A Mom's New Start (Love Inspired) Read online

  Fifteen minutes later with his sandwich finished and his notes on the client’s case jotted down on a pad, Cody closed the file and put it on a stack. He had a few more to go through before his next appointment.

  A noise from the entrance of his small office attracted his attention to the open door, left that way when he wasn’t with a client so people knew he was available. Brady stood just inside the room, his eyes red, his face pale.

  Cody bolted to his feet and skirted his desk. “What’s wrong?”

  Chapter Eight

  “Sadie is gone. I’ve looked for her and can’t find her.” Brady opened and closed his hands at his sides. “It’s my fault she’s missing. I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Come in.” Cody waved at a chair not far from the boy. “Tell me what happened. How’d you get here?”

  “Ran.” Brady remained still, sweat glistening his face, his shirt damp from it.

  But what drew Cody to the boy was the lower lip quivering, the sheen in his eyes. Brady was barely holding himself together.

  “I need help finding Sadie. Mom isn’t in her office. Where is she? I tried calling her cell. She isn’t answering.” Panic laced each word. Brady’s hands now fisted so tightly his knuckles were white.

  “She’s in a city council meeting.” Schooling his voice into a calm cadence, Cody half sat, half leaned against the front of his desk.

  The teen pivoted. “On the second floor?”

  “Yes, but I’ll help you. We can find Sadie.”

  “I need to get back to the house and look.”

  Cody plucked his car keys from his desktop and headed out into the hall. “I’ll drive.”

  “But what about Mom?”

  “By the time her meeting is over, hopefully we’ll have Sadie back.”

  Ten minutes later, Cody pulled into the Bienville driveway. “Where’s Keith?”

  Brady wrung his hands over and over. “I don’t know. Maybe his men’s group at church. I shouldn’t have gone to the Quick and Go. I left her on the back porch. She has never gone down the stairs without me carrying her. I looked all around the second-floor gallery. She isn’t anywhere up there. I don’t know how she made it down the stairs.” The boy chattered almost nonstop, his words coming out in a steady stream.

  Cody parked behind the antebellum house. “She went down those stairs?” He pointed to the steep ones from the second story.

  “Yeah, that’s the only way she could have used. She could have hurt herself. I told her I was gonna be right back.” Brady shoved open the door and leaped from the vehicle. “I know she can get around the house, but out here? What if she tried to cross a street? She can’t run to get out of the way of a car coming.”

  The frantic ring to the boy’s words prompted Cody to reassure him. He said in a soothing voice, “We’ll find her. Maybe she tried to follow you.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t see her coming back. What if someone took her?”

  “I’ll call your uncle Keith. He can help us. Did you leave a message on your mom’s cell?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. I’ll leave one and let her know what’s happening.”

  While Cody dug into his pocket for his cell, Brady murmured, “I should have taken her with me. She’s always trying to follow me. She’s probably lost and doesn’t know how to get back here. She hasn’t been here long. Or, what if she is hurt somewhere? She’s been through so much. Nathan said she should have died after the hurricane. But she didn’t. Now she might because of me.”

  “Brady.” He waited until he had the boy’s attention before continuing. “You did all you could. You left her where you thought she would be safe. She hasn’t been gone long so that means she’s probably nearby.”

  “I hope so.” Brady scrubbed his hands down his face.

  After Cody placed the two calls, he walked to Brady who paced from the hood of Cody’s car to the trunk. “C’mon. Let’s check the yard. Your uncle is coming home with some of his friends. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  Brady peered up at Cody with tears in his eyes. “I could have gotten the cart. Maybe tied a rope to it like a leash. If something happens to her...” His voice faded on a quivering thread. The boy gulped and hunched his shoulders, his head down.

  “Listen, Brady. A lot of people are going to help you. Sadie probably hasn’t gone far. She’s smart. If she can’t find you, she’ll come home.”

  The hard line of Brady’s mouth proclaimed he didn’t believe what Cody was saying. He stomped toward the neighbor’s place to the left. “They have a pit bull that sometimes gets out. Let’s check there first.”

