a crooked grin and put his hands in front of his face.
Kate wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at him. “I hate it when you don’t take me seriously.”
“I take you very seriously. I just think you’re casting your vote without fair consideration.”
“You made that clear.”
“We’re running out of options, babe. We need working capital. It doesn’t make sense to pay interest on a loan when we could be drawing dividends on an investment. And unless you have a better idea, those are the choices.” Micah stood. “How about you think it over this afternoon, and we’ll talk again after dinner? If you still don’t want to do it, after you take an honest look at what Chad faxed to us, I’ll stop pressing the issue.”
“But it won’t change your opinion that I’m playing it too safe.”
Micah folded his arms and flapped them like wings, clucking like a chicken as he left her office …
That was the last time she saw him. No kiss good-bye. No “I love you.” No “Be safe.” How she wished her last memory of her beloved was different. That her last moments with him had better reflected the deep love they shared instead of a disagreement they would surely have resolved.
Kate exhaled and felt as if her spirit deflated. She regretted being so harsh with Abby. But her daughter’s naïveté could only bring more pain. Something Kate wasn’t willing to risk.
Chapter 6
Abby clocked out at Flutter’s. Maybe everyone else in the family thought she was wrong about the girl. But she had to find out. And she had a plan.
She slipped out the side door and skipped down the back steps. When she reached the bottom, she almost ran headlong into Hawk.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Hawk said.
“None of your business.” He would only laugh if he knew. And there was no way she’d set herself up for that again.
Abby brushed past him and ran across the street to the house. She changed into shorts and a tank top, grabbed the bag she had prepared the night before, slung her purse strap over her shoulder, car keys in hand, and hurried outside to Mama’s car. She drove it down the winding road into Foggy Ridge.
Traffic on Main Street had slowed to a crawl, and she looked for any available parking space along the street and didn’t find one. She pulled into the parking lot behind Murchison’s Feed Store, glad to find a spot, even if it was in the back row.
She sat in the car for a moment, thinking through what she planned to do and say. This was her chance to step out in faith—walk her talk—even though she had no idea where it would lead. She decided to trust God.
Abby got out of the car, the bag under her arm, and walked across the parking lot and into the side entrance at Murchison’s. She walked nonchalantly past the customer service desk and down the hallway and stopped at the door marked Office, her heart racing. The worst that could happen was they would say no. What did she have to lose? She knocked, then turned the handle and went inside.
A woman with bleach-blonde hair and wearing a badge with the name Maggie looked up from her computer. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, my name’s Abby Cummings. I found an expensive doll that I think belongs to a little girl I saw yesterday.” Abby held up the cell phone picture. “I’m going around to businesses in the area, trying to locate her so I can return it.” Misleading, but not really a lie.
“Beautiful child,” Maggie said. “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen her before.”
“I was wondering if you would mind my asking your staff if anyone recognizes her.”
“Our employees are not allowed to give out any customer information due to privacy issues.”
“I understand. I just thought someone might know who she is and could have one of her parents call me. This looks like a very expensive doll.” Abby removed Riley Jo’s favorite baby doll—a gift from Grandma Becca and Grandpa Buck—from the bag.
“How lifelike.” Maggie smiled warmly. “My girls loved their dolls growing up. I guess it couldn’t hurt if you left your name and phone number with the staff. I hope you get this back to the little girl.”
“Me, too. Thanks for letting me do this.”
Abby went down the hallway and out to the sales floor. She waited until each clerk was free and then showed