It Had to Be Fate (An It Had to Be Novel Book 3) by Tamra Baumann Page A

head, and then grabbed his cell. As they ran out the door, he said, “I didn’t want them to go alone. I thought if I went along I could keep them safe.”
    Casey led the way to her car while she called Meg and her brother Ryan, filling them in on the situation. She beeped the locks and then yanked open her car door. “Those two are going to be so buried under new chores they won’t know what hit them. What were they thinking?”
    “Does Caleb or Eric have a cell phone we could call?” Zane opened his door and slid into the passenger side of Casey’s SUV. As soon as his seatbelt was clasped, they took off at breakneck speed.
    “No. I promised Caleb one for his birthday if he kept his grades up first semester.”
    He’d already spilled the beans, so why not tell her all of it. It might make her go easier on the kids. “Your boys are doing this for you. They want to sell the whiskey and give you the money because they think you need it. After they buy themselves new bikes, that is. And Eric wants to use his cut for college.”
    Casey glanced his way. “They told you I’m broke?”
    He nodded, still wondering how much trouble he was in. “I told them you could have my cut too. I’d be happy to buy them new bikes, Casey.”
    She grunted then turned and focused on the road ahead again. “They wanted new bikes at the beginning of summer and I told them no because theirs were perfectly fine. We can’t afford to buy new ones every year. Their father keeps me in court perpetually, so I do have to watch the budget a bit. But I’m certainly not in dire straits. I make good money, so thank you for the offer of the bikes and your share, but no thanks . We’re not charity cases for you to save, Zane.”
    Okaaay. He was definitely in trouble too. Probably best to keep his yap shut. But he was glad they weren’t really struggling.
    They pulled off the winding paved road just out of town and onto a path with two dirt vehicle tracks surrounded by tall pine trees on either side. When they got to a large clearing and spotted three bikes, Casey stopped the car and jumped out.
    He followed behind her as they jogged toward an old chain-link fence half buried by rocks and dirt. Casey pointed toward the rubble. “That’s where the opening used to be, before the cave-in a few weeks back. Eric said the barrels were on a lower level, so everyone thinks there must be a back way or an old loading dock around here somewhere.”
    She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out for the boys. When there was no answer, they started down a steep bank on the side of the collapsed opening. Casey had on girly sandals that made the climb down slick for her, so he circled an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. When they hit the bottom, Casey said, “Thank you,” but then quickly pulled away from him.
    The forest was thick with trees and pinecones, but a barely discernable worn path lay ahead of them. Rushing water sounded somewhere to their right as they headed deeper into the woods.
    Caleb suddenly appeared through the trees ahead. “Mom! I was just coming to get you. Hurry. Ty’s hurt. This way!”
    Casey didn’t take the time to ask what was wrong. She just took off running. But she couldn’t keep up in her sandals, so Zane ran past Casey and caught up with Caleb. After weaving through trees, he spotted an old, thin bridge spanning a rushing river. They stopped at the edge of a tall drop-off overlooking the bridge and the water below.
    Must’ve been an old railcar system, but the wood was rotted out. Eric turned and greeted them, but Ty was nowhere to be seen.
    “Where’s your brother, Caleb?”
    Caleb had tears in his eyes as he pointed. “Down there. The wood broke under him. His arm is hurt so he can’t climb back up. Eric stayed to keep Ty calm while I went for help.”
    Zane moved closer to the edge and peered over the side of the embankment. Ty was wedged in a cross section of wood from the old trestle