TEN
Jack parked at the curb at his aunt’s house, barely registering that he’d arrived. He was relieved to finally be “home,” though he still struggled to accept that he was truly back in Big Rapids, Montana, living with his aunt. This arrangement was the best one for her.
His mind kept flashing back to all the times he’d stood on that porch with Terra—before he’d left for Quantico.
He’d planned to propose. Bought a ring—weird that he still had that ring.
Jack carried some bad DNA in him. He had baggage and feared that, with his legacy, especially compared to Terra’s family, he wasn’t the best man for her. Still, he’d been in love. He would have proposed that night. And if he had, they could have gone to Quantico together, but he’d overheard Robert Vandine telling someone over the phone that Jack was from bad stock. He talked about Jack like he was nothing more than livestock. The man had bad-mouthed his father, and all Jack’s doubts came crashing down on him. He definitely wasn’t the man for Terra.
He actually thought he’d been doing the right thing by leaving her with only a letter instead of talking to her face-to-face. She deserved so much better than him, and it had been best to walk away cold turkey. He had never told her about the conversation he’d overheard. If she had known about her grandfather’s words regarding Jack, it would have broken her heart. Considering that her father had left her, and then Jack too, Terra deserved at least one man whom she could count on.
Jack had broken both their hearts—the manner of his departure one of his biggest regrets.
He’d let her down. He’d let many people down. Now he was determined not to do that ever again.
Especially to his aunt.
Jack strode into the small ranch house he now shared with her and headed to the kitchen. A sensation swept over him.
Emptiness.
No one was home. He hoped he was wrong. “Aunt Nadine?”
Her car was still in the driveway. After searching the house, he rushed outside into the backyard. Two of the dogs, Dusty and Tux, also strays that had now found a home there with Nadine, met him and wagged their tails. But no Freckles or Aunt Nadine.
“Have you guys seen Aunt Nadine?” Jack crouched to rub the dogs behind their ears. “I know you tell us not to worry, Lord, but I can’t help it.”
Jack rushed around to the front of the house and looked down the county road. Aunt Nadine lived just outside the city limits, with a few neighboring houses nearby.
His gut clenched. He hoped he wouldn’t find her out roaming around at this time of night. It was already ten o’clock. He should have come home earlier, as promised, but he’d wanted to give Terra the information and secure her help, then he’d stopped at the county offices.
Jack darted back into the house and looked at the list of Aunt Nadine’s friends and phone numbers taped on the refrigerator. She hadn’t driven anywhere, so a friend could have picked her up. He called the first person on the list—Francine Carmichael—even though it was probably past her bedtime, but he needed to find Aunt Nadine. He waited for someone to answer.
At sixty-nine, Aunt Nadine was young to struggle with dementia—at least what little he knew about it—though the risks increased with age. He’d read some information about the disease on the Internet, but he had better make the time to get thoroughly educated before she—or someone else—ended up hurt.
At least she was still well enough to be independent, but Jack had made his decision to stay close and live with her. Maybe his career move to county detective was the wrong one for this situation, and he should look for other employment.
“Hello?” A woman answered the call.
“Hello, Mrs. Carmichael?”
“This is she.”
“This is Jack, Nadine’s nephew. I’m wondering if she’s there with you.”
“Goodness, no.” She coughed, then continued, “If you don’t know where she is, that can’t be good. Did you look to see if her car is in the garage?”
“It’s in the drive, actually. I’ve already looked everywhere here at the house. I’m calling her friends before I call the sheriff.”
A ruckus at the front door drew his attention, then Freckles dashed inside dragging his leash. The door shut and Aunt Nadine entered the kitchen from the hallway, wearing a purple hoodie and looking exhausted. Relief washed through him but was replaced with another concern as she paused to stare at him. Did she even recognize him?
“Mrs. Carmichael, she’s here. No need to be worried. She just walked in.” He ended the call and prepared himself for what came next.
“Jack, what on earth are you doing? Are you trying to make my friends think I’m crazy?”
“What? Of course not. I got home and couldn’t find you.” He hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes. “I’m sorry, okay? Let me get you a drink.”
“I can take care of myself.” She brushed past him to grab Freckles, then crouched to release the dog from his leash. She opened the sliding glass door to let Freckles into the backyard. “Go see Tux and Dusty.”