Lani.He looked to where she had stood next to Cubby and found her gone. Restroom, he thought. She’d be back. Why, then, did he suddenly feel on edge?
Leaving the stage, he nodded and shook hands on his way to the table. Cubby intercepted him.
“Something’s off with Lani. Come with me.”
He didn’t hesitate, just followed the sheriff to the reception area where they could talk.
“What’s going on, where is she?”
“Tex showed her the newspaper with her picture in it, the one of us all at the Potato Festival, and she freaked out. Went pale and started shaking. I stood with her, and then the Findlays started acting up, so I had to go bang their heads together. She took that moment to leave, but Katie intercepted her.”
“Where is she now?”
“Ella said there was a call for her. She took it, and someone called Mel was on the other end. She fake smiled to Katie, then walked out the door. Katie took a minute to find me and let me know she was going after her.”
Noah didn’t hesitate he ran through the Howler and out the back door, sprinting to where Lani’s Bronco should be parked with Cubby on his heels.
“She’s gone.” He felt like someone had punched him hard in the gut. His breath came out as a wheeze.
“Head down between your knees, bud.” He felt Cubby’s hand on the back of his neck.
“I’m okay, just a shock,” he managed to get out. “She promised she wouldn’t leave without talking to me first.”
“I don’t think she intended to.”
“Sure she did.” Noah hauled in a deep breath. “She wanted to go, so she went.” Ice filled his veins. “Her choice.”
“You’re shitting me, right?” Cubby got up in his face. “The girl clearly loves you, and left because something scared her.”
“What’s going on?” Katie and Tex arrived. “Katie said something’s off with Lani.”
“She’s gone, end of story.” Noah felt weird, like he couldn’t think clearly. His hands were sweaty and his vision was all over the place. Maybe he was having some kind of medical emergency. At least Cubby and Katie were here to save him.
“What? Don’t be an idiot. She’s running because of that phone call and her picture in the paper,” Katie said.
“I need to get back to the Howler. Faith will be wondering where I’ve gone.” His voice sounded distant.
“Don’t be a fuckhead,” Tex snapped. “Snap out of it!”
“Get out of my way,” Noah growled at the Texan as he blocked his next step. “Her choice was to leave me.”
“She’s in danger, Noah. The woman you love is running scared, and you’re letting her go.”
“She’s running from me!”
The slap came from Katie, and it was hard enough to snap his head sideways.
“Now you listen to me, bonehead. That girl was happy tonight, and for whatever reason, she’s decided to love you. She’s now in trouble, and we’re all she has, so snap out of whatever is going on with you so we can start looking for her. If she promised to tell you when she was leaving, she would. So wise up!”
And just like that, the fog in his head lifted and he looked around at the faces of his friends.
“Shit!”
“Well hallelujah, he’s back,” Tex said.
“I— That was weird.” He shook his head, then ran to the back door of the Howlery. Hoping Lani hadn’t locked it, he tried the handle. Buddy was barking as it swung open. The dog bounded out, and Noah headed for the stairs with the others on his heels.
“She may have left something, anything to say who she is or where she’d go.” Now that he was thinking rationally, he was filled with panic. Lani was in danger, he knew it. She needed him to find her.