  * * *

  When Maggie returned to her office to begin cleaning up the minutes she took at the city council meeting, she checked her cell that she’d put on silent. She had a missed call from Brady but no message and one from Cody. With a message. She tried Brady at the house but no one answered. It obviously wasn’t important enough for him to leave a message, so she laid her cell on the desktop and settled behind her computer to work.

  She wasn’t ready to return Cody’s call, probably to firm a lunch date for this week. She didn’t know if she should go. What use was it? He would leave; she would stay. Their outlooks on life were too different. Hers revolved around her family and friends; his around his work. The past few days she’d lost enough sleep because of him. Right now she had work to do. She’d wait until this evening to call Cody back.

  But after only a few minutes, she paused and looked at the phone. Maybe she should listen to Cody’s message. He didn’t usually call her. If he had something to say, he’d come by her office. When she’d glanced toward his office, the door was closed. He was either gone or in a therapy session.

  If that was the case, she didn’t want to disturb him. No, she’d wait and see if the door opened.

  But her mind kept pulling her back to her cell. Finally she played the message.

  “Maggie, Brady came to City Hall today upset. Sadie has gone off. I’m out helping him look for the dog.”

  She checked her watch. Four o’clock. As she rose to talk with the mayor, the door to her inner office opened.

  Ruth clicked off her cell. “Keith called me to tell me they’re looking for Sadie. Did you know she was lost?”

  “I just found out. I was going to see if I could leave an hour early. I can make up the time later this week.”

  “Make up the time? You put in enough overtime to have the whole day off. I’m going with you. Brady was starting to bond with Sadie. I don’t want to see anything happen to her.”

  Maggie grabbed her purse. “Thanks. I’ll see you at the house.”

  When she arrived at Bienville, no one was around. She placed a call to Cody who answered immediately.

  “We fanned out in all directions from the house. Brady is with me. We checked to make sure Sadie didn’t get tangled up with the pit bull next door. He’s been inside all day. We’ll find her. We’re letting the neighborhood know she’s lost.”

  “Where are you?”

  “At Sixth and Pelican Cove, near the Quick and Go.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “You might walk down Sunset Road. We were going to come back that way.”

  “Meet you there.”

  She hung up and hurried inside to change her heels to tennis shoes. When she came back outside, Ruth was getting out of her car. “I’m heading for Sunset Road,” Maggie said. “I’m meeting Cody and Brady there.”

  “Great. I’ll come with you. Keith called again and said his group of men from church haven’t had any success. No one has seen Sadie. They’ve been talking to neighbors, anyone they see.”

  As they walked toward Sunset Road, Ruth asked, “Have you given any more thought to what we talked about Saturday night?”

  Maggie wanted to laugh. That was about all she had thought about for the past few days, which was why she hadn’t been sleeping well. “Yes, but it hasn’t done any good. How do you change yea
rs of responding and thinking one thing? I know Robbie did what he thought was right, but that doesn’t change my feelings. I felt abandoned just like when my parents left Hope. They cut me out of their lives. I made a mistake and that was all they could focus on. My mom didn’t surprise me, but my dad did.”

  “Robbie wouldn’t have made that choice if he’d known it would have taken him away from you. He left not knowing you were pregnant. His decision may have been different if he’d known that. Starting a family makes a man think differently. All I can say is take it one step at a time. We can’t change overnight—at least not easily. I’m always telling Keith I’m a work in progress when we argue about something.”

  “You’re newlyweds.”

  Ruth chuckled. “Newlyweds argue. Believe me. Especially two strong-willed people like Keith and me. We haven’t been married for many years and we’d forgotten what an adjustment it can be. We’re two old fogies set in our ways.”

  Maggie scanned Sunset Road. No evidence of Sadie anywhere. She’d known once Brady allowed himself to care about Sadie he would one hundred percent. She’d thought that would be a good thing for her son. But she should have remembered what it was like to love someone and have that someone leave you, even if it wasn’t willingly. It hurt—a hurt that touched your very being. Her stomach clenched at the prospects of telling her son his pet was nowhere to be found.

