Chapter 25
She knew the others were exhausted by the pace she’d set for them the next day, but Sarah was determined to get to her parents.
After another restless night of worrying about all of them, Sarah roused the others as soon as it was light enough to see out.
They’d all gotten at least six hours of sleep which was more than enough.
Now, with the homestead a mere two miles away, Sarah didn’t want to stop.
Their homestead was one of ten on the road leading to the small coastal community of McCafferty.
It wouldn’t be long before others took up at the abandoned properties on both sides of her parents’ places.
They were the only locals still in the area.
Everything else had been sold off to seasonal property owners, times shares, and rental companies.
It came as no surprise to her that each plot of land they passed was as vacant as the previous.
While a novice might consider expanding the homestead to a neighboring property, Sarah knew the ten acres her parents had would be more than sufficient for the number of people they had.
Anything more and it would be too much for them to tend to and keep track of.
Her heart started to race when the homestead came into view.
She wanted to gallop ahead and yell for her parents but knew if anything had happened and the land had been overtaken, she’d be giving the thieves a notice of their arrival.
While the careless action might have been one, she’d consider when it was only her and Adam, with the children, she wouldn’t dare.
Instead, she brought her horse to a stop when the house came into sight and climbed down, again giving the reins to Adam.
Sarah promised the trio she would be right back, but it wasn’t enough for Adam.
“I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself,” Adam said. “We have no idea who is in there and whether or not your parents are okay.”
“It will be fine,” Sarah replied. “Besides, I need you to stay here and look after the kids in case something happens. I’m not going to risk them being thrown into the middle of anything.”
“I get that, but I still would feel better if you had some backup.”
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I don’t know what’s worse. The idea that you believe that or that you want me to.”
Sarah sighed. “Look, I know you don’t want me to go in alone, but we don’t have any other choice. I need to check out what’s going on, but the kids need to know you have their back as well.”
“I do, but from the looks of this place, it’s entirely empty,” Adam said. “It looks like it’s been empty for a few days at the very least.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m worried. I thought they’d have this place up and running like there wasn’t anything wrong, but it doesn’t look that way. I’m just going to sneak around and see if I can see anything.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful. We’ve already seen enough to know how bad something like this can be.”
“I’ll be careful. As worried as I am, I think everything will be all right. I just have to make sure before I subject the children to the unknown. You just take care of the kids, and I’ll be right back.”
“Watch yourself,” Adam said. “I’ll keep an eye on them, but I’ll be looking out for you, too.”
Sarah moved carefully and quietly while staying low to the ground and beneath the fence that ran along the road.
It made her incredibly uneasy that her parents were nowhere to be seen.
Even as she approached the front porch and looked inside, the house appeared empty.
She cupped her hands over the window and gazed inside, but nothing looked out of place.
There was a coffee cup sitting right next to her father’s chair, where he always left it, and an open book by her mother’s spot on the sofa.
They had to be there. They had to be okay. Sarah needed them.
She could almost see them sitting there, talking about all the crazy things that had happened.
Yet they weren’t anywhere in sight. Her heart continued to race with each passing second as she moved around the deck to the side of the house.
Still, there was no sign of her parents.
They might not have been the youngest or the fittest, but they were smart and wouldn’t hesitate to defend themselves if needed.
She refused to believe something had happened to them, not after everything they’d done to reach the homestead.
The others had to be worried sick, but she had to find her parents first, no matter what state they were in.
Around the back of the house, Sarah wiggled the door handles, but it was locked.
She cursed under her breath. She looked around for the rock her parents had stashed the spare key under, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Why would they move it unless they were worried about someone trying to get in that they didn’t want?
Panic gripped her as she fought to keep her head on a swivel.
Suddenly, she heard something behind her and spun around. “I thought I told you to wait with the kids,” Sarah fumed. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
“Jamie got loose, and I couldn’t hold her back. She was worried about you,” Adam said. “Did you find anything?”
“I didn’t really see anything, but I know my parents aren’t here. I need to know what happened to them or where they could have gone.”
“We will, Sarah. Whatever it takes, we’ll find them. It’s been a really long trip, and the horses and kids are exhausted.”
“I know. We need to take care of ourselves before we can figure out what happened to my parents.”
“Exactly. I know you want to get this all figured out right now, but we are all really tired and hungry. The horses need to be fed, and so do we.”
Sarah sighed. “Okay. Well, take the kids and horses down to the barn. I’ll meet you down there as soon as I get everything situated, and we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“We’re going to find them, Sarah. Nothing is lost. They just need to be found. There’s any number of reasons they didn’t stay here, and we’re going to figure it out.”
Sarah knew he was right. As much as her parents had tried to plan for everything, there were just some things that couldn’t be planned ahead.
She was thankful she had Adam by her side.
Knowing her parents weren’t there sent a shiver down her spine.
Where could they have gone? Thinking about the kids, she started planning in her head how to take care of the group she now had.
“We’ll find them, one way or another,” Sarah said. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. We’re a team. Whatever we have to do, we’ll do it together.” Adam smiled.
Looking back through the window, she wondered if the best and only option was breaking through one of the glass panes on the door.
She didn’t want to do that. Getting a replacement wasn’t as easy as placing a call and waiting for a repairman anymore.
Moving from one window to the next, she tried to find a way in without breaking anything but came up short.
By the time she’d made a complete circle around the house and was standing in front of the back door again, Sarah was out of ideas.
She could hear the others laughing and carrying on in the barn behind her.
Sarah was sure they were playing with the animals—a few goats and chickens, along with a handful of other barn animals.
The horses would have good company when the trio finally made it back to the house.
Fishing a pair of pliers out of her bag, she started working on the door.
Ten minutes later, as she listened to them playing in the barn, she was still trying to break into her childhood home.
When her hand slipped and her knuckles caught the jagged tool, Sarah cursed out loud.
“Now, how many times have I told you not to use language like that? See, Henry? This is what happens when you teach her such vulgar words at a young age,” Connie said.
“Awe, hell, Connie, she takes after you with that mouth more than anything,” Henry Fowler said.
Sarah gasped and spun around. Her parents stood a few feet away from her with two shotguns and a handful of slain rabbits between them. There were no words as joy overtook her, and she leaped from the porch and down the steps into her parents’ waiting arms.