Clean Inspirational Romance: Escape to Paradise (Inspirational Happy Sweet First Love Second Chance Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Love Inspired Holiday Short Stories) Read Online Free PDF Page B

gazing up into the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.
    Then suddenly she heard Natasha scream, “Where’s Katie?”
    ***
    Miranda sobbed in large, racking, uncontrollable sounds. “But she was there one minute, Mom, and then I thought she went to join you! She said she saw a large dragon lizard and she wanted to take a photo of it. The last time I saw her was before the suspension bridge.”
    “It’s okay,” Natasha was saying. “It’s not your fault, Miranda. We just need to know where to look for her, that’s all.”
    Dan came over to comfort the now-hysterical Miranda, while Victoria stood there numb with fear, trying to process what had just happened. Katie’s not here. She’s lost! Oh, my God, my God, please God help me find my daughter! I can’t lose her too! Please God!
    Nick put his arms around her as tears flowed like rivers silently down her face. She couldn’t speak. It was as if she was paralyzed in her body and would never be able to speak again! Katie, my Katie! Where are you? Oh, God, help me!
    “Don’t worry, Victoria, if it’s the last thing I do, I will find Katie. I know this terrain. And I need to get going before it gets dark.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Nick!” Dan said forcefully. “We don’t need two people lost!”
    “I’ve got a two way radio phone in my car. I’ll call for help, and take that with me while I go look for Katie. You’re not stopping me, Nick. But what you can all do to help me is pack a knapsack with food, medical supplies and more water because who knows when I’ll find her…but by God, I will find her. And no one can stop me!”
    Nick was as good as his word. He immediately radioed for help talking to whoever responded to him and telling them the situation and where they were and to get help as soon as possible. Dusk was falling, and as the sun began to sink far below the horizon, Nick set off to look for Katie. Despair was beginning to create panic in Victoria’s heart as soon as she lost sight of Nick heading back into the wilderness. Please God, keep them both safe!
    “I think we should all pray,” said Dan, holding a terrified Miranda on his knee. “That’s all we can really do right now. Other than that we’ll just have to be patient, and wait for some rangers, or searchers, or the police to arrive.”
    Victoria had never prayed so hard in all her life. All she wanted more than anything was to see Katie and Nick again. And soon. Surely, God, I can’t lose both of them, surely! Natasha had given Victoria a good shot of brandy to calm her nerves. The elixir made her feel a little calmer and she began to hope that Katie would magically appear out of the wilderness with Nick and that they could all go home together.
    By eight p.m. it was deathly dark, and there was still no sign of Katie or Nick. Then suddenly, a huge beam of light flooded into the car park. Help had finally arrived. A half dozen four-wheeled trucks appeared out of nowhere, followed by two police vehicles.
    “Folks, we’re here to look for that missing girl. Now we need some more information.” It was the police sergeant from Nerang, which was the nearest police station to Springbrook.
    Once again, Miranda retold the story of where she had last seen Katie, and what she had been doing. “She just wanted a photo of that lizard, that’s all,” wailed Miranda. “It’s all my fault. I should have stayed with her!”
    “It’s not your fault at all,” said the kind policeman in charge of the search. “Don’t worry, we’ve got the best experienced trackers here, and the area around the suspension bridge is not too far from here. We’ll keep trying our two way radio to talk to your guy out there. But so far we haven’t been able to contact him. Sometimes the mountains can block the signals from getting through, but rest assured, we won’t give up trying to contact him.”
    The night was closing in, throwing ghostly shadows over the camp site. Dan laid out the picnic