  * * *

  “Did Uncle Keith find her?” Brady asked as he made his way to the intersection of Sixth and Sunset Road.

  Cody returned his cell phone to his pocket. “No, he was letting me know where he and his friends have searched.”

  “And they’ve found nothin’?” With a scowl deepening the grooves in his face, Maggie’s son surged forward on the sidewalk. He went a few yards then swung around and screamed, “Why is this happening? What have I done wrong to deserve all of this? We could have lost our home. Any more water or wind and we would have. Gone.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

  Cody moved forward. “Hope lost a lot this last year,” he said in an even tone.

  “Look at Sadie. She lost her two back legs and now she’s gone. She can’t protect herself. She needs me.” Brady’s voice rose even more. “My best friend lost his house. Another friend lost a cousin. Swept away by the water. I don’t understand....” He opened his mouth to say something else, but no words came out. His face turned beet-red.

  Cody planted himself in front of the boy, and started to reach toward him.

  All of a sudden Brady flew at him, his fists pounding into Cody’s chest. “Why? Why?” Sobs accompanied each word, wrenched from Brady.

  Cody enclosed him in his arms and said repeatedly, “Let it out. You can tell me anything.”

  A shudder passed through the boy into Cody. The gut-ripping sobs coming from Brady gradually abated until he stood perfectly still, his arms finally dropping to his sides, as though his energy had fizzled out.

  Cody spied Maggie running around the corner. He shook his head slightly and held up a palm. “Anything, Brady.”

  The boy stepped back, his eyes red and swollen. “I hate God. He did this to us.”

  Cody had heard that before. It never surprised him. People often lashed out at the Lord as if He had caused all their problems. Cody kept his expression neutral, his voice level. “Let me help you. We can talk about that and what’s going on. Life is full of changes—some good, some bad. I want to teach you to deal with them. I guarantee the one thing that won’t change is that life never stays the same.”

  “Why can’t it?”

  “That’s a good question. As you grow up, would you want to stay in the same situation you’re in? You’ll want to leave your home and go out into the world.”

  Brady lowered his head and stared at the sidewalk.

  Cody glanced at Maggie and Ruth at the end of the block, waiting. Worry marked Maggie’s features with deep lines as she chewed her lower lip.

  “Let’s continue our search for Sadie. We’ll talk about this later. Okay?”

  After a long moment, Brady nodded.

  Cody signaled with his hand for Maggie and Ruth to approach. “Good. Your mom and your aunt Ruth are here to help us.”

  Brady wiped his eyes then slowly rotated toward the women.

  Maggie rushed the last few steps. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I want Sadie. I didn’t treat her the way I should. I need another chance, Mom.”

  Maggie slung her arm around her son and began walking toward Sunset Road. “Then let’s keep looking.”

  “Did you see anything down Sunset Road?” Cody asked, falling into step with Ruth beside him.

  “No, but we might search in the woods behind Bienville that leads down to the river.”

  Brady peered up at Maggie. “But there’s a fence at the back of our property.”

  “She could have gone around in one of the neighbors’ yards that isn’t fenced.”

  “Yeah, she might have.” Brady increased his pace, charging out ahead of Maggie.

  She looked back at Cody and said, “Good thing I wore my tennis shoes,” then jogged forward to keep up with her son.

  A laugh escaped Ruth. “I should have changed my shoes. These heels aren’t high. Gave that up a long time ago, but I can’t jog in them. If you want to go with them, I’ll take up the rear.”

  “I’ll hang back with you,” Cody said.

  “Good. We can pray we find Sadie.”

  * * *

  Maggie watched Brady run ahead toward the fence along the property line in back. Downed trees and large branches still littered the ground from the hurricane. It was hard to maneuver through with the dead vegetation everywhere, but Sadie might have. Please let us find her, Lord. Brady doesn’t hate You. He’s mad and hurting.

