Where would he go? Where would I go if I was a scared, angry little kid? I paced back and forth, my mind reeling. My phone dinged, and I dropped it in my haste to hit the accept button. “Shit.” I picked it up off the ground and put it to my ear. “Beau? Did you find him?”
“No. I think we should call the police. I don’t know where he could’ve gone, or where to look. We need help.”
The police. Well, yes, that would be a good idea. “I’ll call them.”
“Do you have any ideas where he might go?”
I wracked my brain again. “No. I mean, he’s not familiar with this area at all, so you have to wonder how far he can get.”
“Would he attempt to get in a car with someone?”
My stomach bottomed out. I would certainly hope not, but how did I know for sure? “Honestly, Beau, I don’t know. I guess it would depend on how resourceful Robbie is and how much he knows about taking care of himself. If I had to guess, he’s excellent at figuring out what to do.”
He grunted. “I’m heading back to your house. Let’s get in the car and drive around. We have to find him, April. He misunderstood me.”
“I know he did,” I said. It had been the absolute worst thing that Robbie could’ve overheard. “We’ll find him. I’m headed back to the house, too.” I hung up and jogged back, meeting Beau in the driveway. His face was grim, his body rigid. I wished I could say something to make it better, but we just needed to find Robbie.
“Did you call the police?”
“I’ll do it once we get in the car,” I said. “Let me go in and grab my purse.”
“Hurry, April. The longer he’s out there . . .”
“I know, Beau. We’re going to find him.” I dashed inside and grabbed my purse, fishing for my keys as quickly as possible.
Movement caught my eye from the back yard, and I stopped, scanning the yard. Must’ve been a bird. But then the neighbor’s dog started barking, and I stopped in my tracks. I peered out the kitchen window, looking back and forth but not seeing anything. The dog was running back and forth along the fence, and I stepped out of the kitchen and to the slider that overlooked the yard. I hardly ever heard that dog bark, much less run back and forth like that. It was almost like he saw something.
Robbie. I slid the door open and stepped onto the porch, my eyes scanning every part of the yard I could see. I had a big back porch with a table and chairs, a hammock, and large potted plants. I didn’t see him anywhere. Stepping out onto the concrete outside the patio, I scanned the various mature trees and shrubs that lined my property. The dog stood at the fence, wagging his tail and looking back and forth between me and the huge oak tree I had in my yard.
“Robbie?” The dog yipped and barked as if he agreed with me. He had to be back here. I walked to the tree and peeked behind it, hoping to see the small nine-year-old crouched there waiting to be found. Nothing.
I looked back at the dog, still wagging his tail at me like he was encouraging me to keep going. My phone rang in my purse, and I grabbed it quickly, seeing Beau’s name on the screen.
“Come to the back yard. I think Robbie is back here somewhere.”
Beau sighed in relief. “I’ll be right there.”
Just as I hung up, I heard a rustling in the tree above, and I craned my neck back. I still couldn’t see anything, so I stepped back from the tree. “Robbie?”
More rustling but no response came from the tree. Beau rushed out the door, and his eyes settled on me. “Nothing?”
I pointed up to the tree but didn’t respond. I was rather sure Robbie could see me and just didn’t want to answer. Beau’s eyes searched the tree, keeping his distance so he could see better. Being quite a bit taller than me helped, too.
My heart started beating normally, the scare of him running around in traffic or getting in someone’s car having passed. As upset as he probably was, he’d been smart enough to know he couldn’t run away. He not only had no idea where he was, but he hadn’t wanted to leave us.
“Robbie.” Beau’s deep voice resonated through the branches of the tree. “Son, are you there?” My heart clenched every time he said the word “son.” Robbie laying in the bed last night asking if I was going to be his mom popped into my memory. I want to be his mom.
I cleared my throat and began to speak. “Robbie, we want you to come down and talk to us. You misunderstood what B—your dad said. Come on, buddy, get out of there before you fall and get hurt. We don’t want to spend our time together going to the hospital because you fell from a tree.”