He sat next to her and took both of her hands in his. “It’s only about two hours until sunup. Lie down here on the sofa, and just close your eyes for a minute.” He turned to Amelia. “Get a pillow and blanket from my room.”
“I won’t be able to sleep.”
“That’s fine. Just lie down and close your eyes. Take a short break, anyway.”
Amelia returned with the pillow and blanket. Rusty thanked her and told her to go to bed. “I’m confident we’ll find Will in the morning. You get some sleep now.”
“Will you wake me up when you find him?”
“Yes. Now off with you.”
Rusty placed the pillow on the sofa and Rachel stretched out, then jerked as he joined her.
“What are you doing?”
“Shhh. Just close your eyes.” He pulled the blanket over the two of them, and tucked her head onto his shoulder.
“I should be looking for Will.”
Rusty placed his hand on her head and worked his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. Within minutes she was fast asleep—right before he joined her.
***
Rachel opened her eyes with a jolt, and the panic hit her.
Will is missing.
The space next to her on the couch was warm, but Rusty wasn’t there. She sat up and held her head, the headache from the day before still with her. Swinging her legs over the edge of the sofa, she stood up and swayed.
“I was just going to wake you.” Rusty entered the room, two cups of coffee in his hands.
“What time is it?” She ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth. Her teeth felt fuzzy.
“Barely after six. It’s just starting to get light outside. I thought we’d grab something to eat and head back out again.”
“I don’t think I can eat. But I’ll take the coffee.” She reached out a shaky hand and took a sip. The warm liquid slid down her throat, offering some comfort.
“Honey, you haven’t had much sleep. You should eat something or you won’t do Will any good when we find him.”
When we find him.
She closed her eyes and two tears leaked from under her lids, tracking down her cheeks. Rusty pulled her to his warm body and enveloped her in his arms. “We will find him this morning, sweetheart. I swear to you.”
“God, I hope you’re right. I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”
He led her to the kitchen where he sat her at the table. Two bowls of oatmeal and a stack of toast almost turned her stomach. “I really can’t eat.”
“All right. Why don’t you splash some water on your face and we’ll set out.”
“You eat. I need a few minutes to freshen up and re-braid my hair. Do you have a comb I can borrow?”
“My bedroom is down the hall on the right side. Take what you need from there.”
Rusty’s room was very masculine—most likely Big Bob had occupied this space. Dark wooden paneling covered the walls, and large chunky furniture took up most of the spacious room.
She found a water pitcher and bowl on a table and washed her face. She used a comb sitting on the dresser to comb out the mess her hair had become and re-braided it. Looking into the mirror over the dresser she cringed at the deep circles under her puffy eyes. She rubbed her teeth with the hem of her dress, then swished water around her mouth and spit it out.
Rusty was placing dishes in the sink when she returned to the kitchen. “I know you’re distracted right now, but once everything settles down, we have a very important conversation coming up.”