“Food.”
“What kind of food?”
“A coconut.”
The kid frowned up at him. Hank grinned and nudged the kid’s arm. “You’re supposed to say ‘What’s a coconut?’”
“Why?”
“Just say it.”
“What’s a coconut?”
“Food.”
The kid stopped, thought about it for a long few seconds, then said, “What kind of food?”
Hank grinned. “A coconut.”
The kid looked up at him, then asked tentatively, “What’s a coconut?”
“Food.” Hank laughed.
“What kind of food?”
“A coconut.”
By the time they reached the clearing, the kid was laughing, too.
8
She’d misplaced the baby.
“How the hell can someone lose a baby?”
Margaret crawled out from beneath a clump of oleander bushes and glared up at Hank. “I don’t know,” she snapped. “I’ve never lost one before!”
She stood up and dusted off her hands, her eyes scanning the area. Lydia was crying. Hank was swearing. And Theodore was gazing up at Hank. Annabelle was nowhere.
Margaret felt the most consuming sense of failure, compounded by guilt and anger, all directed at herself. One second Annabelle had been toddling in the sand just ten feet away. A few minutes later, she was gone.
“For Christ’s sake!” Hank turned and bellowed at Lydia, “Stop that blubbering and help find your sister!”
Lydia’s head shot up, and she stiffened. Her mouth clamped shut, and the sobs stopped. Through stunned and damp eyes, she stared at Hank.
“Get up!”
Lydia scampered up and stood at attention.
“Go search that area!” His hand shot out, pointing at the stream and the waterfall. “Theodore! You go with your sister.”
Without a word, the two children scurried off toward the stream.
He turned back to Margaret. He didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just gave her that hard stare of his. “I’ll search the beach.” He paused. “And the water.” Then he left.
Margaret stood rooted to the ground. She thought she might vomit. Annabelle couldn’t swim. She doubted the child was a year and half old yet. The toddler could drown in one wave.
A surge of panic hit her so hard that when she took a step, she stumbled slightly. She braced her hand against a tree trunk for support, and she stared at the sand, seeing nothing. Her mind flashed image after horrid image. A few seconds later, she took a deep breath. “Annabelle!”
