Free Love Redeemed by Kelly Irvin Page A

to the marina…” He let the sentence float away, waiting for her response. “Were you in charge of the kinner?”
    â€œI was. I was, Daed. It’s my fault.” Hannah tore across the open space and hurled herself into Daed’s arms. He caught her against his chest with an ooph as if he hadn’t seen her coming. Her tears stained his shirt a darker blue. “I had to change Sarah’s diaper and I looked away for a minute, for only a second and then I couldn’t find her—”
    â€œHush, Hannah, hush.” Daed’s arms tightened around the girl, but his gaze remained on Phoebe’s face. “Is that what happened?”
    â€œJah.” Phoebe chewed the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. “I mean, I didn’t exactly see what happened.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œMichael came over—”
    A look of anger, pure and white-hot, whipped across Daed’s face. Her breath strangled in her throat and Phoebe took an involuntary step back, hands clasped to her cheeks and neck.
    â€œMichael was here? He stayed at camp this morning. Said he wanted to do some hiking.” Tobias, who’d been in the middle seat of the van, tromped over to stand next to Silas. “What was my boy doing here?”
    â€œHe came to…he wanted…”
    Tobias’s face shuttered. “Where is he?”
    â€œLooking for Lydia.”
    â€œI hate to interrupt, folks, but the closest visitor’s center is several miles from here.” Mr. Lewis held up a cell phone. “I tried to call, but Ican’t get a signal. We’ll need to drive up there and contact the Corps of Engineers. They’ll work with the Park Service and the sheriff’s department to put together a search.”
    The anger dissipated in Daed’s face, leaving it white-gray with blotches of red on his cheeks. He rubbed Hannah’s back for a second and then peeled her arms from around his neck. “Go help Molly and Rachel with the kinner.”
    Hannah hiccupped a sob. “I’m sorry, Daed.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault. Go on, the girls need your help. Phoebe, go with your sister.”
    â€œDaed, I’m sorry—”
    â€œGo.” He turned his back on Phoebe. “Luke, will you go with Brian to the visitor’s center? Tobias, do you have the map we were looking at last night? We need to divide up the area. Everybody goes out in pairs. I don’t want anyone else getting lost. Her legs are too short to have taken her very far. We’ll have her back before the Corps folks can get out here.”
    Back in no time. He sounded so sure of it. Daed was here. He’d find Lydia. He’d find her and all would be well. All would be forgiven.
    Phoebe shuffled backwards, not wanting to take her gaze from him. He would fix this. He could fix anything. He might be mad at her now, but when he found Lydia, it would be fine. He’d forgive her. He always did.
    Before she could make it to the picnic tables, Mr. Chester’s green van rumbled into sight and pulled in next to Mr. Lewis’s. A sledgehammer beat in Phoebe’s chest. It banged against her ribs in a painful bam-bam-bam so hard she thought it might splinter the bones.
    Mudder hopped out first. Her expression puzzled, she paused, the door still open. “Silas? Why did you come back so soon? Did you get any fish? I was planning a fish fry—”
    â€œRachel came to get us. We came back to look for Lydia.” He didn’t sugarcoat the news. “She wandered off.”
    Mudder took a step forward. The plastic grocery bag in her hand dropped to the ground and a loaf of sandwich bread spilled out. “Wandered off?”
    Leaving Hannah frozen in her tracks, Phoebe rushed to her mudder.“It’s okay. Michael is looking for her. He’s been out there at least half an hour. He’ll find her. She couldn’t have gone