Hold You In My Arms (Stevens book 9)

Chapter 24

Fiona spent two weeks on the island with her cousins, and it had been delightful. It was a reunion that they had desperately needed, and in the month since she had been with them, the communication was constant with texts and phone calls. The sense of loneliness had lifted from her shoulders.

The ranch was doing well, and her father and mother were pleased to leave it with her for a month while they traveled. The ranch hands accepted her much better than they had the previous year, and she wasn't sure if it was her or them that had changed. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

Fiona had reached out to a community center in one of the neighboring small towns and was counseling children on the weekends. Kellan had told her that the best way to learn how to help people was to help them. He had assured her that she wouldn't be perfect and she would make plenty of mistakes, but the more mistakes she made, the more she would grow in both her life and her profession. It had been a lesson with which she had connected.

Henry hadn't called or emailed, and Fiona trusted that he was doing as she was, trying to figure himself out. She also stuck with the adage that no news was good news.

It was Saturday, and Fiona was in the middle of coloring with a little girl, Bonnie, whose family had just survived a fire and lost everything. Bonnie was sad and told Fiona about all of the things that she had lost while Fiona was reminding her of everything she still had.

Fiona especially enjoyed working with the children, and she had determined that it was the route she wanted to take. Maybe she could make a difference in a child's life. A child that had been hurt and lost like Henry had been.

A counselor named Matt was working with her. He was friendly but also about five years younger than her. The first time he had hit on her, she had let him down gently, and now it was an ongoing joke between them. He would ask her out, she would tell him no, and he would insist that she was breaking his heart.

Fiona was so intent on her task with Bonnie that she didn't hear the door open or see Matt stop sweeping and stare at the new arrivals.

"Can I help you?" Matt said as he laid the broom aside and started toward the door.

It caught Fiona's attention, and she looked up with a smile, ready to greet whomever it was that had arrived. Her smile grew for a moment when she realized who it was and then faded as she noted that it was Lily and Finn and there was no good reason for them to be there.

"Would you excuse me, Bonnie?" Fiona asked as she rubbed the girl's back before she stood up.

Bonnie nodded and looked up at the two newcomers with absolutely no recognition whatsoever. Matt, on the other hand, had started to stumble over his words at the sudden appearance of stars, and Fiona felt the need to save him from himself.

"Lily, Finn," Fiona greeted with hugs. She had been doing her best to be more open to physical contact, and Lily looked as if she could use a hug, which made Fiona nervous as she wiped her palms on her jeans. "Matt, these are my friends, Lily and Finn Baxter," she introduced.

"I know who they are," Matt said as he reached out and shook their hands.

Fiona took the awkward silence to mean they wanted to talk to her alone, so she turned to Matt and asked him to give them a minute.

"What are you doing here?" she asked after Matt had joined Bonnie.

Lily bit her lip and looked desperately at Finn.

"It's Henry. He's missing. His helicopter went down." Finn said bluntly.

Fiona stared at him for a moment without a thought in her head.

"Missing?" she finally asked after a lengthy silence.

"Yes, we're not sure of the details yet." Finn's voice was carefully neutral.

Fiona felt her whole body go hot and then cold before she heard a whooshing in her ears. "I need to sit down," she said as she walked out into the hall and sat on a bench, then placed her head between her knees.

He's alive. Fiona kept repeating to herself as she felt Lily join her on the bench. He had to be alive!

"We are headed to California now. We told Lee that we would stop in to see you on our way to California to see if you wanted to travel with us. Lee wanted to come." Lily paused and swallowed hard as she reached for Finn's hand. "He promised Henry he would tell you if something happened to him, but Kate is taking it harder than he thought she would."

Fiona nodded. Kate had already lost one son, and to lose another would be unimaginable. She could understand that.

"Our flight is out of Austin at five this evening if you're interested in coming with us," Finn supplied.

"No," Fiona shook her head. "I promised my parents I would take care of things here. There is nothing I could do there but worry, and I can do that just as well here." She felt numb as she said the words.

Why had she agreed to Henry's stupid plan, and why did the dumbass have to go missing.

Fiona felt herself falling into the shell that she had inhabited before Henry had come into her life.

"Fiona," Lily reached for her hand. "He's going to be all right. I know it!"

Fiona nodded in agreement. "Of course, he will be," she agreed. What else could she say but that?

"I'll wait here and keep working. You'll keep me updated?" Fiona looked at Finn with desperation.

"I will text you frequently, and if you decide to join us all, all you have to do is let us know you're coming." Finn's serious look reassured Fiona that he would do as he promised.

There wasn't much else to say, and Fiona could tell that Lily wanted to get moving.

"You two should go. Maybe if you hurry, you can get an earlier flight out." Fiona suggested. It must have been what Lily wanted to hear because she smiled and nodded.

After they had hugged goodbye, Fiona sat on the bench as she thought of Henry. Images of him flashed through her mind, and she doubled over in physical pain at the thought of him hurt.

"Is everything all right?" Matt asked as he stuck his head out in the hallway. "Where did your friends go?"

"They had a flight to catch. They just stopped by on their way to deliver some news." Fiona bit her lip as she forced herself to straighten.

"It looks like it was bad news," Matt softly said as she looked at Fiona's pale face.

"It's not the best," Fiona agreed. "Do you mind if I cut out early today?"

"Not at all. It's quiet today." Matt stood aside at Fiona stood with a nod of thanks.

"Would you tell Bonnie that I'll see her soon?" Fiona asked as she reached into her pocket for her car keys. She couldn't go back into the room and be positive.

Matt nodded let Fiona go without another word.

She had no idea how she got home. She couldn't remember the drive, but when she did arrive, she went to the house in the trees where Henry had proven that he didn't pity her. Although, he probably would pity her now if he could see her reverting into who she used to be.

It only took half an hour before she started to get calls and texts from the family. They told her to hold tight, that they were on their way. It made it all suddenly very real, and it broke her. She could no longer hold back the tears.

She wasn't alone. She might not have Henry, but she would never be alone, and she had him to thank for that.