Chapter 4
“Hail the conquering hero!” Evie and Lisa cheered when Wyatt walked into the office at the casino a few hours later. She was so relieved to see him here and unharmed, having kept up with the rescue efforts.
He’d reunited the family at the hospital and after taking care of the gear, he’d gone by the house to have a meal and clean up for tonight’s party.
“You were worried I’d be late,” he said.
“Maybe a little,” she confessed as she hugged him. “For the best reason, though.”
“He was a brave kid,” Wyatt said. “And his dad will be fine, too, so happy holiday for them. And now,” he rubbed his hands together, “I am definitely in the party mood.”
As promised, she’d brought everything they would need to dress for the party. It was the best way to prevent any last-minute wardrobe disasters that came from being the parents of two active boys. Their five-year-olds were still as unpredictable as they’d been as toddlers.
Soon they’d be right back in the thick of baby life.
Evie smiled, anticipating the return to those early childhood days.
Part of her hoped she was carrying a boy—experience being an asset.
And the other equally strong yearning was for a little girl with Wyatt’s eyes and the quick grin that often got him out of trouble.
She knew that longing was rooted in their high school days, when she’d missed her period and been worried about becoming a mother at seventeen.
As scared as she’d been at the time, she had daydreamed constantly about what their baby girl might look like.
Back then, she’d kept her frazzled thoughts to herself until the crisis passed.
This time, keeping the news from him was only about creating a fond family memory.
“You look amazing.” He stepped up behind her as she did a final check in the mirror. “What are you thinking about?” His strong hands caressed her bare shoulders.
“Having my husband all to myself for the night,” she snuggled back against him. The tuxedo framed his broad shoulders to perfection.
“In a room full of three hundred people?”
“And all of them over the age of twenty-one.” She turned into his arms and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I’m so glad Dad loves to watch the boys.”
“Mm. Me too.” He deepened the kiss, his hands coasting lower over her hips, but she shimmied out of his reach.
“Later,” she promised. “I want to show off this dress and dance first.”
“Later.” He laced his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his lips. “The real fun begins.”
“When you see Lisa, tell her the dress is perfect,” Evie murmured. “She was nervous about it, but it’s exactly right.”
“That’s Jeff’s job, isn’t it?”
Jeff was a card dealer at the casino and he and Lisa had been dating for a few months now. “He’s working tonight.”
“Ah, now I understand. Mission accepted.”
They took the escalator to the mezzanine and crossed to the ballroom where the double doors were open and framed with an arch of evergreen and holly.
Inside, an enormous Christmas tree dominated one corner, decorated perfectly by the casino designers.
Closer to the door, bins were decorated like train cars to collect gifts for the local toy-drive.
Chandeliers sparkled, mistletoe had been strategically placed around the room and the band was already into their first set.
The bartenders at the central station wore Santa hats and the buffets were tended by the white-jacketed kitchen staff with holly patterns embroidered on the sleeves.
“Every year I love this more,” she gushed. Tugging Wyatt under the mistletoe where a photographer waited, she kissed him soundly.
“That’ll be a perfect addition to our collection,” Wyatt said when the photographer gave them a preview of the image. He filled out the text message to claim the photo later and then swept her straight to the dance floor.
Lisa joined them a few minutes later, her cheeks flushed and her hair falling from the sparkling headband. Evie checked her watch and smothered a laugh. Jeff and Lisa must’ve made the most of his break.
With the appropriate compliments delivered, the three of them headed for the buffet and then found a table. “What are you drinking, ladies?”
“The holiday special,” Lisa said. “It’s a whiskey-cider concoction this year. I’ll get water for all of us.”
Evie had forgotten she needed an answer for the question. “White wine for me, please.” She didn’t have to drink it and with so much activity in the room, she doubted anyone would notice whether she indulged.
They ate and mingled and danced some more.
Jack found them and introduced his cousin and her new husband.
They were an absolute delight and Evie enjoyed them both.
