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“Can I help you?” she asks. The dog growls and she turns away so the dog can’t see us.
“We’re actually here to see Nate, if that’s okay,” I respond. The woman looks us up and down before her brows knit together.
“You two are a little old to be friends of Nate’s.” Nate’s mom is eyeing us suspiciously now. I chuckle awkwardly before shaking my head.
“No, sorry. My younger sister is dating Nate.”
“Oh, you’re Izzy’s sister?” Nate’s mom smiles. “She’s a very sweet girl. We love to watch her race at the equestrian center. Come on in. My name’s Joanna.”
She steps aside so we can enter the house. When she shuts the door behind us, the dog goes wild, barking and snarling so much that drool drips out of his mouth.
“Shush, Barry,” Joanna whispers to the dog before smiling at us. “I’ll let Nate know you’re here.”
She goes up the stairs as the dog continues to bark loudly. Carter glances at me and smiles.
“Noisy dog,” he whispers.
“I think he’s cute.”
The sound of someone stomping down the stairs cuts Carter off before he can respond. Nate looks surprised when he sees us. His brown hair is wild and frizzy atop his head, the pajama pants he’s wearing stopping a little above his ankles like he grew unexpectedly.
“Oh, hey, guys. What are you doing here?”
I grimace.
“Addy and I had a fight earlier. When I went to her room to check on her she was gone. We thought she might have come here.”
“Did you try calling her?” Nate asks like that wouldn’t be the first thing I’d think of. I resist the urge to make a sarcastic remark and nod.
“Yes. Her phone is turned off.”
“I haven’t heard from her. I’ll keep an eye out for her, though, and let you know if I hear from her.”
We exchange numbers before Carter and I head back to the car. When I slide in the passenger seat my hand flies to my mouth. I nibble my nail to soothe my anxiety. Carter reaches over and gently pulls my hand away from my mouth.
“Don’t worry, Addy. We’ll find her. She couldn’t have gone far without a car.”
“Somebody doesn’t need a car to go far in this city. She could have taken a taxi or a bus or even hitchhiked!” I throw my hands in the air and suck in a panicked breath. Oh, my God. What if she hitchhiked? She could be in a stranger's car halfway to Oregon by now.
Carter chuckles and squeezes my hand.
“Come on, Addy. Izzy’s got a good head on her shoulders. There’s no way she would get in the car with somebody she doesn’t know.” Carter shifts and looks up at the house in front of us. “She’s not here, so she must be somewhere else where she feels safe and comfortable. Do you know where she feels safest?”
As soon as the question leaves Carter’s mouth I realize where Izzy is.
“Of course. How could I be so stupid?” I mutter to myself.
I chuckle and shake my head before looking at Carter.
“I know where she is.”
“Where is she?”
“Riding her horse.”
When we pull up outside of the equestrian center fifteen minutes later, all the lights are off but one. I smile as I step out of the car and hear the sound of hooves hitting the dirt of the training ground. We’ve found her.
Carter steps out of the car and comes around to join me.