I went running out the door desperate to find her. I yelled her name and was determined to not stop until I found her. Without waiting for Colt, I hopped on a Gator and headed for the guest house, praying she was with Ty and they were both safe.
Chapter 37
Tyler
I woke up on the couch to beating on the door. Much to my surprise, my wife was standing there as I opened it. I went to speak, but she shoved me inside and started looking around. “Is Bella here with you?”
“What? No. Wait, how did you get here? What are you doing here, baby?”
“Ty, she’s missin’. Colt and Van thought she was upstairs with Noah, but he helped her sneak out of the house. They tried to call you.”
“My phone died.”
“Get some clothes on. We’ve got to find her.”
I rushed into the bedroom and started throwing on clothes. Once I had enough layers, we headed out to the Gator. “What the hell is going on? Where would she go?”
I didn’t expect Miranda, who was clearly frantic, to have answers. “I don’t know.” She started crying.
“Okay, we need to stay calm until we find her. I’m sure she’s not far. It’s too dark out here.”
“She’s so upset Ty. We should have known this would happen. We should have paid more attention.”
We started yelling her name as soon as we pulled away from the house. “Where’s Colt?”
“He and Noah are searching the barns. We need to stick to the woods and surrounding areas.” She was determined and suddenly nothing else mattered except our need to find our daughter.
With all other issues aside, her life could be in danger. We’d been in this type of situation once before and it didn’t come without injury.
We continued yelling her name out into the dark night.
Nothing.
No crying or screaming, just sounds of bugs and wildlife.
“Jesus Christ. Where would she go, Ty?”
I tried to stop worrying for a second and think about where Iz would go if she was upset. I thought about all the spots that we’d played hiding-go-seek and every place that someone her size would feel safe. Since my arms would have sufficed before all this drama happened, I stopped the Gator and realized one place that nobody had checked.
“I know where she’s at.”
“Where?” she asked.
“Hang on, I’ll show you.” The truth was, I wasn’t sure she would be there, but if I had to take a guess, and put myself in her shoes, I knew where I would go.
We pulled back up at the guest house and I knew my wife was confused. She stayed seated as I walked over to my truck. “Ty, were wastin’ time.”
I peeked in the window of the passenger side and saw Izzy sprawled across the seat. She had her ear buds in her ear, which would explain why she hadn’t heard Miranda pull up or us calling her.
Miranda started to run up to the truck, but I motioned for her to stop. I opened the door slowly and startled her when I touched her leg. She pulled out the ear buds and looked at me with tear filled eyes. “You said you were goin’ to leave me.”
I stood there, speechless that I’d been able to find her. It was like I was meant to be the one that was able to ,out of everyone that was looking. “I thought that’s what you wanted?”
She shook her head. “It’s not. I was coming here to hide and saw your truck. I figured you wouldn’t be able to leave without me if I stayed in it.”
“Sweetie, I wasn’t leaving until the morning.”
“I’m sorry for everything I said to you. I’m sorry for being a bad daughter.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. “You’ve never been a bad daughter, Iz. You were just upset. We should have told you the truth from the beginning. It’s our fault.”
She pulled away and looked right into my eyes. Her little bottom lip was quivering. “I wish I didn’t know. I wish I never heard about it.”
“He can’t ever hurt you. None of those people can. I made sure of it. You’re safe and you always will be.”
She cried harder and fell into my arms. “I was so scared. I just kept runnin’. I wanted to go home.” I picked her up and carried her into the house, where I continued holding her even after I’d sat down.
Miranda sat down beside me and Izzy finally realized that she was there with us. She smiled at her mother, while keeping her head against my chest. Honestly, I felt like if I let go of her, for even a second, I’d lose her again. “I love you so much, Iz.”
“I love you, too Daddy.”
That was it, the moment of impact where everything else that had gone on was simply forgotten about. Izzy may have been lost, confused and wanting to know the truth, but what she learned only proved to her that I was the only father she’d ever want or need. “Can you say that again?”