Free Answering to Him (Old-Fashioned Husband) by Dinah McLeod Page A

her vacation too, after all. If she wanted to spend it sleeping, then that was up to her.
    “Hey, honey?” I called, entering the tent. “I got two—” I halted in my tracks, looking around. She wasn’t in the tent, nor was our gear unpacked. “Alicia?” I lifted the flap and walked out, looking around. Our car was still sitting on the pavement a few yards away, so it wasn’t that. Maybe she’d gone for a walk? Of course, I didn’t see a note, and she hadn’t called me. I pulled my phone out of my breast pocket just to be sure—maybe it was on silent. But no, I hadn’t gotten a phone call.
    The idea of her going out walking alone brought my earlier irritation back to the surface. I didn’t like her going out in the woods alone, especially since we’d never been to this site before. It was very rustic, and God only knew how far away we were from any other civilized life.
    With a sigh, I dialed her number and hit “call”. With each ring, I found myself getting more annoyed. If she was going out alone the least she could do was keep her phone on her! When I heard her chipper voicemail message come on, I ended the call, only to immediately redial her, with the same results. “Alicia Ann,” I began when the message ended and the phone beeped. “You better have a very good reason for not telling me where you were going. Call me back.”
    I threw the fish down on ground. I’d been thrilled when I’d caught them, the thought of a fresh fish dinner making my mouth water, but I couldn’t worry about them now. Everything paled in comparison to finding my wife. The best thing to do, I decided, was to alert the staff that had checked me in, and start a search party. The problem was I had no clue had long she’d been gone, or if she was even missing. I knew she could have merely wandered off for a nature walk, forgetting that I would worry. She could be irresponsible that way, never realizing that she would have others concerned.
    “That’s a habit I’m going to break,” I grumbled, heading for the car. Once there I hit my unlock button, and when nothing happened I realized that my wife had neglected to call Triple A like I’d asked. Sighing, I headed for the road and took a left, heading toward the camp office. It wasn’t much different than the route I’d taken earlier this morning to get to the pond. With each step, my apprehension grew. What if something had gone wrong? What if she was lost, or hurt?
    By the time I was halfway there, my resolve to be a better husband, to take charge of our marriage was as great as the fear in the pit of my stomach. I was about to take a right, the path that would lead me to the camp office when a flash of blond hair caught my eye. My heart caught in my throat. I’d know that soft honey color anywhere.
    Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I headed in the opposite direction. The nearer I got, the more certain I was that it had to be her. Sure enough, when I stopped I saw her familiar black and pink sneakers.
    “Alicia?” When she didn’t answer, I leaned closer. Her eyes were shut, and they didn’t so much as flutter at the sound of my voice. I looked closer. She was sprawled on the ground, her hair fanned on the grass. “Alicia? Honey?” I knelt beside her and took her wrist in my hand, searching for a pulse. It was thudding away, and I reached out to shake her.
    She startled at my touch, her eyes flying open. She looked at me drowsily, like she was seeing me through a fog. “Ollie?”
    “Alicia, what the hell are you doing over here?”
    “I…I was looking for you.”
    I opened my mouth to scold her for leaving when I saw the slim fishing pole lying in the grass. I turned to her with surprise. “You were going to go fishing?”
    She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I just wanted to spend time with you.”
    I was touched, very much so. I had to remind myself to stay firm. She had worried me so needlessly. “What are you doing, passed out here on the