Read Online Her Sister (Search For Love series) by Karen Rose Smith - Free Book Online
Authors: Karen Rose Smith
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pair of jeans were missing, the ones with the
embroidered pockets. So were the ones Clare knew had holes in them. A pair of
khakis she'd bought a few weeks ago along with a red blouse were missing, too.
Over-the-top scared now, Clare went to the drawer where Shara kept sports
clothes. A pair of sweats and a few T-shirts were gone.
Gone.
Gone...just
like Lynnie.
No.
This was not happening again. Wherever Shara was, Clare suspected she'd gone
of her own free will. There was one place to start, the Hansen household. But
after she dialed the number and paced, no one picked up. She didn't have a
cell number.
School.
If she waited forty-five minutes, she could check and see if Shara was in
homeroom. Maybe she just wanted to give her mom a scare. But then why were
clothes missing?
Should
she wait the forty-five minutes or call someone? But who would she call? She
remembered Joe saying she could call him. Call now? Wait?
She
couldn't go to work, not like this. She'd phone her supervisor and wait to
call the school.
Forty-five
minutes later, Clare discovered Shara had been marked absent from her
homeroom. She dialed Joe's number. He sounded wide awake when he answered and
she suspected he was an early riser. She said, "It's Clare. Shara's
missing. I called the school and she's not there. I don't know what to
do."
"I'll
be right there."
And he
was, but she didn't feel any less terrified. She didn't feel any more
reassured. He was dressed in a casual shirt and jeans and wore a worried
expression. "What's missing from her room?"
Clare
told him, again listing each item.
He
said, "Let's see what else is gone. We might be able to tell how long she
planned to be away."
How
long she planned to be away? Clare hadn't even guessed this might be a
permanent decision on Shara's part. Oh Lord, what had she done?
"I
went too far last night. I told her I'd take her computer if she didn't shape up."
He
clasped Clare's elbow. "Slow down. She's a teenager. You have no idea
what she was thinking. If she took all the clothes you said, she had to put
them in something. Does she have a duffel?"
"No,
just her backpack. Unless…" Clare quickly rushed through the kitchen to
the laundry room and the storage closet there. She pulled it open. "My
travel bag is missing."
"I
don't think she took that to school," Joe muttered.
"Should
I call the police?" She remembered how soon they'd descended on the household
when they'd called about Lynnie.
"She's
sixteen. My guess is they'll consider her a runaway. I know you've been
through this before," he said with some compassion, "And so have your
parents. I really think you should call one of them and get their
advice."
She
didn't want to, oh, how she didn't want to. But she had to put aside her own
sense of independence. She had to put aside the relationship she didn't have
with her parents. This was all about Shara and she had to do what was best for
her.
Clare
called her dad.
****
When
her father walked in, all over again Clare felt as if she was a little girl who
had done something wrong. At her age, she knew better. She knew she wasn't
responsible for Lynnie's disappearance. But she was responsible for
being the daughter who was left, the daughter who reminded her mom and dad that
they'd lost their youngest, the daughter who could never make up for that.
Trying
to keep some semblance of normalcy, she introduced Joe. Her dad had never met
him, though her mom had one day when Joe was trimming the bushes in his yard
and her mom had stopped over for a picnic supper. But her dad didn't seem to
care about social niceties. He nodded to Joe, looked him over with a father's
eye and an expression that wondered if the two of them were involved. But he
didn't ask. Rather, he shot questions at her...just like a lawyer. "Is
there any sign of forced entry? Did she crawl out the window or go out
embroidered pockets. So were the ones Clare knew had holes in them. A pair of
khakis she'd bought a few weeks ago along with a red blouse were missing, too.
Over-the-top scared now, Clare went to the drawer where Shara kept sports
clothes. A pair of sweats and a few T-shirts were gone.
Gone.
Gone...just
like Lynnie.
No.
This was not happening again. Wherever Shara was, Clare suspected she'd gone
of her own free will. There was one place to start, the Hansen household. But
after she dialed the number and paced, no one picked up. She didn't have a
cell number.
School.
If she waited forty-five minutes, she could check and see if Shara was in
homeroom. Maybe she just wanted to give her mom a scare. But then why were
clothes missing?
Should
she wait the forty-five minutes or call someone? But who would she call? She
remembered Joe saying she could call him. Call now? Wait?
She
couldn't go to work, not like this. She'd phone her supervisor and wait to
call the school.
Forty-five
minutes later, Clare discovered Shara had been marked absent from her
homeroom. She dialed Joe's number. He sounded wide awake when he answered and
she suspected he was an early riser. She said, "It's Clare. Shara's
missing. I called the school and she's not there. I don't know what to
do."
"I'll
be right there."
And he
was, but she didn't feel any less terrified. She didn't feel any more
reassured. He was dressed in a casual shirt and jeans and wore a worried
expression. "What's missing from her room?"
Clare
told him, again listing each item.
He
said, "Let's see what else is gone. We might be able to tell how long she
planned to be away."
How
long she planned to be away? Clare hadn't even guessed this might be a
permanent decision on Shara's part. Oh Lord, what had she done?
"I
went too far last night. I told her I'd take her computer if she didn't shape up."
He
clasped Clare's elbow. "Slow down. She's a teenager. You have no idea
what she was thinking. If she took all the clothes you said, she had to put
them in something. Does she have a duffel?"
"No,
just her backpack. Unless…" Clare quickly rushed through the kitchen to
the laundry room and the storage closet there. She pulled it open. "My
travel bag is missing."
"I
don't think she took that to school," Joe muttered.
"Should
I call the police?" She remembered how soon they'd descended on the household
when they'd called about Lynnie.
"She's
sixteen. My guess is they'll consider her a runaway. I know you've been
through this before," he said with some compassion, "And so have your
parents. I really think you should call one of them and get their
advice."
She
didn't want to, oh, how she didn't want to. But she had to put aside her own
sense of independence. She had to put aside the relationship she didn't have
with her parents. This was all about Shara and she had to do what was best for
her.
Clare
called her dad.
****
When
her father walked in, all over again Clare felt as if she was a little girl who
had done something wrong. At her age, she knew better. She knew she wasn't
responsible for Lynnie's disappearance. But she was responsible for
being the daughter who was left, the daughter who reminded her mom and dad that
they'd lost their youngest, the daughter who could never make up for that.
Trying
to keep some semblance of normalcy, she introduced Joe. Her dad had never met
him, though her mom had one day when Joe was trimming the bushes in his yard
and her mom had stopped over for a picnic supper. But her dad didn't seem to
care about social niceties. He nodded to Joe, looked him over with a father's
eye and an expression that wondered if the two of them were involved. But he
didn't ask. Rather, he shot questions at her...just like a lawyer. "Is
there any sign of forced entry? Did she crawl out the window or go out
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