should we call Mack and see if she stopped in there?”
“I can try, but I’d think he would have mentioned it when we were there.” Lane put the phone to his ear just as the back door banged open. As Mark softly closed the door, Ava came right over to Desi and asked, “What time did you leave the spa this morning?”
“Um, it was around 11:00 I think.”
“Okay.” Ava wrung her hands. She then turned to Lane. “Did you call Luke yet?”
Lane came forward and took his sister by the arms. “Not yet. I didn’t want to worry him. The last thing we need is for him to come racing up here.”
“I talked to him earlier today, Ava,” Mark said. “He finally got done testing that new game and he’ll be on his way tomorrow morning.”
Desi sent Mark a quizzical look.
“He’s a video game tester,” he explained.
“Oh right,” Desi nodded. “I think Kim mentioned that.” She turned and spied the coffee machine. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Does anyone mind if I make a pot of coffee?”
“Go ahead,” Lane said. “I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”
Lane got the coffee tin out of the cupboard and filled the basket with grounds, while Desi dumped the remains of the morning coffee down the drain. She rinsed the pot and was refilling it with cold water when Ben came from the hallway, looking pale and shaken.
