Katie and Raisin. No matter what he’d done, she couldn’t deny this fact or be more grateful to him for those two kids. They were her greatest accomplishments, and from a man who let her down on a regular basis, that was saying a lot. Her love for him lessened with each day she stay married to him, while her love for Katie and Raisin continued to grow. And yet he would come home some nights and act like the old Ray, pull her into his loving embrace, his unshaven cheek tickling her skin, his lips showering her neck and face with kisses. Sometimes, he’d even give her a wad of cash, as if it were a precious gift, when he should have been providing for his family on a regular basis. It made her sad that he squandered away his God-given talents, and even sadder that he failed to fulfill his obligations as husband and father.
She couldn’t deny that Katie had adored him as a young girl. What had there been not to love? He’d been the sun and the stars in her eyes. Then Raisin had come along, and he’d adored his father for a while. Ray had decided to name him Raymond Jr., but the little boy hadn’t been able to pronounce his name properly; it had come out as Raisin. Time and time again. So that was what everyone had started calling him. And as she’d grown older, poor Katie had never stopped looking for her father at her ball games, concerts, and recitals. Raisin had given up on his father sooner than his sister, understanding him for who he was. He didn’t love Ray any less. He’d just come to understand and accept his dad’s limitations.
Three hours of arduous hiking and thinking about the past had made Isla’s feet hurt. A cell phone rang off in the distance. The leader of her group answered the call, then announced that it was time to turn back. The forecast called for rain, and not everyone had dressed for inclement weather. They’d done all they could for the time being. She headed back with the group. If it was possible to be sad and happy at the same time, she accomplished it. Not finding her daughter in these woods gave her hope that Katie was still alive.
People huddled in the parking lot and hugged her, expressed confidence that the girls would soon be found, although she could tell from their expressions that their words betrayed their true feelings. At one point, she looked across the parking lot and saw Samantha McCallister hugging Gil Briggs. The parking lot now resembled a high school cafeteria: the cool kids at one end and the regular kids at the other.
Felicia caught her eye. She stood tall, chin high, her sunglasses temporarily removed from the bridge of her nose. Those smoky eyes! Where had Isla seen them before? She thought Felicia looked quite beautiful—and vaguely familiar. As she stood staring at the mysterious woman, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around.
“I’m so sorry for all that’s happened, Isla,” Father Delaney said, looking more like an altar boy than a priest.
“Thank you.”
“You and your family will be in my prayers tonight.”
“No offense, but it’s not me I want you to pray for.”
“God’s watching out for Katie. I just know it. One way or another, He’ll bring her home.”
“That’s what I’m worried about, Father. God’s home can wait a little longer, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Amen to that. Take good care, Isla.”
Suddenly rain fell. First in drops and then in sheets akin to plastic wrap. They hid her tears and allowed her to escape the well-meaning volunteers offering up words of hope and optimism. She ran back to her car, covering her head with her coat, climbed behind the wheel, and sped out of the parking lot, past the fleet of expensive cars idling at the far end.
Streams of white water cascaded down her windshield as she drove home. As she turned into her driveway and then steered her vehicle up it, rainwater sluiced down either side of the dirt road. She couldn’t help dwelling on the fact that the roof to her house leaked in various places. This was just one of the many repairs that needed to be done on the house. She parked, jumped out of the minivan, sprinted up the steps, and barged inside, then collapsed in tears on the couch. Raisin looked up at her from where he sat on