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“What do you want, Granger?” Kim stayed behind the fence line with Iggy and Wesley on either side, but she kept the barrel of her weapon aimed at the ground.

The man said, “How come you can’t never invite us in like you used to? You ain’t never civil anymore. We used to be friends.”

“Yeah, well, that was a long time ago. We’re eating dinner, so tell me what you want.”

The younger man smiled at Iggy and said ‘hello.’ This caused Wesley to turn in his direction.

“Hey, Austin,” Iggy replied on an exhale, her gaze softening before turning back to the older man, who was probably his father.

“I wanted to see about buying some gas off ya,” Granger said.

Iggy asked, “Why don’t you buy it in town like everyone else?”

“Why don’t you shut up and let the grown-ups talk?”

“Why don’t you fuck off,” she snapped.

Granger grabbed his crotch and said, “I can teach you a thing or two about fuckin’ off, little girl.”

Kim raised and cocked her weapon. Wesley stepped forward, took a low aim, and said, “And I can hurt you so bad that you’ll never be able to fuck again.”

Granger spit on the ground and scowled at Iggy. “That’s a woman for ya. Gotta hide behind her freak watchdog.”

Cody leaned toward me and whispered, “Shit, man. This is serious.”

I moved up, edging around people until I was standing just behind Iggy, who was taking shallow breaths and staring.

“Get the fuck out of here, Granger,” Kim shouted.

“I’m willing to offer ya twenty-five bucks a gallon. Town’s a little dry right now.”

“No deal.”

“No deal, huh? Because I insulted your daughter? She ain’t got no respect for her elders. You need to put personal feelings aside so you can do business.”

“You’re not an elder, Granger. You’re an asshole,” Kim told him. “And you ain’t got the sense God gave a rock if you think I’m gonna do business with you.”

“Thirty a gallon,” he offered.

“What part of ‘fuck off’ do you not understand?”

Granger stopped chewing on whatever was in his mouth and spit again. “You don’t wanna make the mistake refusing to do business with me.”

“I’ll give you to the count of three before we shoot.”

Granger shook his head. “You stupid, fucking cu—” Suddenly he froze and clutched his chest. His eyes went wide and he grunted before falling to his knees, dropping his gun. Austin grabbed hold of him and asked what was wrong.

Cody said, “He’s having a heart attack.”

I strained to see. “Maybe he’s choking.”

Kim lowered her weapon and turned to Iggy. So quietly that I almost didn’t hear, she said, “Iggy, stop.”

Granger collapsed onto his back and clutched at his chest.

Kim grabbed her stepdaughter’s arm and said more forcefully, “Iggy. Stop it.”

Iggy blinked several times and focused on Kim, clapping a hand over her mouth. Wesley laid a hand on her shoulder, but Iggy turned away and jogged toward the house. Granger sucked in a deep breath and rolled over, his son helping him to his feet. Once he was standing, he massaged his chest and said, “You bunch of freaks!” But he got into his truck and started the engine.

Kim closed the gate. Wesley ran to the house. Cody and I stood there for a few minutes exchanging looks of confusion.

Chapter 5

Cael

More people sat at the breakfast table this morning, all them bleary-eyed and bent over mugs of coffee. Cody was still sleeping, and I didn’t know where Iggy or her parents were. I filled a mug with coffee, declined Jamie’s breakfast offer, and stepped out onto the veranda.

It was cool outside, and I was glad I’d worn a sweatshirt. Birds were pecking at several feeders spread across the front lawn, and I was about to sit down and watch them when I heard hoof beats approaching from the back field. I walked down the steps and looked toward the barn where Iggy and Kim rode up on horseback. I watched as Iggy took her feet out of the stirrups, swung a leg over, and slid to the ground. She took both horses’ reigns and led them into the barn while Kim headed for the house.

I walked toward them, carefully balancing my coffee. As we passed each other, Kim asked, “Where are you off to so early in the morning?”

“I’m going to see the…um…horses.”

Kim grinned. “Right. Iggy told me how much you like Black Jack.” She patted my shoulder. “Maybe you can help her muck out the stalls.”

We continued in opposite directions down the same path, and I entered the barn to find Iggy pulling the saddle off Black Jack. I gulped down some coffee and said, “Good morning, Iggy.”

She turned and smiled. Her hair was parted down the middle and tied into two pigtails on either side of her neck. The cool air made her skin look paler but her cheeks and nose pinker. This was the first time I’d seen her in jeans, and her legs looked long and slender. The rest of her was covered in an over-sized Florida Gators sweatshirt. I walked over to Black Jack, determined not to let the horse keep me away.

After Iggy deposited her saddle and blanket onto a triangular wooden rack, she walked up to me and took the mug out of my hands, drank half of my coffee, and handed it back to me. “Thanks.”

“Sure. My coffee is your coffee.” I finished it off and set the mug out of the way.

“Wanna to try brushing Black Jack?”

I looked at the horse. He was tied to a post and appeared worn out. “Sure.” I picked up a brush and curry comb and went to work, paying careful attention to Black Jack’s every movement. Iggy unsaddled Kim’s gray mare and started brushing her down. I said, “You guys deal with a lot of drama here, don’t you? The CDC one day. This Granger guy the next. Makes me wonder who will show up today.”

“You can’t say it’s dull around here.”

“Did Uncle Chris come home yet?”

“No, not yet. He called Kim to tell her they’d given up on assigning shifts. Too much is happening to say exactly when he will or won’t work. Any news from Aunt Ava or Uncle Daniel?”