More importantly, she and Lisa were confident they were on the right track with the special plans for the couple’s first-Christmas holiday.
It was nearing midnight when Evie finally admitted to herself she should’ve called it a night an hour ago. But they’d been having so much fun. Soon enough her pregnancy would be their focus. She wanted to savor this time with her husband.
They were swaying to a slow ballad when she and Wyatt noticed a ripple of movement near the entrance. She was too short to see through the crowd. “What’s going on?”
Heads around the room swiveled. “They’re looking for someone,” Wyatt said. “I see Jack and—” the crowd parted enough for her to see a sheriff’s deputy. His khaki uniform offered a stark contrast to all the black tie and glittering holiday formal wear.
“Us.” Evie’s stomach dropped and this time it had nothing to do with the baby. “He’s asking about us.”
“Or Jack wants us to open the sled hill.”
“If only,” she said. “I guess it’s my turn to get out there.”
“You’re not going out alone for any reason at night,” he countered. “Whatever it is, we don’t have to respond,” Wyatt reminded her, without much conviction. “They have an entire unit for this stuff.”
“I know.”
“It is our one grown-up event this season,” he added.
She looked up at him. If he knew about the baby right now, he’d definitely make her stay put while he handled it. But like him, she wasn’t about to let him go out alone in the dark. “We need to hear him out. Maybe they just want guidance or gear.”
Wyatt grunted, clearly the skeptic.
Jack spotted them and waved them over. As they hurried across the ballroom, Lisa joined them. At the door, it was easy to see the urgency stamped on the deputy’s face.
“What happened?” Wyatt asked.
“Best if we take this to the office,” Jack said, his voice low. “Yours is closer.”
Evie nodded, leading the way.
As soon as they were all inside, the deputy introduced himself. “Gio Clark.” He shook hands with each of them. “Really sorry to interrupt your party.”
“What do you need?” Wyatt asked.
“We responded to a domestic call early this morning.” Clark paused as if expecting questions, but they all waited, knowing better than to interrupt.
“Annie and Christopher Bromley,” he continued.
“The neighbors were worried about a shouting match next door. We found Annie and Chris contrite and mostly cooperative by the time we got there. Didn’t look like anything physical was going down.
They summed it up as a fight about money, expensive holidays.
” He rolled his shoulders. “We talked to them separately and together, and we left, confident they had it under control.”
“But?” Evie prompted.
The deputy cinched his gloves in his hands.
“Couple hours ago,” he checked the wall clock, “we got another call.
This time it was the wife. Said Chris got moody and went for a drive.
His usual way of winding down after a fight.
After three hours of driving, she called him.
No answer. She called his friend and his favorite bar, no one had seen him.
“It’s not officially a missing person, but we went out looking.”
Evie understood. Small town, holiday season, of course they went looking.
“So approximately five hours with no contact,” Wyatt summed up.
“Yes. Annie says the two guns they own are still in the house, locked up.”
“That’s a relief,” Evie murmured.
“About the only one,” Deputy Clark agreed.
“We can’t get a location on his cell phone, but we found his car.
” Clark swallowed. “About three miles from the house. Looks like he lost control on a curve. He’ll need a tow, but no serious damage is visible.
Unfortunately, from there, we don’t have any sign of him.
Footprints leading away from the scene disappear in fresh snow.
Our preliminary search can’t pick up the trail.
Search and rescue will bring out the helicopter in the morning, but I was hoping—”
“We’ll help,” Evie said. She cast a pleading look at her husband. “Right?”
“It’s the middle of the night,” Wyatt pointed out. “It would be best to wait and go out at first light.”
“That’s not too far off,” she said. “We can at least get the search plan going.” She motioned for the deputy to follow her to the map of the area mounted on the wall in their work room. “Show us what you’ve covered so far.”
