Chapter Seven
River
––––––––
A chittering came from the left of River. She stopped in the pathway and peered through the pine trees scattered around her, trying to find the source of the noise.
Several yards away, a squirrel popped out of the ground and dashed to a nearby huckleberry bush, disappearing underneath the foliage. For a moment, she was stuck to the spot, taken back to a time when she and Kenna played in the backyard after school. They'd line the pinecones up on the back fence and watch the squirrels come and pick from them.
A cheeseburger bird whistled, snapping her out of the past. She walked slowly, in no hurry to go home after working all day. She had the next two days off and hoped to hear something from Kingsley about her sister.
In her mind, she wondered if Kenna lived a different life—one that didn't include having a sister. Maybe she married or had a child at a young age and was busy earning a living and putting a roof over her baby's head. Maybe she joined the military and lived in a foreign country.
While having Kenna turn her back on her would devastate her, it was better than the constant worry that Kenna was dead, and that's why nobody could find her.
Her mom and dad had died. It wouldn't be unheard of for something to have happened to Kenna. She hadn't seen or heard from her sister since she was twelve, even though Kingsley had taken pictures and relayed messages between her and her sister until Kenna turned eighteen.
She blamed the foster system. They were sisters. They should've stayed together.
The state was all about making families, but they tore apart families, too.
She'd called social services the day she became an adult, trying to find Kenna's last known address. Her sister would've been nineteen and out of the system. But the state wouldn't give her any information without a court order, and it wasn't worth the expense to get it because even if she got the address, Kenna was already long gone.
What she needed was a miracle.
A twig snapped. She raised her gaze, and all her heavy thoughts left. Zane had sought her out. She walked faster and then broke into a jog.
The closer she got, the more his stern expression softened until she saw the grin underneath his beard. She stopped in front of him, so happy to see him.
"When did you get back?" She hefted her backpack higher.
"A few hours ago." He turned and motioned for her to give him her pack.
She slid it off her shoulders and handed it to him. "How was the visit with your dad?"
Listening to him talk about his family sometimes allowed her to remember hers. It wasn't a bad feeling, only good. She missed her parents and sister more than anything.
"It was short." He put his hand on the back of her neck and walked with her along the path. "They only allow me to be in the room with him for thirty minutes, even though it takes two hours for me to go through security and wait with everyone else. It's pretty much a waste of a day."
"Don't say that." She leaned against him. "He's your dad. No matter what he's done, be happy you can still see and talk with him."
He grunted. She let him have the quiet time to think. So many times, when he closed himself off, he left to avoid conversing with her. She was happy he was here and wanted to see her.
"Want to grab dinner at the bar?" he asked.
She nodded, afraid to say anything to change his mind. They hadn't eaten together in over a month.
It only hit her that maybe he brought her to the bar because he had bad news for her.
He took her to the back corner booth. She wanted to slide into the seat with him but took the bench on the other side of the table.
"Chicken strips and fries?" he asked.
That was her go-to meal. The chicken was perfection, and the fries were salty.
As soon as Rebecca, the waitress, took their order, River planted her elbows on the table. "Did Kingsley find out anything about my sister?"
If it was bad news, she wanted to hear it now. The wait about killed her.
"That's one reason why I wanted to talk with you." He paused as Rebecca returned with a glass of rum and coke—his go-to drink. Once they were alone again, he continued. "Kingsley texted me before I rode home from the prison. Your sister wasn't there."
She sagged in the booth. After a few days of getting her hopes up, the letdown sucked. Unshed tears burned her eyes. She looked down at her hands in her lap. Would she ever find her sister?
"But, the tip turned out to be true."
She snapped her gaze at Zane.
He took a drink. "Kenna did work at the bar but left two weeks ago."
"So, she has to be nearby." She sat straighter. "Billings is only...what? Four hours away?"
"Seven hours."
"Okay, but that's not so far from here. I could travel there." She had already planned how she would get there.
While Zane had taught her how to drive his pickup, and she got her driver's license last year, she had no vehicle. She also wasn't a confident driver because of her lack of experience. But there was a train that went across Montana.
"Can you take me to the nearest train station?" she asked.
"Hold on, sweetheart." He frowned. "You're not going anywhere."
"I know Phil counts on me to work at the campground, but this is my sister, Zane."
"It doesn't help if you go running off." He leaned back in the booth. "That's a good way for you to get in trouble. Besides, Kingsley said she wasn't there."
Her childhood home was in St. Maries, Idaho. Zane had taken her back there twice since he whisked her out of the foster care system, but someone else owned the house, and there was no sign of Kenna.
"I don't get it." She swallowed her tears. "Kingsley has gone to Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, and Billings over the last two years for possible sightings. It's like Kenna's running away from me instead of to me."
Zane cocked his head and frowned. "Say that again."
"She's running away from—"
"No, the locations. You've kept track of the cities?"
She nodded. "Of course. I scour every Facebook page and community board in those locations, hoping Kenna is looking for me. I even post messages asking if anyone has seen her."
Zane pulled out his phone, tapped on the screen, and put the cell to his ear. After several seconds, he said, "It's Zane. Call me as soon as you get this message."
He set the phone on the table. She opened her mouth to ask him what happened when the waitress came with their food.
No longer hungry, she wanted to know what was going on in Zane's head. She'd seen a spark of energy come over him.
"I don't have a map, but I know Missoula is the closest of the cities he's searched, and Billings is farther than the other towns he's checked out." He pushed his phone toward her. "Can you pull up a map?"
"Sure." She took his phone.
It was easy enough to do. She'd often poured over the possible locations where her sister might be, trying to figure out where she was headed.
"Here." She slid the cell toward him.
Like her, Kenna would have no idea where Gem Haven was located. When Zane talked about home during his visits when she was in foster care, it sounded like heaven. It wasn't until he'd taken her away from the state and brought her here that she learned about the compound. That meant Kenna couldn't even search for Kingsley and Zane because Gem Haven wasn't on the map.
After a few seconds of studying the phone, he lifted his head and grinned. "You might've given us our biggest clue."
"What are you talking about?"
"She's following Interstate 90." He pointed at the map. "If we assume she came back to St. Maries to start her search, the most logical thing to do would be to go to the larger cities—we can't read her mind, so if she's looking for you or her next job, she's on the move. Now, if she headed west, there are only little towns until you get to Coeur d'Alene and Spokane. It wouldn't be the wisest decision because she needs to support herself. From St. Maries, she'd cross into Montana and hit Missoula."
Excitement built inside of her. "That's the first place Kingsley thought she'd go, too."
"She's putting dots on the map in a straight line, not veering off the interstate."
She covered his hand and squeezed. "So, you think she'll go to the next city, going east?"
"Yeah."
She scooted out of the booth. "Then, let's go."
"You aren't going anywhere," he said, pointing toward his phone. "Once Kingsley calls, I'll have him head back to Billings and keep going east. He can search for Kenna."
She slid in beside him and hugged him from the side. "Why do I feel like we're going to find her?"
"We will." He kissed the top of her head. "I promised you I would never give up."