He eased the SUV onto the shoulder and stepped out with a friendly smile. “Afternoon,” he said. “How much for a bottle of milk? My throat’s dry as sandpaper.”
The young woman smiled back. “Sure thing. It’s fresh from this morning. Our cow Daisy gives sweet milk—you’ll like it.”
She handed him a plastic bottle, and Eugene reached for his wallet. That was when his eye caught something on her wrist. He looked closer—and nearly went lightheaded.
It wasn’t just any watch. It was the antique wristwatch he had given Natalie for her birthday years ago. His voice turned rough. “Ma’am, would you mind if I looked at that watch for just a second? Where did you get it?”
“There should be an engraving on the back,” he said. “It says, ‘For my Tally.’ Please—let me check.” The girl jerked her hand back and stared at him in alarm. “Back up. What is this? Why are you asking about my watch? I can call the sheriff if I need to.”
Eugene quickly pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. My name is Dr. Eugene Nichols. I’m a plastic surgeon, headed to a conference.”
“Please understand—this isn’t just a piece of jewelry to me. I ordered one exactly like it for my fiancée years ago. Then she disappeared from my life, and I never found out what happened. I need to know whether this is the same watch.”
“It was custom-made by a jeweler. There shouldn’t be another one like it. Please—tell me how it came to you. Maybe you or someone in your family knew Natalie and can tell me where she is.” The girl relaxed a little, then held out her wrist.
“If it matters that much, go ahead. My name’s Katie. A little girl gave it to me. She was an orphan. It’s a long story.”
“I’d explain, but you probably need to get going.” Eugene turned the watch over and saw the engraving. No mistake. It was the one he had given Natalie.
He needed to know everything. He made up his mind on the spot. “My schedule can wait. Right now this matters more. Please—sit in the car and tell me the whole story. You’re freezing out here.”
“You need to warm up,” he added, and she didn’t need much convincing. She was cold to the bone and gladly climbed into the heated SUV.
Katie stretched her stiff legs toward the warm air vent and began. “This happened last fall, a little over six months ago. I’d come back from the morning milking earlier than usual.”
“I walked into the kitchen and stopped cold. There were bread crumbs all over the table, an open can of food, and half a pickle sitting there. One of the windows was cracked open. My mother is neat as a pin. She would never leave a mess like that.”
“While I was trying to make sense of it, I heard a rustling sound and then a sneeze from the next room. I’ll be honest—I nearly jumped out of my skin. We’d had a string of break-ins around here. I grabbed the metal dustpan and crept toward the sound.”
“My heart was pounding. But then a little girl, maybe six years old, popped her head out of the linen chest. She looked so small and grubby I almost laughed from relief.”
“She rubbed her eyes and said, ‘Please don’t hit me. I was just hungry, so I ate some of your food…’”
“‘I came in through the window. I’m from the children’s home. My name’s Sophie. It’s freezing outside, and I wanted to get warm in your blankets. Then I fell asleep. I’ll go right now.’ My heart just broke for her.”
“I told her, ‘Just stay put and warm up while I clean this up. If my mom walks in right now, we’ll both catch it.’ But before I could even brush the crumbs off the table, my mother, Tammy, came in. She saw the girl and threw up her hands.”
“‘Well now, who’s this?’ she said. I explained what had happened, and Mom started asking questions. ‘How long have you been in that place? And why are you running away?’”
“Sophie sniffled and told us her story. ‘My mom died a long time ago. I don’t even remember her. After that they sent me to the home. But I hate it there.’”
“‘The older kids take my food, hit me for fun, and lock me in a dark closet. I’m scared of spiders and mice, and they laugh when I cry. A while back some girls snuck into somebody’s yard and stole apples, and I went with them.’”
“‘Nobody caught us, and we got to eat. Today I ran away by myself. I wanted to hide in a tree in your yard, but I couldn’t climb it. Then I saw the window open and came in…’”