Deputy Clark quickly marked the dry erase map, circling the house and then where the car was found. “I’m sure we haven’t searched more than a half mile radius. Snow’s been falling all night. We all know Evelyn’s the best tracker around.”
She felt heat rising in her cheeks. It was more that she knew the area inside and out, thanks to her dad.
“Why wouldn’t he go back to the road?” Jack wondered.
“Excellent question,” Clark replied. “That made the most sense to us, but we couldn’t find any trail.”
“Do they own any other property?” Lisa wondered.
The deputy shook his head. “Not that I know of. I’ll have someone double check.”
“I can do that,” Lisa volunteered. She took swift notes as the deputy spelled out the full names, the home address, and employer information, then she plopped down at the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
“Does he hunt?” Evie asked.
“Doesn’t everyone?” Wyatt answered. “Going out in the dark is trouble waiting to happen, Evie.”
“I’m not arguing.” He arched an eyebrow, challenging her. “Not much anyway,” she admitted. “You had a big win earlier, so luck is on our side.” Knowing that was hardly enough to sway him, she added, “If he didn’t go back to the road, there’s a reason he went into the woods.”
“He wants to be alone?” Wyatt quipped.
“Most likely,” Clark agreed. “He might have headed up to a hunting cabin or a deer stand. His own or a friend’s. Some place he can go and be quiet.”
“Or he was disoriented from sliding off the road.” Wyatt said. “Any chance he’s suicidal?”
“Can’t rule it out,” the deputy replied. “Don’t know of anyone who deliberately tried suicide by exposure. If ending his life was the goal, why not take one of the guns?”
“Could be a gun at the deer stand or cabin,” Evie said.
The others nodded along.
Decided, she exchanged a look with her husband. “I’ll tell Dad we’ll be home when we find him. I’m hoping this guy only wanted to be alone and got turned around in the weather.”
“We can be on scene at first light,” Wyatt said.
She debated how much to push. She couldn’t stop thinking about the family. Emotional baggage went along with the holiday season, she knew that. Still, the pressure built in her chest, the familiar, driving need to help. “I don’t like leaving him out there a single minute longer than necessary.”
She glanced at Lisa. “Anything?”
The other woman nodded briskly. “Yes. His friend has a hunting cabin not far from the car. It’s a serious hike from where he slid off the road, though.”
“The wife said they keep an emergency weather kit in the trunk, but we didn’t see any sign of it when we searched the car,” Clark added.
“All right. First light,” Evie said. She could tell Wyatt wouldn’t budge on the timeline. “We can gear up, take the snowmobiles over to the point where he disappeared, and camp out. Then we’ll be on sight to start at dawn.”
Wyatt gave her a long look. “You really think that’s the right move? Saves time, maybe, but we’d be starting on low energy.”
“I won’t sleep any better at home, waiting for the alarm to go off,” she said.
Wyatt smiled, indulgent. “Had to try.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know.”
“All right.” He curled an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s gear up.”
Evie loved Wyatt for a thousand reasons, big and small. From the innocent rush as kids to growing as husband and wife and building a family. But right now, his faith in her, his unwavering support, topped the list.
Her instincts were buzzing on this. A family needed their help to have a chance to get back on track.
Once the others left, Evie and Wyatt changed clothes and gathered the supplies they expected to need, including their winter-weather tent.
“I know it sounds silly to rush out there only to wait for dawn, but I’ve got a feeling,” she began. “There aren’t a lot of hazards up that way. I think this guy knew where he was headed, at least at the start.”
“Makes sense,” Wyatt agreed. “But it’s not just you and me anymore,” he reminded her.
She looped her arms around his waist. “It never has been.”
He kissed the top of her head. “You’re right about that.” Wyatt turned to the deputy. “But I’m filing a formal protest about sleeping in a cold tent when we could catch a couple of hours in our own bed.”
“Duly noted. I promise to make it up to you.” In her heart, she was thinking ahead to Christmas night, when the house went quiet and the two of them could enjoy a private celebration of their next baby.