Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Keifer
Keifer had made many mistakes in his life, but making such a major wrong turn while trying to find his way to wherever he was going was not one of them. Wilmington, or so it was named, was nothing like he imagined.
He never got lost, and getting lost now of all times, when he was on the verge of two very important epiphany moments, was not a good sign. Case management for Child and Youth, his job had been a labor of love his entire career.
The rock star persona he gave off always amused the children he came in contact with, and confused the parents who wished he’d not shown up to do them dirty. Still, his heart had always been in the right place, for the kids.
Now it was no different. Ready to retire, he couldn’t let the one case rest until he got the answers he needed. A child somehow the system had failed, or he had. One way or the other, his illustrious retirement was affectionately on hold until he got answers.
Wyatt, the young boy he knew better than his own mother, had landed on his desk by accident. Assigned to another manager who’d suddenly quit, he had been left to uncover the details of the boy's life and family.
An abusive and neglectful mother, he’d been on her trail for far too long. One visit to her home, and eventually placed in the care of her mother due to her abuse of her son; the child had been mistakenly placed into the care of the wrong person.
After that, the trail had gone cold, something that never sat well with Kiefer; the child magically disappeared from their radar for a long time.
Before leaving for a short vacation Keifer promised himself and his office partners he was going to find this kid and square things away before he retired.
As rock tunes blasted from his speakers, nearly shattering the windows of his old SUV, he wished he’d decided to follow the GPS instead of going off his gut instincts. “That turn for the highway has to be around here somewhere; I saw the sign?—”
To his left, a woman stood in a glittering white dress, her curly brown hair cascading down her back; it nearly stopped his heart. “My goodness, she’s…” Their eyes met briefly, a glimmer of something he wished he had time to acknowledge, and then her nasty frown.
Before he could think about it or why she might be feeling that way when they didn’t know each other, he tore his eyes away to focus on the road. “There it is. Heck, I knew it was around here somewhere. Elk Banner, here I come.”
A few minutes later, Keifer cleared his mind; he was on the right track, headed to find Wyatt. His gut told him something had been wrong for a long time; a child didn’t just disappear without a trace unless something wrong had happened.
As he drove, his mind clear, on one thing and uncovering where his next path led now that retirement loomed on the horizon. A working man by desire, he loved to keep moving, be doing, and find purpose in his life.
Three children grown, work is all he has known for most of his adult life. Single father for many years, he smiled at the memory of watching his last daughter, Ellie, go off to college, ready to take on the world.
“What a great life I’ve had.” He turned up the tunes a notch, wishing he could have a free hand to play air guitar, his favorite hobby as he appreciated his past.
The memories floated by: his wife, her early, very sad passing, and the responsibility entrusted to him to care for their three children. Through grief, he’d done his best, forcing all else aside in favor of childhood birthday parties, pancakes on Sunday, and way too little time to himself.
Now it was almost his turn; retirement hung in the balance, one last case to solve to give his heart and mind peace, and he would be off. Where that would lead him, he had no clue; travel was his best idea yet.
A tour of Europe, heading to Greece, a place he’d always wanted to visit, but he knew without a doubt sooner or later he’d be tired of travel and want to settle down, find something to do.
The woman in the glittering dress popped back into his head as he changed lanes, her blue eyes mysterious above her frown. “How could someone so beautiful be so miserable?”
Her imagination stayed with him a long time; memories of his wife had faded so far back to the background, it was often hard to recall a clear image. He’d loved, and loved hard, and romance had been put indefinitely on hold after her passing.
Out of loss, and a deeper love than he’d ever imagined being blessed with, Keiffer hadn’t minded the loneliness, not that he’d ever had a chance to take a breath with three children and a career caring for displaced, abused children.
Children were his life, for far too many years, and yet an ache in his chest for what he’d be letting go of had him rubbing the spot.
“Love, a woman like that most certainly is married or has a man, some kind of relationship. Looking like that, I'm surprised he’d let her out of his sight in that dress.” He smiled, despite himself, at the memory of her beauty, sparkles of silver in a dress that shouted enchantress.
Though it was wrong, he imagined running his hands through her hair, the curls dancing between his fingers, something he’d always enjoyed doing when his wife was alive.
“Been far too long for you, Keifer. Maybe finding someone might not be a bad idea; it would make traveling more fun, that’s for sure. ”
He grinned, realizing how hard that was going to be at this point in his life. “On the back nine of the golf course, Keif, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.” He laughed at his own joke; images of there was no way he was going to face popped into his head.
Yawning, more tired than he realized, he sipped his coffee, wishing it hadn’t gone cold and kept the wheels spinning on the road. When his phone buzzed seconds later, he answered through the Bluetooth for safety.
“Hey darling, what’s up?”
