Destination Wedding ~ A Novel (24 page)

This offhanded remark caused Andrew to pause a moment and Kaia to look up from her homework. Neither of them had thought something might have happened to Maggie to delay her from coming home on time. Andrew pondered this, then picked up his cell phone and dialed her number. "I'll try her cell phone," he said, although he already realized that if she'd broken down, she'd have called him by now.

The phone rang several times before the voice mail picked up. Andrew didn't bother to leave a message. He hung up and stared at the kids.

"No answer, just her voice mail," he reported. But all three of them knew that there were areas around town where there was no phone reception.

They continued staring at each other, each pondering their own thoughts until Kaia broke the silence.

"Do you think Mom is okay?" she asked, her voice growing nervous.

Andrew wasn't sure how to answer, because Maggie was never late coming home. Not once in the twenty-three years of their marriage had he ever had to worry about where she was or what she was doing. And he knew for certain that she couldn't say the same about him. But seeing the worry in Kaia's eyes made him want to reassure her.

"I'm sure your mom is okay," he said, glancing at Kyle for support.

"Sure," Kyle agreed after seeing the look in his father's eyes. "She might be in Walmart or at the grocery store waiting in a long line. Cell reception is lousy in those places. Or she may have left her phone in the car. There could be a thousand reasons why she's not answering."

Andrew nodded his appreciation to Kyle for coming up with some very good reasons Maggie wasn't home yet. The more he thought about it, the more he believed that those might be the exact reasons she was late. Looking at his watch, he realized it was getting late, and he had to leave for his meeting.

"Listen, kids, I have to go to my meeting," he told them, and he pulled out his wallet and handed Kyle some money. "Kyle, why don't you take your sister out to eat? I'll leave my phone on so you can call me when your mother gets home, okay?"

Kaia didn't look pleased with him leaving but didn't say anything. Kyle said they would call him.

By the time Andrew arrived at his meeting, he'd convinced himself that Maggie would be home any minute, and there was nothing to worry about. The meeting grasped his attention, and for the next two hours, he thought only of property prices, taxes, and zoning permits. It wasn't until after the meeting ended that he realized it was nine thirty, and no one had called to say Maggie was home.

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