Cooper jogged over from the kitchen and stood in front of the door. "Kate, you're exhausted. Going back out there isn't going to help find her. I've grown up around these woods, and she's going to be fine. We used to camp out in this area all the time."

"I just can't do this…" she said, bursting into tears. Cooper put his arms around her as she sobbed on his chest.

"We’ll find her, Kate. I promise you."

Mia sat quietly, watching them. They really did seem to have some kind of a connection. She herself could never imagine dating Cooper, but that was because she had known him as a very immature adolescent boy. Standing before her was a man, and he was doing a great job at comforting her sister.

"I think I'm going to send some texts and emails to the neighbors I know around here. Maybe somebody has seen her," Mia said, standing up and walking over to her laptop.

"If anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself," Kate said.

"Kate, trust me. I know you don't have any real reason to, but we will get her back safely," Cooper said.

This was going to be the longest night of Kate of Mia's life.

Chapter Twelve

Exhaustion is a funny thing. No matter how stressed out a person is, eventually the body takes over and shuts down. And that's exactly what happened to Kate. Against everything she had in her, her body fell asleep.

When her eyes flickered open, sunlight was streaming through the window. She jumped to her feet, her eyes are still blurry from sleep.

"We have to get out there and find her!" she yelled. Mia, who was asleep on the sofa, bolted upright.

"Is she back? Did she come back?"

They both looked around in confusion. "Where’s Cooper?"

"I don't know. But we have to get out there and find her," Kate said. She slipped on her sneakers as quickly as possible and ran to the front door, flinging it open. As they both ran out onto the porch, they saw the most beautiful sight. Cooper was carrying Evie down the driveway.

Kate ran towards them, concerned that Evie was hurt.

"Oh my gosh! Is she okay? Are you okay, Evie?” she yelled, her voice still strained from the night before.

Cooper smiled. "She's fine. She just had a little bit of an adventure."

"I'm alright, mom," Evie finally said, her annoyed teenager tone coming out very clearly.

"Where were you?" Kate asked as Cooper slowly put her down. Evie was favoring her right ankle, holding it in the air slightly.