Him & I

In The Arms Of An Angel

There's always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard, at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh, beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
And maybe empty
Oh, and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of an angel
——In the Arms of an Angel, Sarah McLachlan

December 28, 2018

Cait couldn't ride, not with her arm in a sling. So she walked. It was about three miles. But she found that small gate, by that mountain lake. She silenced her phone, zipped it in her jacket pocket.  And she went in.

She didn't bother with the bench. Instead, she sank down on the cold, snow covered ground. And she let the tears come.

*****

Connor Callahan was pissed. He loved his sister. But he was pissed at her right now. She belonged in Salt Lake City with Grayson. Not here in Colorado. As much as he liked to spend time with her, he didn't want her to just sit around the ranch right now.

He was no dummy and he knew that Cait being here, and being sad, was bad news. The fact that she wouldn't watch the Jazz game with him the night before was evidence that there was a problem. And he wasn't going to stand by and wait for her to figure this out.

He might only be twelve, nearly thirteen.  But he knew that Cait loved Grayson and Grayson loved her.  They belonged together.  And he was too much like his sister to hold his tongue. 

So the minute he woke up, he decided it was time to give her a piece of his mind.  He immediately went to her suite.  And he didn't bother knocking.  He just flung the door open.  And he went to her bedroom and flung that one open too.  But she was nowhere to be found. 

*****

Connor appeared for breakfast with a quizzical expression.  Cait couldn't ride or ski.  Or even drive.  He'd looked all over the sizable house.  Where the hell was she?

"Something wrong, son?" Jack asked at Connor's expression. 

"Where's Cait?" Connor asked with a frown.

"I'd guess in her suite," Jack told him.

"Nope," Connor said firmly.  "Even checked the bathroom.  And I've looked everywhere else."

Jack shared his frown now.  It was cold outside.  And between the sling and the concussion, Cait shouldn't be driving.  Or riding. 

"That's odd," he murmured.  Then he punched an app on his phone.  "Chitana, did you come it at 7:00?"

"Yessir," Chitana smiled at him.  "You know me.  Creature of habit."

"Someone disarmed the alarm system at 5:48 a.m," Jack noted.

"There were some footprints outside the kitchen door," Chitana offered.  "Didn't think much of it."

"And you haven't seen any sign of Cait?" he asked. 

"No," Chitana shook her head.

It had been over two hours ago that Cait had disarmed the alarm and left the house.  And Jack was starting to worry. 

*****