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couple of the rat bastards sitting outside the community gates. He quickly turned onto a side street and headed to his office instead.
    Wyatt drove his white Dodge Ram down the two-lane road until he hit the main four-lane into town again. On his way, he drove past the guys who came up from the Valley and sold watermelons and cantaloupe out of the backs of sorry old pickups, and past the Cedar Springs water tower painted with a bucking colt, the high school mascot. He skirted through the alley behind Buck’s Best Bar-b-que and the tractor supply store as a shortcut to Main Street.
    When he emerged onto Main Street, he noticed the lumberyard was adding a whole new section, which he thought was good for Cedar Springs. The town had grown up around ranching and farm markets. But Austin was slowly encroaching on them—there was a Wal-Mart out on Highway 281 now, and a couple of old bait-and-tackle places on the Pedernales had been renovated into swanky tourist shops.
    Some folks in town didn’t like that Austin was sliding toward them, Wyatt thought as he drove past the Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist churches. Wyatt wasn’t one of them. With the spread of civilization came new opportunities for development and construction. In fact, he had a couple of projects that depended on it.
    At the park, Wyatt turned right. School was out for summer, but there was a line of yellow school buses on the northern end of the park and little kids were out playing soccer. Past the park, he entered the old part of town with the stately brick Victorians. He slowed down a little when he passed the Pinwheel House. The old man who lived there kept a dozen pinwheels in his yard. Every day he’d go out and rearrange them. Wyatt knew this because he and Macy had playfully staked him out a couple of times, determined to discover the reason for the pinwheels.
    Just beyond Pinwheel House, Wyatt spied Mary Jo Hinckley puttering around her yard. He ducked his truck onto Eighth Street to avoid her. Seemed like Mary Jo won Yard of the Month every month because of her prized azaleas. But Wyatt knew those azaleas were really a cover for Mary Jo’s nosiness. She spent all her time in the yard keeping an eye on Cedar Springs and its inhabitants and then wagged her tongue to everyone at church on Sunday.
    He could just imagine what the scuttlebutt around church was these days. The return of the missing soldier was on every channel and everyone in town knew Wyatt’s business. Wyatt didn’t like that any more than his inability to get hold of Macy, which was making him crazy.
    He’d tried four times this morning and all four calls had rolled into voice mail. So he’d called Macy’s friend, Samantha, to see if she could get through.
    “Aaah…I really think I need to stay out of it,” Sam had said.
    Out of what? Wyatt had wondered. He’d thought of whom else he could call. Macy’s sister Emma had gone with her. There was Chloe, her cousin. He’d called Chloe. He could hear her twin toddlers shrieking in the background. Chloe had seemed a little put out with him, but said she’d try to call Macy.
    Wyatt looked at his watch. That had been an hour ago. He picked up his cell phone and punched in her number again. When Chloe answered, he said, “Chloe, did you get through?”
    “I just got off the phone this minute, Wyatt,” Chloe said. “Yes, I got her. She said everything is fine and you shouldn’t worry; they will all be home in a couple of days.”
    “That’s it?” Wyatt asked, more than a little exasperated. “Everything is fine and they’ll be home in a couple of days? Did she happen to mention why she won’t answer her damn phone?”
    “Wyatt, come on,” Chloe said with a sigh. “You know they’re doing all those TV shows. She’s exhausted. She said she doesn’t even have time to find a ladies’ room. Just give her a little space. She said she would call you as soon as she can, but they are all coming home soon. I have