But Caro is frozen.“Dad?”she says.
41
CARO
“DAD.”CARO TRIES TO keep her voice even so she doesn’t startle him. “Are you okay?”
But it’s clear he doesn’t recognize her. This breaks her heart, though it’s happened before. He has placed his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, perfect driving position.
She tries his first name. It always feels so strange coming from her lips. “Henry,” she says.
This time, he looks at her.
“Hi,” she says. “Can I help you, Henry? Should we get you home?” Wait. What, exactly, does she mean byhome? She can’t take him back to where they used to live, and she’s not going to take him back to Lookout Pointe after theylosthim, is she? Her head is swimming. Whatisher plan, exactly?
But oh, is she glad to see him. Careful not to alarm him or get too close, she stands by the car door and looks him over with a doctor’s eye, noting what she can in the light from the movie screen. His hands are scraped but the cuts look superficial. The knees of his khakis both seem dirty, one of them torn. There are no visible facial or head injuries.
“Something is wrong.” Now Henryislooking at her, really looking at her. He has a very worried expression on his face, one that tears her upevery time she sees it. She thinks again about how her dad’s life used to be so big—hiking up and down the canyons and trails he loved, teaching, working at the hospital, going on trips, and always, always making new friends. Now it’s so limited.
Maybe that’s why he tried to come to Eden. Maybe a part of him remembers how much he loved it.
But then why did he end up at Sonnet? The resort itself is not a place he’s ever been before. It’s much newer. She’s not even sure he’d heard about Sonnet before his mind started to slip.
I’m thinking about him in the past tense,she realizes.And he’s right here in front of me.
“What is it?” Caro asks him.
“This car.” Henry taps the steering wheel with his fingers. “It won’t go anywhere.” His eyes are sad, focused again on the steering wheel. “Why?”
Caro’s phone vibrates in her hand, and she glances down at it automatically. When she sees who it’s from, a complicated mixture of relief and shame and love washes over her.Dan.
She’s worried she’s wearing him down, and she’s keeping a secret, and if he knows Hope is missing, if he knows exactly what’s going on, he’ll want to call or come see her, and she can’t handle that. Caro absolutely cannot take his kindness, his Dan-ness, right now.
She reads the text.
Hey, I know you won’t get this yet. I don’t want to ruin your vacation. But when you do check your phone, you’re going to get some news that worries you and I want you to know I’m on it.
Your dad’s gone missing, and it seems kind of serious. I’ve driven down to St. John to see what I can do. Got a hotel as close to Lookout Pointe as I could. I’ll keep you posted.Hopefully by the time you get this we’ve found him and everything’s good.
Dan’s here. Or nearby, anyway. He came down from Salt Lake City. He’s only an hour away. She will have to deal with this. But for now, she can’t leave him worrying.
I’ve found him, she texts back.He seems okay. I’ve actually been in Utah. More in a minute.
Thank heavens.Dan’s immediate response.Okay. I’ll sit tight until I hear more. So glad he’s okay. Love you.
He always knows the right thing to say. So it should be so easy to tell him everything.
And he’s always been such a nice guy. But she knows—she’s seen it firsthand with her dad—that even the nicest guys can break.
“What can we do?” Ash asks Caro gently.
“I want to take him to the hospital in St. John,” Caro says. “He’ll hate it, but we have to make sure he’s okay. I want him looked over by a doctor other than me. And then—I don’t know what.”
“I can help you take him into St. John, if you want me to,” Spencer offers.
“That would be great, actually,” Caro says. It would be good to have help if Henry decides to run again. This will be twice as fast as having Dan come out and help her take Henry into St. John. Caro glances at Ash. She feels torn. Can she abandon Ash when they’re still missing Hope? Ash is alone here. She doesn’t have friends or family in the area. “I think one of us should stay here, too. In case anything happens with Hope.”
“Okay,” Ash says. “Take your time. Please. I’ll keep calling the police station to find out if there’s anything new.”
