“Who?”
“Summer.”
“When?”
“This afternoon. Listen to me, James, there’s something wrong. I knew it the minute I saw that girl. She was upset and close to tears. At first I thought you two might’ve had an argument.”
“No...” James frowned. “What did she say?”
“She talked about her parents traveling in their motor home. I suppose I should’ve realized she wanted to discuss something with me, but I started chattering, hoping she’d relax enough to speak her mind.”
“Tell me everything that happened.”
“After the part about her parents’ vacation, she said she’d come to thank me for the party, which we both knew was an excuse. Then she apparently changed her mind about talking with me and started to cry. Before I could stop her, she was gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
“The girl literally ran out of the house. I tried to catch up with her, but with my bad leg, that was impossible.”
“She drove off without another word?”
“That’s right.” Elizabeth sounded flustered. “What could be wrong, James?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. She was fine this morning.” Or was she? James had no idea anymore. “I’ll give you a call this evening,” he assured Elizabeth. “I’m sure everything’s okay.”
“I hope so. Summer was very upset, James. Oh. That’s odd....”
“What is?”
“I remember something else she said, and it was after this that she started to cry.”
“What was it?” James asked anxiously.
“She told me how much she loved you.”
A few minutes later, when he’d finished speaking to Elizabeth, James was more confused than ever. He tried calling Summer again—but again there was no answer. He left the office abruptly, without a word to his staff.
When he got to the house he burst through the front door. “Summer!” he shouted, his heart racing.
He was greeted with silence.
He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He searched every room but couldn’t find her.
What confused him further was that her clothes still hung in her closet, but one suitcase was missing. Surely if she was planning to leave him, she’d have taken more things. The only items that seemed to be missing were her toothbrush, slippers and a book about pregnancy and birth.
Baffled, he wandered back downstairs. He scouted out the kitchen and the other rooms. The last place he looked was in his den. There he found an envelope propped against the base of the lamp.
James tore open the letter. It was brief and it made no sense. All he understood was that she’d left him. He had no idea why, other than that she seemed to think she was doing what was best for him.
He immediately called her cell. No answer.
A sick feeling attacked his stomach. He sat numbly at his desk for what could’ve been minutes or hours; he’d lost track of time. The next thing he knew, the doorbell chimed. He didn’t get up to answer. A moment later the door opened on its own and his father came into the house.
“You might’ve let me in,” he grumbled, setting one huge teddy bear in the chair across from James. “I’ll be right back.” He returned a couple of minutes later with the second bear.
“How’d you get in?” James asked, his voice devoid of emotion.
“You gave me a key, remember?”
He didn’t.
“What’s going on around here?” Walter asked. “Where’s my daughter-in-law who’s giving me twin grandkids?”
“Apparently Summer has decided to leave me. She’s gone.”
Twelve
“Gone?” Walter protested. “What do you mean, gone?”
“Gone, Dad,” James said bitterly, “as in packed-a-suitcase-and-walked-out-the-door gone.”
His father quickly sat down. “But...why?”
James couldn’t answer that; silently he handed Walter the brief letter Summer had left him.
Walter read it, then raised questioning eyes to James. “What’s this supposed to mean?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“You must’ve said something,” Walter insisted. “Think, boy, think.”
“I’ve done nothing but think, and none of this makes sense. I thought at first that she was upset about the twins. I realize now that whatever it is has been worrying her for some time.”
“What could it be?”
“I don’t know. I’d hoped she’d tell me.”
“You mean to say you didn’t ask?”
“No.”
Walter glared at him in disbelief. “That’s the first thing I learned after I married your mother. She never told me a thing that I didn’t have to pry out of her with a crowbar. It’s a man’s duty, a husband’s lot in life. When you didn’t ask, Summer must’ve assumed you didn’t care. She probably figures you don’t love her.”
In spite of his heavy heart, James smiled. “Trust me, Dad, Summer has no fear of speaking her mind, and as for my loving her, she couldn’t have doubted that for an instant.”
“She loves you.” Walter’s words were more statement than question.
“Yes,” James said. He felt secure in her love. Or he had until now.
“Where would she go?”
This was the same question he’d been debating from the moment he discovered her letter. He shrugged. “No idea.”
“Have you tried her cell?”
“Of course,” he snapped. “She turned it off.”
“Did you contact her parents?”
He would have, but it wouldn’t help. James rubbed his face, tired to the very marrow of his bones. “They’re traveling across the Southwest in their motor home. Half the time they don’t have cell phone coverage.”
“What about friends she’s made since the move?”
“They’re more acquaintances than friends. She’s planning to volunteer at the library, but she’s only mentioned the children’s librarian in passing.”
“I see.” Walter frowned. “What about the Mannings?”