Chapter 34
— chapter thirty-four
As the hours passed and everyone grew more concerned, Jeremy began to really worry about his father.
It was obvious that his daed truly loved Leanna.
What if she was hurt somewhere? Or had gotten into an accident?
What if she died? How was his father going to handle that?
He’d barely survived their mother’s death.
Hating the dark path his thoughts were heading down, he texted Becca. He knew she was at school, but she still was able to glance at her phone fairly often.
To his relief, she answered almost immediately.
Becca
I thought you were working today.
Jeremy
I called off. There’s a lot going on.
What?
It’s too much to text. Any chance you’d let me take you out for a burger and a shake?
Sure, but you don’t have to feed me to talk.
We have to eat, Bec.
Fine. I’ll be home in an hour.
I’ll be there. ??
Just as he put the phone down, Russell called. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey, Jeremy. You good?”
“I don’t know. I’m worried about Leanna. About Daed too. Do you think he’s okay?”
“I’m on my way over to see him now. I’m going to take him over to the park.”
“Okay. So, he won’t be alone.”
“He won’t be. Daed’s strong, but I’ll look after him too. If he needs something, I’ll make sure I take care of it.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to pick up Becca in about an hour.”
“Sounds good. Keep your phone with you. I’ll call with updates,” Russell added before hanging up.
When the call disconnected, Jeremy stared at his phone. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry at all. No way could he go out to eat when Leanna was all alone. He called Becca. As soon as she answered, he filled her in on the latest events and then admitted that he wasn’t up for going out to eat.
After listening to his apology, she chuckled. “Boy, I was really looking forward to that shake too.”
He frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“You. Do you really think the highlight of my day was going to the Burger Barn?”
“Maybe not the highlight . . . but I’d been looking forward to it.”
“Let me put it this way. I was looking forward to going to the Burger Barn, but that was just because I was going to see you.”
“Same.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. I’ll be over soon.”
“You’re coming over?”
“Yep. No way am I going to let you sit home alone while you wait for your brother to call.”
“Wow. That’s really nice of you.”
“Nice? Jeremy Keim, don’t you get it? I like you.”
He couldn’t believe that she was the first one to say it. He needed to do better with her. “I like you too, Bec,” he said quickly. “Sorry to sound so stupid.”
“No apology needed. You sound worried, Jeremy. Hang in there, okay?” she said in a soft, sweet tone. “I’m going to tell my mom what’s going on and then come over.”
Becca arrived thirty minutes later in her usual outfit of jeans, tennis shoes, and a sweatshirt. When Bumble ran over to tell her hello, she handed Jeremy a sack.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Burger Barn food—and a chocolate shake.”
“Yum.” Immediately he worried about her spending the money. “I’ll pay you back.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Becca.”
“I got a good tip the other day at the garden center.” Averting her eyes, she said, “I know I can’t pay most of the time, but today I can. Let me do this, okay? I want to do something nice for you.”
“Thanks.” Walking to her side, he kissed her cheek.
She blinked. “What was that for?”
“No reason. Well, no reason other than it seemed like a good idea.”
“Kissing my cheek sounded like a good idea?”
“Okay, kissing you for real sounds better.” When she still stared at him, he wrapped a hand around her waist and kissed her again. This time it was a real kiss on the lips. When he pulled back, she looked a little stunned. “Hey, you don’t mind me kissing you, do you?”
“No.”
“Gut.” He felt like he’d just made some huge progress. Or maybe he was just feeling pretty good about himself. Kissing his girlfriend hello was a good thing. “Come on.” Guiding her inside, he showed her where to hang her raincoat before he joined her at the table.
“I’m going to pray,” he said quickly. He didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but he didn’t feel comfortable not praying before a meal.
“I’ll pray with you.” She bowed her head and closed her eyes. She looked so earnest that he felt like reaching for her hand.
That felt like too much, though. So he closed his eyes as well and said as many heartfelt words as he could to the Lord, covering everything from thanks for the food to gratitude for Becca to words about Leanna and his hope for her safety.
“Sorry I was so long,” he said when he finally raised his head. “I guess I had a lot to thank God for.”
“It’s okay. I did too.”
As they dug in, they talked more about Leanna, his father, and how even Russell was now involved in the search.
“That park is huge. If I was Leanna, I’d be scared to death.”
“Yeah. I would be too.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“I don’t think so. The police are now involved, so I’m guessing that they’ve got their own way of doing things.”
“Maybe so.” She frowned. “Where did you say Leanna went missing again?”
“According to Miralee, the driver she hired, Leanna went to Alliance State Park. She told Miralee that she used to go hiking there with her mother when she was a little girl, especially near some creek.”
Her eyes widened. “Jeremy, I know where that is.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“I was in Girl Scouts back when I was in fourth or fifth grade. We had a field trip to that area. The creek was near our leader’s cabin. Her family owned two acres that border the state park.”
