Page 28 of The Awakening (The Morton Family Saga #3)
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gavin
I watched Ellie drive out of our yard and leave the ranch as I walked to the barn. She wouldn’t have had time to pack her things, so she must be coming back. Seeing her eyes full of hurt made me immediately regret the tone I had taken.
Why had I let Naomi get to me? Finding Rob alone in was rare these days. His job managing the ranch was getting busier than ever before, but I needed to talk to someone.
“Hey can we talk?”
He looked up from the stall he was fixing. “Sure. I’m due for a break.” He motioned for me to follow him over to the stack of hay bales. “What’s up?”
“Addison. How did you…?” My voice trailed off. I had debated this conversation in my mind for days.
“Move past the fact that she’s not biologically mine?” Rob asked, looking down at the straw and pulling out a piece.
“Yeah. How did you know?” I looked at him and waited for a reply.
“You’re predictable Gavin. And I figured eventually we would have this talk.” He arched his brow.
There was nothing I could say to that. Rob knew me better than I knew myself at times.
“So what’s bothering you, other than the obvious?”
“I ran into Naomi,” I said.
“Ahh, well, now things are making sense. What did she say that got to you?” Rob glanced at his phone when it chimed, turning the sound off and setting it face down beside him.
“She reminded me that we broke up because I didn’t want to settle down and I didn’t want a family. Now here I am doing the things I never wanted, and for a stranger, no less.”
“She’s not exactly a stranger anymore, Gavin.
Jessica and I see the way you look at each other.
It may not have started that way, but you’ve both grown.
” He leaned back against the bale behind him and looked off to the other end of the barn.
“You love her. I can see it in you. Tell her, be her husband and be the dad to that baby. I had eight years with Addison was mine before I found out she wasn’t mine.
But there would have been no way to stop loving her, even if I’d found out sooner.
You get to be the man in that baby’s life.
Love that baby and his mom, and there will never be a question again about you being a father. ”
“Thanks, need help here?” I asked.
“Good thing you asked, because I was just going to start barking orders.”
The ringing of my phone made me aware of the time.
Ellie should have been home an hour ago.
I watched her leave while I was looking for Rob.
When I talked to her, she said she needed a few things, but that shouldn’t have taken long.
Even with traveling to town and home, she should have been here by now.
“Hey, Danny, what’s up?”
“I wish this was a personal call, but we found Ellie’s out on the old highway just south of the police station.
” Danny was silent for a moment before he took a deep breath.
“Gavin, the rear driver side window had been broken out. We found a tire iron at the scene. The driver’s door was open, and Ellie’s purse and phone were inside. ”
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know that yet. The surveillance cameras outside the precinct are being reviewed, but so far, we’ve got nothing. Can you tell us how long ago she left?”
“About two hours ago. I called her, and she said she had a couple things to do before she left town. She always gets the mail last.”
“All right, I will send someone to the post office and see if we can narrow down a time. We have officers out looking, so hang tight until you hear from me.”
“You’re asking me to sit on my hands while my wife and baby are missing? You’ve lost your mind.”
“There’s protocol to follow, Gavin. At least give us an hour.”
“Thirty minutes and I have a chopper in the air.” I hung up the phone before he could respond.
I ran to my truck and sped over to my parents. Rob hopped in with me, and Tyler was already there working on some pasture management. Dad was always close by. Bursting through the door, I almost ran into Mom. “Where’s Dad?”
“He’s in Tyler’s office. Gavin, what’s wrong?” Her face had changed from happy to see me to concerned in a split second.
“Come with me. I will tell you all at once.” I took off toward Tyler’s office with my mom on my heels.
“Ellie’s gone,” I shouted when I burst through the doors.
The three men looked at me with blank looks on their faces. My mother covered her mouth with her hands.
“What do you mean?” my father asked.
I collapsed onto the couch and hung my head into my hands. “Danny called. One of the officers found Ellie’s truck parked on the highway. Someone busted out a window with a tire iron.”
This was all so strange. We had left Montana months ago, and we hadn’t heard a word from anyone there. So who around here would want to hurt Ellie?
“Do the police have any leads?” Rob asked.
“No, nothing. I gave Danny thirty minutes, then I’m heading out with the chopper to look. I better call the airstrip.” I heaved myself to standing, but Tyler pushed me back onto the couch.
“I’ll do it. Sit.”
“We haven’t had any threats recently. There would have been some chatter if there had been any attempts,” Dad said as he sat down beside me.
The minutes ticked by, and I was getting more anxious by the second. I stopped my leg from bouncing and checked my phone at least once a minute, hoping to hear from Ellie.
“I’m not waiting any longer. Let’s go.” Dad stood and headed for the door. My brothers and I followed.
“Bring our girl and grandbaby home,” My mother called after us.
Mom was right. Ellie belonged here, and I had been an idiot to doubt it.