I brushed short, brisk strokes down Black Jack’s flank. “No. Nothing.” The horse’s tail flicked and swatted me. I jumped back, but he seemed oblivious to me so I resumed brushing. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday. If your dad can help in any way — maybe find out if my parents even got out of Bethesda, what direction they went, general location — I want to go and search for them.”

“I’ll text him. I’m sure he can find out something.”

I moved to Black Jack’s other side. “Iggy. What does the CDC want with you? Do you have some kind of contagious disease or something?”

She chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna contaminate you. Me and Wes received a vaccine when we were younger, and they want to follow up on some bad side effects. That’s all.”

“What, like tetanus? Hepatitis? Flu?” I started working on Black Jack’s neck.

“It was a new vaccine. I don’t remember what it was for.”

“Are you sick?”

“No. I was when I was younger, but I’m perfectly fine now.”

“Last night, I thought Granger seemed familiar.”

“I’m not surprised. We played with his son Austin several times when you came down for vacation. He used to come over a lot when we were in elementary school. But you and I both steered clear of his dad when he came over to pick him up.”

“What happened between your two families?”

“My dad arrested him for possession with intent to distribute.”

“Weed?”

“No. Cocaine.”

“Well, I suppose that would destroy any friendships.”

Iggy tossed her brush into a bucket and tugged the rope that untied the mare. “Think you can walk Black Jack to his stall?”

I stepped back and gave her a dubious look.

“Come on. You just hold the lead like this. From the horse’s left side.” She demonstrated the position and then walked off with her horse.

I took a deep breath and mimicked Iggy’s actions. I think Black Jack ended up leading me to his stall instead of the other way around. I stopped at the entrance, unhooked the lead, and let the horse go into the stall by himself. I slid the half door shut and found Iggy smiling.

“Perfect! Good job, Cael.” Another high five. “Have you had breakfast?”

I shook my head.

Iggy took the lead rope from me, hung it over a hook and said, “Me neither. Wanna go eat? Jamie’s pancakes are fabulous. Pure maple syrup too.”

After I nodded, Iggy hooked her arm through mine and I caught a whiff of vanilla and sugar cookies before we headed out of the barn.

Cael

“Tennessee? You’re sure?” I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

“I’m certain,” Chris assured me. “It’s your parents’ car. Unless someone stole it and crashed it there. There’s no official report of it being stolen, but it’s still a possibility.”

“They’ve got no reason to go to Tennessee. It doesn’t make any sense. We have no relatives there. No friends.”

“Maybe they didn’t intend to go there. Or
maybe just the car is there, but not them. All I can say is that the local cops up there are looking for them. We have to give them time to do their jobs. And you going in search of your parents is a bad idea…like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

“So their car is totaled, but they aren’t listed as patients in the local hospital?”

He shook his head. “I called several hospitals, but no Daniel or Ava Bellamy were listed as patients.”

“With all the crimes being committed right now, I don’t think a search for my parents is going to be high priority for any cop. Hospitals are flooded with people. Maybe my parents are lost in all the commotion. Or maybe they were brought to a hospital unconscious and without I.D. It’s a morbid thought, but it’s possible. I’d feel better if I checked the hospitals myself.”

“Ava and Daniel would not want you out there looking for them. Surely you know that.”

I nodded. “I know. But I still want to go, anyway.”

Chris sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “What if you don’t find them? Don’t find any information about them?”

“Then I’ll come back.”

“Straight back? No crazy ideas about driving north or expanding your search?”

“If I don’t find any clues within a day, I’ll head back.”

“You know Cael, you could get hurt or killed and your parents end up here tomorrow wondering where you are. It’s a bad idea. Give it a little longer. It's too dangerous out there.”

“I have to know what happened, Uncle Chris. They’d do the same for me. You’d do the same for Iggy. She’d go in search of you. I know it’s a stupid idea, but I still have to do it.”

Chris jumped to his feet and paced around the desk in his home office. He started to say something, but a knock on the open door distracted him. Iggy was standing in the doorway.

“I’m going too.”

“The hell you are,” her dad countered.

Her hands balled into fists. “It’s my decision, dad. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“No, you’re not. But I’ll tie you up in your bedroom and nail your door shut.”

“And as soon as you untie me to go to the bathroom or eat a meal, I’ll climb out the window.”

“He can handle this by himself, Iggy.”

I told her, “Cody’s coming with me. We’ll be fine.”

“See?” Chris gestured toward me. “They’ll be fine.”

Iggy shook her head. “With what’s going on out there, I think it’s better to have more than two people traveling together. Besides, Wesley and I would make the trip safer. You
know
this, dad.” She shot him a pointed look that I didn’t understand.

I squirmed, looking back and forth between the two of them and wondering just how incompetent Iggy thought I was that I needed her and Wesley’s help.

Chris sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, then he glared at me and said, "Do you have to go, Cael? Can't you give it more time?"

"No. I know how to shoot a gun. If I can just borrow some weapons, I'll be fine. I don’t need anyone to come with me."

Chris rolled his eyes. "You really think you're going to shoot someone?"

"If I have to."

"As a cop, I'm telling you that's a bad idea."

I shrugged but didn’t drop my gaze from his.

He turned to his daughter and said, "You're not going, Iggy."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Wes and I are both going."

I asked, “Why is Wesley coming?” At first I wondered why on earth he’d want to go. Then it hit me that he would never leave Iggy. If she went, he would go too.
Freak watchdog
. Maybe Granger was right.

Chris stepped up to his daughter and said, “I know what you think you and Wesley can do, Iggy. But it’s dangerous. I wouldn't be surprised if Jensen had eyes on you two out there.”