Love Redeemed by Kelly Irvin Page A

himself on. You’re not a coward. Go.
    His gut churned in anticipation of what he would face. Silas. Katie. Phoebe.
    Ach , Phoebe.
    Mudder and Daed. They would be so ashamed. He swallowed against the bitter bile that rose in his throat.
    His fault. All his fault. They couldn’t blame Phoebe for this. He insisted she come with him. She would never have done it otherwise. He had to tell them that.
    They would forgive him. Like Phoebe’s brothers had? It was hard to tell. They hadn’t said as much. Neither had they expressed blame. Not in so many words. What were you doing at the camp?
    Nothing they hadn’t done with their own girls. The girls who were now their fraas.
    Only their courting hadn’t ended with a little girl lost.
    His throat hurt with the effort to stymie the emotions that brokelike waves over him. If anything happened to that little girl, he would never forgive himself.
    He picked up one foot and put it down, placed one foot in front of the other, just as he’d been doing since Hannah’s headlong flight into the woods to tell them Lydia had gone missing while he wooed her sister. What had he been thinking? What was the big rush? Why did everything about Phoebe make him want to run headlong into the future with her?
    Whirling lights caught the periphery of his gaze. He looked up. Red and blue lights cast crazy patterns against the trees and the water near the campground ahead. A dozen or more cars and trucks now lined the dirt road that led to the isolated spot where the Christners had pitched their cluster of tents. Police cars? Sheriff? Park rangers? Ambulances? Simon had said the Corps. The Army Corps of Engineers. They took care of the lake, the part that wasn’t state park. They would be in charge of the search. They had experience. They knew what to do. A vise tightened around his head and a noose around his throat. Lydia hadn’t wandered back into camp, safe and sound.
    They were still searching.
    Cramps tightened in his gut. He lurched to a stop, leaned over, and breathed. In and out. In and out. Elam, Simon, and Martin didn’t look back.
    Gott, forgive me. Give me the strength to face the consequences. I deserve whatever You dole out. I’ll take whatever You give me. Please bring Lydia home.
    He straightened and strode forward into the camp. Lights streamed from a dozen lanterns scattered around on the picnic tables. A man in brown pants and a matching shirt talked to a cluster of men, including Silas, Thomas, Ben, and his daed. Daed saw him approach first. He broke away from the others and strode toward Michael. He grabbed his arm in a tight, painful grip and stopped him short of the circle.
    â€œWhere have you been?” The steel in his father’s voice bit into his skin. “Isn’t one lost child enough?”
    â€œI’m neither lost nor a child.” He kept his own voice soft, low. Daedhad every right to be angry. He didn’t raise his voice—it wasn’t his way—but the lines in his face shouted. “I’ve covered all the ground along the shore up to the next swimming cove.”
    â€œTobias, Mr. Dover wants a word with us.” Silas’s voice was even. “He’s waiting.”
    His father’s hand dropped and he turned his back on Michael. Michael saw nothing in Silas’s face except fierce concentration. “Silas, I—”
    â€œQuiet, son,” Tobias said, moving to stand next to Silas. “Mr. Dover is from the Army Corps of Engineers. They’re coordinating search and rescue with the state park folks and the sheriff’s department from the county.”
    The man stuffed big hands into his pants pockets. “We have to suspend the search for the night. We’ve covered all the ground closest to these campsites. We’ll continue with a grid search further into the surrounding woods as soon as it gets light.”
    â€œWe will continue to look.” Silas’s