“How come you went all the way over there?”
“I don’t know. We were just little kids. But I remember it because the ravine is really steep and we all convinced our leader to let us hike down there. Then, of course, we had to hike back up, which was no fun at all.”
He smiled at her. “Becca, this is amazing. I can’t believe you know about this park.” Picking up his phone, he tried to call Russell. When there was no answer, he put the phone back on the table.
“No answer?” Becca asked.
“Nope. He didn’t pick up.”
“It’s probably because the reception is so bad. Even if you texted the information, it probably wouldn’t go through.”
“Yeah. We’ll just have to keep waiting, I guess.”
When they finished eating, they played with Bumble, and then Becca helped Jeremy do his chores in the barn and wash and dry the dishes that had been left in the sink.
When the hours passed and still no word came, she called her parents, explained the situation, and received their permission to stay with Jeremy until he heard something.
He was floored. Becca was usually on the go, working and helping her parents. For her to ask them to sit tight so she could be with him was incredibly humbling.
That was Becca. Always giving. Never expecting anything in return. It was a good trait and one he would have been very grateful for, except for the fact that he didn’t feel like he could give her an equal amount in return.
She frowned. “Jeremy, what’s wrong?”
“From the minute you got here, I’ve had you working and helping about the farm. You always go above and beyond. I feel like I’m asking you to do too much.”
“Hey,” she said. “Stop acting like being here is a big deal. I like being here with you. Besides . . . you didn’t ask for my help. I volunteered.”
“I bet it’s a lot different from hanging out at your house.” At least she had television.
“It is, but I like being here. I think it’s fun.”
“Yeah, right. Feeding chickens and a horse?”
“Your horse is nice, and he likes being brushed. And the chickens . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Well, they aren’t so bad.”
He caught her wrinkling her nose, though. “Don’t worry. If they aren’t your favorite part of the farm, you’re in good company. I never minded looking after them, but my brother Trip would do just about anything else in the world besides gather eggs. Now, have I thanked you enough?” he murmured.
“I don’t know. What kind of thanking did you have in mind?”
Becca was joking. He knew that. But he was also a guy, and she was alone with him. Leaning close, he brushed his lips on her jaw, just a few inches from her earlobe. “I could thank you this way,” he murmured as he wrapped an arm around her middle and kissed her neck.
When chill bumps formed on her skin, he knew he should stop.
As if God thought that very same thing, his phone rang.
Seeing Russell’s name on his phone, he connected. “Hey.”
“Hey. Where are you?”
“I’m home. What’s going on with Daed, Russell? Did you guys find Leanna?”
“No. But I think we’re going to that park I told you about,” Russell replied. “Daed’s really worried.”
“Hey, listen. I tried to call you about this earlier. Becca knows where that park is. She went there when she was younger with the Girl Scouts.”
“Does she have her car?”
“She borrowed her parents’ car to come over. Why?”
“Well, what do you think about helping us look for Leanna?”
“I’ll ask her. Hold on.” Covering up his phone with his palm, he said, “Becca, any chance you’d be willing to drive me over to that park?”
“I’ll do better than that,” she said. “I’ll take you over and help search.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured . . .”
“I don’t,” she blurted. “Tell your brother that we’re going,” she said in a firm tone.
“Russell—”
“I heard what she said.” Sounding amused, he added, “I hope you like this girl, Jeremy, because I think she’s a keeper.”
“I do like her. I like her a lot.”
“When can you get over to the park?”
“How long do you think it will take for us to get there, Bec?”
She shrugged. “About twenty minutes?”
“We’ll be there in twenty, Russell,” Jeremy relayed.
“Listen, two things. Dress warm, and stick a couple of towels, a blanket, and maybe some crackers or something in the car. Put in some fresh water too.”
“Towels, blanket, crackers, water. Got it.” It gave him chills to think that he was going to gather that for Leanna. “See you soon.”
“Yeah—oh, listen, I got to get this call coming in. It’s Kurt.”
When Jeremy disconnected, he turned to Becca again. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m positive.”
“What do you think your parents are going to say?” He had a feeling they were going to want her to go right home.
“They’re going to be glad I’m helping,” she said. “This is a situation where there isn’t a choice to make, right? We need to do the right thing.”
He nodded slowly. She’d put that the perfect way. There were a lot of choices in life and lots of opportunities to do both something good and something stupid.
But every so often, God gave you something to do that felt like it came directly from Him. There were no options. To do it was to do His will.
“Right. You take Bumble out one more time and then get him in our laundry room. While you do that, I’ll gather everything together. Sound like a plan?”
“It sounds like a good one,” she whispered. When she reached out and squeezed his hand lightly, Jeremy knew he’d made the right decision.
Even if they couldn’t find Leanna, even if they didn’t help much at all, that was something they could live with. What would be too hard to bear was for them to give up before even trying.