Page 99 of Banter & Blushes #1

ZAKI

O ne minute I was trying to outperform Monty with my Cupid Shuffling, and the next I was helping to pull the arch from the fire and shucking off my shirt to help tamp out the flames.

Was that the best idea? No. But it was the first thing I thought of.

Behind me, Rodeo and another dog were barking, kids were crying, and around me, shirtless hockey players and Monty—who were taking my lead—were working to stifle the burning flowers covering the arch.

Within a few minutes, the flames were out, and it looked like the structure was still intact. It would just need a new paint job.

I grinned at my teammates with pride. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that a hockey player won’t give the shirt off his back for a good cause.

“Zaki!” I barely registered Arwyn’s voice as I stood and wiped soot from my face with the back of my hand.

I turned, my satisfaction transforming into concern when I saw the terror on her face.

“Zaki! The girls are missing! We have to go!”

“What? How?”

She pointed to the resort’s head of security, talking into a radio. “They ran off! Jack is calling all staff to look for them, and Damon is coordinating with the police!”

“I don’t understand. They were just in the bounce house. We waved to them right before the Cupid Shuffle. Where did they go? There are two staff members monitoring the kids’ area.”

“Two teenagers who are very panicked right now. Hallie said something about a prank gone wrong and Amelie falling on the cake, and Zaki—they’re gone!”

I scanned the beach and tried to stay calm. There wasn’t enough light to see much of anything. “They couldn’t have gone far. Amelie probably wanted to hide because she was embarrassed.” I couldn’t wait to hear how she’d fallen on the cake, which was supposed to be on the gift table.

Arwyn shook her head. “Hallie told Damon she saw them running up the stairs. He took off after the girls, then told her to tell Jack, then me, everything she knew. It sounded like Amelie had a panic attack. C’mon!”

She didn’t wait for me. As I ran after her toward the stairs we’d just descended about an hour ago, I pulled on what was left of my short-sleeved button-down.

Had the girls crossed the busy road to the resort? Or had they turned right onto the Cliff Walk toward the diner? I prayed they didn’t go left. The only thing going that way separating them from a rocky fall off the cliffside was a short metal guardrail.

Don’t think the worst.

The girls had spent the first five and a half years of their lives living in Denver and Montreal. They knew how to walk and cross busy streets.

But those streets were well-lit, the traffic was slower, and they always had an adult holding their hand.

Arwyn stopped running just short of the stairs. “Go ahead of me. You’re faster!”

I looked up. Flynn was almost to the top, followed by Meggie and two of her bridesmaids. A quick glance down the beach revealed figures ascending the other set of stairs that led up toward the diner and shops.

I sprinted up the steps, taking them two at a time. At the top, two police SUVs with their lights flashing blocked the road. Damon was helping an officer set up a roadblock with cones as another policeman held up traffic with a stop sign on a pole.

I had no idea what to do next. Follow Flynn and the ladies across the street? Turn right and meet up with the group at the next set of steps?

Arwyn caught up to me just then, panting. Through her gasps for air, she called out to Damon. “Which way?”

Damon turned toward us. “We think they ran up to the resort. I didn’t arrive here in time to see if they crossed, but these guys here came from two different directions and didn’t see them. We’ve got a search party getting together along the road, just in case.”

Arwyn’s phone rang as we crossed the street. “It’s Meggie!” She answered the call and said “mm-hmm” three times. “We’ll meet you there!”

“Where?” I asked, frantic .

“She thinks they might be hiding in the barn. She’s sending one of the security guys to meet up with us and drive us there.”

Up the lane, I could just make out a golf cart heading for us. “I can’t believe they’d get that far so fast. And in the dark.”

“They’re your girls, Zaki. Don’t you know how fit they are? They skate lightning-quick and are super strong from ballet. Did you forget they each either won or tied for first place in all the kindergarten running races on field day? Amelie even set a school record in the twenty-yard dash.”

Despite my panic, I couldn’t help but beam with pride. I’d watched them run those races and was so proud of them.

But running from their problems was not okay.

Being a parent is hard. When we found them—and I knew we would—I’d have to find a way to reassure them they were safe and loved but still let them know what they did was wrong.

If this was all a result of a prank gone awry, as Hallie said, they would have to apologize.

But was that enough of a consequence for six-year-olds?

I gestured for Arwyn to hop into the front seat of the golf cart, but she shook her head and sat in the second row with me. She squeezed my hand and called her mother to explain the situation.

“Someone’s already checked out the cottage, and there are staffers searching the area. Meggie thinks they went to the barn. Can you think of any other place they might hide?” Arwyn closed her eyes and squeezed my hand harder. “Okay. We’ll see you there.”

She turned to me. “Jack already called her, and she’s almost at the barn. She said she told him exactly what she thinks of the camp staff’s negligence and recommended more rigorous safety training.”

It hadn’t even occurred to me yet that the staff had fallen short of keeping our girls safe.

The stables loomed ahead on the path, lit by old-fashioned streetlamps. As we neared it, I jumped out of the golf cart and ran at top speed for the open barn door. All the lights were on inside.

I stopped to listen at the entrance, heard the sound of my girls crying, and froze.