She called the three neighbors with whom he often swapped labor. Nada. No one had seen him. Nor had Daryl Bronson, Jeff, or their pastor.

“What’s going on?” MJ asked when she called back. “Daryl said you called.”

“I did. I can’t find Fred. I’ve been calling all around but no one has seen him since he left Sam at the school.”

“But the truck is there.”

“Yes and Spook. No note, no call. Something like this hasn’t happened for a long time.” Years earlier he had been more focused on his own schedule until that time she got stuck in a snowbank and had no way to get through to him. He learned what frantic meant and insisted they both keep the other informed. Life had been much easier after that. Cell phones helped a lot too. Cell out of power? Not likely—he was obsessive about making sure the phones were charged.

Well, he couldn’t be stuck in a snowbank but something was wrong. Lord, You know where he is. Could You please prompt him to let me know? And yes, I am trusting You, with my mind anyway, but my stomach is not in agreement. Good old acid reflux snaked into her esophagus. She headed for the kitchen and a glass of water, stopping by the bathroom for an antacid. Please, please, please, Lord, beat with her steps.

She never had liked waiting. Especially when she didn’t know the outcome. She dug her phone out of her pocket. Sam. “No, nothing yet,” she told him.

“Do you want me to come over?”

“No, you have plenty to do there. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything, or he will call you. I know this is something we’ll laugh over down the road, but right now…”

Right now I am about into panic mode. She sucked in a deep breath, held it, let it out slowly like she’d been trained to do when the panic attacks threatened.

“Call me if you need me.” Sam hung up.

Another call rang the chimes. She hit the button. Was it Fred?

No. “Mike Raymond. I hear Fred is missing.”

Pastor Mike! “It’s good of you to call.”

He asked, “Could Fred have fallen when he was out hiking in the woods? Simply that his cell is not functioning?”

“That’s what’s so frustrating. Any number of things could have happened. Innocent things.”

“We’re praying here and I can be there in fifteen—”

“I know, thank you, but…it’s not like he’s been gone for hours. Just that this isn’t like him.”

“It’s getting dusk. You sure you don’t want help?” Mike’s concern was genuine, Ginny could tell.

“Let me know.”

“Okay, thanks.” You and all the others. This will be so embarrassing. Fred, how could you do this to me?

Do something, anything, to get my mind off this. Greenhouse? No. “Oops, forgot to put the casserole in.” Spook padded beside her into the kitchen. When he went to stand at his dish, she got the message. Casserole in the oven, she poured the kibble into his bowl, added the warm water, and set it on the counter for a couple of minutes. To stall him, she tossed him a chicken jerky chew. Setting the timer, she clicked Fred’s number again. What kind of an accident could have taken out his phone? Was he lying out in the woods, unconscious? Why would he go out in the woods without Spook? She set the dog dish down and Spook dug right in.