Last Seen.... Carla Cassidy

“Rock-A-Bye Baby.”

      “Who is this?” she demanded when the song had ended but the phone line remained open. “What do you want? I really think you have the wrong number.”

      “You bitch.”

      The voice, gravelly deep and filled with malevolence shot a sweeping icy chill through her, but before she could make any reply, the line went dead.

      The plastic of the phone felt cold in her fingers and she quickly slammed it down into the receiver, trying to shake off the chill that had taken possession of her body.

      Two nights. Two phone calls. Who was making them? What did they mean? And what could they possibly have to do with her? She quickly punched *69, but got a recorded message that the number she requested was unavailable.

      Like a shriek of alarm, the teakettle whistled. She jumped and stifled a scream, then quickly moved the kettle off the hot burner.

      With shaking fingers, she fixed herself a cup of tea, then sat down at the kitchen table, her thoughts racing and chaotic in her mind.

      A new wave of horror swept through her as she thought of her cousin Alyssa and the visions she’d seen that afternoon. Was it possible Alyssa had seen danger that concerned Breanna? Was it possible the darkness Alyssa had seen had something to do with these phone calls?

      “It was a nice barbecue,” Thomas James said as he helped his wife wash and dry the last of the pots and pans.

      “It was, wasn’t it?” Rita smiled at him, the beautiful smile that had captured his heart thirty-nine years before. That smile still had the power to make him feel like the luckiest devil on the face of the earth.

      He took the last pot from her and dried it with a dish towel as she rinsed out the sink. “Bree’s new neighbor seems pleasant enough,” he observed.

      Rita sat at the table. “Very pleasant…and very single.”

      “Now, honey, you know matchmaking isn’t a good idea.” He joined her at the table. “The kids are all grown and they have to find their own way.”

      She frowned, the gesture doing nothing to diminish her beauty. “But, Thomas, what worries me is that all of our children seem to have lost their way. Breanna clings to Maggie and to her rage over Kurt’s desertion. Savannah clings to her grief as if it is her best and only friend. And Clay…he clings to his job as if it can fulfill all his needs as a man.”

      He reached out and took her hand in his. “And there’s nothing we can do about it but let them find their way on their own.”

      “I know.” She sighed and squeezed his hand. He grinned and she raised a dark eyebrow. “What are you smiling about, old man?”

      “I was just thinking about what a lucky man I am. Must have been the luck of the Irish that made my car break down in front of your parents’ house thirty-nine years ago.”

      “And I was just a young sweet nineteen and you were such a dashing older man.”

      Thomas laughed. He was eight years older than his wife. Although the eight years didn’t seem so important now, he’d spent many sleepless nights at the beginning of their relationship worrying about them.

      “I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen,” he said softly. “And I still feel the same way.”

      “Why, Mr. James, I do believe you’re trying to seduce me.” Her dark eyes gazed intently into his.

      “Is it working?”

      “Absolutely.” She stood and pulled him to his feet. “Come to bed, old man, and let this old woman show you how much you are loved.”

      She might make him crazy at times with her stubbornness—she fought with him like a banshee—but he never lost sight of the fact that he was the luckiest devil on the face of the earth because Rita Birdsong loved him.

      As twilight transformed into darkness, Adam remained seated on the sofa in his living room, thinking about the past day and what he’d learned about Breanna’s family.

      It was obvious it was a family built on the foundation of love and respect for one another. If Maggie had no other family in her life, he had a feeling the James family would be enough to make her feel secure and loved.

      But she did have other family. She had Kurt’s parents, who would merely add another layer of love in Maggie’s life. He frowned and rubbed the center of his forehead as he thought of Breanna’s reaction when the conversation had turned to her ex-husband.

      What would her reaction be when he told her he was Kurt’s cousin? And why did the thought of her reaction to that news bother him?

      He was here at Kurt’s request, to make certain Breanna and Maggie were doing okay, and they appeared to be doing just fine. All he needed to do was tell Breanna that Kurt’s parents wanted a role in little Maggie’s life, then leave Cherokee Corners and get back to his life in Kansas City.

      With a new resolution, he turned on the lamp on the end table and picked up the phone receiver. He punched in a Kansas City number.

      “Randolf residence.”

      Adam recognized Miriam Walder’s voice. She’d been the housekeeper for his aunt and uncle for as long as he could remember.

      “Miriam, it’s Adam.”

      “Oh, Mr. Adam. It’s good to hear your voice.”

      “It’s good to hear yours, too,” he replied. “Is my aunt or uncle at home?”

      “Mr. Edward is at a meeting this evening, but Mrs. Anita is in the sunroom. If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll take her a phone.”

      “Thank you, Miriam.” As Adam waited, he wondered if it might not be better to give them the news that they had a grandchild when they were together. His aunt had suffered heart problems in the past and even though this news was good, it would be a shock nonetheless.

      “Adam, my dear.” His aunt’s gentle voice filled the line. “How are you?”

      “I’m fine, Aunt Anita. How are you doing?”

      “All right. I’m hoping as time goes on the days and nights will get easier, that the grief will ease somewhat.”

      Tell her. The words boomed inside Adam’s head. Tell her about Maggie. But something held him back.

      “Are you having a nice getaway?” Anita asked. “You’ve been working so hard over the past five years Adam, and you’ve accomplished so much. I’m glad you decided to give yourself a little vacation. Where exactly are you?”

      “I’m in a place called Cherokee Corners,” he replied. “It’s about one hundred fifty miles south of Tulsa.”

      “Whatever made you decide to go there?”

      “It sounded like an interesting place, and it’s rich in Native American culture.”

      “I never knew you were interested in that.”

      Adam thought of the lovely Breanna. “Neither did I. But I’m finding it more and more interesting now that I’m here.”

      “You’ll keep in touch while you’re out of town?”

      “Of course. Give my love to Uncle Edward,” he said. They said their goodbyes and Adam hung up.

      He leaned back against the sofa and thought of his aunt. Her grief over the loss of her son was still thick…raw in her voice. But Adam realized exactly why he hadn’t told her about the existence of a granddaughter.

      After seeing Breanna’s reaction to her experience with Kurt, he wasn’t at all sure that she would allow Maggie to have anything to do with Kurt’s family. The minute she mentioned Kurt, it was like a noxious poison released into her blood. It was obvious she hated him.

      He