  “Mom, there’s a hole in the fence back here. She could have wiggled through it.”

  Maggie caught up with her son at the chain-link barrier. “I forgot that needs mending. We’ve been working so hard on the house it slipped all of our minds.”

  Brady started climbing over the fence. Wearing a skirt, Maggie took a look and wondered how far she’d have to walk to find a break in the fence. When her son hopped to the ground and took off, she made a snap decision. “Wait up,” she shouted.

  After carefully scaling the chain link, using the holes for her feet, she perched on top and leaped to the ground, tumbling into a mud puddle nearby. “You realize the land is probably swampy the nearer we get to the river.”

  Brady’s eyes grew round. “What about an alligator? There have been a few sighted back here over the years.”

  He would have to remind her of that fact. A tingle of apprehension streaked through her. “Let’s wait for Cody.”

  “Aah, Mom, I’d take care of any critters that bother you.”

  “I know you would, but I’d still like to wait for him. A few more minutes won’t matter.”

  “It could to Sadie.”

  “Here comes Ruth and him now. No more waiting.”

  Brady rocked back and forth, barely containing his energy as the pair crossed the yard. Cody made a running start and vaulted over the three-foot fence.

  “I’m impressed,” Maggie said when he landed on his feet, inches from another puddle.

  “I’ll stay here and let Keith and the others know what you’re doing.” Ruth fluttered her hand, urging them to search.

  Brady dove into the vegetation.

  “Stay in sight, Brady,” Maggie said as she picked her way more carefully through the debris of dead branches and new foliage growing since the hurricane.

  As Cody fanned out from here, Maggie called his name. “Sadie knows her name. Maybe we should shout it.”

  Maggie delved into the forest, taking turns calling Sadie along with Cody and Brady, then pausing to listen afterward. Yards ahead of her and Cody, Brady came to a stop and glanced back at them with his finger up to his lips. Then he shouted again.

  In the distance Maggie heard
a faint yelp. She hurried her steps as Brady began to race in the direction of the sound, continuing to yell to Sadie.

  The underbrush scratched Maggie’s legs as she increased her speed. Cody came from an angle and kept pace with her.

  “Mom! Cody! Over here. She’s stuck in a mud hole.”

  When Maggie broke through the vegetation and found Brady trying to dig his dog out of the mud, her heart swelled into her throat.

  Cody rushed forward to help her son. Sadie tried to move, but her lower part sunk below the surface of gooey, thick brown mud. Brady tried to still her frantic movements and got licked in return. While Cody worked on her back end stuck in the mud, Brady leaned down and rubbed his chin along her face oblivious to the dirt smearing him. “I’m here. You’re okay now.”

  When Sadie was finally freed, she scrambled into Brady’s arms as fast as her two legs would carry her. He stood with her mud-crusted body plastered to his white

  T-shirt, a goofy grin on his face.

  “What were you thinking, girl?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice as though he didn’t care one way or another now that she was safe. “I’ve gotta give you a bath. I hope you like water.”

  Maggie strolled next to Cody, who was dirty halfway to his elbows. “People pay big money for a mud bath.”

  “I don’t see the draw, but I would have gotten in knee-deep to get her out if I had to.”

  “Thank you for your help today,” she said. “When things settle down, I want you to tell me what happened. I heard him screaming at you and came running.”

  “He’s angry at God. He feels He abandoned him.”

  “I imagine others feel that way, too.”

  “Yes. They don’t want to hear that the Lord is right there with them through the rough times. They want everything fixed immediately. It’s hard going through those times, but we usually come out of them tougher and better able to deal with life in general. I try to help people see ways to learn from the experiences and to deal with their feelings.”

  “Dealing with feelings can be tough, especially if we don’t always realize why we feel a certain way.” She recalled her conversation with Ruth about Robbie abandoning her like her parents. Emotions she’d suppressed even from herself had come to the surface. Now she had to figure out how to handle them. “Will he let you help him?”