“Do we need to call Harrison?” Lauren refills her cup and Hendrix’s. She tops off my half of a cup.
“I called Jay. He promised Grayson he wouldn’t call anyone if he stayed here last night.” Hendrix’s phone dings. He reads the text, turns his phone over, and sighs. “Things aren’t going well in Colorado. Ciara’s about to slap a long list of lawsuits on the rehab center.”
“She should.” I can’t believe they lost a patient, let alone two.
We sit quietly for a moment. The sound of the doorbell snaps our heads up.
“You ladies expecting someone?” Hendrix pushes his cup away and stands.
I’m sure not. Lauren shakes her head. Lightning flashes again. Our unexpected visitor pounds on the door after thunder rumbles.
“Can’t be good if they’re out in this weather. Stay here.” Hendrix stomps to the front door. “What in tha…”
“Bout time, big guy.” Maci rushes inside.
“What happened? Why are you out in the middle of a thunderstorm?” Hendrix follows on her heels to the kitchen.
“I couldn’t sleep. Got tired of pacing the floor. Nobody is telling us anything. I saw the lights on here, so here I am.” Maci tosses a hand up and shrugs.
“There’s a thunderstorm, Maci,” Hendrix says, like it’s not obvious.
“You could have waited until the storm was over.” Lauren wraps her arms around Maci.
“There’s going to be back-to-back storms for a couple of hours. Everyone at the house was asleep or staying to themselves.” Maci relaxes a little in Lauren’s arms.
My heart breaks for the poor girl. She needed another person’s presence so badly that she ventured out into a storm. This family has been through so much bad stuff. I don’t know how they’re still standing.
“I’ll call Darin and see if they have an update.” I slip into the living room to make the call.
“Everything okay?” Darin sounds tired. He’s probably been up all night.
“Just thunderstorms. Maci’s here. She’s really worried. We all are. Sorry, I called if you’re busy. I was hoping you found her.”
“Not yet.” He pauses for a long moment. Just as I believe the call dropped, he sighs deeply. “And I wasn’t busy. Don’t apologize. We think they stole a truck. Nick and his brother are searching traffic and store cameras, hoping to spot them. The problem is, they aren’t finding enough cameras. Too many gaps they could’ve slipped through. They may have already left town.”
“What can we do, Darin?”
“For now, help Hendrix keep the family there together. I can’t do it from here.”
He does more for this club and the McLeods than everyone realizes. His job as the Vice President is hard. It’s not just some glorious title his best friend gave him. A lot of responsibility rests on his shoulders. Being a nurse for the past ten years taught me to notice when someone is stressed out. Darin Worley is about at the end of his rope. I’ll do what I can to ease his burdens.
“I will, Darin. Promise. You keep the ones with you together.”
“That’s my job.” Someone speaks in the background. “Gotta go. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
“Okay, Darin. Just find her.”
“We’re doing all we can.” He ends the call.
I drop my head and take a moment to get myself together. Now, to tell the sweet girl in the kitchen that her older sister is still missing.
Chapter 10
Nina
Oh my gosh. I forgot how bad Tennessee thunderstorms can be. The storms were strong enough to break tree branches and knock the power off a few more times. The last line of storms this morning woke Grayson up. Thankfully, Lauren and I finished cooking breakfast before the power went out again. We had to eat by candlelight, though.
Surprisingly, Grayson Westbrook is very talkative in the morning. Well, midmorning. It was nearly ten before he joined us in the kitchen. We filled him in on everything we knew about Harley’s disappearance and that there was no update yet. Grayson tried to help us keep Maci’s mind off her sister. None of us succeeded. She got a little snappy a few times but quickly apologized. After the storms passed and the power was restored, Hendrix walked Maci home and Grayson to his truck.
