Then she saw Cal’s SUV.
Parked crooked near the side of the drive.
Driver’s door hanging wide open.
Naomi pulled the horse to a sharp stop.
“Oh no.”
Fear hit instantly.
The farmhouse front door stood wide open, too, the screen door rocking softly against the frame in the evening breeze.
No movement.
No voices.
Nothing.
Naomi slid off the horse fast, boots hitting the gravel hard as she hurried toward the porch.
“Izzy?” she shouted.
Nothing.
“Cal?”
Nothing.
The kitchen lights were still on.
A glass of water sat untouched on the counter.
One of Clara’s sketchbooks lay open on the island beside Izzy’s phone charger.
But the house was empty.
Naomi’s pulse hammered.
She backed out onto the porch and grabbed her phone with shaking hands.
Burke answered immediately.
“Naomi?”
“They’re gone.”
The words came out breathless.
“Burke, something’s happened.”
His tone changed instantly.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“Cal’s SUV is here with the driver’s door standing open. The farmhouse door’s wide open too and nobody’s here.” Her voice cracked. “Something’s wrong.”
Silence.
