The Coltons: Fisher, Ryder & Quinn

She shook her head as she scrambled the eggs and said, “I’ve been thinking about that ever since yesterday. Joe said T.J. thought no one would find her there…”

Her voice trailed off and she stopped whipping. She put down the fork and bowl and said, “We used to go hiking and camping about thirty miles from here in the Texas hill country.”

Wiping her hands on her apron, she headed toward a side door in the kitchen and he followed.

The door opened into the two-car garage which had a recessed area on one side. Shelves and a large plastic storage bin were tucked into the recess and Macy immediately went to the storage bin and pulled up the top.

“The camping equipment and knapsacks are gone. T.J. must have taken them and if he did that…I bet that’s where he took her. We used to go up in the hills and camp. We even found a cave one time.”

“Was the cave big enough for someone to hide in or stay for any length of time?” he asked.

“Definitely. We slept there one night when it was raining,” she said with a quick bob of her head. “T.J. and his dad used to go there often until…I only went a few times, though. Hiking and camping were not my thing.”

“Do you think you could take us there? Find the trail that T.J. would be most likely to use to get to the cave?”

“I think so. It’s been a while, but I’m good at remembering places. We’ll need some supplies—”

“I’ve got camping gear back at Dad’s house and we can stop by the feed and supply to pick up some MREs.”

“MREs?” she questioned, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

“Ready to eat meals. Dad has everything we need in his camping section,” he explained.

“I’ll get changed and pack some warmer clothes. It can get cold in the hills.”

“And they’re predicting heavy rains. I hope T.J. knows enough to stay to the high ground and away from those arroyos. They can be dangerous if there’s a flash flood.”

Macy paled a little, but kept her cool. “I hope he knows that as well. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“I’ll finish cooking breakfast. The food will help us to be prepared for a long day.”

As Macy walked back into the kitchen and he went about finishing the meal, he only hoped that by the end of the day, they would have a better idea of where T.J. and Sara might be.

Fisher had called Buck Yates ahead of time and his dad had a few days worth of rations as well as some maps of the area ready for them when they arrived at his feed and supply store on the outskirts of town. Combined with the camping equipment that Fisher had picked up at his dad’s house, they would be well-prepared for a trip into the hill country.

As Buck helped them stow supplies in their knapsacks, Fisher asked, “Is Jericho still due home tomorrow?”

Buck nodded. “As far as I know he is.”

Fisher shot a look at her and said, “Tell him that we think T.J.’s helping Sara and that they’re hiding up in the state park. We’ll check in with the park ranger when we get there, but Jericho should try and reach me on the cell phone as soon as he can.”

When their bags were packed, they tossed them into the back of Fisher’s Jeep, climbed in and started the ride to the state park. It was about thirty miles away in the hill country and easily reached along a small interstate.

The weather station had predicted torrential rains for that afternoon. Macy hoped that they could reach the park and pick up T.J.’s trail before the rains came and obliterated any sign of him and Sara.

The weather forecast was on her mind during the entire ride along with concerns about what would happen if Deputy Rawlings decided to come by the house to question T.J. Would he assume the worst if he found them all gone? If he did, would he issue an all points bulletin for T.J. as if he were a fugitive?

At her prolonged silence during the ride, Fisher glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry. We’ll find them before there’s any more problems,” he reassured her.

“If Deputy Rawlings—”

“Jericho will be home soon enough and I think Rawlings is smart enough to know that Jericho would be less than pleased with the kind of grief he’s already given you. He’s not going to escalate this.”

She shook her head, recalling the dour look on the deputy’s handsome face when she had gone to pick up T.J. “He seemed pretty determined to me.”

“Focus on what we’ll do once we get to the park. Which trail we’ll take and where T.J. might have hidden Sara,” he urged and she did, forcing herself to remember the two or three trips she had taken with Tim and T.J. up into the hills. Trusting that between that and Fisher’s military expertise in tracking, they could find where T.J. and Sara might have gone.

Hoping that whoever it was that had tried to run down T.J. or had been asking questions back at the honky tonk would not already be on the teen’s trail.

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