"Do you think she's okay?"she asked."Alara, I mean."
He blew out a sigh."I'm not sure that I do, no.I don't feel like I can tell Reaves honestly that she's just fine."
"No.But what can we do?"Callie asked.
He shrugged."I'm not sure there's anything we can do.She's a grown woman who knows her own mind."
Callie sighed."On the one hand, I'm glad to hear you say that — it's good to know that's how you see it.On the other, I wish you were wrong."
Chapter Seven
Callie chuckled and raised her hand when she checked the rearview mirror before pulling away.Little Zia was leaning all the way out of the camper door again, clinging precariously with the fingertips of one hand as she waved wildly with the other.Ollie turned to look back over his shoulder and chuckled.
"Alara has her hands full with her, doesn't she?"
"Yeah."Callie's smile faded as she turned out onto the highway."Zia's awesome, but I imagine she'd be hard work, even for a mom who's on top form.And it seems to me that Alara's a long way from that."
Ollie sighed and took his phone out."I'm gonna have to call Reaves.I texted him to let him know that we'd found them and that Alara was okay, but I know he'll be waiting for me to report in."
"What are you gonna tell him?"Callie asked as she pointed the truck toward home."I mean, Alara's okay, but she's obviously not reallyokay, is she?"
"No."Ollie held his phone up."All I can do is tell him the truth.Tell him how things seem."He frowned."Do you know when she's supposed to be starting this job?"
"Yeah, she's supposed to start on Monday.That's why she didn't want to hang around any longer after the wedding."Callie frowned."But you know what?She was in a real hurry to get up there so that she could get settled.I don't even know if she had a place to stay.All I knew was that she had to be there to start work next Monday and that she had someone who said they'd keep an eye on Zia."
"But it's Wednesday now, Callie.And we're — how many miles up the road?"
Callie's heart sank."Well, it's 118 miles from my place to Becca's, I clocked it the first time I visited.And it only takes me a couple of hours in this thing.Maybe Alara goes slower because she’s towing the camper, but it still shouldn’t have taken them more than three and a half hours to get here."She shook her head."I wonder how long they've been stopped where they are.If it's taken her a few days to get this far, how likely do you think it is that they'll make it all the way to Portland before Monday?"
Ollie shook his head."Not very.I don't like it."
"Neither do I," Callie agreed."But what can we do?"
"Let's talk to Reaves first."
She could see why he wanted to.Reaves cared about Alara and Zia — and if it weren't for him, she and Ollie wouldn't have even known that they were here.But she decided that no matter what the two guys might decide they wanted to do, she was for sure going to swing back by the camper this evening after she dropped Ollie back at the airport.
That thought made her realize that she was almost home.She glanced over at him.She hadn't known whether she wanted to bring him to the cottage or not.Now it seemed that the decision had made itself.
He gave her a small smile."Are you okay?Sorry about all this."
"I'm fine.You don't need to apologize.It's not like it’s your fault.If anything, I'm glad I know that they're here, and I wouldn't if it weren't for you and Reaves.Go on, give him a call."
Ollie held her gaze for a moment before bringing his phone up.He hit the call button, and Callie relaxed a little when he put it on speaker.Whatever was going on with Alara, Callie wasn't just invested, she was involved.And while she respected that Reaves cared about them, she didn't see why she should step back and let him start making all the decisions.
It only rang once before Reaves answered."Hey, bud.So how are they?"
"Yeah, they're okay."
Callie made a face.It was obvious from Ollie's tone that they really weren't okay.
"Shit," said Reaves."What's happening?What's wrong?Why are they still there?I expected that they would have made it to Portland by now or at least be close."
"Yeah, Alara's not feeling great," said Ollie.
"Is that all she said?"asked Reaves."Are you still with Callie?What did she think?"
"I'm here," said Callie.