“Hey, Dad, just checking in on you. Seeing if you're alright. Have you decided when you're going to retire yet? What are you going to do? I know with Alec and me being out of town you might be?—”
“I don’t know, Ellie, yet. As soon as I know, I’ll be sure to report to everyone. I know you all are worried about me; remember I was taking care of myself long before any of you came along. This is a good thing, retirement. I’m finally free of you three and all the children in the system.”
He laughed, liking to tease his children into believing his wickedness, as he soaked up the sound of her voice.
“Yeah, yeah, we know you, Dad. I wouldn’t be surprised if you started a kids game center just so you have something to do.” A long silence ensued as Kiefer tried to keep his tired eyes on the road and not make a wrong turn.
“I just got back on the highway; I was lost for a bit there. Some weird town, Wilmington, North Carolina, came across this woman… wow. She had a wicked frown on her face at me blasting music from my car, but heaven help me, was she an angel.”
“Oh la la, Dad, maybe you should think about a dating website, finally devote some energy to finding a woman, settling those old bones of yours down.”
He blinked, and somehow he was off the road again, headed down an exit he’d not intended. “You know my sense of direction has never been that great; I think I’m headed off the highway again and into some forsaken town I might not return from.”
He could hear Ellie chewing something, her laughter palatable in between.
“That’s okay; blasting that music so loud will get rid of half the trouble you’ll find, especially in North Carolina of all places.
Besides, if you’d use that GPS of yours, you know the one on that phone of yours, you might find your way faster.
I think you do it on purpose so you can amuse yourself.
I love you, Dad. I’ve got to go. If Danny calls, don’t answer; he’s in a heck of a mood.
That new baby isn’t letting him get any rest, heaven forbid any of us go for a visit. ”
Keifer smiled at hearing about his son and new granddaughter.
“Fatherhood, I remember those days; you three kept us both up for all-night parties. Gosh, the memories of sleepwalking down the hall, crying till the sun rose, and diapers everywhere. He’s got his hands full.
As soon as I locate this kiddo and get him back into the system where he probably belongs, I’m making my first retirement stop at his house to see my beautiful Sophia. ”
“You sure about that? He might bite your head off.”
“Nah, I remember those days. Give it a few weeks, and he’s going to be an expert. Once you get used to not sleeping for a while, it gets easier.”
He knew she was cringing inside, and had to give a little jab for added effect. “Someday you’ll have kiddos of your own, after you’ve got that illustrious career of yours off the ground.”
“Ugh, no thanks, Dad, not for me. Babies, crying, diapers, no sleep and all that drama isn't for me. I knew that when I was a kid, all my friends wanted to play with baby dolls, while I…”
“I wanted to play with cats and dogs. I know, I know, veterinarian to be, you’ve got your path clear, but that doesn’t mean a few human babies won’t be in order too. Once you find love, or I should say it finds you, you’ll see.”
Coming to a stop, he was shocked to learn somehow he’d landed back in Wilmington, North Carolina, as he’d done a complete circle.
“Yeah, okay, Dad. Listen, I gotta go. You should be careful out there. You're not young anymore, and it's dark, and you're in a strange place, and lost. I worry about you. You should have left this to one of the other case managers, the younger ones with more time.”
The tiny dig, he ignored, smiling as the memory of his little girl's face appeared in his mind. “I love you, Ellie. I feel like I’m still twenty-five; as soon as we are off the phone, I’m going to turn up the tunes.
You know me, a little adventure is always in order.
As for this case, I am finishing what I started.
You know how personal I get with these cases.
It's my final destination, one last case before the big goodbye.”
“Alright, Dad, if you say so. I love you too. Don’t call Daniel, not tonight anyway, and Liam will be checking in on you soon, I’m sure after his shift is over.”
He smiled, hearing the silence surrounding him, knowing she’d hung up. His children, the life he’d built around them, he’d have it no other way, but now they were grown, the last one in college, all he had to do was figure out his own life.
A quick turn of the radioknob and he looked at his surroundings. “Could he be here?” Instincts always hummed deep inside him; often he’d gone with that over the years and less with what policy and procedures led him to do.
Most case managers would have headed straight back to the mother's house and her family if they’d not buried it in the dead file until real evidence the child still existed came to light.
“If those new bucks even got off the backsides to do their job as I do, they’d not be here in the middle of the night staring at the sights of some little town as they try to find their way back to the highway. ”
Disgruntled by the things his daughter said, Kiefer was not about to ever admit to himself he was old; retired he might be, ready to do it, old… never. Still, he needed coffee and to stretch his legs, maybe surrender to the use of that stupid GPS his children insisted he use.
“I like a little adventure with my work.” Keifer stepped from his SUV, slamming the door so loud it echoed through the parking lot. Seeing a flash of a red car blow by, thumping sounds coming from underneath, the only thing he saw was a woman with dark hair intent on the road ahead of her.
“Hope you're safe, lady. Sounds like your car could use a tune-up.”