“But an hour and a half?” MJ did not mention how absorbed she had just been in her quilt project.

“I got carried away. Going to make sure I stay with two rows tomorrow. Three of the callers said the meeting inspired them to do the same.”

“Well, I’ll be…Never thought something like this would happen.” She pulled a bag of mixed greens from the produce drawer. “You sure you don’t want some salad?”

“No, thanks. I’m out of here.” Ginny headed for the front door. “See ya.”

MJ took her salad and a refilled iced tea out on the deck, watched the birds at the feeder as she ate, offered Daryl iced tea, which he turned down, and then returned to her quilt-pinning.

Ginny and Fred, she and Daryl, two couples so close, so comfortable with one another. She remembered reading somewhere that a woman will be lucky to find one true soul mate in her life. MJ had four, for there was Roxie too.

Chapter Eight

Fred, where are you?”

Nothing. A crow answered her from the top of a pine tree.

“Where’s Dad?” Ginny asked Spook, who was usually with Fred when he was home. His truck was here so that meant that someone had come and picked him up. But who and for what? There was no note on the counter, no message on her phone.

This was not like Fred, but someone must have had an emergency and he took off in a hurry. She checked through the house once more, then walked out to his shop. Door shut, but no Fred.

She punched the speed dial for Sam. “Is your dad with you?”

“No, he was earlier but we got all the kids out of the shop and he headed home. Both the twins had something at school so he said he was going home.”

“The truck is here, Spook is here, but he’s not answering his phone. This is so unlike him.”

Sam suggested, “He must be in an area that has no cell reception.”

“True, but who with? You know him, someone has an emergency and he’ll be there.”

“One of the neighbors?”

“Planning to call them next.”

“Have him call me when he gets back.”

“I will.” She clicked off and went in the kitchen to turn the oven on for the goulash casserole she had in the fridge. Whenever he got here, he would be starving. Unless someone invited him for supper, but he would have let her know. He was so good that way. “Come on, Spook, let’s go look for Dad.” He wasn’t in the greenhouse, the shop, the barn. The tractor was in the machine shed; he wasn’t working on that, maintenance always being high on his list.

“Fred, this isn’t like you but you could call and let me know where you are.” Concern slipped into anger. All she had to do and here she was on a fruitless search because someone else needed him right at that moment. Back in the house, she went to his desk to check his calendar. Nothing.