Stella MacLean - Unexpected Attraction

“And you don’t know where she might have gone?”

“No.” Huge sobs filled the line just as Chloe hung up.

What was that all about? Andrea headed to Shannon’s room. “Shannon, are you in there?” she asked through the closed door, a sickening feeling growing when she received no response.

She eased the door open, expecting to find Shannon curled up on her bed, upset at the rift with Chloe.

There was no one in the bed. In fact, it was neatly made and everything in the room was in order. On the dresser by the bed, an envelope was propped against a photo of the two of them at the nature park when Shannon was ten. The photo of Shannon and her father was nowhere in sight.

Her heart pounding with dread, she picked up the envelope and shakily tore it open. Four words were scrawled in Shannon’s familiar writing: I’ve gone to Dad’s.

Stunned, Andrea stared at the note, almost not understanding the words. Panic rose in her throat, choking her. Shannon couldn’t have left like this. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Andrea’s hands shook as she reread the note. The words stood out black and hard against the white paper.

How could Shannon do this? She had to know how terrified I’d be.

Feeling faint, Andrea sat on the bed. Shannon had said she’d be here after the meeting. So what had made her decide to go to her father now? Had her fight with Chloe been the reason? Had she called her father after the argument with Chloe, and he’d seen his chance to get her to his house?

“Why?” Andrea yelled. “Why did you do this, Shannon?” What was she going to do? She had to find her daughter.

Andrea began to pace, her mind churning. She stopped. Had Kyle been involved in this? Was he planning to leave with her? Shannon said they’d talked about going to Phoenix together.

Andrea grabbed the house phone and searched the incoming-call list, checking to see who might have called this morning. Even if Shannon planned to go to her father’s, someone had to have convinced Shannon to leave. She would never have left on her own, especially when she’d promised to be here when Andrea got home.

The list showed that, other than Andrea’s call around two o’clock, only Chloe and Kyle had called the house.

If Shannon was planning to go to her father’s, she’d need money, an airline ticket. Kalamazoo was a long way from Phoenix. She’d have to pack... Andrea stared around the room, looking for clues. She opened the top drawer of the dresser, then pulled out the box where Shannon kept her babysitting money. The box was empty. How much cash had Shannon had in there?

She had to have gotten help from someone. As much as Andrea hated to upset her mother, she needed to phone her. But her call went to voice mail. She left a message asking her mother to call but didn’t leave any information about Shannon. A message wasn’t the way she wanted her mother to find out that Shannon was going to her father’s house.

Who could help her? “Gina.” Dialing her friend’s number, she went into the kitchen, searching for any clues about when Shannon might have left the house. Nothing.

“Andrea, how did the meeting go?”

“That’s not important right now. I can’t find Shannon. I came home to find a note saying she was going to her father’s.”

“Did you call him to see if he’s expecting her?”

“I want to know what’s going on before I talk to him. I can’t deal with him otherwise.”

“Do you suppose he sent her an airline ticket?”

“I have no idea. Shannon said she’d be here when I got home. She promised to tell me everything. I talked to Chloe, and she doesn’t know where Shannon is,” Andrea said, her mind not yet accepting that Shannon had left for Phoenix without saying goodbye.

“What did the psychologist say?”

“Who cares? It was Jake Polegato.”

“No.”

Andrea sighed. “My luck hasn’t changed.”

“I’ll be right there.” Gina hung up.

Meanwhile Andrea searched the house for more clues but found nothing. If she had a ticket from her father, it must have been sent by email. Where was Shannon’s computer? Her search turned up nothing. Shannon must have taken her laptop with her.

In what seemed like only minutes, Gina arrived.

“Let’s see what we can figure out. Shannon couldn’t have gone very far,” Gina said as she led the way into the kitchen with her usual take-charge attitude. “I just can’t believe she would leave. Not when she promised to be here. Not when we needed to talk,” Andrea said.

“I agree with you. Shannon wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I’m sure she’ll be back and you can talk to her then. Let’s just stay calm and wait for her. In the meantime, tell me everything that went on at the meeting.”

Andrea told her what she could remember in her distressed state.

“Maybe the counselor is right and Shannon confided in Kyle. You should call him. Maybe Shannon showed up at his house,” Gina said.

Andrea did, but no one answered. She left a message for Kyle, telling him that Shannon was missing and asking him to call back right away.

Gina poured two cups of coffee, sliding one across the counter to Andrea. “If you’re right and Shannon is planning to go to her father’s, you need to call him.”

“And give him another reason to be nasty? Not until I have to. Besides, if she were going to Scott’s he would have to have sent an airline ticket to her. I don’t think Shannon has enough money saved to buy one.”

“I think you should contact Jake Polegato.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. How can he help?”

“I don’t know for sure, but he works with teenagers—he understands them. He knows she’s in some sort of trouble. At the very least, you could bounce ideas off him. To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on with Shannon, but if she’s left home, you need any help you can get. If I were you, I’d swallow my pride and call this man.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Andrea said, praying that Shannon would walk through the door and say she’d changed her mind about going to her dad’s.

Gina came around the kitchen island and hugged Andrea. “You have to put aside your feelings about Jake. For Shannon’s sake. What choice do you have?”

“I love her.” Andrea managed to swallow around the hard lump in her throat. She might not like Jake, but he had shown concern for Shannon. He was also qualified to assess what might have motivated Shannon to take off this way. If he could help find Shannon, what she felt about the man didn’t matter. “Nothing can happen to her.”

She met Gina’s concerned glance, and in that instant Andrea knew what she had to do. “Okay, I’ll contact him. What can it hurt?”

“You won’t be sorry.” Gina began to tidy the clutter on the counter.

Andrea dialed Jake’s number, and he answered on the first ring. “Andrea, is Shannon all right?”

“Shannon’s left home. I need your help.” The line was quiet. Was he not going to answer? No. He couldn’t do that to her, not here, not under the circumstances. “Look, I’m really sorry for how I behaved—”

“Andrea, that’s not important. What’s important is Shannon. I’ll clear my schedule and be there in about half an hour. In the meantime, check with Shannon’s friends. Get that young man—”

“Kyle.”

“Yes. Ask him to come to your house.”

“Yes,” she said, relief flooding over her. She might have to drive over to Kyle’s house if he didn’t answer the phone, or call his mother at work, but one way or the other she would find him.

She hung up and dialed Kyle’s number. He answered immediately. “Mrs. Taylor, I got your message. I’ve been out looking. I can’t find Shannon. I’ve talked to her other friends at school, and no one has heard from her.”