Wife Wanted in Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad

before he realized the reason he was so intent on making a home here in Dry Creek was because he’d never had one with his father after his mother died. Fixing up that old house was taking a lot of energy, but he felt hopeful with eachnail he hammered. He wasn’t just remodeling a house; he was remodeling himself. Someday soon, he’d be a new man and his house would be a true home.

Chapter Seven
    K atrina woke up with a start. She didn’t know what had awakened her. The curtains on the bedroom were closed, but it was dark outside anyway. There was no rain or traffic noise. She lay stiff in the bed until she remembered she was in Edith’s home. Then her cell phone rang. It must have rung earlier.
    She thought it might be from the sheriff so she quickly flipped on the night-light and stood up. Edith had given her a cotton flannel nightgown to wear and she was grateful for it because of the temperature. The wood floor was chilly on her bare feet, but she didn’t hesitate to walk over to the dresser where she’d put her purse last night.
    She pulled the cell phone from her purse. She saw it was five o’clock in the morning. Then she pressed the talk button. “Hello.”
    There was a moment’s hesitation and then a whispered voice asked, “Katrina? Is that you?”
    “Leanne!” Katrina was wide awake now. “Where are you?”
    “I can’t talk loud,” her sister continued in a low voice. “I don’t want anyone to hear me. I stopped to get gas and I opened your glove compartment and found your business card. I would have called earlier, but I—”
    Leanne paused and Katrina could hear the sound of men’s voices.
    “Are you all right?” Katrina asked.
    “Yeah, they were just a couple of truckers,” her sister finally answered. “I’m somewhere along the I-90 freeway heading east. At a pay phone by the restroom.”
    “Get off at the Dry Creek exit,” Katrina said. “I put a sign up with the boys’ names on it so you’d see it.”
    “Oh, no,” Leanne hissed. “You’ve got to take it down. I need to find you before Walker—”
    The men’s voices came closer again.
    “Are you all right?” Katrina asked. “Did Walker threaten you?”
    The voices receded.
    “He just got really mad when I told him I’d lent you the car,” Leanne said. “I’ve never seen him like that. He punched a hole in the wall and almost hit me. Then he said I needed to leave or I could be hurt bad. I was scared. That car is so old it’s not worth anything. I took off in your car. He tried to follow me. I think he thought I was going to meet you, but I didn’t know where you were.”
    “Is Walker still following you?” Katrina asked.
    “I don’t think so. I lost him when he had to stop andget gas in his pickup. Then I pulled off and rested for a while behind a warehouse. I figured if he cooled off some maybe—”
    Katrina heard a door slam in the distance.
    “Look, I’ve got to go,” Leanne said. “Kiss the boys for me and I’ll be there in a few hours.”
    Katrina looked at the clock again. “We’ll probably be at the church.”
    “You?” Leanne said in astonishment and then the men’s voices came closer and she hung up.
    Katrina pressed the cold phone to her cheek as she listened to the dial tone. She was so glad her sister had finally called. Maybe she did owe someone her gratitude.
    “Thank You—” she whispered. She looked up and then she swallowed. “Thank You, God. Whoever’s up there on duty. Thank You for keeping my sister safe.”
    Well, that felt strange, she thought. She wasn’t ready to do any forgiving, but she was grateful that Leanne was safe thus far. If God had something to do with that, she’d acknowledge it. That was only fair. Now that her sister knew to come to Dry Creek, she’d probably be here before church was over this morning. Maybe even before it began.
    Katrina walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. It was dark outside. There was an edging of frost around